Casey chewed on her fingernail in the back of Maxine’s car on the way to the Upper West Side. Rather than meet in the gallery where they wouldn’t have privacy, Maxine had sent her driver to pick her up so they could talk. She jiggled her leg but stopped when her snow boots squeaked against the fancy leather upholstery.
Being asked to Maxine’s home was just as unnerving as the woman who lived in it. Casey liked her, but Maxine was intimidating at baseline. Her request to discuss what happened sounded more like it might be an interrogation. Casey half expected hundred-watt bare bulbs and to be read her Miranda rights.
It’d been difficult to come to terms with Leighton’s decision to tell Maxine. Life would’ve been easier if she hadn’t. Yet Leighton’s steadfastness made her proud. Not everyone would choose to do the honorable thing. Casey wasn’t sure she had Leighton’s integrity. She could learn something from the experience.
Casey showed her identification to the doorman at the front desk before he led her to the elevator. Upstairs, a housekeeper or maid directed Casey to the library. She perused the leather-bound volumes on the shelves as she waited for Maxine. To calm herself, she took slow, purposeful breaths.
The door clicked shut, and she turned. Maxine gestured for her to sit and slid her phone onto the table.
“At first, I planned to hire a stenographer, but I think one less person knowing this story is best. I’ll record it, though, with your permission. If you care for Leighton, you’ll understand why it needs to be this way.”
“I do, and I understand.” Casey would do everything she could to help Leighton. It was her fault they were in the predicament they found themselves. Why hadn’t she stayed at the exhibition? She jiggled her leg, caught herself, and stopped.
Maxine clicked her screen a few times, then hovered a red nail over her phone. “Once we begin, I’ll ask you to agree again for the record.”
Casey nodded.
Maxine started the recording, and Casey confirmed her consent.
“As I mentioned on the phone, I want your side of the story.” Maxine tapped her nails on the table, then jerked her hand away, like she’d realized the noise might interfere.
Casey fiddled with a hangnail. “I’m not sure where to begin.”
With a wave of her hand and an irritated look, Maxine sighed. “Start somewhere. You didn’t trip and fall into bed together.” She motioned toward the phone. “Pretend that’s not there and talk to me. If everything goes according to plan, no one will ever hear this recording. What was said during this conversation will remain between us.”
“Okay.” Casey steadied herself. “It built slowly over time, from the first day we met.”
“It?” Maxine arched an eyebrow.
“I don’t know what to call it.” Casey chose her words. “Our connection, or whatever drew us toward one another.”
“And how were you certain Leighton felt the same?”
Despite her discomfort, Casey’s guilt over what had happened was so strong she would’ve answered almost anything. “I could feel it, something between us. The way she looked at me, the way she spoke to me. I watched Kalyssa one night when Leighton was in a bind. When she arrived to pick her up, she looked exhausted, and I offered her something to eat. They stayed for a bit, and she was so good with Andy. I enjoyed the evening. It’s not like having sex was a goal we had. Our relationship started as friendship, a mutual admiration, spending time with someone intelligent who had similar likes, and it grew.”
Maxine had listened without interruption. “Who made the first move?”
Casey’s face heated, and she avoided eye contact. “I did. I accused her of using the cameras to spy on us. That was before she told me about Jeffrey. She took me upstairs to show me she lived there. Letting me into that part of her life felt intimate. She’d shared a piece of herself, one she didn’t make available to everyone.” Casey swallowed. “I tried to kiss her, but she wouldn’t allow it.”
“She rejected you?”
If Casey had been blushing before, she was certain her face had turned from pink to crimson. “Yes. I wanted more, not necessarily sex, but to be closer to her, and she kept pushing me away.” Casey ran her fingers through her hair. “She was often cold and distant with me.”
Maxine’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
Casey nodded. “I’ve always been the instigator. Did she tell you I showed up uninvited at her place the night it happened?”
