by Ellie Danes
I didn’t have a choice. My new job was waiting.
* * * * *
It had taken the better part of two hours for me to finally peel myself out of bed and get ready. I stared at my bloodshot green eyes in the mirror. They were accentuated by my long blond hair that I had managed to get untangled.
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect with this new job. An assistant to a professor could mean a bunch of different things and I doubted I would be using my marketing degree or knowledge from my graduate classes for any of them.
Standing back from the wall length mirror, I gave myself a quick look up and down. The knee-length black skirt hugged my curves and my button-down electric blue blouse hugged my chest. If nothing else, I looked good in this pseudo business outfit. Not my usual daily wear for campus, but it suited me.
When I reached the Hawkins building, I took a deep breath, pulled open the door, and stepped into the corridor. I had taken plenty of my undergrad classes here and had at least one of my grad classes for this final semester here as well. I had almost completely forgotten that I actually had to take classes this last semester.
Tuesdays and Thursdays were my class days. The next six months were going to be hell, between work, school and work at the Fox Hole. It would be nearly impossible to find time to study, or have a social life.
I merged into the crowd of students milling about the hallway and pushed ahead in the direction of room 102. The big lecture hall. Class didn’t start for another forty-five minutes and I wasn’t supposed to meet my new boss for another fifteen minutes, but I liked to be early.
As I approached the lecture hall, a large group of students had already gathered outside, mostly women. Apparently, my new boss taught fashion, based on the way the women were dressed.
Short tight skirts, sundresses that barely left anything to the imagination, crazy short shorts, and tops that looked painted on. Each of the women had their makeup done to perfection and appeared to be standing in line to get into a night club instead of attending the first day of classes. I shook my head as I approached the large double doors to the room, pushing my way through to the front.
“Hey, watch it!” one of the students grunted as I moved past her. Then I caught sight of the piece of paper taped to the doors. Classroom closed until 11:00 a.m.
I tapped the button on the side of my phone and looked at the time. 10:40 a.m. Right on time.
“You can get in the back of the line like everyone else.” A high-pitched voice with a slight country twang rang out from the back of the crowd. I looked back over my shoulder in the general direction from where it came and then pulled open the door, walking inside.
“You can’t go in there. Can’t you read?” another voice jabbed at me.
I shrugged it off and kept going. Obviously, the note was intended for the class, not the professor’s assistant.
The doorway opened up into the large auditorium lecture hall and as it shut, the voices of the crowd outside silenced.
“Did you not read the sign outside?” a deep, gruff voice boomed from the front of the room. I looked ahead and saw the source—a man sitting on a large desk in the center of the room, his back to me.
“I’m…” I cleared my throat as I raised my voice to be heard across the large echoing room. “I’m Jamie Dunn, I was told to report here. I’m your new assistant. I know I’m a little early.”
“It’s actually perfect timing,” the man said without turning around. “I’ll be with you in a moment, I’m actually just finishing up an email and expecting my counterpart any moment.” He glanced briefly over his shoulder in my direction and then continued, “Why don’t you have a seat in the front row.”
He turned away, looking back at his phone and I timidly took a seat in the front row, awaiting whatever came next.
A minute later the door swung open to the side of the auditorium. My stomach sank as the professor turned to face the approaching man.
Double fuck.
Chapter Five
Chase
“Are you feeling as shitty as I am?” Grant asked and laughed as we met beside the huge desk in the middle of the room—the desk that had held so many memories of Summer.
“Probably worse,” I said with a chuckle. “I should know better than to drink tequila on a Sunday night.”
Grant laughed. It wasn’t the first time I had thought that and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time.
“So are you ready for all of this?” I said as I motioned to the empty lecture room. I noticed the girl sitting in the front row, but continued my conversation. My eyes fixed on her as she sat there, tapping through her phone and not paying much attention to anything else around her.
Just like the first day of each semester, the women came to class early, hoping for one of the coveted spots in the intern program I ran. How they’d be disappointed this year.
“I’m pretty excited about all of it actually,” Grant said, “and I’ve learned I’m getting an assistant.” He chuckled and motioned towards the young woman I had been staring at in the front row.
“Technically, she’s my assistant.” I jabbed back, not losing focus of the woman. “But I guess you may have more of a need for her that I will.”
“Was it Jamie?” Grant asked the young woman.
Her head popped up from looking down at her phone and she brushed her long blond hair out of her eyes, revealing a gorgeous smile. “Yes, Jamie Dunn.”
“Why don’t you come up here, Ms. Dunn.” I said.
As she approached I realized her smile was familiar. More than that was familiar. My stomach sank as she got closer and our eyes met. I knew every square inch of her and I could smell the eucalyptus of her shampoo.
I felt my cock begin to harden as images of the previous night filled my head.
“I’m the—”
“I’m Chase Kerns. It’s nice to meet you Ms. Dunn. This is Grant Ashworth.” I extended my hand and we shook as I kept my gaze on her eyes, hoping she picked up on my cue. I cocked my head to the side playing off the slightly awkwardness. “You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?”
