Chapter 25

Ben

I was nervous. No, more than nervous. I was on my way to the main building of the campus to meet with the president. She was a nice woman but very stern and always about business. She had a lot on her plate running the entire university, and I knew this revelation was not going to be something that came easily. I had to see her, though, and we decided I would be the best person because I’d had meetings with her before about other things. She knew my face and was familiar with my time at the college. She didn’t really pay any attention to the professors unless there was an issue or she was giving them tenure. I had been part of a new student reorganization the year before, which was the only way I had gotten her audience then. This time, it was a little bit different.

I was on my way to tell her that the two people who ran her school on a daily basis were running a sexual assault ring right under her nose. People like the president of an Ivy League school didn’t really like to be told that something that big has been going on right under their noses. I had to tell her, though. It was imperative that we stopped this from happening before more lives were ruined. I had been granted a thirty-minute emergency meeting with her in her office, which was a huge deal. It usually took at least six months to meet with her, and that was if she even allowed the meeting to be scheduled in the first place. I was highly uneasy about going alone, but I knew with everything that had been happening with Grant and me lately that it would be a distraction to have us both at the meeting.

It wasn’t easy to get this meeting. I had pulled a whole lot of strings and called in a favor. One of the tenured professors had to start by putting the bug in her ear that I was trying to set up an interview. Once that was done, I’d spent two hours on the phone throughout the afternoon the day before, trying to get an immediate audience with her. In the end, I had to tell the secretary the gist of what was going on. As soon as the words came out of my lips, she put me on hold and went to talk to the president. When she had come back, she’d had an emergency appointment ready for me but warned me that I’d better be coming with some good evidence or I could lose more than just the president’s respect. I understood that and would have never thought of going to her with the information if I didn’t have that to begin with.

“President Dyson will see you now,” the secretary said, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Thank you,” I replied, standing and walking into the office.

“Professor,” the president said, shaking my hand. “Please have a seat. We don’t have long, so let’s just get down to the details.”

“I agree.” I nodded my head.

“These are statements from over twenty young women under your care who are explaining the relationship they have with the dean and provost,” I said, handing her a file. “I won’t read them aloud as they contain graphic and personal information.”

I sat there and watched as she read through each of the letters, her eyes growing big but the rest of her expression staying steady. When she was done, she took in a deep breath and closed the file. She looked at me for a moment before speaking.

“How did you find out this was happening?”

“Well, besides seeing these girls coming and going from the dean’s business building office, Miss Kylie Cook came to me after being propositioned,” I said. “She was told that all of the investigation of her relationship with me and Grant would be dropped if she would sleep with them every week until graduation. The allegations were false, of course, but when she came to me, she was frightened. Her statement is in that folder as well.”

“This evidence is disturbing,” she said leaning back in her chair.

“I also have a recording of Miss Cook’s last meeting with the two of them,” I said, setting my phone on the desk and pressing play. “I have also emailed you two different copies of this recording.”

She sat and listened as the dean and provost propositioned her, talked about sleeping with other students in a vulgar manner, and set up a time and date with her. I could see the despair move across the president’s face, and I knew this did more than just anger her. She stopped the recording and picked up her phone, instructing her secretary to clear her schedule for the day.

“I have to admit, professor, I was reluctant to take this meeting,” she said. “With all the drama centered around you, Professor Ross, and Miss Cook, I felt this might be a ploy to get out of whatever trouble you thought you might be in.”

“I understand that,” I said shaking my head. “I want you to understand, not only are those allegations false, but also this situation was too dire of one to ignore, regardless of the accusations against us. I fear for the students of this school being run by two men who have not only abandoned their morals and principles but have turned our student body into nothing more than a pool for them to pick from. I have seen the faces of these girls, the tears, the depression, and the fear. Beyond my career, both Professor Ross and I along with all the young women in that folder felt it was important to come forward.”

