23. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Viktor

Sitting in one of the chairs on the other side of President Ghoram's desk, I pick at a loose thread on my designer jeans. When the door opens, I glance up, a smirk tugging at my lips as my mother strides in like she owns the place. Her Louboutins click on the hardwood, her gray suit perfectly tailored.

She perches her sunglasses atop her sleek updo, shooting a razor-sharp smile at my head coach. "It's been a long time, Coach Nieminen. Almost didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

Wait, what?

My head whips around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash, my gaze bouncing between her and Coach like I'm watching a tennis match. When did she see him naked? Unless . . . No fucking way!

I burst out laughing, doubling over in my chair. Rinne, who's standing next to me, scrunches his face up like a confused pug.

"Seems the Titans' coaches enjoy sticking it to my children," Mom says as she slides into the seat next to me.

Oh, man. This is gold. I always wondered why my dad looked like he was seconds away from strangling Nieminen, who, at the moment, looks like he wants the floor to swallow him whole.

Ghoram loudly clears his throat, annoyance etched into every line of his doughy face. "If we could please focus on the matter at hand . . ."

Everyone turns to face the older, thickset man. He steeples his sausage fingers, beady eyes narrowing. "Mrs. Novotny, your son set fire to my car. Not only was this destruction of property, but he put others in danger. Students and staff could've been seriously hurt. As it is, those who were in the immediate vicinity have some respiratory issues."

I roll my eyes so hard it hurts. "Oh, please. It was barely a campfire."

My mother ignores me, appearing calm as always. "What is it you want, Mr. Ghoram? The police have not arrested him, so what is it you're after?"

The older man sits straighter, puffing out his chest. "We all know when it comes to eighty percent of the student population, going to the police will do nothing, not with the lawyers you have at your disposal. What I want is Viktor gone, expelled from the university and from the hockey team."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Expel me?"

"You're a menace. One that doesn't belong in my school."

I sit tall in the chair, spine straight, and shoot the bastard a matter-of-fact grin. "Let's all be clear here. I wasn't nearly as unhinged as I could've been, and you should all need to be thankful for that. Like, I could've barbequed him along with the car."

Rinne slaps me upside the head. "Not helping your case, dumbass."

"Well, he shouldn't have fired—"

My mother holds up her hand, cutting me off. "Viktor will face consequences. But expulsion is off the table. Surely, we can come to an agreement."

Nieminen clears his throat, then steps forward. "We need him on the team. He was an integral part in this university winning the championship last year."

"Coach Nieminen, this university has had enough issues with the hockey team lately. Between the coaches and the players, and from what I just overheard, you seem to have broken the university rules as well."

"Wrong, fucktard. My sister doesn't go here."

Water splashes onto my hand, Rinne coughing and choking behind me. "Your sister?"

I quirk a brow with a huge grin plastered on my face. "Oh, yeah. It's a hell of a story. I'll fill you in later."

Mom slaps the back of my head this time, her glare promising retribution. "You. Mouth shut. Now."

I mime zipping my lips, but I can't quite wipe away the smirk.

President Ghoram's looking more apoplectic by the second, his ruddy face verging on purple. "Mrs. Novotny, your son—"

She drums her blood-red nails on the armrest, the rhythmic tapping making Ghoram twitch, leveling him with an icy stare. "Let me stop you right there. You do remember who pays that fat salary you receive. Your wife has become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. It would be a shame for all of it to just go away."

Oh, snap.

But President Ghoram's not backing down. He leans forward, jabbing a finger in her direction. "And let me make myself clear. If you fight me on removing Viktor, I will press charges. I'll make his antics public, even to the NHL. I doubt any team will want to sign such a troublemaker, especially with his . . . dramatic proclivities."

I suck in a sharp breath. Is this asshole really threatening my future? Oh, I'll show him a fucking troublemaker—.

My mother's hand stills on the armrest. Uh, oh. I know that look, the one that precedes ruination.

I'm out of my chair and across the room before Ghoram can blink, pulling Rinne with me to the relative safety of the far corner. Nieminen, the brave bastard, doesn't move.

His funeral.

She rises from her seat with deadly grace, eyes locked on Ghoram like a shark scenting blood as she leans across the mahogany desk. "I don't take kindly to anyone threatening my children. So, here is what's going to happen. You will drop this nonsense about your car. And you will also reinstate Beckett Harper's job. Immediately."

"That man was having sexual relations with your son. This university prohibits all consensual relationships between faculty and undergraduate students, regardless of whether a faculty member has ever had teaching, evaluative, or other supervisory authority over the student. We believe that relationships between faculty and undergraduates are never truly consensual—even when both are adults—because of the inherent power differential."

Coach Nieminen pulls an iPad mini from his jacket, taps the screen, then places it on the desk before taking a step back.

The unmistakable sounds of two people going at it fill the room. Ghoram's eyes bulge as he stares at the screen, all color draining from his face.

Mom smiles, slow and shark-like. "While Beckett and my son are two consenting adults in a relationship, you bending your niece over this very desk is another matter entirely. Incest, I believe, is quite illegal in this state."

Holy shit.

Think my eyes are about to pop out of my skull, and Rinne looks like he's about to have an aneurysm.

"Fix this mess, Mr. Ghoram. Reinstate Beckett Harper and sweep that nasty car incident under the rug, or that video makes its way to the school board. And your wife," she says, voice dripping with false sympathy.

Ghoram's Adam's apple bobs as he swallows convulsively, a vein throbbing in his forehead. But I can see it in his eyes—he's beat and he knows it.

As the two hash out the details, Rinne elbows me in the side. I glance over at him, brows raised.

"You need to call him. He's freaking out."

My palm rubs over the center of my chest, trying to chase away the ache. I've gotten Beckett's messages and heard the worry in his voice. Well, except that last one.

That one made my dick hard.

"Once we're done here that's exactly where I'm going."

Rinne steps in front of me, his eyes hard, jaw set. "Listen to me. He loves you. Like really fucking loves you, Viktor. So, I swear to motherfucking God, this better not be some game where you toss him aside because you finally hooked him."

I narrow my eyes, trying to appear threatening, but I just end up smiling so hard my damn cheeks hurt. Mostly, because someone else is confirming how much Becks loves me, and while he tells me, there's something about hearing someone else say it that makes it real.

The other reason is because I'm happy my boyfriend has a friend willing to get in my face to protect him.

"Did you not see the Audi br?lée I created in the parking lot? It was a spectacle. People posting it got hundreds of thousands of views." I punch him in the shoulder. "I love him too, Coach. Not ever letting him go."

Not sure how much time passes, but eventually my mother jerks her head and I pop off the wall following her out. She pauses at the door to level one last imperious look at Ghoram. "I meant what I said about not taking kindly to people threatening my children."

She pulls out her phone and clicks on the screen a few times. "Good luck."

I scramble after her when she sweeps out of the office, wanting to know what she just did, even though deep down I already do. "Mom?"

"Come, time for me to meet this boyfriend of yours."