Page 50 of Caught off Guard

I held in my tears, not wanting my sister to know how hurt I was by the day’s events.

“No. I’m good. I’ll be in touch. Just letting you know I’m safe. I’ll call Mom and Dad when I get to the house. I don’t want them worrying about me. This, too, shall pass.”

“Contact Cairo, Zo. Let that man do what he said he would do for you. He’s powerful and well-connected. Maybe someone on his team could guide you through what’s going on. That university definitely doesn’t have your back. Please.” Her plea confirmed what was in my heart.

More than anyone, Cairo was the only person I wanted to be with right now. He exuded not only confidence but comfort I never knew I needed. But he was at practice. I wouldn’t bother him until the afternoon.

Although I needed to contact my attorney, I would do it within the hour. She already had the email I sent, so she would be prepared when we connected. More than anything, I needed time to breathe and take in the magnitude of what was happening. I’d done everything by the book and still got burned.

Did I have regrets? No. Was I embarrassed and hurt? Yes.

Ironically, I was free, at least temporarily, from the puppet strings of higher education for the first time in my ten-year administrative career. When I let my hair down at the Torchgame, I got rid of some bugs that were all in my head. I was free of Geoff too. But why did it take Liberation’s version of a scandal for me to take stock of what was really important?

As I continued to process everything that happened, I slipped on a comfortable pastel short set and kicked up my heels in my spa socks, binge-watchingJudge MathisandFamily Feud. I hadn’t watched that much daytime TV since college.

My phone pinged. It was Cairo.

Cairo:

I heard the news. I’m coming over after practice. Is it okay for me to be at your house?

It was time for me to put my liberation into action.

Zora:

Yes. Eff all of them. Come by anytime. You can even spend the night if you want.

Cairo:

O…kay. *confused emoji* Be there in 30 minutes.

Zora:

See you soon.

I may have had a bad day, but I wasn’t going to let Cairo see me down. I’d been oppressed far too long. Today, I would reclaim my time and my life. It might happen slowly, but it would be a start. What the devil meant for bad would be my independence day. It was time for the real Zora Langston to show up and show out.

COMFORTER

I learnedabout the mess with Zora in the locker room after basketball practice. As everyone packed up for the day, Dorrian checked his phone and called out to me.

“Hey, Ro, didn’t you just give seven mil to Liberation University?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Man, they president just got suspended. You might want to check on your money.”

I rushed from the showers to my locker to retrieve my phone. When I searched for Zora’s name, an article about her suspension popped up immediately. I skimmed it after notingagain how gorgeous she was. Inappropriate attire, my big Black ass. They were a bunch of chauvinists from way back.

I closed the app and saw a voicemail from my accountant. Like Dorrian, he was concerned about the impact of my finances because of this pending scandal at the university.

I didn’t care about any of that. I needed to get to Zora and make sure she was alright. After I texted her and she told me I could spend the night, I was worried. Was she having some kind of mental breakdown? The Zora I knew cared about appearances, so an invitation to stay with her at her very visible mansion didn’t make sense. No matter what she said, I would park behind the mansion to protect her reputation.

I rushed from the Torch training facility and hopped in my car, my mind racing. When I was a mile away from Zora’s, I called her.

“I’m almost there. I’ll meet you at the back door, so let me in.”

“That sounds great. I’ll be waiting.” Her calm voice threw me off again.

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