It hadn't been a 'no' because Victoria honestly wasn't sure of the answer, or even the entirety of the question, and that bothered her a lot for more reasons than she could have explained to herself, much less to Gabe. But it was a practical 'no', and that was what counted.
"You're welcome. It needed doing and I could do it. And for the rest, Schechter made it clear that he's not planning to change anything, that he's behind you, that he's waiting for it to blow over. I won't say it's no big deal; it's a bigger problem than Schechter's making out, in my opinion. But not one that the school can't handle."
Her long fingers were resting on the shelf that she'd put the book on a few moments before, as if she expected to pick it up again once the discussion was over, as if this discussion was about to be over. Perhaps she was trying to sell herself on the idea.