Page 10 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

If I hadn’t been so shocked and annoyed—painfully annoyed—I might have noticed that his slim khaki pants and tweed sport coat fit his lean body incredibly well. Or that his thick hair was a rich, chestnut brown when it wasn’t dripping with sweat. Or that his smile was a little crooked under a perfectly straight, Grecian nose.

But I definitely didn’t notice any of that since he was crashing my meeting.

“Good morning, Headmaster,” he said, stepping past me without even a sideways glance to extend his hand to Richmond.

The Headmaster grasped the younger man’s hand firmly in both of his and smiled as if he was just as pleased to see the beautiful jerk as he had been to see me.

“Right this way,” Richmond said, ushering us into his office.

Headmaster Richmond took a seat behind his stately desk and clasped his hands, surveying us with kind eyes. My spine prickled as I took a seat in one of two antique wooden chairs facing him, while the abs-hole took the other.

“I appreciate your punctuality this morning. I have a tight schedule, and we have much to discuss.” He opened a thick folio and started shuffling papers. “Let’s get started, shall we? You are both acquainted?”

“No,” I replied at the same time the abs-hole said, “Yes.”

I jerked my head to look at him and found him returning my gaze with a stiff expression.

Headmaster Richmond stilled his paper shuffling and looked between the pair of us. “I see,” he said to himself. Then more loudly, “I suppose we ought to start with introductions. Ms. Melanie Burke, meet Mr. Jackson Cooper. You are both Newbury Academy alumni from the class of 2015.”

I couldn’t have been more surprised if Richmond had jumped on his desk and burst into song. This guy—Jackson Cooper—was my former classmate?

I had no memory of him.

At all.

Surely, I would have remembered spending four years with someone a head taller than me, with cheekbones and a jawline that could cut glass, and thick, dark hair that just begged to have fingers run through it.

I was staring.

And Cooper was frowning.

“We didn’t run in the same circles,” he said.

Heat bloomed up my chest and neck to my cheeks. I didn’t remember him, but he clearly remembered me. I suddenly understood why he had been so spiteful yesterday. It had probably been a blow to his fragile, male ego that I didn’t know him—not that my poor memory excused his rude comments.

What are you doing here…

I forced a smile onto my face and tried to recover a modicum of dignity. “I’m sure I’ll remember once we have a chance to catch up.”

“I doubt it,” Cooper said under his breath.

I opened my mouth to argue, but Headmaster Richmond spoke before I got another word out.

“Now that that’s all settled, let’s get down to the task at hand. You have both been appointed to the chemistry teaching position vacated by Mr. Stephens upon his retirement.”

Time stood still for a moment. Air froze in my lungs. My heart stopped beating. My eyes grew so round that they were in danger of popping out of my face.

“Come again?” said a deep voice, expressing my own thoughts.

Air rushed back into my lungs as I whirled my head to look over at Cooper. He was leaning forward, eyes intent on Richmond. His brow was furrowed, and his lips tipped into an even deeper frown.

“It’s just as I said.” The Headmaster spoke slowly as if he were explaining thermodynamics to second graders. “The post of chemistry professor is vacant, and I brought in both of you to fill the role on a trial basis. You will lesson plan together so the curriculum is consistent, but you will each teach your own sections. At the end of the term, a determination will be made on future employment.”

If the news that Jackson perma-frown Cooper was my former classmate had been jarring, it was nothing compared to the fusion bombshell of this pronouncement. My heart dropped like a stone from my throat into my gut.

“So, we have to compete?” I blurted.

“Of course not, my dear!” Richmond chuckled, as though any of this news was amusing. “You will collaborate. Separately you are impressive, but together you will be unstoppable.”