Page 26 of Suspicions on the Stage
“Motherfucker,” I groan to myself as I lean back in my chair and look up at the ceiling of my office. It’s not even noon yet and my return to work has been like nails on a chalkboard. Channing made certain the first day wasn’t as rough as itcouldbe, but that didn’t mean I could avoid extremely infuriating shit. The piles on my desk are labeled ‘Must Do’, ‘Should Do’, ‘Can Do’, and ‘Absolutely Not’—something I appreciate greatly. It’s a concise method of telling me how urgent the various items are while also communicating her opinion of how to view the tasks and requests.
The woman is a goddamn gem and even if Jackson is buying her a treat, so am I.
Just as I finish that thought, she bustles into my office with a fresh coffee and a small plate of bite-sized snacks in her hand. I almost moan in thanks, but luckily, I’m able to cut that off when she says, “This isn’t lunch, but it will tide you over until then. I thought you might need fortification after the meeting with the lacrosse coaches.”
She’s hit the nail on the head, and I sit upright as she sets the plate and drink on my desk. “Hell, yes, I do. That’s not even a huge sport here, but they were in knots over the review of funding and recruitment. I feel like we’re going to hit that pain point with every single sport, even the smaller ones, because Magnus and his cronies diverted so much shit to them.”
“He did, and I believe that some of it was legitimate and some not-so-legitimate, which will further entrench the athletic department in their anger. They may not have known what shifty shit he pulled and reallocating things to follow the rules will seem like punishment.” Her brows furrow, and she shakes her head. “The board and the Society allowed this to go on for far too long without proper checks and balances, I fear.”
Nodding, I take a sip of the coffee and sigh in relief. “They did, and it worries me to consider what else they’ve let slide—not just at State U, but globally—because of blind trust in those who are running things. They have been accepting things on faith that should get checked at least once a decade.”
I don’t say it out loud, but that would explain why all the shit happening in the various realms seems to have been building up over time. None of the ‘watchers’ anywhere have been paying close enough attention to their homes. Likely, they’ve been caught up in their own shit and lost track of the bigger picture as time stretches on. I have to bite back a laugh as I contemplate the value of term limits on places with beings far more powerful than human government officials. It sounds ridiculous, but it also makes a great deal of sense.
Anyone in power too long is susceptible to a multitude of temptations, plus the allure of complacency.
“I have the heads of the law school coming in next,” Channing says as she gathers the paperwork I completed from my ‘out’ basket to process. “That will probably be less taxing than the sports folks, but more annoying than the education department in the afternoon. Both of them will lobby for more funds to be given to them if we take from the places they should not have been going, and they’d be right to ask. However, I left you some thorough research on what sources we can tap for the law school that are not from the rebalance. You’ll want to check it out before you make any promises.”
“These people are going to be ready and raring to argue, Chan. It’s what they do,” I reply as I open the file folder and squint at the first page. Popping a cheese cube in my mouth, I frown at the numbers, not enjoying the fact that we are such a highly ranked institution with a prestigious program that isn’t bringing in enough students. “And they’re not bringing in enough students, given our reputation. Do we know why?”
“I believe it was probably because of the secretly unethical reputation of this college in the community. We drew those who were hoping to learn sneaky things, and not the broader legal hopefuls.” She straightens one of my stacks and then pushes up her glasses. “That may be fixable if the right people show public support—especially if it’s financial.”
Sighing, I grab a few grapes and think about her suggestion as I chew. When I’m ready, I nod. “We should line up meetings with all the law school professors, even the adjuncts, after we meet with the heads. If we weed out the bad ones and hire straight arrows, we can go to the well-known supes like Jackson and ask for their help.”
Her face flushes, and I have to hide my grin. “I may have spoken to him already. That’s, um, where my research and information comes from.”
I kind of knew that, but I’m glad she feels comfortable enough to admit it to me. “Well, good. It’s a primary source, and that means we can shape our plans around it. It will be slow due to all the bullshit going on here, but that means the law school will be the least of our worries.”
“Yes,” Channing says with a bright, relieved smile. “Every department we knock off the ‘to do’ list is one we don’t have to worry about when the board reviews your first year. At least, in theory, they are.”
I’ll even accept ‘in theory’ to dig myself out of this hole that my ex left—and that’s saying something.
By the timeI finish with the legal folks, my brain is damn near mush. I was right about their inclination to argue and though Channing brought me sustenance beforehand, I’m just blown out. Professor Duskwings and Professor Memkara were pleasant, polite, and excellent reps for their department, but it took a lot of teeth gritting to allow them to drone on and on about their needs. I know it’s unlikely that anyone has in the past, which is why I allowed it to back up my schedule a bit.
But arguing with a griffin and a sphinx who are also lawyers was exhausting enough to wish I was fighting with a damn aquatic motorcycle gang again. At least then I could stop the flow of bullshit without people simply turning my words around purposefully. The two of them clearly love their students anddefinitely arenot#TeamMagnus—which is good for me—but they’re also bitter as fuck about how their program was treated.
I spent far too much time convincing them I have plans in place and they need to wait until I can put things into action before they rally their troops. The last thing I need—other than another fucking corpse—is a bunch of protests on campus. It would bring a lot of attention and outside beings here, which we definitely don’t want. That would make it even easier for the secret bad guys to hide amongst the crowds, and thus put everyone in danger.
“Channing!” I call out as I rise from my seat and gather my things. “I’m going out for lunch. I have to get out of here for a bit or I’ll go stir crazy.”
She pops her head in the door, grinning a little as she looks at me. “Going to the coffeehouse? Slade won’t be there for another half an hour, you know.”
Cheeky little monkey now, isn’t she?
I nod, slinging my bag over my body as I slip my shoes back on. “I know. But I have a two-hour break, right? I can walk around the business quarter until he gets to work, and get some fresh air. Maybe it’ll help me unclog my brain before I have to meet with the education department heads. There are four, right? One for each school level?”
“Yes. Primary, Secondary, post-Secondary, and Graduate/Doctoral.”
“Put together some biographical info on them and send it to my email. I’ll probably review it while I eat, so I’m prepared for the meeting more thoroughly. They’re definitely going to take issue with my lack of classroom experience and ignore myadministrative experience from Swallowtail. I know exactly how those types of people work from my past.”
Channing salutes me, chuckling softly. “Aye, Aye, Captain!”
“Nope, not that one, either.” I grin as I throw open my balcony doors and get in position to take to the sky. “Keep trying, though.”
As I leap into the air, my wings burst free, helping me catch the wind to glide toward the opposite side of campus. It’s a nice day for this time of year, and the winter cold snap everyone has warned me about hasn’t happened yet. There are students and staff busily making their way from one side of the green to the other and plenty more simply camping there in between classes. I like that atmosphere, and eventually, I’d like to encourage it more. But there are so many things to do here and so many obstacles in the way that I worry I won’t be able to accomplish it all.
Plus, if we don’t catch the psycho who killed Pierre LaMount, everyone here is in danger I can’t quantify.
We don’t even know the motive for the player’s death—not really. Framing Lucas seems like the primary reason he was murdered, but until we get the morons at the police department to look beyond my adorable bear, no one can confirm that. Since the frame job is slowly failing, I worry the perpetrator will move on to another gambit. Whether to distract us or pick the Wolfenberg heir off, the poisoning was definitely tied to the murder. They’ll have to do something soon, especially since we’re back from Bay City.
