The Pleasure of the Dean (10 page)

Shocked silence fell over the room.
 
All eyes swiveled to Crystal, who was
panting from her exertions.
 
Crystal’s efforts had knocked her tight bun loose and now long dull
brown strands fell over her face.
 
Her eye makeup and lipstick were streaked, giving her a clownish
appearance.

“He made me do it!!” Crystal screamed,
pointing a finger at Bruce.
 
“He
forced me!
  
He said he’d get
me fired if I didn’t do what he wanted!”
 
Her voice screeched higher and higher as hysteria consumed her.
 
“I’m going to sue!
 
You’ll all be sorry!!”
 
Crystal tugged at her bun and it
completely came undone, covering her face with a brown veil.
 
She barreled out the heavy double doors
of the conference room and started running down the hall.

After her dramatic exit, everyone’s head
turned towards the front of the room, only to discover the seat previously
occupied by Bruce Mapleton was now empty.
 
A door in the back corner of the room, leading to a shared kitchenette
area, was wide open.

The room erupted in confused
conversation.
 

Cole stood up and addressed the
audience.
 
“Ok everyone,” he
said.
 
“Let’s settle down.”
 
The roar got quieter.
 
“Eric, can you please shut the projector
off?”
 

Eric nodded and powered down the a/v
equipment.
 
Bruce’s O-face faded
from everyone’s view, but not before a few faculty members pulled out their
phones and snapped a picture.
 
Erick
stuck the memory stick into his pocket with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“It seems fairly obvious a very serious
violation of school policy has been committed by Dr. Bruce Mapleton.
 
I move Dr. Mapleton’s hospital and
university privileges be suspended immediately, pending further
investigation.
 
All in favor?”

The room ran with a resounding “aye” from the
assembled faculty members.

“All opposed?”

“Let the record show the faculty council
unanimously voted to suspend. Dr. Mapleton’s privileges,” Cole said.
 
“Please be assured, I will put an
investigative team in place to immediately to assess these infractions.
 
The next time we convene, we can discuss
the findings as well as the severity of Dr. Mapleton’s punishment.
 
You are dismissed.”

Chapter
Fifteen

Sophie rode the elevator down to the
emergency room.
 
She was covering a
shift as a favor for Dr. Evelyn Feldstein.
 

“Better to stay as busy as possible,” she
thought to herself.
 
“The busier I
am, the less time I have to think about missing Cole.”
 
Sophie recalled her last night with
him.
 
She longed to be back in his
arms.
 
Sophie sighed at the memory
and allowed herself a moment of grief before stiffening her spine.
 
She thought, “Covering this shift is
going to be grueling.
 
I’m going to
have a terrible night.”
 
You never
knew what was going to come your way in the ER.

The elevator stopped at the third floor.
 
When the doors parted a familiar looking
figure rushed in and slammed at the buttons for the basement.
  
The woman was sniveling
uncontrollably.
 
Her menswear style
business suit was unbuttoned and wrinkled.
 
Her downward turned face was obscured by a waterfall
of dingy hair
.
 
Streaked
make-up ran in colored rivulets down her face.
 
She was a complete mess.

“Crystal?” Sophie asked in disbelief.

Crystal jerked her head up in surprise.
 
Her eyes were crazed and feral.
 

They stared at each other for a moment until
the dinging of the elevator caught their attention.
 
The doors opened.
 
Sophie moved to exit the elevator.
 
Before she stepped out, Sophie turned
back towards Crystal, reaching into the deep pocket of her white clinic
coat.
 
She withdrew something and
held it out.

Crystal reflexively took the offered item and
turned it over.
 
The familiar sad
face of the depressed malamute looked back at her from the Sharelink brochure.

Sophie walked from the elevator towards the
emergency room.
 
She heard the
echoing wails from Crystal grow louder and then finally cut out as the doors
closed behind her.

“This evening is looking up.” Sophie smiled
and continued her walk with an extra bounce in her step.

