Thunder Rolls (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy Book 2)

by Trevion Burns

  Kelly fell back in her seat, visibly seething.

  Lila’s voice rose. “Any university that can turn a blind eye to its students is not the kind of university that I now, or will ever, want to work for.”

  “And the student you’re rolling around in bed with? Chase Almeida? Is that not a child crying out for help?”

  Lila met Kelly’s eyes. “No. That’s a man who knows his heart. Those Almedia men always have. Wouldn’t you agree, Kelly?”

  Kelly looked ready to leap across the podium and take Lila around the throat. “How about the student who was,” Kelly made finger quotes. “ ‘Raped’ by the football team? Julie Barnes? Were her disgusting lies a cry for help, too?”

  Lila’s lips tightened. “Like I said, I have an interview pending with The Washington Post, and I’m likely going to take it, especially since, pretty soon, I’ll probably need the money.” She laughed, even as she saw only stoic faces looking back, with the exception, of course, of Dr. Brandt. “I imagine what I have to say about whether or not Harvard let me go in the midst of this scandal is going to have a very big impact on whether or not you hit that ten million dollar goal during your fundraising campaign this year.”

  If Lila didn’t have their attention before, she certainly had it now. She’d finally said the magic word, funding. Just like that, she could already feel the shift in the room, the pendulum swinging in her favor.

  “Yes, Julie was lying. Her lie was exposed, but one girl’s lie does not change the bigger picture, and the bigger picture is still shattered. I’m presenting this university with the opportunity to piece if back together, and you know what? Whatever decision you make today, know this…” Lila’s chest heaved as her voice rose in her passion. With a few well-timed breaths, she got herself under control before continuing. “The entire country will be watching.”

  --

  Later that afternoon, long after Lila had exited the premises, Jack Almeida came strolling into the meeting room where her heated review had taken place. A folding table had been set up in the middle of the room, and the five people seated around it appeared on the verge of death.

  Jack’s confident stride trailed to a stop in the middle of the room. He knew they’d all spent the last few hours entrenched in hot debate, but he still wasn’t loving the tone of the room he’d just walked in to.

  “Afternoon gentlemen.” He looked to his fiancé, who sat at the farthest end of the table, and didn’t smile. “Ladies.”

  Kelly huffed.

  “Thank you for coming in so quickly Deputy, please…” The Vice President motioned to a chair at the end of the table. “Have a seat.”

  Jack held his hand up as he finished crossing the room, stopping at the end of the table, directly opposite his fuming fiancé. “No need. My assistant briefed me on why you called me down here last minute, so I know this won’t take long.” Pressing his fingers into the table, Jack shook his head. “And the answer is no. It would not be in the university’s best interest to fire Lila James.”

  “What a surprise,” Kelly spat.

  The two shared a look. Tilting his head, Jack continued, knowing his next words might send her over the edge. “Quite the contrary, if this university doesn’t promote Lila James, it’s going to have one hell of a lawsuit on its hands.”

  The look of betrayal in Kelly’s eyes nearly incinerated him. As much as he would have enjoyed it, Jack hadn’t said those words to spite Kelly. He hadn’t even said them in defense of Lila. He’d only said them because they were true.

  “Can you elaborate?” Dr. Brandt asked.

  Jack nodded. “Sure. The fact that she’s up for promotion doesn’t put her in a vulnerable spot. It puts the university in one.”

  The Vice President perked up. “How do you figure that?”

  “At this time, Lila James is the only member of the faculty who is advocating for victims of sexual assault. She is the only member of the faculty who is speaking against the university. Not only has the school voiced their disapproval of her speaking out, that disapproval has also been heavily documented. She has one of the largest papers in the country asking for an expose. She is up for promotion. On top of that, she is a black woman. At this point, if that promotion is denied for any reason, the word retaliation would be an understatement. She has a case for gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and retaliation.”

  The air in the room tightened.

  Jack laughed through it. “The lawsuit wins itself. The media cyclone would be unstoppable. If she files a Title X with the federal government, you won’t just lose your funding. You’ll lose millions in restitution, enough to offset the funding that’s driving you to silence this woman in the first place. The students themselves have also began to put a protest in motion, and if that protest happens, I have no doubt it will start a movement amongst the students--a movement you don’t want. It will hurt the reputation of the university. A university that, up until this point, has been utterly untouchable.”

  “Denial of promotion at Harvard isn’t uncommon.” A voice rang out. “We never give reasons why the promotion is denied, so she’ll have no leverage in the courtroom.”

  “She is a black woman working for a university that, in the past, has been documented saying women have less aptitude for math and science. A university that has been documented systematically undervaluing its African American professors. A university where women only make up a quarter of the academic faculty. A quarter. That is abysmal.” Jack laughed again, throwing his hands out. “What more is there to say? A sex discrimination lawsuit brought against this university will always veer in favor of the black woman, no matter how many concessions you claw for. That’s a nice story you’ve got there,” Jack said, pointing to him. “But it’s a fairytale.”

  From the end of the table, he could feel Kelly’s eyes burning a hole into his skull, so he avoided eye contact with her at all costs.

