Chapter 29
QUINN
JULY — TWO WEEKS TO WIN OVER THE FACULTY
The entire summer has been leading to this moment. After three months of new and exciting challenges that have changed their lives forever, my students ready to present.
It’s also my last-ditch effort to get Dr. Guarino on board.
He’s resisted every attempt to connect with him. Enticing him with things around the city? I’m from Rome. There’s nothing new you can offer me. Asking for his advice? I don’t have time to hold your hand. Using the other professors to sway him? I’m shocked you all have bought into this absurdity.
But I have one last, shameless card in my hands. For all his asshole tendencies, he does care about his students. He couldn’t say no when Anthony, a business and Italian double major, begged him to watch his presentation.
He’s now sitting at the back, flipping through composition papers and ignoring the other students, until Anthony takes the stage.
It’s perfect.
He talks about the industry-specific words he learned that aren’t taught in his Italian classes, explaining how this experience took his language skills from excellent to professionally fluent.
And he does it all in perfectly accented Italian, much to the confusion of the students in English-speaking internships who don’t know much beyond hello, thank you, and where’s the closest gelateria?
My eyes ping-pong between Anthony and Dr. Guarino through the presentation. He nods along, and I even detect a small smile when Anthony spouts off what I believe are the Italian words for capital expenditures and dividends.
I breathe a sigh of relief when he opens the floor to questions.
Dr. Guarino throws out three in rapid succession, using specific business terminology like he’s hoping to trip Anthony up and give himself an excuse to continue his Quinn hating in peace.
Anthony—bless him—never fumbles. Dr. Guarino’s left with one last question.
“How has the work in this classroom—not at your internship site—benefitted you?”
Anthony’s quick to answer. “It’s been life-changing.
Professor Riley made all of us reflect on our experience and how it connects to what we’re studying.
The internship would have been a good experience on its own, but this class and Professor Riley’s expertise on professional development took it to another level.
It was the best experience of my college career. ”
I meet Dr. Guarino’s eyes across the room, and I fight hard to keep the smirk off my face. I didn’t even prep Anthony with that answer. It was all him, and I feel vindicated in ways I never imagined.
After a pause, Dr. Guarino nods. “Very good, Anthony.”
I lift my eyes from him, and they snag on the open classroom door. My father stands there with his brows drawn together, eyes pinned to the student who just praised me. He meets my gaze for a second before walking away.
A small part of me wants to chase after him, like when I was a little girl, running through the Forum to keep up with him, leaping off ancient stones like my very own jungle gym.
His program officially ends today, which means he’s leaving and I can walk through the school without looking over my shoulder, but it also means that glimmer of potential has run its course.
I shake off the moment, refocusing on my students.
When the last presentation wraps up and I release everyone, Dr. Guarino stays behind.
“Impressive work, Professor Riley.”
I bite back my smile. It’s the first time he’s used the term professor when addressing me. It has to be a good sign.
“Thank you, Dr. Guarino. It was a challenging and rewarding summer for us all.”
He clears his throat and squares his shoulders like he’s preparing for battle. “I can admit when I’m wrong. I didn’t expect you to succeed, and I’m pleasantly surprised.”
“So I can tell the other faculty members that you’re on board?”
“Non posso crederci,” he mutters. “I have some thinking to do.”
“Is that a yes?” I ask as he turns away from me.
“That’s not a no.”
I smile at his back as he leaves the classroom. I’ll take what I can get. “I appreciate your support, Giancarlo.”
He stops in his tracks. “You may still call me Dr. Guarino.”
Small wins, then.
I vibrate while waiting for the last of Colton’s students to leave his room. I bounce by the door, desperate to release some of this energy until I can talk to him.
That wasn’t an official yes from Dr. Guarino, but it might as well have been.
In a couple weeks, all five professors will stand up in Boston and say this program was a success.
That the initiative will harm students more than help them.
This won’t just be a step toward healing the Billings culture. It’ll be a fucking leap.
While I’m waiting, Inez wanders up, staring at her phone in a daze.
