On the Case #5
Dean Callahan’s eyes widened as he looked at Ori before glancing back at me.
“What is the meaning of this? Aren’t you supposed to be in office hours right now?”
“This was an impromptu meeting that I didn’t initiate. And again, what I’m doing has no bearing on the reason you barged in here. Was there something you wanted?”
“Yes, when you get rid of your company you need to report to my office immediately to discuss the help that you’re supposed to be providing the FBI. I’m not sure why you haven’t clued me in on the happenings, but I can’t provide them with what they need if you’re keeping me out of the loop.”
“Keeping you out of the loop? What on earth are you talking about?” This felt like a setup. Something was strange about Margo’s insistence that I divulge information and now Dr. Callahan was doing the same.
“Do you think the school will allow you to head up a collaboration like this? I know you believe that you’ve earned the right to be on the path of tenure, but it takes far more than good grades and insightful papers to get there.” Callahan was damn near wagging his finger at me as he spoke.
“Isn’t that pretty much all tenure is besides time?”
I wanted to laugh and punch him in the face at the same time. Ori’s face was so serious but if you didn’t know him it was easy to miss the joking look his eyes took on.
“What would somebody like you know about tenure? This is none of your concern.” Callahan turned back to me, looking as arrogant as he always did.
I knew he was going to be a problem when he tried to hit on me when I was in my Ph.D.
program and I should’ve trusted my gut instinct and transferred to a different university when I began to look for positions.
Margo swore he was just a flirtatious bastard but he seemed to have a real issue with the fact that I had happily and handily told him to get the fuck away from me when he tried that.
He should be glad I didn’t sue him and this entire university.
Reaching for patience before the situation turned volatile.
I channeled my sister’s charm and put a pleasant smile on my face.
“Dr. Callahan, the situation with the FBI is one that I can’t speak on with anyone.
That was part of the terms of my working with them, per their request. Until they change it, I can’t break that confidentiality.
It would ruin all credibility that I had. ”
“You’re more worried about a temporary assignment with an outside agency instead of the one that cuts your paycheck every month?”
Oh. Oh, this was going to be bad.
“You think that I need to sell out my integrity for the amount of money that you pay me every month?”
“You spend more money on that every month on shoes.” I knew he was attempting to diffuse the situation but it felt like a shot at my conspicuous consumption.
I bristled as I glared at him. “Is that necessary?”
Callahan glanced between Ori and me angry to be on the outside of our conversation. “Who is this? This is completely unprofessional for you to be having a personal interaction during a work meeting.”
“Firstly, you barged into my office uninvited. You weren’t on my schedule so none of this is a meeting. Secondly, I’ve seen plenty of other professors with their friends, colleagues from other departments and spouses in their offices and no one says a word to them.”
“So you think you should follow the same bad decisions as them instead of being a better example?”
“This conversation has veered off into completely unprofessional territory. Again, if you have complaints about my performance, I’m sure that you will lay them out to me during review time. As for my simple ask, I do not think it’s too much to require for you to not barge inside.”
Ori pointed to Callahan with his eyes trained on me. “How long has he been trying to fuck you?”
I covered my face with my hands mortified at what he’d just said. “Christ almighty you didn’t just say that. Not out loud. Are you serious?” I peeked through my fingers to see that Callahan was once again turning bright red.
“Well, I’m sure this will be something that the rest of the deans and faculty members would enjoy hearing about.”
“So you’re going to threaten her with me standing here like I’m not a factor? I don’t know Asha, I think I’m offended.”
Dear God he almost sounded jolly, and now I was scared. “Ori, please—”
“Yes, Ori. Please get out of this office. I need to have a word with my subordinate.”
I don’t know why he spoke up. Truthfully, I wished he would’ve just walked out when this all began but no one was looking out for me on the other side.
Despite how much I hated this man, I loved my job.
And now it and all of my hard work was being flushed down the drain because Ori was about to commit murder in my office.
I don’t even think Dad could get him out of this.
Instead of saying a word, Ori did the one thing that I knew was even worse: he smiled.
And God truly didn’t care about playing favorites because for a man who didn’t look as though he fully understood the concept of joy, he executed this smile to perfection.
I mean he had high cheekbones, tanned skin, freckles and full lips but clearly God didn’t give him the type of personality that made smiling a regular occurrence because it was his most dangerous weapon.
