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It surprised him when the Dean came to visit in person, and he was grateful, too. He’d wanted to avoid using his father’s transportation company as much as possible now that his exile from the family had been made absolutely official. The Dean surprised him by pulling him into a rough hug when they met, then standing back, clearing his throat self-consciously.
“I was sorry to hear about your falling out with your family, Archer. That can’t have been an easy thing to go through.”
“It was. But I feel better than I have in decades.” They were sitting in a well-appointed meeting room in the Palace, graciously provided by Queen Lana, who seemed to have taken a shine to him despite the good-natured jokes she kept making about their kingdom’s propensity for taking in strays. “You said it yourself, Dean—he was a hard man to live with.”
“I hope the relationship may one day be repaired.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Archer said softly. “But I do too.”
“As to the matter of your enrollment,” the Dean said briskly, lifting a thick bundle of paper in his lap. “As you can imagine, your father quickly reached out to advise that he would not be paying your tuition. He also threatened to cancel his sizable recurring donation to the university if we offered you a scholarship to cover your fees. It’s not a donation we can afford to lose, I’m afraid.”
Archer’s heart sank into his toes. That had been his last hope, and a vain one at that. His results had been good, but not scholarship good. Not like Morgan’s, which had all but guaranteed that her scholarship would be extended another year at the least… “I understand,” he said faintly. “Thank you for looking into it—”
“I wasn’t finished, young man,” the Dean said sharply. “Now, a scholarship is out of the question, very well. And I quite understand you lack the means to pay your own fees. So, I’ve come up with another solution. It’s not ideal, but I hope you’ll consider it.” The Dean took a breath. “It has become clear that our staff, while unrivaled academically, do lack when it comes to … social affairs, I suppose. We are therefore looking to appoint our first social coordinator. The role would involve seeing to ensuring a vivid social life for the students. We received a record number of compliments last year regarding the events for which you were responsible. Many indicated they were the highlight of their time at Brisant.”
“You’re offering me a job?” He felt taken aback. It wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined, but if he couldn’t be a student, it would be nice to at least be at the same university as Morgan and his friends.
“I am indeed, if you’re willing to accept it. A part-time role, of course, scheduled at your discretion to fit around your studies.”
“My studies? But—”
“Tuition makes up part of the remuneration for this role,” the Dean said carefully, “which, I will emphasize for legal reasons, we developed well in advance of the situation with your parents. Unfortunately, the remaining salary is rather modest, especially compared to what you must be used to, but you should be able to live comfortably, if simply, on campus.”
Archer stared at him for a long moment. “Dean, I would sleep on thebeachif it meant I could come back. This is… this offer is too generous.”
“Consider it a coming-of-age gift,” the Dean said with a faint smile. “Besides, I can’t wait to see the look on your father’s face when he sees how I’ve outsmarted him. That vein in his temple is going toburst.”
One day he was going to ask the Dean about his history with his father, Archer thought now as they walked up the familiar pathway towards the university above them. He had a feeling it was going to be a fascinating story. Right now, though, he had a dozen other priorities to attend to. First and foremost, finding their way through the winding tunnels to their dorms. Callan waved them a hasty goodbye when he spotted some friends, and Morgan slipped her hand into Archer’s and pulled him quickly along the hallway to a familiar door.
“Home again,” she said with a grin, studying the list of names on the door and breathing a sigh of relief. “Same roommates.”
“Oh, good. The ones who think I’m an asshole.”
“It’ll keep you on your toes,” she said brightly, reaching up to press a quick kiss to his lips that lingered a little longer than either of them had intended.
“Oh, I’m never going to get used to that,” he said softly when she finally pulled away, and the flash of delight in her eyes was almost enough to knock him over again. He helped her in with her bags, gazing around the little room that was somehow both familiar and completely new.
“So,” Morgan said, eyes twinkling. “Now that you’re a staff member, will you be far too important to spend time with me?”
“Of course,” he said gravely. “And while we’re on the subject, I think you should call me Professor while we’re on campus—”
“Over my dead body. You’re not even a professor.”
“My official job title, I’ll have you know, is The Party Professor. No—Professor Party. I like that more.”
“I can’t believe this,” Morgan said softly, shaking her head with vivid dismay on her face. “Of all the soulmates in all the insulas in all of the world, I got stuck with the worst one. Imagine my luck.”
“Very unfortunate,” he agreed solemnly, and she grinned at him as he reached out to take hold of her hip and pull her against him. She slid her arms around his neck with a contented sigh, and he held her close for a moment, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. Luck really was the word he kept coming back to. What else could you blame, when the most perfect woman who ever lived just walked into your life one day and blew up everything you thought you knew? With the flash of those green eyes of hers, his fate had been sealed. He’d gone from being the sole heir to a billion-dollar fortune to being a part-time student and low-level university employee without so much as a dollar to his name.
And it had been, hands down, the best thing that had ever happened to him.
*****
THE END
