Page 35

CHAPTER 35

ROUX

M y heart is racing as I sit outside the conference room and wait to be called in. I’m not alone, of course. Alka is here too since the administrators’ verdict affects us both. Probably. I suppose we don’t know that for sure.

Oscar’s here, and I panicked and called my brother, so he and Noah are here too. Alka’s friends are waiting outside for us at a picnic table, as is Coach Harper. We have a lot of support.

I’m still really freaking terrified that I’m going to be kicked out of school. Or worse—Alka might lose his job.

Oscar’s hand rests on my shoulder, and I take a breath. My palms are all sweaty, my heart won’t stop racing, and I think I’m on the verge of crying. Why couldn’t they just email us? Why does this have to be such a big show?

“Take a breath,” Oscar says, his voice low.

I swallow, close my eyes, and try to concentrate on breathing normally. His hand runs down my spine and around my waist, pulling me into his side. “I promise, no matter what happens in there, everything will be okay, Ruby.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. We’ll get through it together. The three of us. ”

Despite my anxiety and feeling like I might vomit, a smile touches my lips. I lean my head against his. “Thanks.”

The door opens. “Mr. Kipler. Coach. Come on in,” the man says. I don’t know who he is.

Oscar’s arm tightens for a second before he takes a step away. I glance at my brother and Noah, who both give me encouraging smiles. Yes, alright. Fine. It’s going to be okay. Eventually.

Alka takes my hand and brings it to his mouth to place a kiss on the back. “Ready?”

I nod. No, I’m not ready, but it’s time regardless.

It’s a conference room, which I’d already been prepared for. What I hadn’t expected was that it was decked out in loud colors. The table is, get this, turquoise. The chairs are the colors of the rainbow but in pastels. The art on the wall is made up of monochrome dots, and it’s actually a little risqué. I’m surprised it’s in a university’s conference room.

There are five people at the table, but I only recognize Dean Cooke because he’s the dean of the athletic department. I’ve seen his picture on the wall with the other staff members of the athletic department in the building’s lobby.

“Good morning,” one of the women says. “How are you?”

Does she really want an answer?

“Fantastic,” Alka deadpans as he pulls out my chair for me. I sit and give the people sitting across from us a queasy look. I mean… It's a smile. Not at all delivered with a gray or green complexion.

She chuckles. “I understand.” Her attention turns to me. “How are you enjoying Rainbow Dorset, Roux?”

Small talk? Is that really necessary?

“I love it. There’s a vibe all its own that’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. I wish I could bottle it and take it into the world when I graduate.”

That garners five smiles.

“That’s great to hear,” the man in the middle says. “That’s exactly what we’re going for. ”

I nod. Sweet. Maybe that earns me bonus points.

“I’m sorry,” the first woman says. “I should have made introductions. My name is Celia Boden. I’m the director of Human Resources. This is my superior, Priscilla Gore, Dean of Administration and HR. President Horus Killington. You might be familiar with Dean Gideon Cooke, Athletics. And on the end there is Jeremiah O’Donnell, Dean of Information Technologies.”

“Hi,” I say. That’s a lot of people with really big pay sitting in front of me to determine my fate.

“Let’s not drag this out,” President Killington says. “I’d love to talk to you about school and your classes, but I think we can all see how nervous you are. We have looked over the information you provided, Coach. Thank you for being so thorough.”

“Can I ask a question before we get into this?” Alka asks.

“If it’s to point out that our own provost dated a student, we’re very aware of that. We’ve even had a conversation with Provost Keller,” President Killington says.

Alka smiles. “Okay, good. Thanks.” He looks at the man on the end—IT guy. “I actually want to ask about the email and whether you’ve taken care of the student who sent it. Or is that something I’ll need to do because I don’t want him on my team?”

Dean Cooke smiles widely.

“We tracked it down easily,” the IT dean says. “Hacker, he is not. There was zero attempt to hide on Ikaika’s part.”

“Greer?” I ask in surprise. My heart sinks. I had no idea he was that angry about it. “It wasn’t Jeff?”

The IT dean glances at the president. “No. I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said his name.”

