“I’m not at liberty to say.”
She could have explained about the proven external economic value inherent in a Montford education. And how any deviation from equally applied principles for all applicants put the university at risk of lawsuit.
He was staring at her. “Is my education at risk?”
“It could be.”
“Because you found me on this list?”
“I compiled the list.” He was going to know eventually.
“Who else knows I’m on this list?”
“No one.” Her “yet” was implied.
“What about the other names here?” His questions were getting harder to answer. “Does anyone know about them?”
“Only the one name I was originally looking at.”
“Which one?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
He was frowning. Studying her.
“But it’s not me.”
“No.”
“Does our...association...have anything to do with this?” He held up the papers, his drawl more pronounced than it had ever been.
She’d looked up his file because of their association. But his name on that list of eleven—that would have shown up regardless if she’d known who he was or not.
“No.”
“You didn’t move in here to spy on me?”
Folding her arms over her chest, Adrianna forced herself to withstand his inquisition without getting defensive. She had it coming. “Absolutely not.”
“Did you have sex with me to get more information out of me?”
“No.”
His shoulders dropped. So did his chin. He continued to watch her—his gaze narrowed and piercing.
“For what it’s worth, I was trying to tell you last night, on the patio.”
“And then the phone rang. It had to do with this, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“What happens next?”
“I have a decision to make.”
A raised eyebrow was the only response she got, and she knew her time to speak up or miss out on the chance forever was at hand.
“I have to decide whether I do what is ethically correct and turn over this list of names to the authorities that asked for them, or whether I throw it in the trash and pretend I never saw it.”