Liars' Games (Project Chameleon Book 1)

by Susan Finlay

  “What concerns us most is that you seem to think you’re autonomous,” John said. “You act as if you can do whatever the hell you feel like. You seem to think you don’t have to answer to anyone. You take everything into your own hands, even the law.”

  Claire could feel Frank’s body, next to hers, tense at those words. They’d seen the video. She held her tears back with great effort, waiting for John’s next words.

  “You are supposed to report to Frank, and ultimately to Steve. They report to this board. You’re required to report any and all crimes committed on campus no matter who the victim is. You bypassed everyone. That’s unacceptable. You can’t make all the decisions at your school. You don’t have the experience or the power to make the kinds of decisions you’ve been making.” His voice was getting louder.

  “We’ve already placed Frank on probation for allowing the assemblies, his involvement with the painting of the school, and for allowing you to purchase the extra lighting, all without reporting them to this board. Steve has also been disciplined for not reporting the assemblies.”

  Claire turned and looked over at Steve and Frank. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to get either of you in trouble.”

  “As for you, Claire, you’re still new which means you’re probationary. We’re perfectly within our rights to fire you and that’s what we’re doing. As for the school, they will be required to follow the state’s curriculum. No more special assemblies.”

  She looked around the room. Half of the attendees were looking away, avoiding her and the other half looked at her with unreadable expressions. She thought she would suffocate.

  Gathering herself together as best she could, she said, “I understand. Fire me if you think you must. But you’re making a mistake about cancelling the assemblies and discontinuing the work that has been accomplished. Someone has to do something to fix Midland High. Significant progress was being made on the students’ behalf. If you stop the programs we’ve set up, you’re sending the message that the district doesn’t care about Midland. Things will return to the way they were, with gangs dominating the whole school and intimidating everyone into submission. The gangs will win. I beg this board; please don’t let that happen.”

  “She’s got a point,” Ed Malone, the vice president of the board, said. “I’m also not sure about firing her. She needs better guidance, sure, but firing her may be too drastic. It may not be in the district’s interest. Something does need to be done about Midland and nothing has been improved until now. Perhaps we should discuss this further.”

  Several other board members agreed. John grimaced, then abruptly stood up and said, “For now, you’re on suspension. We’ll take the firing decision under advisement. This meeting for you is in recess for thirty minutes.” He picked up his iPad, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room. The other board members looked at each other askance and then stood and followed John.

  Steve and Frank remained seated for a few moments, looked at each other, then stood up as well.

  Claire stood up, too, and said, “Again, I’m so sorry for everything. I never meant for any of this to happen, especially to both of you. You have been such good friends to me and so supportive.” She waved her hand.

  “We know,” Steve said. “Don’t fret about it. We’ll survive. Go home and get some rest. We’ll be in touch later.”

  She nodded, and slinked away to her car. Once in her car, with no one was around, she broke down and let her tears flow.

  STEVE, FRANK, AND the school board reconvened the meeting after Claire left. It was a tense couple of hours and at some point, someone, Steve wasn’t even sure who, brought in the district’s legal counsel. After getting a few readings from the council, things cooled down somewhat and they resolved much of their issues—at least for the moment.

  By the time the meeting with the board adjourned and Steve walked back to his office, it was already around one-thirty. He cornered John Richmond after the meeting and asked him to follow him back to his office to speak in private, deciding it was time to confront him.

  In his office, Steve sat behind his desk while John sat in one of the guest chairs facing him.

  “So, what more did you need to talk to me about?” John asked, sounding disturbed at being summoned by an underling.

  Steve stared at him and said, “I met your new employee.”

  “What. What are you talking about?”

  “The private investigator you hired to check out Claire.”

  John glared at him and said, “I didn’t hire anyone to investigate her. You’re wrong.”

  “Am I? Phil Seger seems to think you hired him.”

  John’s mouth gaped open.

  “Yeah, I talked to Seger when I caught him spying on Claire on school grounds. Are you still going to deny it?”

  “Okay. Yes, I hired him. If you must know, this was my own unofficial probe. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with Claire because you and I both know there’s something fishy.”

  Steve rubbed his forehead and told himself to remain calm. “What makes you so sure about that?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “Something to do with Senator Reynolds? I know you accused her of an affair with him.”

  John’s eyebrows shot up. “I did no such thing.”

  “Give me a break, John. I overheard part of your conversation with her after her first Round Table Luncheon. You mentioned him in yesterday’s meeting as well. You can’t just deny it.”

  “Fine. I did accuse her because I think it’s true.”

  “Why?”

  John hesitated, then asked, “Did she tell you why the senator insisted we hire her?”

  “No,” Steve said, “and I didn’t ask.”

  “You’re her boss. I know Frank’s her immediate supervisor, but you’ve been working with Claire, too. Didn’t you ask her about that? That’s one of the first things I would have asked.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, John. From what I can tell, you didn’t get a resume and you didn’t interview her. You didn’t ask her anything until you met her for the first time at that meeting, and when you did, you didn’t believe anything she said.”

