The Second Half Read Online Free PDF Page A

about students; it’s about attracting alums. Well-heeled alums, especially alums who endow chairs and departments. And to attract them, we have to be able to show them a healthy financial statement.”
    Fury grabbed Ken’s voice and made it roar. “And if they don’t graduate, you don’t have an alum to impress! You have another failed student who will go elsewhere, if at all. The road to financial stability starts and ends with the student !”
    Dale raised his hand. “You’ve both made your points. So has John. Let’s get on to the next item.”
    Ken didn’t hear what the next item was or what anyone said about it. His fury still raged, blinding him. Over and over in his mind he thought about what he should have said, how he might have made his point a lot better. He certainly should never have lost his temper. His mind was kicking itself. And then Dale declared the meeting adjourned, and Ken, for all practical purposes, hadn’t even been present. He had been all wrapped up within himself, screaming at himself, ruing the whole morning.
    He gathered his papers up more or less mechanically. Dale was still sitting there. Ken closed his attaché case and turned to apologize for his outburst.
    But Dale spoke first. “Clever, Ken, fiendishly clever. My hat’s off to you. I know you; you’ve never lost your temper before or even yelled. Ever. Today you were provoking your candidate into a fight, and it worked. We had to know if he could defend his position and stand up for himself, and this demonstrated that. He held on to himself and his ideas even when you were lambasting him. That’s about the only way we could tell if he has the stuff to fight, and we all have to have that stuff.”
    Should he apologize? Not now, not when he had to drive his point home. “Dale, for marketing, planning, budget, you need a corporate wonk. But for dean of students, you need a person with a heart for the students. That’s not Damien.”
    “If not, someone with a similar worldview. Keeping us solvent. Ken, your report was the only one in the black; everyone else isn’t getting enough resources to do their job. So your department is logically where we will start to trim a little fat.”
    And Ken’s whole brain exploded. “So what I see as a fiscal responsibility, you see as fat. That’s outrageous! Dale, I get to pick. Remember?”
    Dale’s eyes hardened. “As of Thursday morning, you will have no say.”
    “I was given to understand that I would choose my successor. And I will.”
    “You can advise. I decide.” Dale raised a hand, palm out. “I’ll give your recommendation full consideration, I promise. But the choice will be mine. The exec committee will have to work with your successor; you won’t.”
    Ken had never felt a fury this hot before. His hands vibrated as he picked up his attaché case. He was so deliciously angry he found himself able to keep a quiet, modulated voice. “I see. In fact, I see more than you think I do. You deliberately delayed posting the vacancy announcement so that candidates would still be filing their résumés for the position after I left the department. And you intend to hire Damien. Period.”
    “Now, Ken…”
    Ken stood up. “Dale, you did not just betray me. You betrayed the student body, and by extension, this school.”
    “Ken, don’t—”
    “File a grievance?” he interrupted this devious liar. “That will be the least of it, Dale. Good day.” He left.

Chapter Three
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    H ad anyone ever murdered a cell phone? Perhaps some of those accidental cell phone drownings Mona had heard of were really deliberate killings.
    The line about not killing the messenger floated through her mind. The woman who had taken up so much of her time on Friday had now decided to not hire her. The venue for the surprise celebration was going to have to be altered. She’d had to turn down Marit’s invitation to lunch. They’d not had lunch together for what seemed like months. No word from