Page 16 of Teach Me Your Ways

7

GRADY

Ithought about shaving but changed my mind. It was my act of rebellion against the dean. Damn woman didn’t need to pull me back so soon. I could have stayed a couple more days to work on that pyramid.

She was all about control. I was not a man that got controlled. Carver might have thought she won the war but she’d only won the initial skirmish. I had name recognition. I would find a way to get the funding I needed without the university’s backing if I had to.

I swung by the bakery and picked up a box of assorted doughnuts and a tray of coffees. Today was the day I met my new TA. Classes started in two days. Once classes started, I would be chained to the classroom. Technically, it was a lecture hall. My class was in high demand. At times, I could fill every one of the two hundred seats in the place. If I had been allowed to get more information from the site in Guatemala, I really could have given a lecture series that would have left standing room only.

But no. “Fucking Carver.”

I unlocked the door and let myself in. My eyes drifted around the room and up to the highest row of seats in the back of the room. As much as I wanted to be out in the jungle, I did like this part of my job. I loved watching the faces of the young people when they listened to some of my stories. I sometimes missed that feeling of wonder when you first saw or heard something exciting.

I put the box of doughnuts and tray of coffee on the desk. My TA was the backbone of my class. I needed her to do well. Bribing her with sweets was always a good way to start off a new semester.

I walked around the room, preparing myself for days cooped up inside the hall. I felt out of sorts and it had nothing to do with the classes starting back up.

It was all about the night before. That woman. No. She was not a woman. She was a student. That was like a dog and a cat. Students were off limits.

Worse, she was a student in my department. I hoped like hell she wasn’t in my class. I didn’t think she knew who I was, so she wasn’t trying to get a jumpstart on an easy A. Then again, I supposed it was possible. But things felt real. That chemistry couldn’t be faked. There was no faking her response. I’d been with women who got the impression they were trying to win an Oscar in the bedroom. What had been about to happen had been very real.

The woman had left me with a serious case of blue balls. They were so blue they felt purple. Before her, I wanted to get laid. Now, it was a fucking biological necessity. I couldn’t think straight with the heaviness in my balls. When I went to the bar tonight, I would look for a willing woman. One that had nothing to do with the university.

The door creaked open, and she stepped in. I froze, my coffee cup suspended mid-air.

Fuck.

Clearly, she figured out who I was. Or maybe she already knew. My earlier suspicions roared to life. It was probably a setup. Fuck me and then blackmail me to get a better grade.

I quickly composed myself. “It’s you. Look, if we need to talk about last night, we can, but now’s not the time. I’m about to meet with my TA, and her mother is quite the character.”

She raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “Unless you’ve met Maggie, I assume you’re referring to someone else’s mother.”

I blinked, confused. “I only have one TA, and she’s due any minute.”

“Did Dean Carver not inform you?”

The mention of Dean Carver sent a chill down my spine. “What does this have to do with Dean Carver?”

“She opened up a TA position for me. My professor took a leave of absence. She said you needed a second TA. And that would be me. Surprise…”

I felt something happening down below. Asshole puckering and balls shriveling. It was rather uncomfortable. What was Dean Carver playing at?

“Professor Jones?” I muttered. “He’s off on some grand adventure, no doubt, while I’m here with you, apparently.”

She smirked. “And here I thought you were going to make this awkward.”

It was bad when I thought she was a student. But now that she was my TA, it was so much worse.

“I’m Cecily Monroe,” she said. “We should probably know each other’s names. You can call me Cece.”

“Miss Monroe,” I said, letting her know we were not going to be on a first name basis. “This⁠—”

Before I could respond, the door swung open again, and Lina Reese entered, her heels clicking against the floor. That was who I had been expecting to come in. Lina’s mom was on the university board and she donated a lot of money to the school, which essentially bought her the position as my TA. I assumed the second TA would come from a similar background.

And maybe she did.

“Hi,” Lina said with a bright smile. She took one look at Cece and the smile disappeared. “I’m Lina. Lina Reese.”