  They all knew he was right. Lila wouldn’t need a reason why her promotion was denied. She just needed it denied. That much would be enough to file a suit that would be a bigger pain in the university’s ass than what it was worth.

  “She won’t sue,” The Vice President boomed. He’d said the words loudly, but his voice wavered. The authority wasn’t there.

  “It’s not a question of if she’ll sue; it is only a question of when.” Jack met his eyes and couldn’t stop the coy smile that split his lips. “Unless you give her the one thing she’s asking for. Which is more important? Your funding, or sticking it to a lowly lecturer? Either way, the future of this university, and millions of dollars in funding is officially in your hands.” Jack closed the laptop. “Try to make the right decision.”

  --

  “The moment you stop looking at it, it’s going to come.”

  At the sound of Chase’s voice over her shoulder, Lila looked up from the screen of her phone. She’d been reloading her email messages fanatically.

  She accepted his sweet kiss.

  “I’m about to be out of a job,” she mumbled, going right back to staring at the screen as Chase set the dining room table for dinner. “I already have a dozen applications waiting to be submitted. All I need is the official email asking me to come in for my termination meeting.”

  “You haven’t been terminated,” he said, moving to the table and dropping a breadbasket in the middle.

  “I will be.” She finally dropped her phone on the desk. “You should have seen me in there. I pretty much gave them every reason to throw me out on my ass. I was a complete basket case.”

  “Of course you were.”

  She curled a lip at him while throwing a breadcrumb she’d pieced away from the loaf in his direction.

  He veered and caught it in his mouth, heading back to the table with two beers. “If memory serves, your uncanny ability to spiral into basket case mode is what got you this job in the first place.”

  She accepted the beer he handed her, and the second kiss he pressed on her lips. �
��You’re right. The dean who gave me the job last year, Dr. Brandt, he was on the committee, too. He was smiling through my entire breakdown.”

  “He gets you,” Chase said, turning off the crock-pot that had been cooking all afternoon. “People who don’t get you? They never will. All it takes is one.” He raised a finger. “One person who can see the brilliance behind the basket case. Then that one person can enlighten all the others, the ones who will never get you on their own.” He threw her a look out of the corner of his eye. “I bet anything you got it, baby.”

  She scoffed. “You’re blinded by your love for me.” She looked back to her phone. “Kelly is on that committee. There’s no way I got it.”

  “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be checking your phone so obsessively. Besides… If you don’t get the gig because of some crazy broad who’s been engaged seven times, and is currently engaged to a man who doesn’t give a fuck about her?” Chase shook his head. “That would be a real tragedy.”

  “Isn’t life one big tragedy?”

  “I thought it was, for a long time. He chuckled, spooning a heaping helping of their roast onto two plates. His eyes met hers, again. “But I was wrong. It’s beautiful.”

  She finally sat her phone down on the table, holding his bright eyes. “This one beautiful life,” she whispered.

  He moaned his agreement, eyes going wide when Lila’s phone suddenly buzzed to life.

  Lila leapt out of her chair. “Jesus.”

  She snatched up the phone, which was displaying a Cambridge number, and pressed it to her ear as she moved into the living room. Chase came flying out of the kitchen after her, lingering over her shoulder as she put the phone to her ear.

  “This is Lila James.”

  “Lila, hello. This is Dr. Brandt.”

  Lila’s heartbeat raced, and she grabbed hold of the dove around her neck. “Yes, of course, Mr. Brandt. How are you?

  “I’m better now that I’m on my way home. Arguing your case made for the longest ad hoc discussion I’ve ever had the pleasure of winning in my entire career.”

  Lila could hardly believe what she was hearing. “I’m sorry, did you say… winning?” Her voice rose. “I got the promotion?” She felt Chase’s hands grip her shoulders from behind.

  “Not just the promotion.”

  She could hear the smile in Dr. Brandt’s voice.

  “Lila, they approved your petition for The Safe Space. The Vice President signed off on it just this

  evening.”

  22

  Not only had Harvard approved Lila’s petition, but they’d also given it its own structure in the middle of Harvard Yard, just two buildings away from Memorial Hall.

  Lila found herself standing outside of the small building that used to serve as a campus restroom, hair lapping in the breeze as she took in its sharp lines and red bricks. The construction workers had put in overtime gutting the inside of the building and were in the process of drilling a sign to the steely brick.

  The doors of The Safe Space would be open by fall. She’d had her doubts, but Lila had made her deadline. As Managing Director, she still needed to prepare a quarterly budget, get the space furnished, and hire staff for the semester. Fall was less than two months away, so she knew she had a lot of work to do.

  She’d never been more thrilled to get started.

  As she gave the construction men, who were completely annoyed with her unnecessary presence, some unsolicited advice on the crookedness of the sign, she squealed in shock when someone tickled her sides from behind.

  She turned and whooped when she caught eyes with Brittany, embracing her with a soft moan.

  “You’re still on campus?” she asked, pulling away.

  Brittany rolled her eyes. “What can I say? Being Pre-Med is no joke.”

