“Maybe they don’t have as much at stake!” Todd says.
“No. It—hurts—too—much.” Griffin’s tone says, I can’t believe I need to explain something this simple. “You’re lucky to be able to suck down liquid meals.”
Now that Griffin mentions it, I can see Todd hasn’t lost any weight, either. “You faked how bad you were hurt for sympathy points? Seriously?” I shake my head.
Todd looks like he’s about to burst into flame. His gaze darts between me and Griffin a few times as he weighs his chances.
Finally, his eyes quit moving back and forth and his eyebrows start twitching—a sign he’s attempting to think of something clever to say and failing. Every time this happens, he says something clichéd and then becomes furious that that was the best he could do. And sure enough…
“This isn’t over!” He takes a step back, his eyes on the point where Griffin’s and my arms are looped together, then he turns and stalks away.
When he’s out of sight, I let go of Griffin. “Thank you.”
He says nothing, although I think I can hear a low vibration in his chest that sounds awfully like a growl. I glance up at his face to see his eyebrows pinched, his eyes narrowed and his mouth tight.
“Is this confrontation going to cause problems for you at Wollstonecraft?” I ask.
“Doubt it. He’s in a different department.” His lips purse briefly in distaste. “He does strut around insufferably, but that’s more of a nuisance than a professional challenge.”
“As long as your job is safe.”
“Perfectly. His king of the campus act is irritating, but that’s all.”
It’s weird that Griffin is focusing on this. I don’t understand how Todd’s behavior on campus is relevant to what we’re discussing.
Griffin sees my confusion. “He’s been abusing his marital connection to you to be as obnoxious as possible,” he says. “It doesn’t affect me, but it might affect the other professors in his department.”
I gasp. “How come nobody said anything to me?”
“Perhaps nobody wanted to talk poorly about him to you. How am I supposed to know?” Griffin’s gravelly tone says, He’s your ex, not Wollstonecraft College’s.
Well, this is less than great. I make a mental note to speak to the head of English department. The family didn’t endow the college so that Todd could act like an ass.
But—stick a pin in that one for later. Right now, Griffin and I have another matter to finish discussing. “So, back to what we were talking about before—”
“I’m already tenured. I don’t need your help.”
Wow. He must be very good at what he does, because he seems too young to be tenured already. “Okay. Just wanted to make sure interdepartmental politics didn’t end up hurting you, since Linda’s gotten Chuck Phillips involved.” Quite a few college professors have jumbo-sized egos, and are apt to get offended at the most innocuous comments. Chuck looks like he’s a nice, laid-back guy, but he can be incredibly petty. He hinted strongly I should consider endowing the English department, since I married Todd, and didn’t do much of a job hiding his disappointment when no extra money appeared.
“What does she have to do with anything?” Griffin asks, looking like he wants to murder somebody—hopefully not me.
“She’s my stepmother, and she tries to wield her influence when she shouldn’t. She doesn’t control how the family endows the college, but she’s been trying to make it seem like she does, despite the fact that I’m the CEO. Anyway, I didn’t want anything to hurt your career at Wollstonecraft. That’s all.”
He nods. “I see. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I tilt my head in the direction of the headquarters. “Should we go back inside?”