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Embry took a deep, calming breath. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Then come home to me. We’re going to have an amazing New Year far away from all of this.”

Embry rested her forehead on his chest, trying to compose herself. She looked at him, her eyes foggy with unshed tears. “That sounds amazing.”

“It will be. I promise.”

She pushed up onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling back, she looked over his business suit. “Where are you going looking so dapper? I thought you had the day off.”

“I do. Just have some running around to do and loose ends to tie up before our trip.”

“All right.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you. Wish me luck.”

“I know.” He gave her that gorgeous Luke smile and a smack on the ass as he walked her to the door. “I love you too, beautiful. Good luck. Give ‘em hell.”

Embry walked out the door to face the firing squad alone.

36

This can’t be happening. That thought ran on a constant loop through her head as she sat in the cold, uninviting classroom, the smell of antiseptic invading her nostrils. A shiver crept up her spine, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the temperature or her nerves. Maybe both. She sat on a hard plastic chair, hands gripped in her lap, her foot tapping furiously against the linoleum. The anticipation was killing her. She studied the three people at the front of the room, their heads bent together as they whispered amongst themselves.

Her heart thumped in her chest, the dull thud echoing in her ears as she sat silently, waiting. Her head swam, and she struggled to keep herself afloat instead of drowning in the anxiety that threatened to pull her under. She strained forward, hoping to catch even a small piece of their hushed conversation, but all she could hear was the shallow murmur of their voices. She wanted to get it over with. Like a Band-Aid, it would hurt either way. Might as well make it quick. She’d had to pick up the pieces of her broken life and move on once before. But she couldn’t do it again, not after all of her hard work. She wouldn’t accept it, she couldn’t.

How did this happen? They’d been careful. Hadn’t they been careful? She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried in vain to think of something, anything else.

The older gentleman on the end cleared his throat, pulling her from her thoughts. “Miss Jacobs?”

She looked up at the members of the university’s disciplinary committee, taking them in one at a time. She straightened her back and lifted her chin, hoping the outward display of confidence would give her some semblance of the same feeling on the inside. That was shot to hell as soon as she opened her mouth. “Y-yes, sir?” she answered, her voice trembling.

“Do you know why you’re here?” the other man asked, his eyes kind.

“No, sir.” She shook her head, but she was pretty sure she had an idea.

“Let me tell you,” the older man interjected, opening the folder in front of him. He explained the purpose of the hearing and the university’s policies regarding disciplinary sanctions.

She sat back, rubbing her palms on her pants and trying to calm down. As she listened to his words, she was hit with a rush of emotion so strong it almost bowled her over. Good. Bad. Happy. Sad. Betrayal. Rage. Shock. Relief. Relief? She fought to keep focused on the seriousness of the situation before her as a litany of memories assaulted her consciousness.

Everything she’d prepared for, all of the anguish she’d put herself and Luke through in the last forty-eight hours … none of it mattered. She was free.

That wasn’t entirely true, of course. She was still sitting in front of the review board and defending her name, but it was for an entirely different reason. The board was investigating her for plagiarizing another student’s work in her final memorandum. Tessa Vaughn, to be exact.

After all of those backward looks and the gut feelings Embry couldn’t shake, it all made sense. The girl had stolen her final memo and pawned it off as her own. Of course, she’d changed words and phrases here or there, but when their professor reviewed their memos, she had no choice but to notify the dean.

“Do you have a response, Miss Jacobs?” the older man asked.

“Yes sir.” She sat up straight, her chin held high. “This accusation is unequivocally false. The words were my own. I don’t know how Miss Vaughn gained access to my memorandum, but I can assure you that I am the original author. I printed out and saved all of my research. I can probably quote directly from the paper, that is how well I know my own work.”

“Did you have any contact with Miss Vaughn in which you discussed the final memorandum for your class?”

“Yes, I did.” Embry recounted their conversation in the library for the committee members. It was then that she realized how Tessa got her memo. “Actually, I believe I do know how Miss Vaughn accessed my work.”

“Please, enlighten us,” the woman, who had so far remained silent, said.

“I was in a study group with Miss Vaughn and Jeremy Price. We spent a lot of time in the library together. I remember a particular day when I received a phone call and had to leave the library. I had been working on my memo, and I left my computer on the desk in the library to take the call. That’s the only time that I can imagine her having any possible way to access my files.”

“We’ll have to verify all of the information you’ve given us, Miss Jacobs,” said the older gentleman. “We have yet to meet with Miss Vaughn. However, your legal writing professor, when comparing the memorandum to your earlier assignments, believed this paper fit your writing style and was far more advanced than anything Miss Vaughn had written.”

Embry wanted to jump up and down, but she kept her composure, nodding politely. “Thank you, sir.”

“You can go for now. We’ll meet with Miss Vaughn and investigate further. You will be advised of our decision shortly.”

Embry nodded, thanked the committee members once more, and left the room. She pulled her phone from her purse and sent a quick text to Luke.

Total fluke, had nothing to do with us! Jeremy’s crazy bitch of a gf stole my memo! Have to stop in to see Coleman. Talk soon. Love you!

She dropped the phone back in her purse and made her way to the faculty wing. She’d seen Professor Coleman on her way into the building and wanted to make sure her professor knew what was going on. Embry’s heels clicked against the tiled floor as she walked down the faculty hallway. Coleman’s door was ajar, and Embry knocked before pushing it open.

“Hi, Embry, what are you still doing here?” Coleman asked from her desk chair.

“I wanted to let you know about a situation that is happening between myself and another student.”

“Come in, come in.” She waved at Embry.

Professor Coleman sat patiently as Embry told her about her meeting with the review board and what Tessa had done.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Professor Coleman responded. “I know your quality of work, and I’m sure it will all be worked out.”

“I hope so. I just wanted you to hear it from me. I’m not sure how the university handles these things or if my other professors are notified.”

“Well, thank you for your candidness. I must say, I’m a bit relieved.”

“Relieved? Why?”

“Well, if I’m being honest, Embry, when we were at the holiday party, I was concerned something was going on between you and Professor Brody.”

Embry’s stomach dropped, and she felt the blood drain from her face.

“So naturally, when you mentioned the disciplinary committee, that’s exactly where my mind went.”