Page 55 of Bleeding Hearts

Rubbing my knee, I stretch my leg to relieve the tension. I’ve been on it for too long today and it’s unhappy with me. “They had a mutual understanding, from what I’ve heard. She might not want to do that. We don’t know what she told him. Maybe she was pretending to be someone she wished she was and not the person she is. There’s nothing wrong with that, letting one’s hair down when there’s no risk. But if she goes searching for him, then suddenly there’s a risk he could be just as big of an asshole as her ex, ruining the fantasy she’s built in her head.”

Rylee hums thoughtfully, and her brow furrows before she breaks into a smile. “You’re right. He could be a player who does this shit regularly, and I don’t want my friend feeling used.”

She slaps her hands against her legs, an indication we’re close to wrapping this up. “Okay, this is why I wanted to talk it out with someone who would give it to me straight. I’ll keep trying to get her to come out with me and live a little.” She snaps her fingers and grins. “I got it. One of those male stripper shows is coming into town this weekend. I’m gonna buy us tickets and see if I can get a special pass to have her dragged up on the stage and let one of those sexy guys show her a good time.”

Now it’s my turn to wiggle my eyes and laugh. “If Jodi and I were younger, I wouldn’t mind going. But I’m not sure Nolan would approve.”

“You could make him give you a private show.” Rylee suggests as she offers me her hand. “Thanks for the advice. Glad I ran into you. I feel better about what I need to do now.” Pausing for a moment, a guilty look fills her eyes. “Don’t tell Nolan.”

With a friendly smile, I take her hand and give it a warm, reassuring shake. “Wouldn’t dare. But I might see if Nolan would be interested in doing a fireman strip tease.”

Rylee grabs her bag off the ground and slings it over her shoulder. “You’re good for him. I really hope you do just that. He’s too serious and needs to loosen up and have some fun.”

We go our separate ways, me back on course to talk to the dean. The energy I felt earlier intensifies as I approach her office. And when I reach the outer door and pull it open, I understand why.

Campus police are inside. They’re detaining a young man, his back to me, as a woman unleashes a torrent of enraged shouts about lawsuits and closing the place down; her voice is raw with anger. Not exactly something I ever expected to walk inon. I’ve worked here for almost ten years and never heard about or witnessed such a commotion.

Once the woman spots me in the doorway, she immediately turns her rage on me, storms my way before I can think to move. Thankfully, an officer stops her before she reaches me. “This is your fault!”

“My fault?”How the hell is this my fault?

My question is barely out when the young man turns, and everything suddenly makes sense.

“Mrs. Stewart, I’m going to ask you one more time to calm down,” the officer holding her back says in a controlled but forceful tone. “Otherwise, I will handcuff you.”

Dr. Bellows walks out of her office, and I gasp. Visibly shaken, she clutches her throbbing cheek, the angry red welt already darkening to a bruised purple. “Dr. Rogan did not make this decision. I did. As I was saying before your son stormed in and attacked me, allegations of cheating have been made against Theodore by two of his professors. Dr. Rogan isn’t one of them. We did a thorough investigation and found them to be true.”

This is news to me, but I’m not surprised. My TA, who’s been in charge of the class Theo is in, has come to me a few times concerned about the quality of work being turned in. It didn’t line up with the work he did in class, and when questioned about it, Theo stated it was because outside of class, he had a tutor who cleaned it up. While feasible, it was also fishy as hell. Given the circumstances, I wanted irrefutable evidence before approaching the dean.

“That’s a fucking lie!” Theo lunges toward the dean.

Dean Bellows stands her ground. Probably because there are two officers between him and her. “The paper you gave to Dr. Efron was identical to a paper submitted by one of his other students?—”

Theo interjects. “Then he cheated, not me.”

She finishes dismissing that idea. “From three years ago.”

Turning to the officer closest to her, she gathers her professionalism. “Mr. Stewart has been expelled. He is to be escorted off the campus. Him and his mother.”

“Would you like to press charges, ma’am?” The officer asks, while making a note on his tablet.

“I’ll pass for now. However, Mr. Stewart, if you set one foot on my campus, that changes. From the call I received moments before our meeting, you’re in enough trouble as it is. Your recent decisions suggest a shift in strategy might be wise.” She takes a deep breath and motions for the door. “You can go. Dr. Rogan, come into my office. I’m not sure why you’re here, but I believe I need a drink. You can join me.”

Mrs. Stewart is the first to leave and takes that chance to speak her mind. “You don’t know who you’re messing with. Hell will rain down on this institution. No one treats a Stewart this way and gets away with it.”

The officers lead Theo out next. When he passes me, he mumbles under his breath, only loud enough for me to hear. “How’s your son? Did he like my gift?”

Any uncertainty that may have lingered was dispelled by his words. “That’s been resolved.”

“Has it?” He smirks and tsks. “You sure about that?”

What the hell is he getting at?

There’s a sneer in his voice as he tries to provoke me, but I refuse to rise to the bait. With my back to him, I walk into the dean’s office. As soon as I’m inside, I close the door to cut myself off from his view.

Tiffany lifts a dark bottle. “Drink?”

“Sure, why the hell not?” I walk over to the sitting area of her office and take a seat in one of the large chairs. “You want to talk about it?”

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