  John stared at him, his face growing red.

  Steve continued. “So why did you cave in and hire a stranger? Because the senator asked you to? Does he have some hold over you or the board? Is that why you’re pissed at her?”

  “No, of course not. It was simply politics and you know at that point we didn’t have a choice.”

  Steve sneered.

  John said, “Look. At the beginning of September the mayor invited Edward Malone and me to lunch. When we arrived at the restaurant, the mayor and Senator Reynolds were already waiting in ambush for us at a table. They told us about Claire and said she’d been teaching for years, first in Indianapolis and most recently in Cleveland. The mayor said he’d already checked with our HR Department and found out we had several open positions in the district. But they didn’t ask us if we would consider hiring her. They told us that one of those must go to her. We weren’t given a choice.”

  Indianapolis and Cleveland? Claire had never mentioned either city. In fact, she’d told him she’d moved here from Albuquerque. Steve licked his lips, and debated whether to say anything about the discrepancy.

  “Can they really do that?” Steve asked. “We have our own hiring policies. Can they force us to violate our own policies?”

  “The mayor is our boss. We don’t have to like it, but we have to follow his orders. You know that.”

  “Didn’t they give you a reason? I did ask Claire about her relationship to Reynolds. She denied ever meeting him.”

  “So, what’s the deal?” John asked. He stood up and began pacing. “Does she have something to hold over them? Logic just suggested to me they were having an affair. If she’s telling the truth, though, and she’s never met him—”

  “I don’t know, John. I’ve wondered about it, too. In the scheme of things,
does it really matter? I mean, Claire is a good person and apparently a great principal. You can’t deny all the good she’s doing for Midland.”

  John sneered. “And that means we should turn a blind eye? Ignore all the questions?” Still pacing, he didn’t speak for a moment. “I spent the early morning hours searching her name on the internet. You know what I found? Practically nothing, other than on Midland’s website. I searched on your name, my name, other employees’ names, and found articles, etc. about each of us. But nothing else about Claire.”

  Steve rubbed his beard. There had been the age issue and a few other odd things, such as her using some British terms. “What about your investigator? Did he find out anything?”

  “Not the answers I’m looking for, at least not that he’s told me yet.”

  “Okay, John. Let me think about this awhile,” Steve said, “and I’ll get back to you. But you need to think about something, too. If Reynolds wanted you to hire her, what do you think he’ll say about this situation if he gets wind of the board trying to fire her? If this is political, do you really want to piss off the senator and the mayor?”

  Later in the day, Steve sat at his desk thinking. Until now, he’d only questioned whether or not Claire had a relationship with the senator. Looking at the bigger picture, however, posed more questions. If she was telling the truth and really hadn’t ever met the senator, why would the guy insist the school board hire her, a stranger? Was it a political maneuver of some sort?

  Damn. He still loved her and he wanted to trust her, but now he needed answers.

  AT HOME ON Thursday afternoon, Claire sat on her sofa and tried to read a book, but finally gave up and just sat there, replaying scenes from the meetings earlier in the day. She was miserable about the outcome. Her only consolation was that no one had specifically mentioned the attack, even though it was obvious they’d seen the video footage.

  She got up around one o’clock and called Ron to tell him she had been placed on suspension, and to discuss which of her meetings he could do and which he should cancel.

  “Did they watch the videos?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She proceeded to tell him everything that had gone on during the meeting.

  When she was done, he said, “Well, at least they’re reconsidering their decision. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Try to keep your hopes up. If it’s any consolation, I think they’re wrong. You have really put yourself out there for the kids and faculty. They should be appreciative and supportive, not hiding behind some misplaced rules. We need you here.”

  Claire thanked him for his supportive words before ending the call.

  Around three o’clock her phone rang. She answered, expecting it to be Ron needing to talk to her about something.

  Instead, she heard Steve say, “Claire, it’s me. Are you okay?”

  “Well, honestly, I’ve been better.”

  “Actually, I’m calling because I wanted to see if we could talk. Do you have a few minutes?”

  She smiled to herself as she plopped onto her sofa, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. “Yes, I’m just home with all the time in the world right now.”

  “I thought you would want to know that the surveillance cameras are being removed this afternoon. The school district’s counsel told them they had to be removed and the tapes destroyed. ”

  Claire said, “Well, at least that’s some good news. But I’m really sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused you and Frank. I only wanted to help.”

  “I know,” Steve said. “On another positive note, the school district’s legal counsel also told them that not only would it be a mistake to fire you right now, but also instructed the board to remove your suspension after I pointed out they violated several state laws in order to entrap you. You actually have a case against them if they take any action against you at this point.”

  “Are you serious? You did that for me?”

  “Well, yeah. Even the meetings to view the videos and to talk to you about their concerns were violation of the state’s sunshine laws. To quote, ‘All meetings of three or more members, at which any formal action is taken, must be open to the public at all times except for periods in which the Board is in executive session.’ That means they’re supposed to announce special meetings publicly.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Claire said.