“I work at the Fox Hole. I believe I’ve seen you there, actually both of you, last night.” She smiled as she let go of my hand and shook Grant’s. “I was working another section, but I remember.” She looked back to me, and her cheeks were faintly pink with a blush. “So, this was a bit of a surprise. I was supposed to be working in the Admin office and they called this morning to tell me to show up here for an assistant job. Who will I be working for?”
I looked into her clear blue eyes. “Well, technically this is my class but–”
Before I could finish, the doors to the lecture hall opened and students flooded in. Girls in short skirts and revealing dresses crowded the front row as we watched. Grant’s eyes grew bigger as the lecture hall filled.
Shaking my head, I said, “I guess you’ll find out the news with everyone else. Why don’t you grab a seat up front before they’re filled.”
Jamie snatched one of the few remaining front row seats, but not without getting sneers from a group of girls making a beeline for her seat.
“Here we go.” Grant laughed as the few remaining seats filled.
“Professor?” A tall blond kid dressed in a suit approached me holding a folder. “My name is Vance. I had emailed over a copy of my resume, but I wanted to give you a hard copy, just so you have it in front of you.”
“Thanks,” I nodded, “but you should probably hold on to that for now.” A small group of students started to follow his lead as I quickly cut them off. “Everyone, please take your seats.” I walked back toward the center of the room where Grant had taken a seat on the edge of the desk. “Here we go,” I whispered, “This isn’t going to go well.”
“Good luck,” he muttered back as I took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.
“Welcome to Business and Negotiations. I’m Professor Kerns and I know many of you have been waiting to get into
this class. I also know many of you have been excited about the opportunity to be one of the selected interns this semester.”
I took a step forward and surveyed the group of students.
I had been receiving resumes and emails for this semester since the second week the previous semester. I had also been teaching this course for the last several years. I enjoyed it, but it was time to focus my attention on other things. As I said the words, my eyes met Jamie’s electric green stare.
“This is Grant Ashworth.” I motioned toward Grant, still perched on the edge of the desk. “Actually, Professor Grant Ashworth. Professor Ashworth will be taking over this class for the semester.”
I drew in a breath as the auditorium filled with whispers and groans.
“Gee, thanks,” Grant laughed.
“Don’t take it personally,” I said. “You knew this was going to happen.” I took another step closer to the students as I raised my arms, attempting to quiet them down. “I hand-picked Professor Ashworth and I will still be available to each of you, but the bulk of the teaching will be handled by him and…” I motioned towards Jamie sitting in the front row, “Jamie Dunn, his assistant for this class.”
Jamie’s face filled with a look of disappointment. I was disappointed as well, but after having spent a night of hot and steamy sex with her, for once luck was on my side in that we wouldn’t be working directly together. I had barely fought off the rumors once Summer and I had come out about our relationship.
The evening with Jamie was innocent, but having her show up in my classroom almost seemed too convenient.
I looked in her direction again and mouthed I’m Sorry. Turning back toward Grant, I nodded and then continued, “We’ve also decided that this semester we won’t be taking on interns for dedicated positions. Instead, we will give those students who work hard and show potential, individual opportunities to work directly with Professor Ashworth.”
More groans filled the room as I stepped back toward the desk.
“And now, I give you Professor Ashworth.” I shot Grant a quick wink and moved off towards the side of the room as he took over with his introduction and description of the course.
Twenty minutes later he dismissed the students. He and I stood and chatted, soon joined by Jamie.
“So, I’m working for you?” Jamie turned toward Grant and smiled.
“You are, but I’m sure you’ll also have a chance to work with Professor Kerns.”
“Chase,” I quickly corrected.
“Chase,” Grant repeated. “We don’t want to change too much from this course and I’m sure you’ll gain a lot from working with him as well.”
Jamie turned and awkwardly smiled. “I’m fine with whatever, I just need the money.”
“My office is on the third floor, room 319, in the business section. See you Wednesday, an hour before class starts?”
“Sure thing,” Jamie responded quickly. She smiled. “It was nice to meet you, Chase. Hopefully we’ll run into one another again.”
She spun and walked up the staircase toward the top of the lecture hall, then exited to the main hallway. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her perfectly toned legs and the black skirt that hugged her ass.
I took in a small breath as I remembered exactly what it looked like naked.
Chapter Six
Jamie
A day had passed since I’d received the shock of my life. What could have been my new boss was also the man I had slept with. Chase Kerns. No. Professor Chase Kerns. He looked just as good standing in front of a lecture hall as he looked at the Fox Hole, or completely naked in front of me.
I could still feel the panic set in as I’d seen him walk across the front of the room toward Grant.
Quitting my job at the Fox Hole was not going to be nearly good enough to escape these two men. I’d have to quit school. The thing was, I didn’t want to avoid him. Secretly, I had hoped he would still be my boss.
As much as I should have tossed down a few shots last night to forget my new hell, I ended up coming back to the apartment and crashing. I never even heard Kay come home last night, but I certainly heard her in the morning. Clanking dishes, blaring her music, and thundering around the apartment like no one else existed.
