Dodging Calamities (Artemis University #7) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,97

at the SAiC and they both nodded. “Off, sure.”

I sighed, sitting back in my chair. “My roommate’s parents are power-hungry, ladder-climbing assholes who would sell their daughter to whomever would give them the best option to get more. She broke free of them. It’s all a big thing and lots of drama. He tried to interject himself and ‘handle her’ to get in good with them because the poor, poor little girl can’t handle this world without her father guiding her.”

“For real?” one of the other guys asked.

“Yeah, for real,” I drawled. “Oh, and she’s a lesbian, which to McGrath isn’t a real thing, simply a mental condition that some deluded women suffer from and the right man would fix for her.”

Even the sexist guy was disgusted at that, so his job had made him salty and bitter, not completely devoid of his humanity.

“We were informed that McGrath was working with some gentlemen who—according to him—have influence and wanted you under their control,” the SAiC hedged. “The whole situation sounds a bit…”

“Hinky?” I offered, smiling when he didn’t deny. “Very Skull and Bones?”

“Cultish, Illuminati,” the last guy who hadn’t spoken yet muttered, shrugging when the others shot him a look. “She clearly isn’t part of these circles and fell into his place because of the inheritance. Private colleges like this freak me out anyways. A lot of them are two jumps away from cults instead of respected Ivy League schools.”

“You’re not wrong, but this one isn’t a cult, just too many rich names with big targets that decided not to risk their precious children and have real security,” I offered, doing a solid for the community. “But yes, it does lead to some of the clichés like not being socialized with the little people as much as they should be.” I snorted. “There are way too many about a hundred years behind the rest of the world.”

“That sounds a bit much,” the sexist guy hedged.

I shrugged. “One of those influential guys who are on the board, or university advisors—alums or whatever—offered to let me be his mistress and take over my vast inheritance since I didn’t have a male family member to speak for me and shield me as I would need to survive here and in life.”

A fly farting could be heard in the room as they stared at me as if waiting for me to tell them I was joking.

“Unfortunately, she is not kidding or exaggerating the situation,” Geiger told them, jumping in. “But yes, we are aware of the situation. You can hardly be shocked that old money means conservative values and too many outdated notions, compared to mainstream society. This country was founded by Puritans. Many of the founding families still cling to those values. This cannot surprise the FBI.”

“No, not in the slightest,” the SAiC grumbled, making a few notes. “I suppose the day it doesn’t annoy me though, is the day I should retire.”

Fair enough.

“So these men pushed a teacher to try and get me to sign over my holdings?” I asked, wondering exactly how McGrath had phrased it all. I wanted to see what useful information I could get from this meeting. “How stupid does he think I am?” I smirked at the sexist guy. Even he couldn’t think a guy my age would be treated the same?

Clearly not, from the way he found the wall suddenly interesting.

“Apparently, he agreed to seduce you and you would hand control over to him and he would give it all to them,” the SAiC explained.

“Gross,” I gagged. “And this is his reasoning for why he liked child pornography?”

“No, this was his trying to give us information to make deals to reduce his sentencing, as his powerful friends apparently won’t come save him,” one of the others guys drawled. “Though really, he simply implicated himself in trying to commit fraud in taking all you have, even for other parties.”

We talked for a while longer, their questions not really digging much, but more trying to make sense of McGrath’s crazy or seeing if they should bother probing. It wasn’t until towards the end that they really hit on anything big.

“Why do you think McGrath or these men have such a fixation on you compared to any of the other students, faculty, or alums, Ms. Vale?” the SAiC asked, studying me closely, watching to see if there was about to be a crack in my armor.

But I was more than ready, years of this sort of pressure and acting