Waking Up To Love (Lakeside Porches Book 4) (18 page)

“Can you breathe?” She nodded. He tipped up her chin, and she met his gaze. “I’m not sure in the ambient light, luv, but that looks like panic on your face, not rapture.”

She raked his wind-tossed hair with her fingers. “You really blindsided me.”

His thumb teased her lower lip. “So we’ll hold any talk of engagement or marriage for another conversation, shall we?”

Her arms locked around his shoulders, and she pressed her cheek to his. “You mean so very much to me, Kyle. It’s just so sudden, and I’m uneasy about what’s happening right now. Can you give me time?”

“I can, if I know you’re serious about us.”

“I am. I want us to be together, not just for a night or a week or a month.” She released a sigh of happiness that made his heart swell.

“Let’s hang on to that as we battle through what’s to come.”

“I have secured your network, but don’t confuse that with a guarantee of correct data. With all due respect, Miriam, given your organization’s sloppy business practices, the most secure network in the world will not protect the college from errors in data.” They stood across the desk from each other in Miriam’s office, both of them too keyed up to sit down.

“Kyle, I understand Garbage-In, Garbage-Out. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s part of it, yes, absolutely. A professor miscalculates or a departmental administrative assistant makes an error entering the grade. A student catches the error and complains, and it’s corrected. The rate of that kind of error at this college is normal. But what I see at your college is a culture of sloppiness and ‘Not My Problem.’ That’s what I’m talking about.”

“Educate me. What do you see that’s sloppy?”

“Your business cards are one example. You told me that a graduate assistant did the work and made the error, but the administrative assistant should have spotted it and corrected it before it went to the printer. Your website is out of date. Your name is not even on it. The current policies are not on it. Your new faculty haven’t been given access to the restricted areas where they could, conceivably, find the missing policies and the missing procedural information they’ll need at grading time.”

“Why don’t they have access? Why aren’t the policies there?”

“No one got around to it. When I ask who should have done it, I get shrugs and finger pointing.”

“Now I get what you’re saying, and it matches what I see. Kyle, if I hear ‘whatev’ one more time, I’ll scream.”

“In fairness, Miriam, some of it’s due to the enormous turnover of faculty and staff in the past year. But some people use turnover as an excuse for their laziness.”

“What can I do?”

“Use the change to your advantage. Start a campaign for accountability, especially with regard to accuracy and currency of information. Someone needs to communicate clearly the systems-related responsibilities of each position.”

He leaned with his fists on the desk and looked her in the eye. “Hold people accountable in the new Tomkins College culture that started this academic year, under your leadership and Justin’s. Ban ‘whatev’ from your campus.”

“Hah, I like it. I can see the poster already. Thanks for showing me a way out of this mess, Kyle. I wasn’t expecting you to have leadership strengths as well.”

“Nonsense.” He shrugged. “What I have is common sense about how data goes bad and how it gets misused. If you’d like, I can identify departments that have particularly high rates of error. And I can talk with your newest administrative assistants about tightening their business practices.”

“Or both. Please. And I want you to assume responsibility as our Interim CIO. Craig Marone has left the college without notice.”

Kyle sprang back from the desk. “He’s gone? You’re serious?”

Miriam shoved a pile of paperwork out of her vision. “He did not resign, but his office is empty. It was reported to me that a moving van backed up to his house yesterday afternoon and removed all the contents.”

“Where to?”

“The movers said Ohio. I suspect it would take an analysis of his email and phone records to discover anything more specific. And I need you to do that analysis, please. He undoubtedly has colleagues watching out for him, and we don’t want to hire those individuals.” She picked up a pen and tossed it away from her. “Good riddance.”

“I’ll get on it right away.”
And watch for the fallout
.

“About the Interim CIO position, will you do it?”

“I need to consult a few people before I can give an answer.”

“But you’re not saying no at this point?”

“Correct.”

“When can I expect an answer?”

