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Only a couple of weeks ago, he’d gone with me into New York City as I chased down the only lead that I found on my brother’s case. For less than a day, he warmed up to me… Well, he was maybe more like slush than solid ice.
But now, he’s back to being a human icicle, and I don’t miss any of the cold glares he sends my way throughout what’s left of the hour.
When the soft chimes denote the end of the lesson, he turns to me. “Report to my office at lunchtime.”
“Don’t you have to be in the dining hall?” Penny asks as she slides her laptop into her bag.
“Mmmm.” I stand with her, but I don’t walk towards the door. “Don’t wait for me. I mean, at all,” I tell her, earning me a frown as she crosses her arms. “I have this and Syn to deal with,” I quickly explain. “Let me work out what has happened to my timetable first. You shouldn’t be late because of me. I’ll message you later, I promise.”
Since I have a class directly after this one, and I really don’t want to be late to another, I head over to Dr. Wright. He must also have a class after this one because he’s not making any effort to leave.
“For clarification, I was talking about lunchtime in this time zone.”
The trip to the city hadn’t been a date—far from it. And we hadn’t exactly returned the best of buddies, but I’m not sure what I’ve done to warrant this level of contempt.
“Have I done something to upset you?”
Dr. Wright straightens his back and clasps his hands together on the desk in front of him. “You mean, besides your lack of respect for my time?”
There’s only a ten-minute gap between classes, and behind me, the first person for the next class walks in.
“I have a commitment at lunchtime. I won’t be able to make it.”
“Then allow me to further accommodate you, Ms. Anderson. What time works best for you?”
If I have to be in the dining hall from the start of every service until potentially the end, I can’t make plans for this evening, and I can’t ask him to wait until after 9 p.m. I only have one class tomorrow morning, and that’s right before lunch, but I also don’t think he’s going to let me leave this until tomorrow, either.
“1:30?” I suggest. That should give me enough time to serve Syn—he said he was eating at 12:30 today—and be able to run to the house and back in my free period. If I have to skip a class later, I will.
“You’re in luck because I don’t have a class at that time. Now, unless you would like to join this one, I suggest you leave.”
I make it to math by the skin of my teeth, and as soon as that class ends, I’m the first one out the door. Even though I only have a blazer, with all the running, I barely have time to feel the cold.
Despite the high heels I’ve got to wear, I make it back to the dining hall and have Syn’s table set with a few minutes to spare before he walks in. Later, I’m going to ask Syn, Royal, and Gemini for their timetables. While I have no power over when they choose to eat, if I can at least get an idea of what I might be working with, I can try to figure out how I’m going to be everywhere I need to be.
Or at least, work out which classes I’m going to need to skip.
I know Syn has arrived before I see him, because the atmosphere in the dining hall changes. There are more people in here now than there were at breakfast, and the crowds part to let him through. Once again, there’s no Royal or Gemini with him.
He walks like he’s not noticed a thing, pausing as he passes me. Then, without acknowledging me, he takes his seat.
As I was changing, I almost made a mistake.
This morning, in the garment bag with the maid outfit was a bra and panty set. It also came with a suspender belt and a pair of stockings. My uniform didn’t come with a new set of underwear, but there was a different pair of stockings.
While the navy skirt of my uniform is just long enough that you can’t see the top of the stockings unless I sit down and the skirt rides up, the maid’s outfit is shorter.
And the two pairs of stockings, although similar, have different lace patterns at the top.
Honestly, most guys wouldn’t be able to tell. I bet I could wear one stocking on each leg, and they’d never notice.
I’m glad I listened to my instincts when something told me Syn would.
He probably did it intentionally.
Syn takes his time with his lunch, but otherwise, the time passes without incident. No doubt he’s trying to lull me into some false sense of security, and I’m not falling for it.
Once I’ve cleaned up after him, I grab a sandwich, eating it as I hurry back across campus to get changed for the fourth time, before I have to run straight back out to get to Dr. Wright’s office on time.
