“It was a misunderstanding!!”
“It wasn’t. My wifedoesn’tmisunderstand.”
“She came onto me! I didn’t want her for valedictorian. She wanted to persuade me into giving her the role!”
A hiss escaped me as I grabbed the measly strands of his combover and dragged his head back. “I wasn’t going to slice your throat, but now—”
“No! Please! No! I’m innocent.” He opened his mouth to scream so I moved the knife and quickly shoved it between his lips.
Letting the blade rest on his tongue, I whispered, “I should slice this off.
“You don’t lie to a man like me. You don’t try to sell me bullshit.”
As I scowled at him, I let one knee come down.
Right on his throat.
I hovered it there, the heat of it, the weight, settling above him, and he garbled words around the blade in his mouth.
“Are you ready to tell me the truth?”
Tears pricked his eyes as he pleaded with me through them.
“If you try to scream, I’ll break your neck.”
I didn’t need to see the puddle to smell what his reaction was to that.
I scoffed at the scent of piss then slowly drew the knife back.
Mouth wobbling, his pupils pinpricks of fear, he shakily explained, “She came into my office. I propositioned her. Offered her the chance to be valedictorian if she slept with me.”
“What did she do?”
“Kneed me in the balls.”
There was my good girl.
“Did you touch her?”
He licked his lips, but I knew it was to distract from the way his bottom one quivered.
“Are you thinking about lying to me?” I demanded before he could speak.
The dean trembled. “I touched her behind.”
“Her behind,” I repeated. “So proper when you’re a dirty, fucking pervert.” My mouth curved up in a sneer. “You’ve got options.”
“I-I do?” His eyes widened again, hope dancing into being in the bland blue irises.
“You do,” I confirmed. Letting my knee press deeper into his throat, I reached for one of his hands. Tugging on a finger, I spat, “I can cut off a finger or you can resign.”
“Cut off a finger?” he choked out.
“I think you should be more grateful I don’t want your whole filthy fucking paw.” My sneer deepened. “Let’s make thattwofingers—”
“No! No! One, please, just one. Just the one. I’ll, you can…” His mouth worked. “When?”
“Now, of course.”