“At week’s end.” He studied her posture, noted the bunched right shoulder, the tight jaw, the downcast eyes. “Miriam, you’re doing all the right things here.”

She managed a weak smile. “I needed to hear that. Good luck with your conversations.”

“And you’ll do your yoga routine as soon as I leave the office?”

She laughed. “You’re good for this place, Kyle.”

From Kyle’s patio at the Cushman home, Justin and Kyle observed a small sailboat floundering a hundred yards from shore.

“Sailing lesson?” Kyle speculated. “Appears to be a very patient teacher.”

“Or inept,” Justin snapped.

Kyle wondered what was eating him. Was he questioning his ability to lead the college?
He’s doing all the right things
. Perhaps, like Miriam, no one was telling him that.

“Ever sailed, Kyle?”

“Never cared to. The Cornish Coast is not to be trifled with.” Kyle stretched his legs on the flagstone patio and folded his arms across his chest. “You?”

“A bit in my youth. I understand Miriam wants you as interim CIO. Are you game?”

“That depends.” When Justin gave him his full attention, Kyle laid out his agenda. “I would need a say in who stays and who’s booted from the college. I won’t run an operation with vandals allowed free rein in my systems.”

“Understood and agreed.” Justin was rigid with tension.

How can I help him?

A rabbit popped out of the bushes along the property line and stared at them.
Perfect distraction.
Kyle chuckled.

“What?”

“Bunny at ten o’clock.”

“There’s a family.” The corner of Justin’s mouth twitched with a smile. “Marcus, the groundskeeper, has a vegetable garden that keeps them fat and happy.”

“I’ll make it a point to get some photos of them.”

“Planning to write children’s stories?”

Kyle forced a laugh from his belly. “It’s been done, I believe. Seriously, Justin, I think you and Miriam are a strong team, well matched. I admire your leadership, both of you. And I appreciate that you acted swiftly on this security problem. Although the follow-through may be painful and unpopular, I’m confident it’s the right thing for the college.”

Justin shifted his gaze to the water, where the little sailboat rode smoothly now. “I’d like our children to know each other.” He looked sideways at his old friend. “Perhaps grow up together.”

“Smashing idea. Though I don’t see myself abandoning the estate in Cornwall. Lyssa loves it there, too.”

“And she loves Manda.”

“Yes, they have a strong, intuitive bond.”
Why am I having trouble breathing?
“I rather see us splitting our time, spending downtime here or there, I don’t know which. Mind, we haven’t talked about those details. Did you have all this in mind when you introduced the two of us in the first place?”

“I did not. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I just wanted her to have someone to look out for her and show her around.” He faced Kyle. “You two took it from there.”

“She’s enormously grateful to you for the opportunities in London and here. But I need to ask if she won those positions on her own?”

“
You
need to know, or
she
needs to know?” Justin’s posture had stiffened again.

“We both do.”

“She earned them. She absolutely blew away the search committee here. It wasn’t quite as unanimous at UC London, but I understand she was considered one of the two best qualified academically, and her presentation and screen test were far better than any of the other candidates. She has charisma, Kyle. When she develops the confidence to go with it, she’ll soar.”

“Thank you.”
Better than I imagined
. Lyssa would be pleased.

“How did the concern arise?” Justin asked.

“Some poison Rand was spewing about her dependence on you.”

“She doesn’t trust me, does she?”

“Perhaps not, after learning the hard way that you’d had a hand in our meeting and in the nature of our relationship. I handled that poorly.”

“And I as well.”

“It’s done. We’re fine now. And it will help her to know what you just said about the two positions. Thank you.”

They shook on it.

Kyle voiced the next item on his agenda. “Marone is out of the picture. Rand Cunningham seems to be in the clear, just a nuisance. Tully had been violating security until yesterday, when we clamped down on him. We’re not done investigating him, but I don’t think he’s the one doing the grade fixing.