“No, she didn’t.” Maxine appeared interested, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table.
“Yes, as you heard, I won the Best of Show and the trip to Florence. After the ceremony, I looked for her but was told she left. It hurt that she didn’t stay to congratulate me. Out of everyone in my life, Leighton was the one person with whom I wanted to share the experience. I took a cab to the atelier, but she wasn’t answering her phone, so I had to hack my way upstairs.”
“Hack?” Maxine looked like she’d never heard the word.
“Not hack but figure out a way to get to the third floor. The building is almost impenetrable.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I’ve helped make it that way.” Maxine leaned back in her chair. “How did you do it?”
“I tried to get the elevator to work by entering lazy codes people use when they want something easy to remember, even the years I thought Kalyssa might’ve been born. We’d studied the Fibonacci sequence, and I was certain it’d be the golden ratio, but it wasn’t. Nothing worked. I was ready to give up when I tried my code. It allowed me to select the third floor.”
Maxine scowled. “It shouldn’t have worked. A student’s code would only…” Maxine rolled her lips inward. “Oh, Leighton gave you access at some point.”
Casey shrugged. “I guess so. We didn’t discuss it.”
“No, I’m sure you were busy doing other things.”
Maxine’s sharp retort stung. The least she could do was give her an accurate idea of what happened.
“Not at first. I wanted to know why she left the event.”
“Why did she?”
Casey took a deep breath. “She said I scared her.”
Maxine scoffed. “You?”
“Yes, or at least made her scared of what she might do because of her feelings for me.” Casey remembered how hard it’d been to breathe when Leighton had admitted that to her.
With a sharp exhale, Maxine stood. “You seem quite determined.”
Casey straightened. “I am, but I didn’t pressure her into what happened. We both wanted it.”
“I’m a little relieved that it appears you were doing most of the chasing, and she was doing her best to hold off your advances.” Maxine stared out the window. “Not that it makes the result any better.”
Maxine’s insinuation that the situation might have been different incensed her. Casey wasn’t going to let her consider a false version of the story, even for a second. “She didn’t seduce me if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Maxine turned. “I think I’ve heard enough details of your involvement. Let’s skip to the part about the consequences of your actions.”
Goose bumps covered Casey’s skin.
“I’m rescinding your scholarship under the morals clause.”
The floorboards beneath Casey tilted, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, God. No.”
“Yes, but wipe that dreadful look off your face.” Maxine pushed a box of tissues toward her. “Leighton has paid your tuition in full. We can’t have a situation where it might appear you need to perform…let’s say, certain duties, to keep your place at Atelier Vaughn.”
Casey’s head spun. “She had to pay for me?” Could she afford that?
“Yes, and your spot is secure this year. Next year is another story.”
So, her time at AV was coming to an end. Casey wanted to weep.
Maxine sat beside her. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Leighton thinks there’s not much more you can learn from her, so you have a part-time teaching position at Atelier Vaughn next fall, if that interests you. You could teach some of the introductory sessions for the new first-year students. Or perhaps take on TA duties. But you wouldn’t be instructing any of your contemporaries. That might be uncomfortable for all involved. And I’m sure Leighton will still have a few tricks to share with you during open studio times.”
That intrigued her. But no longer a student? And Leighton forced to pay for her spring semester? Casey pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I didn’t know it would come to this. We shouldn’t have done it.”
“No, but you did.” Maxine adjusted her glasses and seemed to peer down her nose at her. “I also met with the atelier’s two other investors. They’ve decided to pursue other opportunities.”
“Which means they know Leighton slept with a student and want nothing to do with her.” Casey wasn’t stupid, and hot tears pricked her eyes. “Oh, my God. I’ve ruined her business, her dream. I never meant for this to happen.”
Maxine didn’t appear interested in lingering over regrets. “In addition, I’ve suspended Leighton from teaching.”
