Jax's muscles were locked as his hands balled into fists so tight that it made his knuckles crack. The room seemed to tilt as Jax's thoughts splintered.
'No. No he did not. He did not bring hime here. He has no right. No fucking right.'
But the man smiled faintly, as if this was all perfectly natural. As if he hadn't walked out on Jax and his mother years ago.
"Hello, Jackson."
Jax shot to his feet and his chair scraped loudly across the floor. The sound made Grace flinch. Ms. Harper looked like she wanted to disappear, even Callahan stiffened.
But Jax didn't move toward his father, he just stood there like a live wire that was seconds from snapping. "You don't get to call me that.
Mr. Duncan stood ready to intervene if necessary, but it was Jax's father who held up his hands calmly as if patronizing, "I'm here because they asked for your guardian. That's still me. Legally."
Then Jax laughed, it was ugly with a mixture of pain., "You stopped being that a long time ago."
The people in the room watched the exchange like a car crash that was in slow motion.
Grace's chest tightened, she'd come in thinking Jax was just reckless and arrogant even after hearing his story from Rowan but now she was rethinking everything bad she ever thought about Jax. It all stemmed from his father.
Jax looked broken and betrayed and alone. But it didn't make him any less dangerous. If anything, it made him so strong.
Mr. Duncan cleared his throat, trying to take control again, "Let's all sit down."
Jax didn't stand for long, then he sank back into his chair silently with a rigid face. His eyes were locked on the man who ruined everything.
Grace sat stiffly beside her mother and father, their polished appearances a stark contrast to the unraveling chaos.
Jax leaned back in his chair, an unreadable mask on his face, but his fists were clenched on his laps, betraying the rage that shimmered beneath him.
His father sat beside him now, and it was unnervingly calm, as if the entire debacle was a business meeting.
Professor Callahan now leaned against the bookshelf near the window as he quietly observed.
Then the Principal moved forward, "There's one more issue to address."
Grace blinked with a confused look as her parents glanced at her, then at Jax. Jax stared straight ahead as Callahan anticipated with silence and Jax's father simply crossed his legs.
"Mr. Reed was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a member of staff."
Then a chill swept through the room as the heart of Grace stuttered making her mother inhale sharply.
"What do you mean inappropriate?" Mrs. Monroe asked with curiosity, she wanted to know the dirt.
Mr. Duncan didn't hesitate, he had done this too many times before, but to him, this wasn't just scandalous, it was catastrophic, "We also have video evidence confirming Mr. Reed engaged in sexual activity with Ms. Harper."
Mrs. Monroe gasped as her hand fled to her mouth and Grace stared blankly at Jax, she felt sorry for him. It was all too much even when he thought Jax did the wrong thing.
Mr. Monroe rose halfway from his chair as his veins bulged at his temple, "That woman! She was supposed to-! How the hell did this happen?!"
The eyes of Jax shifted but he didn't defend himself. He didn't know how to explain. What could he even say? He knows exactly how it happened and exactly how much it was destroying him now.
Ms. Harper shifted uncomfortably with a pale face, her hands wringing tightly on her lap. Her career was already over, she knew it.
Mr. Duncan raised his hand to calm the murmur, "Mr. Monroe, please. This is already being handled."
And Jax's father was just silent.
'Why isn't he surprised?' Jax asked himself inwardly.
Mr. Reed leaned forward lazily, "I imagine Ms. Harper will be terminated immediately."
His tone was smooth, polished and it sounded like he was almost bored. And Mr. Duncan nodded slightly. "Yes. Effective Immediately."
Callahan's lips twitched with the faintest hint of a smile, like everything was unfolding exactly how he and Derrick had planned.
Grace suddenly noticed it when she looked at Callahan. His calculating gleam in his eyes. Like a spider watching two flies wrestling in his web, and she became suspicious of him at that very moment. Come to think of it, he appeared quite frequently nowadays whenever there was any controversy.
---
"You're going to suspend my daughter for this?! Over a prank video?! She said she didn't even use those answers!" Mr. Monroe stepped in quickly.
"Can the school please check her exam paper to prove she didn't use the answers?" Mrs. Monroe pleaded.
The Principal nodded slowly, weighing on their options, as his gaze shifted between Grace and Jax's father, then back to Callahan. The room was full of powerful people, who didn't want a scandal bleeding into their reputations.
And Grace's mother was a member of the campus charity committee with the help of her husband's funds too. So was Jax's father, who had just been newly minted, conveniently days ago.
The Principal let out a long breath, "Given the circumstances... Grace will be left off with a warning. Pending confirmation of her exam integrity."
Grace sagged with relief and her mother with her look of pretense, placed a hand on her arm as she squeezed tightly, but her father still seethed.
"As for Jax Reed," Jax lifted his chin slightly as he waited for the axe to fall, "Given that he was still a minor victim in this situation with Ms. Harper-" Then Jax flinched, Victim? He hated that word. "He will not face legal charges from the university. However, his behavior can not go unaddressed."
Jax's father glanced sideways at him like he was about to say something but he didn't.
"Both Jax Reed and Grace Monroe are suspended for a month."
Then Ms. Harper's breath hitched audibly, "And Ms. Harper...you are dismissed from your duties. Effective immediately."
She didn't argue and neither did she cry, she just nodded once and slowly, as if she lnew it was already going to end this way.
Jax sat stone still his hands trembling but no one noticed, 'You did this, you let it happen and now you're letting someone else pay for it.'
Suddenly, Callahan cleared his throat, "Perhaps we should keep this quiet for the sake of the university."
The irony was shocking. He was the reason it wasn't quiet. He and Derrick made sure of that.
The Principal agreed with Callahan's suggestion as he nodded and the room settled like the dust after an explosion and Jax finally turned to Grace as they locked their eyes.
Then the door creaked open, the meeting was finally over but Jax and Grace had more to worry about more than just the suspension. There's a reason why this happened. And now that they were going to be locked up at home, what were Callahan and Derrick going to do?