Chapter 554

555
555
As soon as Aria pushed open her office door, Sophie handed her a cup of coffee and said, “Here, give it a try.”
“Thanks, Sophie,” Aria said.
Aria had just taken the coffee cup when, before she could take a sip, the office door burst open.
Richard stood scowling in the doorway and demanded, “Aria, Laird Duff just said a few impulsive words! Why did you give him a demerit and suspend him for that?”
Laird’s punishment for spreading rumors was a big deal-the news spread like wildfire across campus.
Knowing exactly what happened, Sophie couldn’t help but sneer, “Mr. Lloyd, you were right there at the scene. How could you possibly claim Laird Duff was just being impulsive?”
Richard shot Sophie a dismissive glance and said coldly, “None of your business.”
Sophie was about to say more when Aria gently pressed her hand to stop her. Aria said calmly, “The disciplinary decision was made by the university committee. Why come to me about it, Mr. Lloyd?”
Richard snapped, “Cut the act! If you hadn’t secretly threatened Mr. Gardner with your research project, would he have come down this hard on Laird Duff?”
Just then, Samuel sauntered in, holding a cup of coffee. With a smirk, he remarked, “Well, what’s all the commotion?”
Samuel’s office was on the same floor. Hearing the commotion, he came over to enjoy the drama.
Samuel leaned against the doorframe with a gloating smirk. “Come on, Mr. Lloyd, take it easy. Ms. Saxon is the administration’s golden child these days,” he said, clearly enjoying the situation.
Aria glanced at Samuel and said with a smirk, “You’re absolutely right, Mr. Chilton. So you two had better stop causing trouble. Otherwise, I’ll watch your students like a hawk every day-and whenever I’m displeased, I’ll pick one to make an example of. The moment I catch any misconduct, I’ll have the school expel them.”
Aria sneered inwardly, ‘Come on, what student hasn’t made a mistake or two?
‘Sometimes, when key research projects keep students too busy for other courses, Samuel Chilton would simply have freshmen do the work and add the other students’ names, which isn’t exactly by the book.
‘Seems minor on the surface, but if you really dig deeper, it’s actually quite serious.’
Samuel, already acting on a guilty conscience, paled at her words. “You wouldn’t dare!” he snapped.
Aria grinned. “Not only do I dare, but I can have you removed from the smart pharmacy quality control project. Care to test that, Mr. Chilton?”
Samuel’s expression shifted repeatedly before he finally choked back his anger and shot a sidelong glance at Richard. “Mr. Lloyd, your student really crossed the line-spreading rumors about a female teacher in public. I heard you were there too. Why didn’t you stop him?”
Richard glared at him and snapped, “Stop stirring the pot! Are you really taking her empty threats seriously?”
“Fine,” Richard said, turning to Aria. “Get the school to revoke the punishment. I’ll keep Laird Duff in check and make sure he watches his mouth from now on.”
“I don’t have that kind of influence,” Aria said as she picked up her phone. “But I can certainly call Mr. Gardner and the disciplinary committee over to have a little chat with you, Mr. Lloyd.”
Because of this incident, Richard was summoned by the university for questioning.
The surveillance footage was undeniable. No matter how much he explained, it was all in vain—and worse, he ended up with a tarnished reputation for looking down on fellow faculty members and allowing students to spread malicious rumors.
Now, all the other teachers and students looked at him differently, their gazes no longer the same as before.
One more scandal and he’d lose his professorship.
“This isn’t over!” Richard roared before storming out.
Without another word, Samuel retreated to his office.
Sophie stared at his retreating figure, shaking her head. “Seriously,” she muttered, “Samuel Chilton’s supposed to be one us in the pharmacy department, yet he insists on siding with outsiders.”
Aria took a sip of her coffee. “Mr. Schmidt told me that Mr. Chilton’s recent application for a key research project was rejected. Since Mr. Schmidt was on the review panel, it’s no wonder Mr. Chilton has been so irritable lately.”