Casey shot from her seat. “You can’t do that. She’s an amazing instructor, and even if I made a huge mistake, the other students shouldn’t be punished for my actions. I’ll quit.”
Maxine stopped her with a hand in the air. “Sit down. You’re not quitting. Is that understood? Leighton’s suspension from teaching is temporary. Stefan will cover her classes for the rest of the semester. What happens come January is still undecided. Right now, Leighton is spending her time garnering investors to replace the two we’ve lost. If she resumes teaching, we’ll likely restructure it so you’re not in Leighton’s classes this spring.”
Casey stared at her. “You’re not pulling your support?”
“Leighton is family.” Maxine looked offended. “Of course not.”
“I’m glad. That would’ve crushed her.” While losing Maxine’s investment would have been an enormous blow, the loss of her emotional support would’ve devastated Leighton the most.
Maxine arranged her hair out of what looked like habit. “In addition, I want you to meet with my attorney.”
Casey’s stomach clenched. Was she being sued? “Why?”
“I had to devise a way to protect Leighton.” Maxine straightened the jewel-studded rings on her left hand.
“I never intended to bring trouble for Leighton or the atelier.” She blinked back tears.
Maxine sighed. “I know you have genuine feelings for one another. I also know they won’t go away because I’d like them to, so here’s what you’re going to do. You’ll meet with my attorney, and she’ll have drafted a legal agreement for you to sign that states your relationship is, and always has been, consensual. You’ll give up any rights to sue Leighton or Atelier Vaughn for reasons pertaining to said relationship in perpetuity. Is that clear?”
Casey’s relief was almost uncontainable. Tears leaked down her cheeks. “Yes, of course, I’ll sign.” She pulled a tissue from the box and dabbed her eyes. “Thank you for finding a solution to our mess. I never intended for this to happen.”
Maxine folded her hands in her lap.
“Does Leighton know about this?” Casey wiped her nose.
Maxine shook her head. “Not yet. I wanted to have a conversation with you first. Why?”
“Would it be all right if I told her?” Casey hadn’t expected being summoned to Maxine’s home would transpire into this. It’d been difficult to endure, but it hadn’t turned out terrible. She tried to calm her racing heart. Was it wrong to feel relieved? She wanted to run and tell Leighton. Maxine had devised a way forward for them, even if it might be difficult, and Casey wanted to be the one to give Leighton the good news.
“I don’t see any harm in that. She won’t be around on my orders, but she’ll be at the holiday party because it’s important for the guests to see her there. You can give her a copy of the agreement that evening. I’ll tell my attorney to have it ready for you to sign by then.”
Maxine brought her back to Earth with her edict. Holiday party? It wasn’t even December yet. Her stomach plummeted. “Not until then?” That meant she wouldn’t see Leighton for three weeks.
Maxine clearly saw her dismay. “Thanksgiving is in a few days. Leighton has important things to do, and so do you. You’re still a student at Atelier Vaughn, which is what got you two into this mess, and you have projects to finish. It wouldn’t hurt the two of you to keep some distance until we can clear up things regarding the investors and the finances.” She leaned forward and folded her hands on the table. “Casey, what Leighton did was wrong, even if it was consensual and you were the instigator. We can never condone a teacher sleeping with a student, so you must deal with the consequences.”
The ramifications of what they’d done hit her, but just as quickly, so did her resolve to prove her readiness to address the repercussions, and that involved staying away from Leighton. She’d do it. Leighton was worth it.
Maxine sighed. “I’ve also noticed Leighton, whom I’ve known her entire life, happier than I’ve ever seen her. She’s met someone who cares for her and Kalyssa. You’re bright, determined, and seem to hold your own with her.” She pushed her glasses up her nose. “We go forward from here.”
Of everything that could’ve happened during Casey’s visit, this was most unexpected. Embarrassment, guilt, and regret for the harm she’d caused Leighton and her business filled her, but so did joy and relief. Maxine had given them a gift.