****

Thanks AJ.
 
Everything went as planned
.

Cole hit send and put his phone on his
desk.
 
He leaned back in his chair,
and looked out at the moon’s reflection on Lake Washington.
 
It was a satisfying day.
 
Months of planning finally came to
fruition.

He took a sip of his scotch and thought back
to the events of the afternoon.

Kelsey Briar was at her post, knitting
a pair of purple arm warmers, when Sam burst into Cole’s office suite.
 
Her face was rosy from her dash to the
office.
 
Sam’s normally perfect
coiffure was askew.
 
Unshed tears
pooled in her eyes.

“May I help you dear,” Leslie
asked, continuing to knit.

“I need to speak to Dean
Armstrong right away!” she gasped.
 
“Please.
 
If he’s available.”
Sam added.
 
She didn’t want Kelsey
to think she was rude.
 
“I’ll sit
over there,” Sam said, pointing to a waiting area.
 
“No rush.
 
Whenever it's convenient for him.”

Sam vibrated in her seat as
Kelsey set down her knitting and buzzed Cole.
 
A minute later he strode out of his
office.
 
His
shirt
sleeves
were rolled up, exposing his powerful forearms.
 
Cole’s hair looked like he’d been
running his hands through it.

She shot up like a bullet.
 
“I’m sorry to disturb you Dean
Armstrong,” Sam said.
 
“I wouldn’t
bother you unless it was absolutely vital.”

“No worries Sam,” he replied with
a disarming smile.
 
“I always have
time for the person who squirrels away special chocolate bars for me.”

Sam smiled and flushed in
pleasure.
 
Then she remembered why
she was there, and tears filled her eyes again.

“Please, step into my office,”
Cole said, guiding her into the room and into a chair.
 
He grabbed a box of tissues of the shelf
and handed it to Sam before leaning against his desk, arms folded across his
chest.
 
“What brings you here
today?” Cole asked, genuine concern in his gaze.

Sam told him everything.
 
About Crystal’s abuse, her affair with
Dr. Mapleton,
the
pictures they obtained of Sophie and
Cole, and their plot to disgrace him.
 
Once she started talking, Sam couldn’t stop.

Cole listened intently.
 
“First, thank you for telling me this,”
Cole said.
 
“I know it must have
been difficult for you.”

“Of course, Dean Armstrong,” she
replied.
 
“I respect you so
much.
 
I couldn’t let Crystal and
Dr. Mapleton do this to you.
 
Forgive my language, but Crystal is a real b-i-t-c-h,” Sam spelled
out.
 

Cole laughed at that.
 
“Agreed.
 
I want to assure you that you will not
face any repercussions for coming to me with this information.
 
I’ll make sure of it.”
 

“Thank-you, Dean Armstrong,” she
said breathlessly.
 
Cole’s assurance
gave Sam a much needed confidence boost.
 
Her tears dried up.
 
Sam knew
the Dean would protect her from Crystal’s wrath.

“I have a plan to bring down
Crystal and Dr. Mapleton, and I need your help.”
 
Cole walked to his desk and extracted
two identical looking memory sticks from a drawer.
 
He held them out to Sam.

“I want you to create two versions
of Crystal faculty council presentation.
 
The first version will follow her guidelines.
 
Save a copy on the blank drive and give
it to her.
 
The other memory stick
has a video file saved on it.
 
I
want you to add it to the final slide of Crystal’s presentation, and then save
the doctored copy of her presentation on that drive”

“I can do that,” Sam said.
 
She took the drives from his
outstretched hand.
 
“What’s on the
video?”

“Some of Crystal’s best work,” he
replied with a wink.
 
Sam looked
confused.
 
“Let’s just say that it
will embarrass and disgrace both Dr. Mapleton and Crystal.”

“Oh my,” Sam said gleefully.

“This next part of the plan is
more difficult,” Cole continued.
 
