Things were silent for a couple of days after Ken was served his notice and he was forced to sit on the bench for the first two games at Satow Stadium and watch his team compete. The first game was back and forth, with the Bobcats pulling off a squeeze bunt for Ayden to sprint across the plate in the 9th inning.
The team was jubilant after a hard fought victory and moved up 1 game in the series. As long as they could win their next one, they would be crowned champions of the Ivy League.
Unfortunately for them, Penn came out on fire. Not only did they hold the Bobcats to a single run, they managed to score 7 themselves, putting an end to Columbia's momentum.
Ken had tried everything to get back onto the field, but even with the stir he caused online, the NCAA was still silent. He had spoken to his family about the issue, but his father was also within the NCAA jurisdiction and could not help.
Meanwhile, a storm was brewing within the NCAA Headquarters.
Knock Knock
"I'm busy…"
The only response was even more knocks on the door, causing the middle-aged man behind his desk to let out a groan of annoyance. "Just open the damn door."
The door opened, revealing a woman dressed professionally. She was holding a stack of papers in her hands and looked stressed. Her usually straight and healthy hair looked frayed and she had bags under her eyes.
"Sir… Have you made your decision regarding the investigation?" She asked tersely.
The man scoffed, "I have many ongoing investigations, you'll have to be more specific." He said, ignoring the earlier rude tone.
The woman who had seemingly had enough of his crap walked forward and slammed the large pile of paper on his desk. "These are just a fraction of the emails I've received regarding Ken Takagi… and those are just the one's in English!"
Michael's face contorted briefly, but it was replaced by anger. "Shirley, I know you're stressed, but I am your boss. I expect a certain level of respect."
"Stressed!?" Shirley's voice went shrill, "I haven't slept since you decided to throw that kid's investigation to the bottom of the pile! Don't patronize me."
Michael flinched, realizing his mistake. It seemed that he had pushed the woman too far.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Why don't you head home and I'll deal with this mess." He replied, his voice softening.
The woman stared unblinkingly at him, "It's a clear cut case Michael… Just suspend him for a couple of games and move on. Why are you making it such an issue?"
At this, Michael shook his head vehemently. "Shirley, these people think that with just a few emails that they can force us into action and I've just about had enough. We will go through due processes, I don't care how much they whine and moan."
"Y—You!" Shirley held onto the final shred of her patience and swallowed down what she was about to say. Once she was calm enough, she let out a small sigh and turned, "I'm taking a week off. I can't deal with all of this."
"H—Hey!" Michael called out, but the door slammed shut behind her, leaving him with the mountain of emails on his desk.
"This is ridiculous." He muttered, briefly looking over the emails. Many were calling for Ken's immediate reinstatement into the team so that he could play in the post season.
"You think you're above the law because you're popular?" Michael scowled, tossing the paper back onto the pile. There was nothing that pissed him off more than entitled players who believed they could skirt the system.
With the little power he had, he could always make the investigations last longer than they needed to, dishing out his self perceived justice. He had looked over Ken's investigation already and things were rather straight forward.
But upon seeing the teen with so much money in his account and taking his girlfriend to all the expensive places in New York left him feeling bitter. He who was middle class at best was never afforded such a luxury when he was back in college.
'It took me twenty years to pay off my student loans, yet this guy is living a life of luxury, not to mention he's on a scholarship… It's time you learned about the real world.' He thought, a small grin creeping onto his lips.
RING RING
The sound of his land line phone broke his thoughts, annoying him.
"Shirley! Tell them I'm busy." He called out. However, upon hearing nothing in response, he remembered that she had gone home.
"Damn it…"
"Hello, Michael speaking." He answered curtly.
But his face soon turned panicked. "A—Ah yes boss, I'm well thank you."
"Okay, no problem."
"Yes sir."
"Yes sir…"
"I—I'll do it right away…" He responded, his whole body deflating. His hand moved and hung up the phone in the next moment.
BANG
He slammed the table with his fist, causing a tingling sensation to run up his arm.
"This bastard…" Michael was seething.
His boss had called him, personally inquiring about Ken Takagi's investigation which he had intentionally ignored. While he didn't go into great detail, the crux of the conversation was that it was to be actioned within the hour.
For the first time during his tenure with the company, his boss had laid into him. With a pay review coming up soon, he was now not in a good position.
"It's all his fault…"
Michael's mind began to formulate a plan, his twisted sense of justice still in full swing.
He opened up his laptop and accessed Ken's investigation which he had filed away. After looking through the evidence again, it was clear that things could be settled after a brief suspension of games.
However, it was up to him to ultimately decide how long the suspension would be based on the available evidence. His eyes focused on a certain detail, a wide grin creeping onto his face.