Shawn looked at him blankly, unsure what Rutledge’s answer was supposed to mean. Was that yes or no? As in, “I don’t have office hours, so you may come” or “I don’t have office hours, so you can’t”?
Great. Fantastic.
Shawn sighed.
Chapter 3
The door to Professor Rutledge’s office was dark and very shiny.
Shawn stared at it, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his gut. His palms were beginning to sweat, so he wiped them against his jeans.
Don’t be ridiculous, he told himself. Rutledge was just a man, not a monster. The worst thing the guy could do was say no.
He would just talk to him, explain his situation and hope Rutledge wasn’t the asshole everyone thought he was.
“Did you want something, Mr. Wyatt?” a smooth, low voice said.
Shawn nearly jumped. Turning around, he tried to find something to say.
“Mr. Wyatt?” Rutledge was frowning, a crease between his eyebrows.
“I wanted to talk to you, sir.”
“It’s not an office hour,” Rutledge said, unlocking his office and going inside.
He didn’t swing the door shut behind him, and Shawn hesitated, unsure if he wasmeant to follow him inside.
Rutledge sat down behind his massive desk and turned on his computer. “I don’t have all day, Wyatt,” he said without looking at him.
Shawn entered the room hurriedly. He closed the door, walked to the desk and stopped. He looked around, but there wasn’t much to look at.
“Well?”
Shawn forced himself to look at the other man.
Rutledge was studying him with a hint of impatience.
Shawn gripped the back of the chair in front of him. “As I said, I wanted to talk about my grades.”
Rutledge’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m not certain what there is to talk about. I don’t give second chances to students who don’t deserve them. You don’t bother to attend most of my lectures, the quality of your coursework is abysmal, and now you want a passing grade. The policy concerning class attendance is clearly stated on the class syllabus; students should read this policy carefully and should plan on complying with it. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re a scholarship student. If you’re worried about your scholarship, I’m afraid the only thing you can do is drop the class.”
“I can’t drop your class—it’s a co-requisite for another class I’m currently taking and I can’t drop both without losing my scholarship. So I can’t fail your class and I can’t drop it. I need a passing grade, sir.”
The look Rutledge gave him was unimpressed. “You can blame only yourself, Wyatt. You don’t deserve a better grade.Your attendance, assignments, class participation, and test grades have been below expectations for the course. If you came here to tell me some sob story and beg me for a better grade, save your breath. I’ve heard it all: sick elderly mothers, little children to look after, working three jobs, and so forth. If you can’t or don’t want to study and learn, do both of us a favor: stop wasting our time and drop out of college.”
Shawn’s heart sank. A part of him had hoped Rutledge would take pity on him if he told him about his situation and let him turn in his assignments late. But apparently, Rutledge didn’t care and didn’t want to listen to “sob stories.”
Shawn’s jaw tightened. His pride urged him to turn around and leave, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t lose the scholarship. His sisters depended on him.
Suddenly, he remembered Christian’s ridiculous advice.
…says Professor Rutledge has a weakness for pretty boys… I’m just saying you can be all flirty and shit without actually doing anything with him…
“Mr. Wyatt?”
Shawn flinched, flushed, and looked back at the man.
“What are you still doing in my office? You’re dismissed.”
