Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
HEATHER
Stupid Professor Eric.
With a balled fist, I stood in front of his door and pounded on it, pissed off that he d made me embarrass myself in front of Hector last night. Usually, I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me, but I couldn t help it.
“Who is it?” Eric called from the other side of the door.
I resisted the urge to give the door my middle finger. “It’s Heather.”
While Hector had told me that he d help me study for this stupid computer science software development class or whatever the hell it was, I still wanted to know what I had done wrong on the exam. Eric had even let us use the internet to simulate what real life coding was like.
And part of me was beginning to think that I hadn’t failed because of my abilities.
But because Eric had something against me.
A couple moments later, Eric opened the door and stared down at me, his brown brows drawn together and his lips set in an angry scowl. “What are you doing here? My office hours ended twenty minutes ago.”
Why did you fail me? I asked, walking right into his office.
I didn’t care if his office hours had ended two hours ago. I had told him that I would be here now because I had class during his office hours and he wouldn’t make time out of his schedule for me. Because he fucking hated me.
“Because you didn’t study.”
I studied for the past week, nonstop, for this exam, I said, clenching my fists.
How dare he say that I hadn’t studied, that I hadn’t tried so damn hard for this exam! He didn’t know anything about me, nor about how much I was actually trying to understand this material. I didn’t even know why this was important.
“There is something you could do to pass,” he suggested.
I glared over my shoulder, lip curled in disgust. If he was about to say what I thought he was going to say, I would report him to the dean of students and walk out of here with an A for it.
“You’re disgusting,” I snarled.
“It’s not that,” he said, eyes narrowed. “You’re not attractive enough for me to lose my job over.”
While it shouldn t have bothered me because that was sick of any teacher or professor to do, I couldn t stop my chest from tightening and my lips curling down into a frown. Because he had flat-out told me that I wasn t attractive.
I was pretty, but not as pretty as Evelyn was from Hector and Dad’s company.
But come on; how unprofessional was that to say to his student?!
“Get me an interview at your father’s company,” he said.
“No.”
“Then, you’ll fail again.”
What?! I exclaimed. Why?!
“Don’t ask questions,” Eric said. “I want an interview and a job.”
Still recovering from the shit he had just said to my face, I pressed my lips together and walked out of his office. If he thought I was going to cheat my way through class, then he had another thing coming. If he failed me again, then I’d report him to the dean for bribing.
Because fuck him.
He deserved to be run over by a car multiple times.
Mumbling curse words under my breath, I stomped out of the building and headed to my car parked a couple of blocks down. Wind seared my face, making it even more difficult to walk in the dark. Once I reached my car, I slammed the door shut and blasted the heat.
Fuck Eric.
In a stressed and pissed-off mess-because of Professor Prick-I furiously drove to Radiant. I had told Hector that I d be there at eight, and my car clock read 8:14. But he d understand, right?
Or maybe he’d punish me for it.
Warmth gushed between my thighs, and I used it to forget about Eric.
All I wanted was Hector to use me, to help me forget about my grade, about how much I didn t really want to finish this business degree, and about the pressure that Dad constantly put on me to live up to the legacy my younger brother was already leaving.
Once I found an open parking spot, I parked on the side of the road and hurried through the chilly winds to Radiant. One of the reasons that I liked being a brat, especially for Hector, was that I didn’t have to care so much about what he thought about me.
I didn t have to care about my grades, nor what a mess my life was turning out to be. I pushed through the first set of blacked-out doors, past Radiant security. I could do what I wanted and get pleasure from it.
When I pushed open the second set of doors, I bumped into someone.
“Oh, sorry,” a woman said, walking toward the exit with a collar on her neck.
My eyes widened.
Evelyn.
The woman who was supposed to be working under Hector. The woman who I would never ever compare to in terms of looks and in business. The woman who was now at Radiant, where Hector was supposed to be tonight.
Evelyn widened her eyes at me, her cheeks flushed red.
What is she doing here?!
She opened her mouth, then shut it. Once. Then twice. Then, she hurried out of the building. I stared after her, eyes filling with tears because I couldn t think straight or logically at this point. Professor Prick had already gotten so deep into my head with that stupid, snide comment. Now, one of the prettiest girls was walking out of Radiant.
The BDSM sex club that Hector owned.
So, I did the only logical thing I could think of and walked out too.