Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Carter
“We’ll resume things later,” I promise Eve, from the fence outside her yard.
She just glances back with a wry expression. The locksmith is just now working on her door and I’m almost out of time. She lifts a shoulder and shrugs. “Whatever.”
Then she heads up the steps to her modern, expensive-looking house.
She’s wearing a pair of my Levi’s now, and the thought of her in my jeans is doing something to me that I never expected. Watching her climb the stairs, providing me with a clear view of her ass swaying from side to side makes my cock twitch.
God, if she were anyone else, I wouldn’t feel so conflicted.
But she’s not just anyone, she’s Aiden’s sister. Sure, it’s all removed because she’s adopted. There’s no trace of kinship between us. But still, somehow, it feels wrong.
My feelings feel wrong.
Like, I’m supposed to be able to easily resist them, because of those complications.
But my body hasn’t caught on to the fact that she’s strictly off limits. My cock doesn’t seem to care in the slightest.
She doesn’t look back again as I wistfully turn toward the bridge that will carry me across to the meeting that I’m almost definitely going to be late for.
As I jog down the street, I can’t stop my mind from churning.
Seeing Eve is like someone has kicked me in the gut. One minute I’m jogging toward home, the next minute I’m trying not to stare at her honey-colored hair and her incredible face.
Her lips alone could make a man beg for mercy. Her eyes are exactly halfway between blue and green. And the way she arches her eyebrow when she has a question…
It’s funny how that little facial quirk can bring me to my knees.
Every single interaction I’ve had with her has been exactly that way. Try to focus on what she’s saying and not on her slender body. Or the way she tosses her hair back and fixes me with a fiery glare. Or the swell of her hips, swaying softly back and forth as she walks.
Yeah, it’s official. I’m thirty-two years old and I have a fucking crush. On Eve no less, who is a spoiled princess just out of her undergrad years. She’s way too young for me to even be looking at her and she’s my half-brother’s sister. Adopted sister. Whatever.
And yet… I mean, just look at her. Other than all the things I just mentioned, she’s basically perfect. Lucky for me, things have never lined up right for us to be able to spend much time together.
Until now. How am I supposed to deal with her being in such close proximity?
She’s perfect for someone else. With her sharp tongue and her critical gaze, she’d be better off with a marshmallow of a man, someone who will let her walk all over him. Someone that can give her the life she is used to, the one that she deserves.
I blow out a breath. Eve leaves me confused and horny at the best of times.
After I’m partway over the bridge, I take a last wistful look over my shoulder. I can see her place in the distance and now I know I’ll see it every time I head home from work.
Her place is nicer than mine, that’s for sure. Her new house is twice the size of mine, with large picture windows and thousands of dollars’ worth of landscaping outside. And that’s just what I saw today. The inside is undoubtedly much fancier, unlike my solidly middle class home choice. It’s not that I can’t afford a nicer place, but I’m attempting to be frugal.
And, after the blow out fight that I had with my mother over my trust fund, I’m not exactly rolling in available cash. She administers my trust until I turn 35. I comfort myself with knowing that’s less than three years away.
Nevertheless, I’m forced to live on my actual salary alone for the first time, and…. well, it’s proving more difficult than expected. I straighten my tie as I walk the rest of the way over the bridge to the University of Washington Medical School.
Ten minutes from now, I have a meeting with the head of the biology program. I’m not nervous exactly; I’ve never spared much thought for job interviews. But I worked as an adjunct professor last semester, and I would really, really like to move up to a less tenuous position.
You know, the better to pay the rent with or whatever. But I still can’t help but feel like I am being called into the principal’s office when I climb the stairs to meet her.
When I get to Dr. Mooney’s office, she ushers me in and points to a seat. All around me are piles of files and books, stacked haphazardly. It’s a challenge to fit my body in the empty space of the chair without knocking over anything.
Dr. Mooney sits down at her cluttered desk and looks down her nose at me, even though she’s probably only five feet to my 6’3”. She’s old and cranky as fuck, wrapped in at least two old cardigans today. It’s hard to get a read on her, honestly.