“Of the three other people Lyssa turned up, one had, until a few months ago, been using bogus accounts to hack the system, but nothing since. The other two seem to know a lot about the grade fixing and about other current intrusions into student records. They’re both pointing fingers at Marone, which is convenient, since he’s gone. I’ll follow up with each of them individually and see what they’re up to.”

“You’ve given their names to Miriam?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re saying Rand is in the clear,” Justin repeated. “But we know he’s connected somehow to Marone and Tully. He keeps his nose just clean enough, doesn’t he?”

“He’s not abusing the network, nor has he in the past. So far, all we know is he smoked pot, carried a mysterious package in the boot of his little sports car, and took a long walk with Tully who foisted off his son on Rand’s unsuspecting date. And he dropped me a dark hundred yards short of your front door. Lyssa will have a go at him tomorrow, see if she can learn anything more.”

“What is she planning?”

“Yes, I’m angry about last Thursday,” Lyssa snapped at Rand. “I’m angry that you slashed someone’s tires and dumped him down a dark lane, all because you thought he was planning to break my heart.”

“Correction. Break your heart
again
.”
I love your fire
.

She growled her rage.

I intend to harness that passion for our mutual enjoyment, Lyssa.

“What you did to the Brit, Rand, was insane and stupid, and my name is plastered all over it. Think about how our provost sees it. You were wildly irresponsible, and I’m the one in hot water for it.”

Rand mumbled something that sounded like an apology.

“Sometimes, Rand, you have the brain of a ten-year-old. Do you know that?”

He smirked with his face lowered so she couldn’t see.

“I’m not going to stand here like an idiot yelling at you. I have class in ten minutes.”

“Your students love you, I hear.” His voice was gentle now, admiring and professional. He lifted his gaze and gave her a genuine smile.

“Thank you. Please move out of my way.”

“Not until you agree to join half a dozen of us this Saturday.” At her hesitation, he upped the pressure. “You agreed to consider a soaring expedition to the Southern Tier, right? That is, if I could get a group together, which I’ve done. We’re all set for this Saturday. Harris Hill can’t accommodate us, but there’s a place farther west, and we’re due there at two in the afternoon. I’ve arranged for the sailplane and for the tow. We’re all meeting in Corning. It’s going to be perfect weather. So you’ll come?”

“Who’s driving?”

“I’ll drive the two of us, if that’s okay, and you can drive us home, if you want.”

Her eyes lit up at that, though she kept her mad face on.
I know you, Lyssa. I know what you want
.

“Brad and Bethany, whom you met at the hors d’oeuvre party, are driving separate,” he said, “because they’re spending the whole weekend in Elmira. I didn’t think you wanted to be in a car with Tully’s wife for a whole day. So the plan is, you and I will meet Brad and Bethany for lunch. At one o’clock, the Tullys will swing by the restaurant for us, and we’ll pile in their SUV and head to the soaring center.”

“Thoughtful of you. So you’re picking me up when?”

He smiled with triumph, but held himself back from touching her. “Is ten too early for you? We’ll meet Brad and Bethany around eleven-thirty at a restaurant they like in Corning. They want to know you better, and this is a perfect way to do that.”

“Yes, good. Thanks for the invite. I’ll see you Saturday at ten outside my apartment.”

“We’ll have fun,” Rand said as she breezed past him. She hadn’t smiled once, but she had agreed.
Back in the game
.

He palmed his phone.
Pris will love this
.

God, keep me sane.
Lyssa’s phone buzzed as she ran up the steps to the classroom building. “Hi, Kyle. I’m on my way to class.”

“Saw you with Rand. Did it go okay?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “He came through with arranging a group of faculty to go soaring in the Southern Tier for this Saturday. Bonus, the Tullys will be along, too. And Brad and Bethany. Are they on your list of suspects?”

“Brad and Bethany?”

“Yes.”

“No. They’re in the clear. And it’s just Jim Tully on my list, not Marie.”

“Thank God.”

“You don’t like her?”