“No. We have a right to know who sent it,” Alka argues. “It was an attack on both of us, and we should absolutely be made aware in case they intend any further harm.”

President Killington raises a hand. “There won’t be any threat toward either of you again. Greer Ikaika has been expelled from the school indefinitely. We will not tolerate that kind of behavior.”

Alka bows his head, but I’m staring at nothing. I can’t believe Greer would do that.

“Roux? Are you alright?” the lady, Celia, asks. I blink through my shock and nod. She gives me a sympathetic smile. “He was a friend,” she guesses.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say he wasn’t,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. We can move on.”

Alka’s hand squeezes mine. I’m so tense I forgot our hands were still linked. Mine are sweaty as fuck right now. Poor Alka.

“As for any other concerning behaviors on your team, you have sole discretion to deal with them as you wish,” Dean Cooke tells Alka. “You have my full support, though I do advise removing the young man in the video. That’s not the kind of representation we’d like to see among our student athletes. If you’d like to recommend further punishment, we can set up a meeting.”

“You have our full support in removing him from the team,” the HR dean whose name I already forgot reiterates. “I recommend academic probation as well.”

“Thank you,” Alka says, “but I think we’re bouncing around here. Does that mean I’m keeping my job?”

There isn’t an immediate yes, which makes my stomach drop.

“We appreciate the lengths you’ve gone to to remove yourself from a position where you have the ability to give Roux special treatment. That effort isn’t taken lightly. However, what this situation has that others do not is that Roux is your immediate subordinate,” President Killington says. “I know you’ve taken yourself out of those situations, but we can understand your team’s concern.”

“I understand,” Alka says. “Would you like me to step down?”

“No,” I say. “I’ll quit. ”

“You can’t quit,” Alka says.

“Yes, I can.” I look at the president. “I quit. I’m not going to play soccer again.”

“Mr. Kipler—” Dean Cooke says just as Alka begins to argue, too.

“No, Alka. This is your career. You’ve been coaching for a decade. This is just two years out of my life, and it’s not going to affect my career.”

“You don’t plan to put yourself up to draft?” Dean Cooke asks.

I shake my head. “No. I know my odds of making it pro, and they’re not good. I’m not that good a player.”

“I’ve seen you play,” Dean Cooke says. “You’re one of the best on the team.”

“No offense, Dean, but I think that’s saying more about the other players than me. I’m not that good. I assure you.”

“You’ve been endorsed by a professional hockey player and a professional soccer player,” President Killington points out.

I huff. “The hockey player is my brother. And Gabe… I’m sorry, I’m too flustered to come up with an HR term, but we were sleeping together. I think it’s safe to say that they’re both biased.”

Dean Cooke laughs loudly, and I can’t help but crack a smile in response.

“Look, I understand why you’re punishing Alka. He’s the staff member here, and yeah, fine, but it’s his career! I’m not going to get in the way of that.”

“I’m not letting you quit,” Alka says.

I look at him with frustration. “Are you going to make me play?”

He presses his lips together, and the room is silent while we stare at each other. In this particular battle of wills, I’m going to win. It would be 100% selfish of me to let him lose his job over this.

Alka turns to look at our audience. “Are you firing me or asking me to take a leave of absence? What was your decision before we began arguing?”

“We’d ask you to take a step back from the department until Roux’s graduation. Not from the university,” President Killington says. “Like your partner, I don’t think you deserve to lose your career over this when, in fact, I believe you’re fully capable of emotionally removing yourself while you coach. However, it’s not just the two of you we need to take into consideration. There’s your entire team as well as the campus as a whole and what they’re going to take from this situation and how it was handled.”

Alka nods. “Thank you.” He looks at me again. “Do you feel better now?”

“No, not really. Your job is coaching. The entire reason they’ve been throwing a tantrum is because you’re their coach, Alka. No one is arguing that Harper isn’t amazing; she is. But they didn’t consider RDU as their college with Harper as their coach. They did so with you in mind. Why is it fair that just because we met and I screwed everything up, they’re all punished because of it? Especially the third and fourth-year players. I’m taking those years with you away from them entirely.” I shake my head. “No. I quit, and at the risk of sounding like a petulant child, you can’t make me change my mind. You can’t force me to play.”

