It suddenly dawned on me what had happened. Fortunately, I had the good sense to keep myself focused on what was happening in front of me.
"Oh, great! I guess he forgot to tell me he'd done that," I said with a forced smile. "Thanks, Mr. Deaver. Oh, and could you get one of the guys to fix the sink in the kitchen? It's leaking underneath."
"I'll send someone up to take care of it this morning, Miss Pierce," he said with a smile. I was immediately suspicious as to what else Cam Connor had done since Mr. Deaver had never before agreed to take care of any maintenance issue that quickly.
"Have a great day, Mr. Deaver!" I called as I headed out the door. I stomped two blocks before I was able to do anything but swear at Cam under my breath.
He'd paid my rent. He hadn't even discussed it with me. And how in the hell did he know about my financial situation before last night? I hadn't said a word to him about it prior to that.
Liz. She must have mentioned what was going on when Cam was with her in the hospital room. Dammit. I could forgive Liz for trying to help, but I was mad as hell at Cam for butting into my business without saying a word to me. He'd treated me as if I was a child who couldn't take care of herself.
My entire litany of complaints and grudges about money and the people who had it came flooding back into my brain as I walked toward class. There was no way in hell I was going to let Cam Connor pay my bills and treat me like some helpless damsel in distress. He'd gone behind my back and not said a word about it.
That made me even madder when I thought about the fact that we'd spent the entire day together and he had had numerous opportunities to tell me what he'd done. He should have discussed it with me! I could feel my anger building with every step, and by the time I reached the classroom, I was in full rage mode. I picked up my phone and started punching keys on the screen as I typed out a message to Cam.
"Ms. Pierce, could you come up here, please?" Professor Jackson asked quietly. I set my phone down and went to the front of the room.
"Yes, ma’am?" I said when I reached her podium.
"Ms. Pierce, until the issue with the cheating is resolved, you are not allowed to take any of the exams in this class," she said, keeping her voice low and her back turned to the classroom.
"Why not?" I asked, shocked that I'd be barred from taking tests when I was innocent.
"It's school policy," she said, giving me an apologetic look. "I can't let you take this exam today. Your case will come before the review board on Wednesday, and if it's determined that you did nothing wrong, then I'll schedule a make-up test for you."
"I see," I said, looking down at the floor as the shame burned on my cheeks. "I'll get my things and go."
"That's probably best." She nodded as she reached out and patted my shoulder. "I really am sorry about this."
"I know you are." I nodded. "I am, too."
I went back to my desk and gathered my things knowing that everyone else in the class was watching me. I could feel Violet's stare even though my back was to her.
"I heard they don't let cheaters take exams," she said a little too loudly to Jessica and Lydia. "It's an old rule, but one that they stand by."
"Ms. Metzler, please refrain from any and all commentary," Professor Jackson said sternly. "I don't want to hear another word."
"Yes, ma’am," she said sweetly, but I could hear her and her buddies whispering behind my back as I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the room.
I decided to head over to student accounts and see what I could do about delaying my tuition payment for a couple of days until the decision had been made about my case.
"Miss Pierce?" the cashier asked as she looked from my student ID to the screen in front of her.
"Yes, that's me," I said impatiently.
"You don't have a balance to pay, Miss Pierce," she said with a big smile. "All good!"
"Wait, what?" I did a double take. "When was that balance paid?"
"It looks like, um, this morning," she said. "A few hours ago."
"Very well, thank you," I said, taking my ID and stuffing it in my bag. Cam Connor strikes again. Now I was furious. I was angry with him for paying these bills without consulting me, and I was mad that it made me angry.
I pulled out my phone, erased the message I'd been typing and simply tapped out the message, "Call me. Now," before hitting send. Since I had no idea how long it was going to take him to get back to me, I decided to head over to the diner for breakfast and a cup of strong coffee.
I might be angry, but that didn't mean I was going to punish myself by going hungry.
Chapter Thirty-Three