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She walked into the classroom and saw him, Kennedy King Cooper.
“What are you doing here? This is my class.”
“No, this is a team-taught course.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “And you cannot possibly be my partner. Because my partner is the author of this text.” He pointed to the book on the desk. “J. Jordan St. Clair.”
She purposely chose to ignore that comment. “Deb just now assigned me to this room. She said nothing about it being a team teaching this course. Whose harebrained scheme was this?”
“It was my harebrained scheme, professors.” Thom Chare stood in the doorway. She and Kenn pivoted. “And I do believe it’s a brilliant harebrained scheme,” he added.
The chair apparently enjoyed the silence that followed.
“Kenn, I see you’ve met Dr. St. Clair. I’m confident you two are destined to make an incredibly powerful impact on the young minds in this room.” His voice was calm and clear. Again, he paused.
“Now, suck it up and get on with the teaching.” And with that he disappeared.
She and Kenn exchanged looks. He was the first to speak.
“You’re J. Jordan St. Clair? But how can that be? I always thought he was a…”
“Male, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
She knew she should be furious. And maybe later she would be. But somehow that seemed unimportant right now. Sure, the astonished look on his face gave her a smug satisfaction, but she suddenly felt sorry for the man.
“Hey,” she nudged him.Damn. Mistake to touch him.Make mental note to keep a distance.
“Look, we’ve got an audience,” she said loudly. The class laughed. “They’re expecting a show. One that centers around history. Controversial and conspiratorial history.”
Then she addressed the class. “I’m Professor St. Clair, but you’ve probably already figured that one out. This is Professor Kennedy King Cooper. We’re you’re historical guides for this course.”
“You’re not Dr. St. Clair,” one student called out. “You’re JJ Spritely, the romance author. I’ve read all your books.” Several other students loudly agreed. Her presence caused a stir of excitement among many of the female students.
She felt her cheeks grow hot. The last time she taught, she didn’t have to deal with this. She hadn’t been a published novelist yet.
Kenn deftly jumped in. “True enough, she is. But prior to that, she established herself as a reputable, accomplished historian. So, when you go to open your text for this class later on tonight, you know it won’t be boring. But I’ll give you one hint. When it comes to the Marilyn Monroe-JFK conspiracy theory, don’t expect a happily-ever-after ending.”
The class laughed. He had said the perfect words to put everyone, especially herself, at ease. And she was grateful.
“Now, let’s get down to business, shall we? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Because some people”—he took a step away from her and with a flourish pointed to her—“see conspiracies lurking behind every event.”
She curtsied flamboyantly. “It’s true,” she said, then flashed Kenn a smile. “I may not agree with some of them one-hundred percent—”
“Excuse me, professors.” They pivoted at the exact same moment. It was the chair again.
“I have two more late registering additions to your class.” Behind him stood two figures who looked as if they just emerged from a recently unearthed time capsule from the 1960s. The couple she had bumped into on the quad.
“Peace, man,” he said as he flashed two fingers in the “V” formation. “Right on!” He raised a clenched fist.
“Gone with the wind,” said the woman standing next to him. Her partner nudged her. “That’s go with the flow,” he coached.
“Yeah, go with the flow. Tune in, turn out—and jump in.”
Chare hurriedly made the introductions through his chuckling. “Here are your two new students. A little late, but better late than never. Here are the proper registration forms.”
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Now that she got a closer look at them, she realized her first impulse of who they were was right.
It was all she could do to not explode. She caught Blake by the arm as the character hurriedly tried to get past her. “What are you two doing here?” she whispered through clenched teeth.