  “I also considered what you said about not letting the gangs get away with intimidation. About not letting them win. That doesn’t only apply to gangs, you know. In case the board wouldn’t give up, I took Richmond aside and applied a little pressure by asking him what he thought Senator Reynolds might say about this situation. You know, if he got wind of it.”

  “You didn’t?”

  He chuckled. “Damn, that felt good. I wish I’d thought of it sooner. Like before they called you into the meeting.”

  “Oh, Steve, you have no idea how relieved I am that they’ve reinstated me,” Claire said, tearing up, “but do you really think this is over? I mean, won’t the school board still try to get rid of me somehow?”

  “Well,” Steve said, “I wish I could tell you that they’ll leave you alone. Unfortunately, they’re not happy and I know two of the board members will hang onto this like a dog with a chew bone. Fortunately, they can’t really take any action, you know, fire someone, without a majority vote and they probably couldn’t get the others to agree with them so you’re probably okay for now.”

  “I’m glad you know them so well,” Claire said. She hesitated, then asked, “Is it true what John said about the buildings—that I put the district at risk by letting people paint the interior?”

  Steve sighed. “Yeah, I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me. I’m to blame for that. If one of the volunteers had gotten hurt, they could have sued. It’s different when dealing with contractors who are self-insured. I admitted it to them and assured them it won’t happen again.”

  “Are you in trouble?”

  “Not any more than usual. John and I have never been on good terms. Did I ever tell you how much I dislike this job sometimes?”

  “No. I didn’t know, but I do know you’re under a lot of pressure. I know it’s a huge responsibility. I have a hard enough time being a principal. I can’t imagine trying to deal with the stress of your job.”

  He was silent for a moment.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you they’re hiring a security guard for Midland. I pointed out that we couldn’t allow another incident such as the one you suffered. The legal counsel quickly agreed.”

  “Thank you, Steve. I’m forever grateful to you.”

  “Does that mean you forgive me?”

  “Forgive you? For what?”

  “I cancelled our dinner date and didn’t tell you why?”

  “I understand. You were doing your job?”

  “Does that mean you’ll have dinner with me tonight then?”

  She smiled and said, “I’d love that.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at six o’clock if that’s okay.” He looked at his watch then, and said, “Oh, sorry, I need to go now. I’ve got a ton of work piled up and no time to do it.”

  She hung up the receiver, but picked it back up almost immediately and called Ron to give him the news about her being reinstated.

  ON THURSDAY EVENING John Richmond sat at his desk in his home office, sipping coffee, his jaw twitching as he thought about the meeting. After leaving the building at the end of the board meeting and his ‘private’ talk with Steve, he’d strolled out to his car. But once he started up the engine and pulled away, his anger resurfaced and he had a hard time controlling it. Not paying much attention to his driving, he didn’t realize he was speeding until he saw the red lights swirling on the police car behind him.

  That speeding ticket nearly sent him over the edge. He had to sit in his car for a while after the officer left, and calm himself down before he started up the engine again. Damn! He was sixty years old and had never gotten a ticket in his life—until now
. The thought was making him mad all over again.

  He got up and paced around the room. He understood why they had to back down on firing Claire because they hadn’t followed proper procedures and had left the door open for lawsuits. What he couldn’t understand, was why he had been so careless. He prided himself on sticking to standard operating procedures and to the rules and regulations, whether at work in his company or in his position on the school board.

  The problem, he concluded, was Claire. She was a loose cannon causing havoc all around her. That had riled him to the point that he’d cut corners to catch her. Well, he’d be more careful from now on. Eventually she would do something that even the district’s legal counsel couldn’t let her get away with. Until then, he would contact Seger and find out if he had any new information.

  AT FIVE-THIRTY, Claire was in her bedroom preparing for her date. She brushed her hair until it shone, pulled on a new cashmere lavender sweater with a low neckline and elbow length sleeves, and stepped into a long mid-calf length flowing darker-lavender skirt, and high-heeled shoes. While she primped, she thought about Steve and her situation.

  She’d missed Steve and wanted things to work out between them, but the original problem at the root of it all loomed large. Could she continue lying to him, giving him a fictitious history? How could she base a romantic relationship on a bed of lies? He’d certainly proven himself trustworthy, and yet she couldn’t ignore the program’s rules that had been pounded into her head: Trust no one! Don’t reveal your real self to anyone! But her parents had been destroyed by a lie. She and Callum had also been destroyed by a lie—his lie.

  And then there was the other problem. She and Steve were both lying, by non-disclosure to the school board, about their dating. That private investigator might already have found out and told John Richmond. So, even though the problem with the board had been resolved, supposedly, she wasn’t out of the woods and neither was Steve.

  Claire sat down on the sofa, trying to push those nagging thoughts away as she waited for Angie to arrive. She looked at the clock on her mantle and bit her fingernail. Angie should have been here by now.