Page 151 of Forever Defiant
“No.”
“Did you think it was weird he asked for it?”
“No.”
“Why did you not think it was weird for him to ask for a student laptop?”
Dean Cole held my stare. He said nothing, just watched me. Then he sat back and sighed. “Did she tell you everything?”
I licked my lips. “I don’t know what you mean, sir.”
There was that ‘don’t pull shit with me, young lady’ stare. “Hadley, please never think that I’m an idiot and not smarter than you.”
“Sir.”
He smiled briefly. “I asked you not to look into this,” he reminded me. “I asked you for the sake of your education, and what is no doubt going to be a very bright career.”
“Sir.” It’s funny how the inflection on one word can mean so many things. The first one, naive innocence. The second one is an acknowledgment of a reprimand. The third was an acknowledgment that I had disobeyed his request.
“What have you learned?” he asked me quietly.
“That this establishment was run in a very different way before you got here, Dean Cole.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s breaking news, Hadley.”
“And that there may be certaindepartmentsthat haven’t yet accepted that there were changes made.”
He let out a light laugh. “Diplomacy? You’ve definitely been spending time with Savannah.”
“She’s a good influence,” I murmured, looking down at my hands. “Did you know the other time he asked for a laptop andwas given it?” I probed. I looked up at him and saw the wariness in his face.
“I’m not going to answer that, Miss Peterson. Iamgoing to go back to my papers and ask you to close the door on your way out.”
I got to my feet. He didn’t blink. “How many other times has he covered this up?” I asked him.
“Good day, Miss Peterson.”
I walked to the door, frustrated.
“Hadley?”
I turned around. “Be very careful how you proceed with this.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he looked away. “Proceed with caution, and keep it close, don’t overshare.”
I hesitated. “Will I tell you?” I asked, feeling the fragile bond of trust between us waver.
“Yes.”
I swallowed. “Can I trust you?”
Dean Cole looked at me, and I saw his daughter’s integrity reflected in his eyes. “Yes.”
I left his office feeling that our fragile bond had just gotten a little stronger.
I went to the coffee shop and thought about our short but interesting conversation. Dean Cole knew what Coach Sutherland had done to Mary’s computer. He would have learned that it was probably commonplace for him, and he would probably have learned by being told by Coach Sutherland, who had no problem throwing his dick around like it made him important.
Dean Cole had stopped the practice. Which was good, but did that mean since he got here, the allegations or the acts, whatever they were, had also stopped?
I knew he was a good dean, but I didn’t think he wasthatgood.
