AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re trying to propagate a business arrangement with me, and I simply want to discuss this in a professional atmosphere. Will tomorrow work for you?”
“Jillian, I—”
“Great. I’ll pencil you in for ten in the morning at the coffee shop on Third and Tristan Street. We’ll talk then.”
Before I could argue with her, she hung up. Irritated, I stared at the phone. Her attitude didn’t surprise me, but it pissed me off.
If Jillian thought that she had the upper hand, she had another thing coming. Humming to myself, I called Gordon. “You jotted down a copy of Jillian’s schedule, right? Can you send it to me?”
“Sure. Because stalking her will go over so well,” Gordon grumbled, but my phone alerted me to his new email. Thanking him, I hung up and opened her schedule. Jillian didn’t have work tonight, so if I knew her the way I thought I knew her, my bet would be that I’d find her at the library.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered my things. There were a few things that we used to do to entertain ourselves in a university library, and it wasn’t studying.
If she wanted to meet and talk, she could do it tonight.
***
After a quick scan of the library, I discovered that she wasn’t there. Rather than get discouraged, I did another round and found what I was looking for. An innocent undergraduate who also looked like he lived at the library and probably took note of any attractive female who walked through those doors.
“Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me. I was supposed to meet someone here, but I think she’s gotten a little lost in her dissertation again, and I’ve lost her phone number. Do you know Jillian Quinn?”
The boy’s face went immediately red. “Jillian? Yeah, I know her. She’s usually in the cubicles, but if you can’t find her there, then you’ll probably find her at Dr. Augusta’s office. He’s got a ton of literature.”
I bit back my impatience. “And his office would be…?”
“Oh, psych building. Second floor. Room 212. Listen, man, when you see her, will you be sure to tell her that Brian helped you out?”
Poor kid. I patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks, man.”
The psych building was on the other side of the campus. As I strolled across, I thought about my own experiences in college. I was full of anger when I started. Angry at the things that my father had said. Angry at the fear that I’d never amount to anything.
In response, I’d thrown myself in the college life and was prepared to dominate. I ran full force at everything, and it wasn’t until a certain tall and leggy blonde knocked the wind right out of me that I stopped.
I first met her when I was on a date with another girl during the first week of my senior year. We were walking back from a trip to the beach when I saw Jillian sunbathing on the campus quad. Tight little jean shorts. Red bikini top. Her hair had been piled on top of her head, showing off her slender neck. She was thumbing through a textbook, but when I walked by, she looked up and gave me the sultriest smile.
I’d dropped the girl off at her dorm and immediately went back to search for her, but she was gone. In fact, I chased Jillian for a full month before I even learned her name and discovered she was a freshman.
It had been a long and torturous month.
Entering the psych building, I took the steps two at a time until I found the professor’s office. The door was open, and when I walked in, I stopped dead and stared.
Jillian wasn’t dressed for the library. She was in a knockout green dress that hugged her curves and showed off her shapely legs. As she leaned over to buckle her shoes, her cleavage deepened, and her blonde hair fell over her shoulder.
“Don, I’m not really comfortable with this,” she said, her voice more timid than I’d ever heard it. “Couldn’t you just schedule dinner with them?”
“Jillian, I’ve already explained this. They are very busy men, and their time here is short. I do not understand your reservations. Normally, you enjoy dining with me. Do you not own a dress in a flashier color? Perhaps red.”
Anger swelled inside me. How dare this man ridicule her dress. She looked beyond amazing. She didn’t need to wear something flashier. She was perfect just as she was.
Just as I was about to say something, I stopped, realizing what was happening in front of me. Jillian had called the man “Don.” Not Dr. Augusta. She wasn’t dressed for her advisor.
She was dressed for her date.
Well, damn.
“I, for one, always liked her in green,” I said in a lazy drawl as I leaned against the door.
