“If you’re sorry, you’ll stay away from me and tell that jerkface Tino to stop making up lies. I didn’t steal anything from you.” He actually stops coming toward me, and there’s a confused look on his face.
“Tino?”
“Oh sorry. I thought your class was over,” a man says from the doorway.
“Alvin, could you—”
“Thank you for your time, Dr. Davis. I know it’s priceless.” I surprise myself with my own jab as I put my bag over my shoulder and rush for the door. The man in the doorway steps aside, letting me make my escape.
He let me go this time, but I don’t think it will be for long.
Chapter Eight
Reese
“What the fuck did you do?”
“Hello to you too, cuz.”
“I’m serious, Tino.”
“First of all, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Second, why do you sound so pissed?”
I rub the heel of my hand on the back of my eyes as I click through the computer database. “I’m talking about what happened Saturday night. Olson was supposed to take care of everything, and we were supposed to be hands off. Why is it I’m hearing that you’re involved?”
“Oh.” There’s a long silence, and I hear him talking to someone else that must be near him. It’s a minute later when I hear a door shut, and he hisses into the phone. “Neva is on my ass to press charges.”
“Press charges for what, Tino? You’re the one that started the fight, and there are about a dozen witnesses.” I let out a sharp breath. “You didn’t tell your fiancée the whole story, did you?” The pause after my question gives me my answer. “Shit ,Tino, what did you tell her?”
“That the strippers stole all our money and the bouncers tried to kick us out for getting it back.”
“Why would you tell her that!” Someone walking past my office glances in, and I have to remember to keep it quiet. “Why the fuck would you tell her that?” I ask more calmly.
“I guess she saw how much cash I took with me, but I told her we weren’t going to a strip club. Then when I called her to bail us out and she found out why, she got pissed. I had to come up with something.” He pauses and whispers into the phone. “Oh, by the way, if she asks, it was your idea to go.”
“Tino.” I say his name like a curse.
“Look, one day when you’ve got a Puerto Rican fiancée that carries a blade, you tell me how honest you are with her.”
“This is no way to start a marriage.” I put my face in my hands.
“Eh.” I can practically hear him shrug. “That pussy is so damn good, it’s worth losing my balls over.”
“All right, listen, don’t say fucking shit to anyone at the club anymore. Do you understand me?”
“I guess.” He sighs. “But I’ve got to tell Neva something.”
A growl forms in the back of my throat as I email our financial advisor. “Tell her they gave the money back and it’s been handled. Then take her on a weekend trip before the wedding.” I click on the keyboard and then hit send. “I just had the money wired directly to her, so she can see it.”
“You saved my ass, cuz.” I can tell he’s smiling by the sound of his voice.
“Just keep out of this until it blows over.” I shake my head. “And for fuck’s sake, stop lying to Neva, or I’m going to ask to borrow her blade.”
“Got it,” he says cheerfully. “Later, cuz.” I hear his voice in the distance before he hangs up. “Hey, Neva! Grab your bikini, we're going to the Bahamas!”
I roll my eyes as I end the call. I love my cousin, but he’s such a damn drama queen.
Once I take care of that and email our attorney, Olson, I go back to searching the school directory. I have her first and last name on my student list, but this university is so big, it’s taking forever to load all the pages.
Finally after what feels like an eternity, the page for Heidi Miller comes up, and I scroll down for her information. It shows that she has a small scholarship, with only this semester's tuition paid. When I look at her financials, it just shows her as sole earner with zero dependents. There’s no phone number listed, but there is an address. I write it down on a piece of paper and then scan the file one more time just to be sure. There’s almost nothing on her besides these few small facts, and it’s worrisome. Most students have several pages, yet Heidi’s could be summarized in a paragraph.
Does she not have any other family? She has no income listed, and no past employment. I can understand not putting the club down because that might be embarrassing, but there’s nothing before that. It’s like she didn’t exist before she came here, and now I’ve got more questions than answers.