She tapped her finger on the table and held it there. Her eyes looked right at me. They were alert, intelligent, and focused. One of her eyebrows lifted. “What are you going to do, Mr. Kade? You’re a hell of a football player, but that’s all you’re giving us. With all those politics and all that money, why would we choose you over Mr. Sebastian here? Give it to me straight, just like I did with you.” She leaned back and folded her arms over her chest. “Give me a good argument, so we can suspend your brother instead of expelling him.”

My eyebrows bunched forward. They already deemed him guilty. This meeting was about getting Sebastian suspended. Now, she was saying Logan could be saved?

I was taken aback, and so were the others, as their heads snapped to attention, craning to look at Miriam. She wasn’t looking at them, only at me.

She held out her hand to me before folding it back under her arm. “Let’s hear it, Mr. Kade. The floor is yours.”

“Mason.”

Another new voice spoke up, coming into the room. This time, I closed my eyes. My shoulders sagged in relief.

He came up, his hand a comforting weight on my back, as he patted me there before clearing his throat. “May I sit beside my son, please?”

“Oh.” My coach stood abruptly and moved down a seat. “We’ve never met before. I’m Mason’s coach.”

“James Kade.”

They shook hands.

My father turned to the board. “I’d like the boys to both be excused.” He spoke right to the Miriam lady, “I believe I have what you’re asking for.”

Her lips pursed together before lifting into a knowing grin. She waved a finger at the other board members. “I say that’s fine with all of us here. Mason, Park, you both can go to the waiting lounge.”

Sebastian pushed up to his feet but didn’t move from the table. “What is going on here?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.” She gestured to the door. “When your father comes with his checkbook, you’ll let him know that he can contact my office directly. You can leave. Now.” She pinned me down with her gaze. “It was a pleasure, Mr. Kade. I am not bullshitting you when I say that I hope you’ll continue to have a promising future at Cain University and, hopefully, after you go on to your future pursuits. You’re a straight shooter, and we need more of them around here. You could be a real asset for the university.”

I nodded and started for the door.

“Mason,” my dad caught my arm, “don’t leave. I’d like to talk to you after this.”

“You’re going to make them keep Logan, right?”

“Of course.” He nodded. “That’s one thing I’ve always done well over the years. Sam looks ready to cry out there. She needs you.”

That was an understatement. I wanted to hug my dad, an emotion I hadn’t felt for a long time, but I went to the lounge.

Sebastian went ahead of me, so Sam and Nate were on their feet, waiting for me. She was fidgeting with her hands, watching Sebastian with a nervous look through the corner of her eye, before she saw me. Her whole body seemed to pause. Nate, too. They were both waiting to hear the decision.

I said, breaking out into a grin, “My dad will take care of it. Logan will probably just be suspended.”

“But…” Nate turned sharply to Sebastian, who stepped to his group in the far corner.

A bunch of his douchebag pals were there along with their girlfriends. I scanned the room, but there was no sight of his sister.

I said, “No. He’s still here.”

“But…” Nate sputtered some more, his face flushing red. His hands formed into fists before he roughly rubbed at his temples. “This is bullshit, Mason.” He raised his voice, pointing at Sebastian. “This is bullshit, Sebastian.”

His friends rallied around him.

One retorted, “Shove it, Monson. Our deal with you was between you and the house. You brought them in, not us.”

Nate’s arm went back down. “What are you talking about?”

“You left us.”

Another guy said, “You turned your back on us. The shit could’ve been handled in-house, but you didn’t give us a chance to fix the problem. Park gave you an ultimatum, and you left, like a bitch.”

“He was speaking for the house.”

“No,” a new guy, who was taller and bigger, spoke up.

He had a girl pressed against his side. Her arm was hanging off his arm folded over his chest.

“Park doesn’t speak for everyone in the house. He’s got a crew, yes, but not all of us would’ve followed him. You didn’t give us a chance to even decide that though. You ran to him.” He jerked his chin in my direction.

Nate’s eyebrows were permanently locked together. He was staring at the last speaker, almost fixated on him, before he asked, much quieter, “Are you for real? You would’ve backed me up on that issue?”

The big guy scoffed, jerking a shoulder up and down. “You’ll never know now. You’re out, Monson. We’re here to show support to the brother who didn’t hightail it out of the house.”

Nate glanced at me before his eyes slid down to the ground. His head hung there. He was going over everything they’d just said.

Sam pressed against my side, watching the exchange. I felt her trembling, and I swept a hand out to catch her on her hip. I anchored her to me. As soon as I did, her body calmed. She grew firm, as if taking my strength into her.