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My mind drifts to Raina when I’m alone in my room, and my heart constricts at the thought of her. She doesn’t want anything to do with me, but I guess I deserve that. I didn’t mean for it to go that far. I get why she wants nothing to do with me.
Hell, how many times did I not want anything to do with me, too?
My chest hurts like someone physically ripped out my heart, and I feel a strange burning sensation at my center, like I’m a raging fire, out of control, and I’m about to consume myself.
People have walked away from me my entire life. It’s never bothered me. Half the time, I was fucking glad to see them go. But this time? I can’t deal with Raina walking away.
I want to be a part of her journey, and I want to see her build a better life for herself. Hell, I want to be involved. I want to help her do it. I want to talk to her, and I want to help her get this college shit figured out so that she can move forward with her life, even if it means she doesn’t want me.
I realize that’s exactly what this is. I’m willing to help her and wish her well, even if it means it’s without me. I want to help her, and Ican.
I’m Stone fucking Giles. If I can’t make this happen, no one can.
I walk to the dean’s offices. His secretary tells me he’s busy, but I storm past her anyway.
“You can’t go in there!” she cries out, but I push the office door open.
The dean is behind his desk, talking on the phone. When he sees me, he ends the call quickly.
“It’s okay, Maggie,” he says to the secretary who’s in a flat panic that someone got by her. “You can close the door.” She does as she’s asked, and I’m in the office with the dean, alone.
“How are you, Allan?” I ask, calling him by his first name. I sit down opposite him and cross one leg over the other, my arms on the armrests, casual, comfortable.
“Mr. Giles, what can I do for you?”
“I need you to enroll someone for me.”
“What?”
I explain who Raina is, that she’s had a tough time with her dad and that she wants to get her life on track. When I’m done, Allan shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, Stone, I can’t do that. What do you think will happen if every sad story in the country allowed for late entry? We’re almost two months into the term.”
“I know, but she’ll catch up.”
“How?”
“Let me handle it. I’ll pay her fees right now; it won’t be any trouble to you.”
Allan shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Giles. I want to, but my hands are tied. How do I explain this to the board?”
I sigh and interlink my fingers in front of me.
“Do I need to remind you of what our family has done for this college? I don’t think you’ve forgotten about the sizeable donations you’ve received so far.”
“They’re not supposed to be used as leverage,” Allan says. I know he’s right—using the help my dad offers the school to force Allan’s hand isn’t how it works. But nothing is how it should be these days. I break rules, I use my position to get what I want, and I’m not going to lose a minute’s sleep over this.
“I know, I know. And you’re absolutely right, it’s wrong of me to use that against you.”
Allan relaxes a little.
“It’s such a pity those funds aren’t coming in anymore, but maybe it’s easier to explain to the board how the funding dried up than explaining how a new student appeared in the middle of the term.”
Allan’s face pales again as I talk, and he seems almost ashen now.
“You can’t pull the funding,” he says.
“Why not? I thought ‘donations’ were voluntary. They’re not something you can rely on, Allan. You can only hope, and sometimes, hope dries up.”
