Page 122 of You Owe Me

“Academic protection, for starters. If this arrangement ever comes to light, I’d need assurance that my own standing wouldn’t be compromised.” I meet Dean Mills’s eyes directly. “I assume that wouldn’t be a problem?”

The question hangs in the air like a trap waiting to spring. Because what I’m really asking is whether Dean Mills is willing to explicitly commit to covering up academic misconduct—on tape, in front of witnesses, with his son already confessing to federal crimes.

Carter, oblivious to the landmine he’s about to step on, nods eagerly. “Absolutely. My father has considerable influence?—”

That’s when I hear it—the distinctive scrape of a chair being dragged across expensive flooring. Every head in the restaurant turns toward the sound, but my heart stops because I know that walk, that presence, that barely controlled lethality moving through space like a force of nature.

Maverick.

He appears beside our table like he materialized from the shadows, pulling an empty chair from a nearby table with casual authority. The entire restaurant seems to hold its breath as he settles into the seat, completely relaxed and in control.

Carter’s face goes from pale to gray. “What… How did you…”

“Gentlemen,” Maverick says pleasantly, as if crashing dinner parties is just another Tuesday for him. His voice carries thatedge of controlled violence that makes smart people very quiet very quickly.

Dean Mills straightens in his chair, and I see something flicker across his face. Not just recognition—something deeper. Something that looks almost like fear.

Maverick reaches into his jacket with deliberate slowness, the motion making both men tense like he might be reaching for a weapon. Instead, he pulls out a single playing card and slides it across the table toward Dean Mills with the precision of a poker dealer.

An IOU.

Dean Mills stares at the card like it might explode.

“You remember our deal, don’t you, Richard?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Rumor has it, he owns the entire university.

Maverick

“Dad?” Carter’s voice cracks like he’s thirteen again and just got caught with his father’s credit card. “What’s he talking about? What deal?”

Dean Mills doesn’t answer immediately. Just stares at the IOU card like it’s a death sentence. Which, in a way, it is.

His shoulders sag slightly—the weight of three years of carefully buried secrets settling back onto his spine. When he finally looks up at his son, there’s something broken in his expression. Resignation mixed with the kind of paternal disappointment that cuts deeper than any blade.

“Carter, shut up.”

I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. “Smart man.”

Across the table, Ainsley’s eyes are wide with something between shock and fascination. She’s putting the pieces together—the IOU, the dean’s reaction, the way Carter’s bravado has evaporated like smoke in the wind. My brilliant girl, always three steps ahead, except this time, she’s the one being surprised.

Good. I like keeping her on her toes.

“You see, Carter,” I continue, my voice carrying that edge of conversational menace that makes grown men nervous, “yourfather came to me three years ago with a very interesting problem. Something about his son’s… academic irregularities.”

Carter’s mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air. “That’s not—you can’t?—“

“Can’t what?” I lean back in my chair, completely relaxed. “Tell the truth? Share a heartwarming story about family loyalty and institutional corruption?”

Dean Mills finally speaks, his voice carefully controlled. “Maverick. Perhaps we could discuss this privately.”

I tsk softly, the sound cutting through the ambient restaurant noise like a blade. “Richard, Richard. After all this time, you still don’t understand how this works.”

The truth is beautiful in its simplicity. Three years ago, Dean Mills came to me, desperate and panicked. His precious son was facing expulsion for plagiarism—caught red-handed copying an entire economics paper. The kind of academic fraud that doesn’t just disappear with apologies and extra credit.

But Daddy couldn’t let his golden boy face consequences. Not when his own reputation was tied so closely to his family’s perceived excellence. Not when board members were already questioning his judgment on other matters.

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