Chapter 47
Anna
Iknock on the door of Professor Sullivan’s office.
“Come in,” he says.
When I walk inside, he smiles at me and gestures for me to take a seat in the chair in front of his desk.
“I appreciate you coming to meet with me in the middle of your summer break,” he says.
“Thank you for asking me to be part of your research project. I’m so excited.”
He sips from his mug of coffee, looking pleased. “That’s wonderful to hear. You have plans to apply to medical school, is that correct?”
“Yes. I took the MCAT in May. I eventually want to go into oncology. I know that’s a long way off and I’ll study lots of things in medical school, but I’m really passionate about cancer research.”
“Wonderful. As am I.” He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose while he squints at a notepad on his desk. “Did you have time to read the documents I emailed you?”
“Yes. I know I’m joining this project a little later than the rest of the students you’re working with, but I’ve been reviewing the studies you sent me, and I think I have a solid grasp of things.”
I talk to him about the research results they’ve gotten so far and my ideas for upcoming projects he’s planning.
He takes notes on his notepad, nodding along.
“Anna, these are quite insightful ideas you have. Well done.”
I smile, excited that Professor Sullivan is so receptive.
He goes over his lab schedule, and I tell him my class schedule for the next semester.
We’re in the middle of planning my shifts for the lab when there’s another knock at the door.
Professor Sullivan squints at the door. A second later, his brow lifts, like he’s remembering something.
“Oh, that’s right. One of my grad students is stopping by to drop off some files.” He’s part of my research team as well. Come on in,” he says.
The door opens. Colin walks in.
My smile drops. It feels like I’ve been punched in the gut.
Professor Sullivan grabs the files from him, then gestures for him to take the chair next to me.
Colin’s shocked expression sharpens to a glare when he sees me.
“Perfect timing, Colin. This is Anna St. George. She’ll be the newest undergrad on my research team.”
He looks at me for a long moment before his glare fades. His mouth curves up in a sinister smile as he looks at me.
“I know Anna.”
The muscles in my shoulders knot. The way he’s looking at me makes me want to puke.
When he turns to Professor Sullivan, his smile turns into something harmless. Pleasant, even.
“Oh, good,” Professor Sullivan says. He starts typing on his keyboard while he squints at his computer screen. “I was just filling Anna in on the project thus far. She has some excellent ideas to narrow the scope of our research.”
He grabs his mug and takes another sip, but then frowns. “Must refuel.” He chuckles. “I’m a bit of a caffeine addict.”
He walks out of his office, leaving Colin and me alone. A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck. The muscles in my legs are twitching with the urge to get out of here, to run as far as I can from him.
I think back to when he cornered me in the hallway. How he grabbed my arm. How he wouldn’t let me go.
“What a coincidence.” He flashes that taunting smile.
That panicked feeling spikes up inside of me. I don’t know why he looks so happy to see me. He should be pissed at me since Melody broke up with him. I know Melody didn’t tell him that I’m the reason they broke up, but I’m sure he figured it out.
He pivots to face me in his chair and scoots forward, invading my space. I lean back. There’s nowhere for me to go though. My chair is closest to the wall, and Professor Sullivan’s office is tiny. I’d have to brush past Colin to leave.
He wouldn’t let me go that easily. He’d block my way out. Or he’d grab me.
My breath gets stuck in my throat, and my adrenaline spikes. I force myself to take a slow, quiet breath to try and calm down.
“I’m excited to work with you,” he taunts.
“Don’t be a dick,” I snap. “I know you’re not happy to see me. I’m sure as hell not happy to see you.”
He just chuckles. “Oh, come on, Anna. We have a history.”
He leans closer to me. His eyes land on my chest and linger for several seconds. That sick feeling in my stomach gets worse, but I swallow it back. I don’t want to appear as freaked out as I feel.
“Eyes up here, asshole.”
His taunting smile widens. “You should be happy I’m not mad at you, Anna. Especially after what you did to end my engagement.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie.
His smile slips, and he glowers at me. “Don’t be a bitch and try to lie to me. I know you had a hand in Melody ending things with me.”
I swallow hard, my body rigid at the anger in his tone.
He blinks. “But you’re gonna make it up to me.”
He reaches his hand out to touch me, but I slap him away. He winces.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
Anger flashes in his eyes. “You’re gonna let me do whatever I want with you. Otherwise, you’re off this research project.”
My stomach plummets to my feet.
“This’ll be your way of making it up to me after ruining my relationship.”
“You’re the one who ruined it by being a cheating, lying piece of shit.”
“I know how much you want to be on this project, Anna. I know that you want to get into medical school at Stanford, and being part of this research group would give you a huge boost. So here’s what’s gonna happen.”
He moves closer; his face is just inches from mine.
“We’re going to work together. A lot. A lot of late nights. A lot of time spent compiling data and results. It can get pretty stressful for me. And you’re gonna help me relieve that stress. With your mouth or your pussy. Whatever I feel like. Whenever I feel like it.”
I swallow back the urge to vomit.
“And you’re not gonna say a word about it. You’re gonna keep that pretty little mouth shut.”
“You’re disgusting,” I say
He shakes his head. “I’m just taking what you owe me. And you owe big time, Anna. I wouldn’t be out thousands of dollars due to a cancelled wedding if it wasn’t for you.” “
I grit my teeth, enraged that he’s blaming me for his own wrongdoing.
He stares at me for a long second. “You’re really sexy when you’re mad.”
“Fuck you.”
He just laughs. “I can’t wait to do exactly that with you. And hey, don’t worry. You’ll get something out of this.” His tone is taunting and smug. I want to slap that smile off his face.
“If you’re good for me, I’ll sing your praises to Professor Sullivan.
I’ll convince him to write you a fantastic recommendation for your Stanford application.
” His eyes narrow. “But if you don’t, I’ll ruin your fucking life.
I’ll convince him to kick you off his research team, and I’ll make sure no other professor works with you.
You’ll be a pariah of the biology department.
I’m their golden boy, and you wouldn’t believe the amount of pull I have with them. ”
A sinking feeling punches me in the gut. Colin’s right. Professors in this department love him. He’s been part of multiple research projects. He’s been published. If he wanted to sabotage me, I bet he could.
He leans his face even closer. His mouth hovers over my ear.
“I think I’m being pretty generous after how you ruined me, Anna.”
Bile creeps up my throat. I’m digging my nails into the arms of this chair, rage and fear coursing through me.
This asshole is threatening me. He’s trying to force me to have sex with him.
“Caffeine crisis averted,” Professor Sullivan announces as he walks back into his office.
Colin scoots back into his seat, his expression easy and unbothered. Like he didn’t just spend the last two minutes threatening me.
Professor Sullivan sits down behind his desk. “Did you two have a chance to chat?”
Colin smiles and nods. “Yeah, we had a nice little catchup.”
I don’t say anything. I don’t nod. I just sit there, frozen. It feels like I’m in a panic fog. What the hell do I do?
One thing’s for sure: there’s no fucking way I’m going along with Colin’s threat against me.
I don’t care what’s at stake. I’m not giving in to his disgusting demands.
My brain takes a second to process it. Once it does, I feel my body loosen. The panic fades.
Disappointment courses through me though. That means there’s no way I can be on this project anymore. Colin will sabotage me if I resist him. And I’m certain he’ll make good on his threat to poison the biology department against me.
There’s only one thing left to do.
“Professor Sullivan, sorry to interrupt you, but can I say something?”
He looks up from his laptop screen. “Of course.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be on this project.”