  “No summer vacations for you, huh?”

  “What’s a summer?” Brittany asked.

  Lila laughed, thinking of Chase, who’d spent the night before bent over her dining room table, frowning into a slew of calculus and physiology books.

  “I hear you, Britt. But it’ll all pay off in the end.”

  Brittany joined her, watching the construction workers, nodding as she took in the progress.

  “Looks good, Professor,” she said.

  “Not Professor. Just Lila.”

  “You’re not going to be teaching anymore?” Brittany asked. “Isn’t that what you always wanted? To get assistant professor, and eventually make tenure? There’s no reason to go to war with Harvard anymore, now that they’ve finally given you what you want.”

  “Eventually being tenured was one of my biggest dreams, but if I’ve learned anything in my short time in this beautiful…” She breathed in, again. “Beautiful life… it’s that dreams change. Sometimes before we even realize it’s happened.”

  “Wow.”

  “They offered me the assistant professor position, but I knew it would mean splitting my time between the classroom and The Safe Space. So I took a full-time gig as Managing Director here instead.”

  “Isn’t that a pay cut?”

  She nudged Brittany. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Sorry, I’m nosy sometimes.”

  “Sometimes?” Lila raised an eyebrow.

  They stood together, watching the construction workers quietly for a few moments.

  “I never got to thank you,” Lila said.

  Brittany snapped her head towards her. “For what?”

  “You’re the one who gave me the idea to use that interview with The Post as leverage to make this group happen. It worked.” Lila winked at her. “Like a charm. You brilliant, beautiful little butterfly, you.”

  “Oh god,” Brittany rolled her eyes, feeling second-hand embarrassment at that ridiculous statement.

  “I’m going to start calling you Brittany Butterfly.”

  Brittany’s smile went suddenly somber. “I don’t think I’m capable of flying, anymore.” She took a deep breath, eyes meeting Lila’s. “I swear to god, it’s like someone’s clipped my wings for life.”

  “A bird with clipped wings can still fly,” Lila said.

  Brittany’s head fell. She shrugged, not convinced, kicking her sandals against the grass below. She was wearing the same white glittery nail polish as the girl who’d jumped in Harvard Yard.

  It stopped Lila’s heart. “Hey,” she demanded, waiting for Brittany’s eyes to meet hers. “It’s the monsters in your head,” she said. “That’s what will really clip your wings, and keep you down for good.”

  Brittany shrugged again. “How the hell do you get them out?”

  “You just have to find something that chases them away. Maybe it’s a something, or maybe it’s a someone. Once you find out what does the job, the world will open up in a way you never believed possible. Even with clipped wings, nothing will stop you from flying, climbing, taking on your one beautiful life with the real courage it deserves.” Lila looked to her, nudging her again. “You’re a student at Harvard, for goodness sake. You’re already flying, and you’re going to keep flying, pretty much by default.”

  Brittany smiled bashfully.

  “You just have to find that thing that chases away your monsters. Then, you won’t just fly, Brittany, you’ll soar. And once you find it?” Lila breathed in while shaking her head. “Hold on for dear life.”

  Brittany squinted, brown hair blowing in the breeze. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “You’re young, courageous, successful, and easily the hottest professor on campus, by a mile.”

  Lila looked off with a hearty laugh. “I’m not a professor, anymore,” she reminded.

  “Okay, the hottest middle-aged woman, then.”

  “I am not middle-aged!” Lila was horrified.

  Brittany giggled. “You’ve been through the same dark shit as all the rest of us… but here you are. So what about you, Lila?” She tossed her hair out of her eyes. “Who chases away your monster
s?”

  When Lila looked back to Brittany this time, the smile had vanished from her face.

  She hadn’t expected that question.

  The answer hit her instantly, claimed her heart and took her breath away.

  --

  Lila swore she wasn’t going to come.

  It wouldn’t be worth the drama. It was best to keep her distance, for all their sakes.

  Still, she found herself staring up the grand staircase that led to the top of the church, where dozens of well-dressed attendees were milling about.

  With English medieval architecture, the building was darkly stunning. Stained glass windows soared so high one had to crane their neck just to get a decent look. In sheer stature alone, the windows were topped in height only by the steeple. The pointed structure zoomed high into the sky, finished off by a cross that almost touched the billowy clouds floating by.

  He spotted her the moment she put her high-heeled foot on the first step of the church. The smile was in his eyes instantly, washing away the hint of surprise. He turned towards the stairs as she climbed, trying to fight the smile pressing at his lips. He looked away from her when the task proved too difficult.

  Lila held the royal blue maxi dress in a fist at her side as she ascended towards that smile. Towards him. Towards the only person that mattered.

  “Chase.” She said his name once she made it to the top of the stairs, reveling in how appropriate it was.

  Chase. The one person in the world who could chase away her monsters.

  “Lila,” he whispered, still fighting that smile.

  They’d argued over whether or not she’d attend this wedding so many times, they’d nearly made themselves sick. Finally, Chase had accepted that she wasn’t ready to come, to face Jack, to face Kelly. He’d accepted it, but he still hadn’t liked it.