“Inez,” I call, the excitement nearly bursting out of me, and she jumps like a cat trying to escape water. She looks terrified, and my enthusiasm drains out of me. “What happened? Is everything okay?”
She blinks down at her phone again and then back at me. “I got it.”
In the excitement for my own victory, it takes my brain a few seconds to catch up.
“The job?” I ask, and she nods. “Congratulations!”
I wrap my arms around her before she can see the way my lip quivers.
“What am I supposed to do, Quinn?” she asks.
I pull back. My knee-jerk reaction is to tell her to stay in Boston, to beg her not to leave. But she doesn’t need my trauma dumped on her when she’s making one of the biggest decisions of her life.
“When do you have to give them an answer?”
“Three weeks. They said they recognize it would be a huge move and want me to have time to think about it. Which is a good sign for the work environment, don’t you think?”
A breath whooshes out of me. Three weeks means we’ll be back in Boston, and we’ll have proof that the faculty and staff can pleasantly work together. That may be the difference between her staying or going.
“It’s totally a good sign,” I say. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you that I just had a really great conversation with Dr. Guarino.”
Her eyes go wide. “He agreed to back off the initiative?”
I tilt my head back and forth. “Not officially yet, but he’s going to. And he said he was wrong, Inez. Wrong! I doubt the man’s ever said that word before. So, you know. In case that changes anything.”
She smiles, but it’s wobbly. “He held out for so long.”
I take her face between my hands. “Whatever you decide, that school is going to be so lucky to have you.”
She dips her head. “You’re right. And we have so much to celebrate. Dinner tonight? You and Colton, plus me and Tomasso?”
“Stop trying to get us to double date,” I say with a laugh. “But yes, I’d love to go to dinner with my three closest friends.”
She gives me a disbelieving laugh before heading down the hallway as the students started pouring out of Colton’s classroom.
The excited jitters over getting Dr. Guarino’s approval mix with the nervous jitters over Inez, and I’m going to explode if I don’t get to talk to him within the next fifteen seconds.
When the last student leaves, I slip in and lock the door before running to Colton.
At the sight of him, the nerves settle. Whatever happens with Inez, all five professors have admitted the value I bring to campus—and, by extension, the staff in general.
I did what no one besides the two of us thought was possible.
I jump and wrap my legs around him, something I’ve never felt comfortable doing in my entire life, but he’s already proven he can—and will—catch me.
I brace my arms on his shoulders and devour his mouth.
He laughs against my lips. “Not that I’m complaining, because I think this is how you should always greet me, but what’s with the attack?”
I wiggle so he’ll set me down, loving the way our bodies slid together. “The students finished their presentations.”
He smiles, and I pop onto my toes to peck his dimple.
“So you’re pretty much done,” he says. “The last class is just a discussion to fill time, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not why I’m freaking out.” I do a weird wiggle dance. “Dr. Guarino came to the presentation. He said, and I quote, ‘I can admit when I’m wrong.’ It’s done. I got them all.”
I start humming the Pokémon theme song as I continue my dance. He sputters a bit, then breaks out in the biggest smile, leaning down to pull me into a deep kiss.
“I’m so fucking proud of you,” he whispers against my lips, and tears prick my eyes.
“It’s not all sunshine and rainbows,” I say, pulling back. “Inez heard back. She got the job.”
“Quinn,” he says softly, like I’m breakable and he has to handle me with care.
I wave my hand in front of my eyes in an attempt to dry the tears before they fall. “God, I’m a mess. Why am I crying? Today’s a good day! I got Dr. Guarino on board and my best friend got a job offer.”
“You can be happy for her and sad for yourself, Quinn. It doesn’t make you a bad person. Has she decided?”
I shake my head. “No, she has a few weeks to think about it.”
He kisses my forehead, and I lean into the pressure that grounds me, just like it always has.
“Either way, she’ll be there with you when you present in Boston. And so will all the professors.”
And so will Colton. By my side—cheering me on—just like we’ve always been for each other.