Alka lets his head fall back. Why can’t he see that this is far too big of a sacrifice from him? What do I need to say to make him understand?

I tug on his hand until he’s looking at me again. When he meets my eyes, I say, “I love you. I know how much you love your job. Stop arguing with me.”

His lips part as he stares at me. I can feel the air whoosh from his lungs at my words. I’m not exactly sure how he feels or if he’s even there yet, but I already know where I want to spend my life. I know how I feel .

Alka takes a breath and looks at the group in front of us. Dean Cooke has a wide smile. I would wager a guess that he’s a lot of fun. He’s a big, bulky man with a lot of laugh lines.

President Killington and the two women are also smiling as if they’re watching a movie play out in front of them. Only the IT guy looks uninterested and bored. Not that I blame him. He likely didn’t sign up for this kind of thing when he took the job as the IT dude.

“I guess… This might have been a waste of time,” Alka says. “If Roux quits—which I hate because these cry babies are being shown that if they throw a tantrum, they’ll get their way—then it’s a moot point.”

Dean Cooke’s smile disappears. “You’re right. That’s not the message we want to convey. These are adults, and they need to behave like adults, which includes having consequences for their actions.” He looks at President Killington. “What other options do we have?”

“May I make a suggestion?” Celia asks.

“By all means,” President Killington says, inclining his head.

“Only the seven of us have borne witness to this conversation.” She makes a look at the camera in the corner. “I’m on board with this decision and agree given the facts we’ve been told—Roux will remove himself from the team, and Alka will resume his position as head coach. However, aside from the vault that watches the security cameras, no one else has this verdict .”

“What are you suggesting?” Dean Cooke asks, leaning forward, once again smiling.

“What I’d like to see is that those who have been the most ill behaved are punished. Removed from the team at the very least. I assume you have more than the two directly involved, Coach?” Celia asks.

Alka frowns. “Harper would like to cancel the season entirely. She’s that disgusted with the team. But yes, I do believe there are three other names that she herself has witnessed displaying the same behavior though on a less… public scale. ”

Celia nods. “Good. Okay, not good.” She waves her hand. “In a bit of a devious agenda, here’s what I’d like to see. Harper remains in her elevated role with you taking a side position for these events. When you return to practice, you or Harper remove the three from your team. I realize that maybe this should be a private matter to remain professional, but… I’m willing to overlook it for this particular situation.”

“We’ll discuss that,” the second HR lady says.

“Okay, fine. Roux stays on for a couple practices as if he’s still part of the team before giving them whatever reason, or none at all, as to why he’s quitting. Alka then resumes his coaching job.”

“This seems a little underhanded coming from our Director of HR,” President Killington says.

“I have eight brothers and sisters,” Celia says as she sits back and straightens her shirt sleeves. “Sometimes, if you want to make a message clear, you need to play low ball. That’s the language they understand.”

Dean Cooke looks delighted when he turns his eyes to us.

“Will this low ball plan make you uncomfortable, Mr. Kipler?” the second HR lady asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know? I think it’ll be fine.”

“Good. Then we have a plan,” Celia says.

Second HR lady sighs. “Very well. President?”

President Killington gives us a roguish smile. “You have my support in this. It’s a fine line we’re walking between what we should be conveying to the school and the lesson we want to teach those who’ve been causing issues. Given the notion that we’d likely be none the wiser of this relationship without the incredibly unprofessional outburst that forced it all to come to light, I think this is a balancing act that we’re going to sustain for the next week or so. Don’t get carried away, Coach.”

Alka inclines his head again. “I really appreciate your understanding and support in this,” he says. “I’d also like to apologize for it getting so dramatically out of hand. They say honesty is the best policy, but I’m not sure that’s true in every situation. At least in this one, it was nothing but a snake in the bed.”

The IT guy snorts, but he tries to cover it with a cough. The HR lady rolls her eyes.

This worked out okay. I’ll miss soccer, but I’m very happy that neither of us were punished. I’ll take that as a win.