She opens what seems to be my permanent record on the desk in front of her, leaning close to read. “Dr. Morgan. You taught a Bio 300 level class at the community college last semester.”
I shift in my seat, brushing a stack of files with my shoulder. “Yes.”
“Let’s see. Yale for undergrad… and you did your post grad at Portland State.”
Nodding slowly, I answer. “Yes.”
She sits back, considering me. “Dr. Finch taught first year biology here at the Medical School. His position has recently become available.”
My brows go up. “Really?”
“Yes, really. “ Her mouth flattens. “He had relations with a student. It seems like he slept with a number of students. Which is sort of unbelievable because he was 67.” She stares at me. “Your name has been brought up as a replacement for Dr. Finch. Repeatedly.”
I’m tongue tied for a moment. How? Who even knows that I work here?
But I quickly recover. “That’s very flattering.”
I start calculating. The difference in pay between teaching as an adjunct in an undergrad class and teaching at the med school full time… it’s undoubtedly substantial.
Dr. Mooney sits back, steepling her fingers. “I want you to realize that we take these allegations by students very seriously. Whoever we hire has to be impervious to the students. Unaware. Above it all. Unimpeachable.”
“I understand, Dr. Mooney.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “The problem is that you are… well… you are handsome , to begin with. And young. You will undoubtedly have students throwing themselves at you. So, I’d like to know how you plan to handle that.”
My mind is whirling. I blow out a breath. “I’m not married, but I assure you. I have a healthy dating life that has nothing to do with twenty year olds. It’s not even in my thoughts.”
Well… there is one particular twenty-something that I fantasize about regularly, but Dr. Mooney doesn’t need that much info. She just needs to be reassured that I won’t dip my pen in the company ink.
She rolls her eyes. “That’s not what I am saying. I am saying you might need to consider what you will do if a student proposes something indecent. What will you say? How will you act?”
It only takes the work of a second to respond. “I’m not their friend. I’m a professor at a prestigious school. I’ll act offended, because I will be.”
Her lips lift a fraction. “That’s more like it. I just don’t want to be the one who hires the school’s next #metoo issue.” She pauses. “There is one more thing.”
I lean forward. “What would that be?”
Her eyes glint. “You would have to start next week.”
For a second, I am speechless. “Next week? Like Monday?”
“Yes. Dr. Finch was only fired a few days ago… and his first class of the fall semester begins Monday. Short notice I know, but we would have that issue with any potential professor.”
“I mean, I guess I could work it out,” I say, wrinkling my brow. “The first class is basically just trying to pronounce everyone’s names right and… you know, going through the syllabus.”
“My thoughts precisely,” Dr. Mooney says. She stands up, knocking a stack of file folders over. She doesn’t seem to notice. “Well, Dr. Morgan. I’d like to start you in the position temporarily. You’ll receive a substantial pay raise, of course. After the end of this semester, I will meet with you and decide if you’re suited for the role in a more permanent capacity.”
I stand up, extending my hand to her. “Thank you, Dr. Mooney. You won’t regret it.”
She takes my hand briefly, shaking her head.
“I had better not, Dr. Morgan.” She gives me a cool smile. “I’ll email you the information about the class right now. Everything from the classroom location to the syllabus and class roster. You’ll need to take over Dr. Finch’s office too… I actually think I have some ancient notes from when I used to teach the class, a million years ago. If I can manage to dig them out of wherever they’re buried, I’ll scan them and email them to you.”
“I would appreciate that,” I say. I give her a little bow and then see myself out of her office, my heart pounding in my ears.
Wow. That was not at all what I expected. My workload has suddenly doubled or tripled in only the space of a few minutes time. But the most important thing is that I will be able to more than afford my life now, which is great.
My worries about money, however briefly I had them, seem like a distant note on the horizon. Now I just have a huge amount of responsibility… Dr. Finch had a huge job.
Jogging down the stairs, I listen as my phone chirps a dozen times. A dozen new emails from Dr. Mooney, each about something vital.
Fuck. I don’t even have the textbooks that this course teaches. I guess the campus bookstore should be my first stop, then. Followed by finding the classroom and my new office… and figuring out what the hell I’m supposed to teach tomorrow.