Chapter Forty-Six
Griffin
At nine a.m. sharp, I park my car and walk into Fullilove Hall. A couple of lecturers on contract with the college loiter near the entrance, sipping coffee from the café run by the school. They nod in greeting, and I nod back as I make my way to my office. I have research notes from Keith to review before my class at ten thirty.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I run into Julia and Lori. Julia’s holding a thick manila folder full of Scantrons, while Lori’s clutching her phone.
“Excuse me,” I say, hoping one of them will get of the way so I can walk past.
Julia is the first to react. “Sorry.” She takes half a step back.
Lori cocks her head. “You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Same mood as always.” But that isn’t technically correct. It’s hard to be the same mood I’m always in when I had such great sex last night. But I know better than to say anything, especially when Lori’s around.
She raises an eyebrow. “I have a question for you.”
“Go ahead.” She probably has some issues with her research. She’s a good professor, but data analysis is not her forte. Right now, she’s doing some research on social media’s influence on human behavior, and that’s a lot of data to sort through.
“The guy who asked Axelrod to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to his girlfriend was you, wasn’t it?” Her eyes glint.
I should’ve known. Nothing excites this woman like fresh gossip. If she’d show half this much excitement for economics, she could be head of the department.
“Yes.” There’s no denying what happened in Tokyo. The videos have been posted and viewed by everyone already. On top of that, the professors here know that I’m dating Sierra.
“I knew it,” Lori says. “Must be nice to have a girlfriend who can take you to Tokyo to celebrate a birthday and go to a concert.” Her smile reminds me of a well-baited hook.
“I’m sure it must.”
“Yeah, it just seems— Wait, what?”
“Sierra didn’t foot the bill for our trip.” I could let everyone think I leeched off her, but if the truth comes out later—especially since Charles is dying to have a chance to talk with her—it’ll be awkward.
“Oh, so you went Dutch.”
“No. I paid for it.”
Lori is looking like she can’t figure out what to make of me. “You flew her out to Tokyo?”
“I have a lot of credit card points from all the traveling I’ve done for conferences.” It’s a complete lie, but I’m not telling anyone I used actual money. If the faculty knew how much I spent on the trip, they’d wonder how I got the money in the first place. And if someone starts digging, they might find a connection between me and my dad. A horrific outcome. I don’t want my good reputation and name tied to that subhuman scandal-monger.
I try to keep all my interviews and conversations away from my family. I don’t even tell people who my brothers are. Not because I’m ashamed of them, but because some of them don’t hide the fact that they’re related to the ever-embarrassing Ted Lasker.
People say they don’t care who you’re related to. That’s a lie. Ask any family member of a serial killer.
Plus, Charles would be insufferable trying to get me to bring a large donation to the college from Dad. I’d rather brush my teeth with arsenic.
Lori gives me a probing look, but I just shrug.
By the end of the morning, everybody in the department is going to know that I paid for the trip with credit card points. Hopefully, none of them approaches me for tips on how to accumulate said points, because I have no idea. I have a black AmEx, mainly for its excellent concierge service, and a cashback credit card to use when people I know in real life are watching.
While Lori and Julia exchange looks, I slip past and go to my office. Those two can talk until their tongues cramp, but I have work to do.
I go over Keith’s notes, draft an email and hit send. Then I notice an extra copy of the class syllabus on the desk, and I realize I need to set up a time to wrap up the case at Sierra’s company. Although it’s complete BS, I need to go through the motions to make Charles happy.
Since my students should be almost done analyzing the data, I should have them form groups of four and do short presentations. If I limit each presentation to ten minutes, it shouldn’t be too painful.
Satisfied, I send a quick email to Heather to see when a good time would be for my class to be on site for the presentations.