“I can vouch for her,” said Sylvie, hoping that her own integrity wasn’t about to unravel.
Isa’s jaw stiffened, and she looked between them. “Listen, Adelaide, I don’t know you all that well. But I do know that Professor Boucher is one of the most respected academics in the country. She sets high standards and demands professional ethics. If she’s in your corner, that’s enough for me.” She stepped forward. “But you need to know that the students you brought over from California are in your care. Faking reports undermines the efforts of every single student here, not to mention the staff working hard to keep them on track. You’re responsible for their behavior and conduct, as well as your own. I don’t want to hear about this kind of thing again. And neither does Paul.”
Sylvie placed her hand on Isa’s upper arm. “Absolutely. We’re all agreed on that. Ade told me about this straight away. As her supervisor, I made the judgment not to take it further at the time. If some evidence has come to light now that suggests one of the students has acted inappropriately, then Ade and I will deal with it.”
“I don’t want rumors flying around that teachers are encouraginggrade fraud. It’s the last thing we need as a faculty. Get your house in order, Sylvie, before people start to really question our ethics.” Isa turned and went back to the staffroom.
Sylvie rounded on Ade. “You knew about this?”
“No!” Ade’s face fell. “I told you what happened before Christmas. I had no idea that Madison had gone through with it.”
“Jesus Christ, this is all we need.”
“What?” Ade reached for Sylvie’s hand but withdrew before they touched.
“More paperwork. We’ll have to investigate what happened and make a report to the faculty here and your leadership team at home.” Sylvie groaned. “Bring Madison in for a meeting this week, and we’ll try to get to the bottom of it.”
“Sure.” Ade’s shoulders sank.
“I’m sorry I’m worked up about this, Ade.” Sylvie released a heavy sigh. “But if Isabelle has heard about Madison, then other members of the staff might have too. This isn’t just about the rights and wrongs of it, it’s about my reputation.”
Ade gave nothing away. Her body swayed a little, but her face remained unreadable.
“Are you going to talk to me?” Sylvie stamped her foot in frustration. How could Ade just stand there with all this going on?
Ade swallowed what looked like a lump of emotion. “I can’t right now. I’ve got to get to the marine center for a shift.”
“Great. You get to your safe space.”Leave me to clear up your mess.Sylvie ran her hands through her hair, struggling to keep her cool. “I want to protect you, but this is the job. This is exactly what I was talking about last night.”
“What do you mean?” Ade’s mouth gaped slightly.
Sylvie hesitated. Maybe Ade just needed to hear the truth. “I’d love it if you could see this from my perspective. But that’s tricky for you, and I should know that by now.”
Ade blinked. “I do struggle with that, yeah. My bad.”
Sylvie glanced at her watch. She couldn’t stand there anylonger. “The meeting is about to start.” She walked away, kicking herself for her outburst. If Ade had been firmer with Madison in the first place, this wouldn’t have escalated. Anger rose inside Sylvie’s chest, and tears threatened to give her away. She was furious, not with Ade but with the whole ridiculous situation. This was exactly the kind of silly trivial error which could blow up in her face and destroy her chances of promotion next time round. But back in the staff room, with Ade under attack for her mistake, Sylvie was more certain than ever that she’d do anything for her. How could she be so frustrated with someone and feel so much for them at the same time?
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Ade hid under her comforter,shutting out the world. She’d had enough of other people’s opinions. She didn’t always get things right. God knows she’d known that since she’d been conscious of her place in the world. But she didn’t mean to hurt anyone or break any rules.
Her skin itched with the injustice of it all. She threw off the cover and counted the cracks in the ceiling, but it did nothing to tame the feeling of ants crawling over her skin. She could’ve yelled back at Isabelle and Sylvie yesterday. Instead, the tormenting scream stayed locked inside her mind. She hadn’t even heard half of what Sylvie said. But the other half was enough. Ade had let her down in a big way. She’d been winging it for far too long in this job, thinking she could get away with the bare minimum.
It’d all started to unravel at the worst possible time. Just when she was desperate to show Sylvie she could make a real try at something and that she was serious about their relationship. Maybe even be ready for a commitment, whatever that could look like on either side of the Atlantic.
The door cracked open, and Steph came in from her early shift at the bar. “You’re still in bed? Have you even moved today?”
The clock ticked past four. “Not much.”
“You still sore over Sylvie’s takedown?”
Ade grunted. She’d explained as best she could, but Steph only grasped the simplicity of the problem.
“She’ll get over it,” Steph said. “But not if you insist on dwelling in your self-pity over here.”
“It’s not self-pity. I’m worried. Everything was going great,but then she started talking about enjoying the next few months and not looking too far ahead.” Ade launched backward into her pillows with a frustrated scream. “Then this happened, and I’m not sure she’s even up for enjoying the time we have left.”
“If she drops you at the first hurdle, she’s not worth it. You deserve better.”
