R. Hunter - Undone

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I know how the school procedures work. It’s just what they do.”

“How can you be so calm about all of this? Aren’t you worried?”

He stroked his hand over her hair and placed a kiss on her head. “Of course I’m worried, baby. But one of us has to be calm. I don’t want anything jeopardizing your future, including me.” Luke slipped a finger under her chin, bringing her eyes to his. “We knew this was a possibility. I thought we were in the clear with the semester being over, but apparently we’re not. So all we can do is figure out what our options are and prepare you for that meeting. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed.

And prepare they did. Luke pulled up copies of the university’s conduct code and disciplinary procedures online and read through them until he could practically recite them from memory. He came up with every question he thought Embry might be faced with in front of the review board, and he quizzed her until she was comfortable with each answer, repeating them automatically.

“When did we first meet?”

“When you took over for Professor Coleman.”

“Had you seen me before that?”

“If you were around campus, I didn’t notice.”

“Do you ever speak to me outside of school?”

“Yes. We communicate by phone regarding our research.”

“Have I ever been inappropriate with you?”

“Of course not. You’re my professor.”

“Did I offer you any special help with assignments?”

“No, never.”

“Did you do anything to gain favor with me in class? To persuade me to alter your grade?”

“Other than study hard and be prepared for class, I’ve done nothing that would give me an unfair advantage over the other students in my class.”

Embry lay in Luke’s bed the night before the hearing, snuggled in his arms as he breathed evenly, sound asleep. His family had already gone home, and she was left alone with her thoughts. She went over all of the possible outcomes of the hearing—expulsion, probation, failure, Luke losing his job. Each of those things worried her, but she realized that as much as she didn’t want any of those things to happen, she’d be okay as long as she didn’t lose Luke. They’d get through it. They’d be okay, as long as they had each other.

She snuggled closer, her thoughts wandering. What if she had met Luke in a different place or time? As she lay there, asking herself those questions, she realized that she wouldn’t change a thing. She would risk everything to protect what they had. She could survive without law school but not without Luke.

Embry stood in front of the bathroom mirror the next morning. She dressed business casual in a black pencil skirt, white button-down, and gray cardigan. Her hair was tamed and pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her makeup was muted.

Luke came up behind her, brought his arms around her waist and placed a light kiss on her cheek. “You look perfect. Stop worrying. It’s going to be okay.”

She turned in his arms to stare up into his eyes for some sign that he was lying, but all she saw was sincerity. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“I do. Just do exactly what we practiced. Don’t deviate. Deny everything and get as much information from them as possible.”

Embry took a deep, calming breath. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Then come home to me. We’re going to have an amazing New Year far away from all of this.”

Embry rested her forehead on his chest, trying to compose herself. She looked at him, her eyes foggy with unshed tears. “That sounds amazing.”

“It will be. I promise.”

She pushed up onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling back, she looked over his business suit. “Where are you going looking so dapper? I thought you had the day off.”

“I do. Just have some running around to do and loose ends to tie up before our trip.”

“All right.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you. Wish me luck.”

“I know.” He gave her that gorgeous Luke smile and a smack on the ass as he walked her to the door. “I love you too, beautiful. Good luck. Give ‘em hell.”

Embry walked out the door to face the firing squad alone.

This can’t be happening. That thought ran on a constant loop through her head as she sat in the cold, uninviting classroom, the smell of antiseptic invading her nostrils. A shiver crept up her spine, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the temperature or her nerves. Maybe both. She sat on a hard plastic chair, hands gripped in her lap, her foot tapping furiously against the linoleum. The anticipation was killing her. She studied the three people at the front of the room, their heads bent together as they whispered amongst themselves.

Her heart thumped in her chest, the dull thud echoing in her ears as she sat silently, waiting. Her head swam, and she struggled to keep herself afloat instead of drowning in the anxiety that threatened to pull her under. She strained forward, hoping to catch even a small piece of their hushed conversation, but all she could hear was the shallow murmur of their voices. She wanted to get it over with. Like a Band-Aid, it would hurt either way. Might as well make it quick. She’d had to pick up the pieces of her broken life and move on once before. But she couldn’t do it again, not after all of her hard work. She wouldn’t accept it, she couldn’t.

How did this happen? They’d been careful. Hadn’t they been careful? She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried in vain to think of something, anything else.

The older gentleman on the end cleared his throat, pulling her from her thoughts. “Miss Jacobs?”

She looked up at the members of the university’s disciplinary committee, taking them in one at a time. She straightened her back and lifted her chin, hoping the outward display of confidence would give her some semblance of the same feeling on the inside. That was shot to hell as soon as she opened her mouth. “Y-yes, sir?” she answered, her voice trembling.

“Do you know why you’re here?” the other man asked, his eyes kind.

“No, sir.” She shook her head, but she was pretty sure she had an idea.

“Let me tell you,” the older man interjected, opening the folder in front of him. He explained the purpose of the hearing and the university’s policies regarding disciplinary sanctions.

She sat back, rubbing her palms on her pants and trying to calm down. As she listened to his words, she was hit with a rush of emotion so strong it almost bowled her over. Good. Bad. Happy. Sad. Betrayal. Rage. Shock. Relief. Relief? She fought to keep focused on the seriousness of the situation before her as a litany of memories assaulted her consciousness.

Everything she’d prepared for, all of the anguish she’d put herself and Luke through in the last forty-eight hours … none of it mattered. She was free.

That wasn’t entirely true, of course. She was still sitting in front of the review board and defending her name, but it was for an entirely different reason. The board was investigating her for plagiarizing another student’s work in her final memorandum. Tessa Vaughn, to be exact.

After all of those backward looks and the gut feelings Embry couldn’t shake, it all made sense. The girl had stolen her final memo and pawned it off as her own. Of course, she’d changed words and phrases here or there, but when their professor reviewed their memos, she had no choice but to notify the dean.

“Do you have a response, Miss Jacobs?” the older man asked.

“Yes sir.” She sat up straight, her chin held high. “This accusation is unequivocally false. The words were my own. I don’t know how Miss Vaughn gained access to my memorandum, but I can assure you that I am the original author. I printed out and saved all of my research. I can probably quote directly from the paper, that is how well I know my own work.”

“Did you have any contact with Miss Vaughn in which you discussed the final memorandum for your class?”

“Yes, I did.” Embry recounted their conversation in the library for the committee members. It was then that she realized how Tessa got her memo. “Actually, I believe I do know how Miss Vaughn accessed my work.”

“Please, enlighten us,” the woman, who had so far remained silent, said.

“I was in a study group with Miss Vaughn and Jeremy Price. We spent a lot of time in the library together. I remember a particular day when I received a phone call and had to leave the library. I had been working on my memo, and I left my computer on the desk in the library to take the call. That’s the only time that I can imagine her having any possible way to access my files.”

“We’ll have to verify all of the information you’ve given us, Miss Jacobs,” said the older gentleman. “We have yet to meet with Miss Vaughn. However, your legal writing professor, when comparing the memorandum to your earlier assignments, believed this paper fit your writing style and was far more advanced than anything Miss Vaughn had written.”

Embry wanted to jump up and down, but she kept her composure, nodding politely. “Thank you, sir.”

“You can go for now. We’ll meet with Miss Vaughn and investigate further. You will be advised of our decision shortly.”

Embry nodded, thanked the committee members once more, and left the room. She pulled her phone from her purse and sent a quick text to Luke.

Total fluke, had nothing to do with us! Jeremy’s crazy bitch of a gf stole my memo! Have to stop in to see Coleman. Talk soon. Love you!