Page 74 of Hushed

Delphine pushes her blonde hair off her shoulder. “Well, let’s ask Levi. Levi, as another bona fide Southerner in the room, how do you feel about having a lovely charitable tradition of welcoming and kindness weaponized like this?”

The room goes deathly quiet.

He looks at her for a second too long. “I think you already know what I think about it, ma’am, and I think you’re asking me in front of the dean.”

Delphine smiles. “Diplomatically put.” She raises her glass. “To Levi.”

“To Levi!” The response is polite but notably unenthusiastic. I tell myself it’s because they don’t know him yet.

“So, tell us about your research,” Molly says, steering us to safer ground. “Are you planning to go back to Mexico this coming summer?”

“Yes, we are,” Levi answers before I can. “We haven’t booked the tickets yet, but it’s going to be a blast.”

Preston and his wife exchange a look I can’t read. Hughes watches with that benevolent grandfather expression that I’ve never trusted. I take another sip of wine.

And then, as Levi is clearing the main course, Julia speaks.

“You’re a freshman, aren’t you?” she asks him. “Or a junior?”

The table goes silent.

I look at Julia, then at Levi, then back at Julia. The question seems innocuous enough—small talk, getting to know the partner—but something about the way she asked it makes my stomach tighten.

“Freshman,” Levi says evenly. “Bastien encouraged me to go back to school after I separated from the Army. When he got the job here, I figured my GI Bill money would spend as well here as anywhere else. You can imagine my shock when I walked into Psych 1101 and there he was.”

My blood pressure spikes. I watch the faces around the table. Hughes has gone red. Preston is leaning forward. Julia looks triumphant.

Oh.

Oh, no.

This is not good.

“Dr. Saint-Jacques,” Hughes says, and his grandfatherly warmth has evaporated completely, “exactly how long have you been involved in a sexual relationship with your student?”

The words hit me like ice water.

“Let’s take a breath,” Levi says.

“Dr. Saint-Jacques declared this relationship at the start of the semester,” Molly cuts in. “I have been overseeing his grading to ensure fairness. He’s been exemplary.”

Fuck. This is a catastrophe I can’t walk away from. I take a very large gulp of wine. Delphine tops me up. I smile at her. She’s a good friend.

Nell sputters, turning to Delphine. “But we thought you had engineered this!”

“Engineered what?”

“Well, a companion,” Nell says.

“Oh, my God,” Molly says.

“Bastien, take a breath,” Levi warns me.

“By companion, you mean, a hooker. A possibly underaged hooker. Procured by my friend.”

“Bastien, look at me. Pull back.” Levi reaches for my arm. “It doesn’t matter what they think of me,” he says. “I don’t have to see these people ever again except for a super awkward Christmas party.”

He knew.