Page 17 of I Still Love You (Citation Needed)

“Penny!” a high voice said, and I looked up see Heather rushing over to my table. “I’ve been trying to get some time to chat with you all weekend.”

I forced a smile on my face. “You found me, what would you like to talk about?”

The younger woman sat in the open chair next to me and took a sip of her drink. “I’ve been thinking of that new executive director position that WikiAcademia has open.”

I had managed to avoid the professor since the edit-a-thon. Between the vibes I had gotten from her and what Grace had shared, I dreaded what she wanted to talk to me about. I raised an eyebrow and forced a smile on my face. “What about it?”

She leaned closer to me. “There’s a rumor that you’re on the search committee.”

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what that meant, since I had turned down the chance, but I was curious.

“I was talking about it with Mason and Lois Fairfax at dinner last night,” Heather continued when I didn’t respond. “I think Mason was going to apply, but Lois talked him out of it. I don’t know why, but she’s convinced you’d sabotage his chances.”

I pursed my lips, my old anger for Mason’s mentor raging after all these years. Had anyone told Heather about my history on campus? I doubted it, but maybe she was smart enough to figure it out for herself.

“I think he’s really suited to be at a community college, but I could do a lot to help the organization,” Heather said after looking around and lowering her voice.

“That’s an interesting idea,” I said, not wanting to discourage her. I was curious about what she thought about her own experience.

“I wanted to talk with you first because I know it might look bad that I had to miss my session with Mason yesterday,” she added. “Lois asked me to do that to make him look good for the tenure committee.”

“Is someone from the tenure committee here?” I asked, looking around.

Heather shrugged and leaned closer to me. “I don’t know who’s on the committee. Lois really wants to make sure he gets tenure, but she thinks I’d be great for the foundation.” She lowered her voice as if this was something secret between us. “I think you and I both know another man at the helm of this an organization like WikiAcademia isn’t a great idea. Both Lois and I agree that women should lead these organizations. That’s why I missed your session. I had to update and send in my resume, especially after Mason decided to withdraw his. Obviously, he knew you and Lois would back me.”

I felt my smile waver. Lois Fairfax was still trying to manipulate Mason’s life and, by extension, mine. She was allowing Heather to think that the three of us wanted the same end. It angered me that Lois was using the shield of feminist camaraderie to manipulate Heather too. Now I was regretting saying no to being on the search committee. If Mason had changed his mind, then there was no conflict of interest for me, and every fiber of my being now wanted to make sure this woman didn’t take a position that Mason was perfect for. Except I had refused and it would look suspicious if I changed my mind.

“I say apply,” I told her, knowing I was in no position to keep her from doing it. “What have you got to lose?”

Heather perked up. “I knew you would agree with me! Lois was worried that your opinion of Mason would tarnish your opinion of all the faculty. You’re so encouraging and helpful.”

My smile fell to a sneer as Heather walked away with a bounce in her step. I had to trust Cooper to see through her. There was no way she had anywhere near the experience necessary to be an executive director.

“You seem to be making friends with Heather,” a voice said from a few feet away.

I turned to see Denise walking over. I hadn’t been able to spend any time with her since the edit-a-thon.

“How was your day?” I asked, looking to talk about anything other than Mason and Heather.

“Not as fun as I’ve heard about yours,” the librarian said as she sat in the seat Heather had just vacated. “Everyone is chatting about Mason’s comments during your session. They seem to think he’s annoyed that you got the job over him.”

“He didn’t apply for my job,” I said, drawing my eyebrows together.

“He talked about it with a few people, so they assume he did,” Denise said with a shrug.

“Why?” I asked, now curious. The search for the new executive director had taken a few months. If Mason had considered applying for it, then maybe he wasn’t as passive as I feared.

Denise leaned closer. “He told me leading EncycloWiki would be exciting, but it was all politics and not working with people. He still dreams of the plan you once created together.”

That made my heart ache. Our dream had to been to build WikiAcademia and I had helped do that without him. Now he had to watch others live his dream from inside as a professor who utilized those services. Why was he letting my anger keep him from that dream?

“What did Heather want?” Denise asked when I didn’t respond.

I considered what to share. Denise had to work with these people and Lois was her boss. I hadn’t ever looked to her for gossip. She had been nothing but supportive when I was a student and excited about the work we had done together. I decided to share the details of the WikiAcademia job and the drama happening around it. I was sure she wasn’t ignorant of what happened on campus and maybe she could provide some insight I couldn’t get otherwise.

“Things are worse between him and Lois than I realized,” she said when I was done. “She’s actively sabotaging him. He’d be perfect for the WikiAcademia job. It’s too bad you have so much bad blood between you. Heather’s energetic, but not ready for a job like that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought about everything that had happened over the past few days. I knew I shouldn’t get involved, but it was hard to resist the urge. Mason needed someone looking out for his needs too. Lois was still trying to mold him into her image. It only hurt him that she disliked me so much.