Kay worked part-time as a law office receptionist and spent her evenings trying to wrap up classes for her undergraduate degree. She was seven credits short, but it seemed like it had taken her forever to get those classes done. A part of me believed she wanted to stay in school forever since her parents took care of her and paid her bills.
Her day job was only to keep her out of trouble, and Kay definitely looked the part of trouble.
I shuffled into the kitchen to see Kay resting against the sink, a cup of coffee in her hand and her short silk flowered bathrobe barely tied closed. The small part in the front revealed her pink lace bra and the opening trailed downward, exposing the dragon tattoo across her stomach. Kay was eccentric with her short black hair chopped in a pixie cut and bright green eyes. She sported tattoos not only across her stomach, but on her arms, shoulders, and legs.
She was definitely a rebel, which didn’t make sense to me. Her parents spoiled her, and the more they gave her the more she seemed to distance herself from them. The exact opposite of something I would do if I actually had a parent that cared.
“Morning, sunshine,” Kay said, taking a long slow sip from her coffee. “I just made a pot and it looks like you could use some.”
She had a way of not beating around the bush when it came to calling things as she saw them.
“Definitely,” I smiled, then realizing I hadn’t even taken the time to brush my teeth or look presentable. Not that I had cared, it was only Kay. “I haven’t seen you in a few days. Wild weekend? I trust you got the money I left the other day?”
“Yeah, I got it...and wild? Only if you consider having a mountain man groping your ass wild.” Kay let out a snort and took another sip of her coffee.
“Seriously? Fill me in.”
Kay untied her robe and spun around, revealing a new tattoo sprawled across her left ass cheek. It was a devil holding a bottle of tequila in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. “You like? Next time I’ll get the angel and they can battle it out.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “You never cease to surprise me.”
“Want to get a drink tonight? I’m off at five. Maybe we can get you a tattoo.”
“No tattoo, and I wish I could get a drink, but I’ll be serving them tonight. I’ve tried to pick up some extra shifts. Between that and the new job at school, maybe I can get caught up.” I knew that wasn’t exactly true. I’d likely never get officially caught up, but I was trying.
“Then maybe I’ll stop by and get a drink up there. We can catch up after your shift ends. I feel like it’s been forever since we actually talked,” she said.
I had wanted to fill Kay in on all of the details of the other night, and almost working for the man I’d slept with, but I wasn’t really sure what or what not to say. It was still sinking in with me.
Kay finished up her coffee and slipped off to get ready. There were days I envied her. This was one of them. Her life seemed so simple. Work, play, classes…just because.
I closed my eyes and wished things could be different. I had hoped going to class would take my mind off of everything, until I realized I would just be adding more work and stress to my life.
* * * * *
This semester wasn’t as heavy of a load as my previous semesters, but it was still going to be tough. I was only taking two classes and that was more than enough. At least both were somewhat interesting and would possibly help me later in life. My advanced marketing and branding professor was probably around when the first print media was designed. He was incredibly knowledgeable, but also incredibly boring. To make matters worse, my second class, digital marketing, was taught by a professor who probably wasn’t much older than I was. He was a nerd in every sense and very full of hims
elf. When he wasn’t talking about his own accomplishments, he would add in something useful.
This was going to be a very long semester.
As I walked across campus, I noticed the Hawkins building to my left. The site of my new job. Without thinking, I headed up to the third floor where I would be working, or at least spending some of my time.
An older woman with brown, graying hair sat behind a desk in foyer to the main office area. Everything on her desk was arranged in perfect order and as I approached her desk she carefully slid the eReader device she had been holding under a stack of papers, as if I hadn’t already noticed. “Can I help you, miss?”
“I’m Jamie Dunn. I’ll be working with Professor Ashworth,” I said.
“Professor Ashworth isn’t in right now–”
“Jamie.”
The sound of his voice sent a hot shiver down my spine. It was the first time he had said since we had...met. I wasn’t sure met was really the right way to describe what happened between us, though. I spun to see him walking into room from behind. In one long stride he was directly in front of me and his masculine scent of lavender and citrus met my face.
I stared directly into his chest and quickly met his eyes, realizing I must look like a fool as flashes of the other night blazed through my mind. “Hi Professor Kerns,” I squeaked out.
“Chase,” He reminded me. He turned to the receptionist. “Cil, this is Jamie Dunn. She’ll be working with Grant, but also helping me out from time to time.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, then, probably realizing I didn’t really need anything from her, she pulled her eReader back from under the papers and continued reading.
“Why don’t you come back to my office and I can show you around,” Chase said as he motioned for me to walk ahead of him. He gently placed his hand on the small of my back and I took in a quiet, shuddering breath. Feeling the warmth of his hand through my thin t-shirt made me tighten every muscle at once.
“My office is down on the corner,” he said, motioning with one large, tanned hand. We continued down the hallway, with him leading me. “This is Grant’s office,” he said as he pointed to a fairly empty office to the left. “The rest of the offices are for other professors in the business department and they mostly keep to themselves.”
