Freshman Just Wanted Dinner — Until Three Bullies Made a Mistake That Cost Them Everything
Chapter 33
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She said, "The documented pattern of complaints against three scholarship students, the evidence of fabrication in the current complaint, and the involvement of a board member in coordinating the Friday night incident constitute a prima facie case for breach of the gift agreement."She said the university was therefore in a legally precarious position.She stopped. She let the room absorb that.Nate Aldrich was writing in his notebook. President Keene was looking at Dean Hargrove. Dean Hargrove was looking at the gift agreement on the table. Tyler's lawyer leaned close to Tyler and whispered something; Tyler said something back, his jaw tight.The door opened again. A man stepped in: he was in his mid-fifties, a good suit—the kind of face that spent a lot of time being sure of itself.James Weston had come to the hearing. He must have been called by Tyler or the lawyer; he had probably been watching from somewhere nearby, waiting for a moment to come in and shift the balance. That was how James Weston operated: he came in at the right moment and shifted things.He looked at the room: he looked at President Keene; he looked at Nate Aldrich with his notebook; he looked at the gift agreement on the table.And then he saw something that made him stop completely.He saw the codicil. He saw the name on it:Claire Elizabeth Matthews, born March 14, 1989.He had known about the gift agreement: he had studied it before beginning his restructuring plan; he had read it carefully; he had found what he believed was a workable path around the restrictions. But he had not known about the codicil. The codicil had been handwritten, added the same day it was dated; it had never been formally entered into the university's records because Eleanor had held the original at the diner. The university had only the base agreement, not the amendment. He had not known there was an heir with standing.He stood very still in the doorway.Nate Aldrich looked up from his notebook and looked at James Weston. He wrote something down.President Keene said, "James, please come in and sit down." His voice was very level.James Weston came in. He sat down.The room was quiet in the particular way rooms go quiet when something has been decided that everyone in the room knows has been decided, but no one has said out loud yet.Carol spoke for twelve more minutes: she laid out the full sequence; she named the three students; she cited the routing notes; she connected the call log from Friday night to James Weston's number; she cited the gift agreement; she cited the codicil; she cited the breach clause. She did not raise her voice once; she did not use emotional language. She was a lawyer doing her job: precisely, without excess.