“Before the faculty council meeting, I need you to switch the memory stick
with Crystal’s presentation with the one you’ve doctored.
 
You need to do this without her
knowledge, which means you’ll need to switch the drives either right before or
during the meeting.”
 

“No problem Dean Armstrong,” she
said resolutely.
 
Crystal had beaten
her down for years.
 
Sam relished
the opportunity to pay her back.
 
She wished she could see Crystal’s face when the video played at the
faculty council meeting.

Sam looked up into Cole’s earnest
eyes.
 
“When this is all over, I’m
going to need a new position.
 
Do I
have your promise that I’ll have one?”

“Of course,” Cole replied.
 
“In fact, I’m in the process of
recruiting a new OB/GYN Chief.
 
I
think you’d work well together.”

Sam smiled at that.
 
“Thank-you Dean Armstrong.
 
One more thing, I left the office
suddenly this afternoon,” Sam said.
 
“Crystal is going to be angry with me.
 
What should I tell her?”

“Just tell her you came down with
a stomach bug, and had to leave quickly.”

Sam flushed at the thought of
telling someone she was having tummy troubles.
 
Even though it was a lie, it was so
embarrassing.
 
“Okay Dean
Armstrong.”
 
She clutched the memory
stick to her chest.
 
“I won’t fail
you,” she said resolutely.
 
“I’ll
switch the files, or I’ll die trying.”

Cole chuckled at the memory.
 
Sam was dramatic, but well meaning, and
she came through in the end.
 
Before
the meeting began, while everyone’s attention was focused on the free coffee
and donuts, Cole saw Sam slip into the room.
 
She handed Eric Chambers the new memory
stick, and pocketed Crystal’s original one.
 
Eric took the drive with the doctored
presentation without question.
 

While he was thinking about it, Cole picked
up his phone and checked his bank account.
 
He wanted to make sure the wire transfer he sent to Alex Jones went
through.
 
It was money well earned.

When he received a call from Alex Jones three
weeks ago, Cole was surprised.
 
They
typically communicated via email or text, and the investigator already handed
over the photos and videos Cole requested.

“Alex,” he said, “How can I help
you?”

“I’ve received an email from Dr.
Mapleton.
 
He’s looking for photos
or video evidence of an affair between you and a resident, Dr. Sophie
Benedict.”

“Interesting,” Cole replied.
 
“Did you take the case?”

“No.
 
You hired me first.
 
Also, Dr. Mapleton offered me a measly
$215.
 
If I took the job, that
wouldn’t even pay for my babysitter.
 
Finally, he’s a pervert.
 
I’ve seen the videos.
 
I
don’t work for perverts.”

Cole laughed.
 
“I can’t believe Bruce and I both picked
the same investigator.”

“I can,” Alex replied.
 
“My ex-boyfriend designed my site.
 
He’s a tech genius and added all sorts
of search engine optimization to it.
 
Now, it’s the first one that pops up when you search anything related to
private investigators in the Seattle area.
 
Business is good.
 
I have my
pick of cases.”

“What do you suggest I do?” Cole
asked.

The line was silent for a moment
while Alex thought.
 
“If you are in
a relationship with Dr. Benedict, I suggest you give Dr. Mapleton what he
wants.
 
Nothing lurid.
 
Maybe some handholding.
 
A shot of you two kissing.”

“Why should I do that?”

“Bait,” Alex replied.
 
“We’ll put a time limit on the photos so
Dr. Mapleton needs to use the evidence quickly.
 
I still have his and Crystal Bridges
offices bugged for audio and video, so we’ll be able to hear their plan in real
time.
 
We can figure out a way to
use it against them.”

“Genius,” Cole replied.
 
“I’ve been trying to think of a way to
use the video you gave me for months.
 
What will be our fail-safe?”

“I’ll have my ex write a kill
code for the memory stick I load the pictures on.
 
If our plan fails, we’ll initiate it.”