“I am blown away by the evidence you have presented me,” she said, shaking her head. “I have known the dean and provost my entire career, and I can’t help but feel responsible. I put them both in those positions, never thinking they would do something like this. Normally, the college would want to handle a situation like this discreetly, but I am not sure that will be possible. The crimes that have been committed are beyond reprehensible, and I must see justice is done. Do you know if this is the extent?”

“I don’t have definitive proof, no,” I said. “But after talking with the girls, I’m almost positive there are other victims. Some still students, some alumni, and some students who quit before they graduated. I also believe there are a couple of students who may have been pushed out when they refused to agree to the terms the dean and provost had laid out for them. It will take an outreach program, therapy program, and public statement to find all of the victims involved in this case, unfortunately.”

“That’s what I figured,” she said with a sigh. “I will tell you this much. I will be firing them both immediately. I have to take a moment and decide what other actions and in which order to do them in. I can’t sit with this information. It incriminates me and this college. I want to thank you for taking the chance and collecting all this information. You, Professor Ross, and Kylie won’t be hearing from us again about that photo unless something else occurs. I do urge you, if even a small part of those allegations were true, to make sure they aren’t any longer.”

“I understand,” I said, nodding and standing.

“You will hear from me soon.” She shook my hand and walked me out of her office.

I nodded at the secretary as I left the main building, my heart still beating wildly in my chest. I couldn’t believe she took that as well as she did. I was terrified it was going to come back and bite me in the ass. I looked down at my watch and headed over to the campus café to grab a sandwich before heading back for office hours. I had been so pent-up that morning, I hadn’t even drunk my normal cup of coffee. When I arrived back at the business building an hour later, there were police and a bunch of reporters everywhere. The president was standing at the top of the staircase talking with some officials of the school, waiting to speak. She had wasted no time jumping on this and had taken my advice to make a public statement. I waited, wanting to hear what she had to say. She looked out into the crowd, catching my eye and nodding.

“Ladies and gentleman of the press,” the president said into the mics. “I would like to start out by thanking you all for joining us on such short notice. In a matter of minutes, you will be witnessing our now former dean, Jeffrey Morris and Provost Arthur Hopkins leaving the building in police custody. It has come to our attention that these two men have allegedly been running an illegal and repulsive sex abuse ring from inside their offices. We have much evidence to sort through in the coming days, and we will keep you updated as to the status of the case. In the meantime, I am calling out to any young ladies who may have ever been propositioned for sexual favors with these two men. Any student who has a connection to this event will be kept safe and anonymous within our ranks. The number you can use to contact us will be posted on the front page of our website, or you can come to my office at any time during normal operating hours, even without an appointment. That is all the information I have for you at this time.”

She stepped down from the podium, and the sheriff stepped up, fielding the million questions the press had. Flashes started to pop out of the crowd as the doors to the business building opened, and the dean and provost were led down the stairs and into police cars. As Jeffrey stood, waiting to get into the car, he looked over at me, his eyes narrow. I smirked, nodding my head at him before turning my eyes back to the sheriff. These bastards were going to get exactly what they deserved. As I listened, Kylie popped up next to me, staring up at the podium.

“We did it,” she whispered, touching my arm.

I took a step to the side, remembering exactly what the president had warned me. As much as I wanted to figure out the baby situation, I knew being seen with Kylie in public was a really bad idea. I looked over at her and nodded.

“Yeah, I know,” I said before turning and walking away from her.

I climbed the steps of the building and disappeared inside, not able to look back at Kylie’s face. The baby was more than I could handle, but I’d never wanted to hurt her like I was doing. It was unintentional, but I didn’t know what else to do at that point. I was lost for words every time I was around her, and whether she understood it or not, part of what I was doing was protecting her as well. With her being pregnant, it was even more important than ever that she stay in school and finish. I did not want to be the hand that sent her to expulsion. I knew I looked like the bad guy, and I may very well have been the bad guy, but I had to do what I thought was right. I had to keep going until I could figure out everything without the president breathing down my neck.