“So this is how this is going to go, Callahan.”
“That’s Professor Callahan.”
The smile turned primal like Ori scented the blood of his prey.
Clearly Callahan was sensitive about his professional accomplishments so I knew he was going to destroy it.
“I couldn’t give a fuck less what the hell your name was.
I’ve sat here and witnessed you low-key threaten this woman, try to blackmail her and then attempt to have her give you classified information on an ongoing federal case. ”
“You act as though it’s a crime.”
That smile made another appearance as Ori moved his suit jacket out of the way, allowing his gun holster to show before he pulled out his badge.
“This shield in my hand tells me that’s exactly what it is.”
Callahan’s face paled, his faux pas obvious, as he glanced at me.
I glared back because I knew he wasn’t looking for me to help him out.
Instead of being bothered with the pissing contest I was sure was going to begin I sat back in my seat and allowed Ori to do the macho thing he’d seemingly been itching to do for a while.
Maybe he would be useful in taking care of the people and the tasks I didn’t feel like being bothered with.
Having a husband might come in handy after all.
“I didn’t realize—”
Ori nodded as he tucked his badge back in his pocket but kept his gun displayed.
“And that’s what's even worse. That you needed to realize anything in order to be a decent fucking human. It’s people like you who make me sick to my stomach.
You’re in here thinking that you can treat this woman any kind of way because she’s unprotected.
Meanwhile, she’s light years ahead of you when it comes to her publications, her research and her theories on criminology.
All of which were the reasons why she was the one sought out by my agency instead of you. ”
“You’re with the FBI.”
“As far as she’s concerned I am the entirety of the gotdamn FBI and will use the totality of our considerable resources to snuff out your existence if you ever approach her like you did today.
Now, move along and never enter this office again without her specifically requesting you, which I’ll make sure she never does,” he’s lost his bloody mind.
“Keep your distance and I won’t arrest you on charges that would surely end your pitiful career. ”
Dean Callahan looked around again but seemed to avoid my eyes on purpose. He looked at Ori and opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it and nodded like he knew better than to speak. Instead, he walked back through the door without another word.
After he shut and locked my office door, Ori turned and crossed his arms over his chest. I knew that all that maleness wasn’t going to walk out of the door when he rushed Callahan out but I wasn’t prepared for him to exude it so fully in such a confined space.
“So how many times has he tried to fuck you?”
My mouth dropped open at the blunt way he was speaking to me. Was he wrong? No, but that didn’t mean that he needed to verbalize what was obvious.
“You sound so crass.”
“Would you prefer I say something like make love? Given how we met I can assure you there wasn’t going to be anything soft, romantic or respectful about anything he wanted to do to you.
” His jaw tightened angrily and I watched the muscle tick uncontrollably until he inhaled sharply to get ahold of himself.
“Well, that’s a way to make a girl feel about a centimeter tall.”
He walked back over in the crowded room taking his initial position across from my desk. “His desires have nothing to do with you. I have to tell you, Asha you give off an air of…”
My hand shot up to stop him. “Please don’t say innocence. That term makes me ill. As though all men desire someone who is childlike or doesn’t have a fully formed frontal lobe.”
“I think when most men say that they mean naiveté or not being jaded by the world. But I can thoroughly agree that the word has less than savory implications.”
“So what am I if not innocent?”
“Strength. Feminine strength. You’re beautiful to look at and most women who would claim themselves misandrist wouldn’t normally bother with vanity.”
I sneered at his words hating that it was the prevailing standard for society. “A chauvinistic perspective.”
He nodded his agreement to my point without looking offended. “True. Most men think that women do everything for the male gaze because society has made male praise, acceptance and validation the end goals for women.”
I looked at him suspiciously wondering how we’d gotten to this place. It made all of this feel almost real. “You really sound more like me the more we talk.”
“I told you before, I have no use for most men. They can be weak. Fickle. They allow the wrong things to turn their heads and men are far easier to compromise than women are. That piece of shit that was just in here was a perfect example of that.”
I heard what he said and what he didn’t and now the totality of the man in front of me “Are you a spy?”
He smirked lazily his eyes narrowing in a sleepy, non-violent way. “Classified information,”
My response was only to nod and I tucked away the information that this man was even more of a chameleon than he appeared and I shouldn’t underestimate what he was capable of.
“I’ll take that as a yes and not ask anymore questions.
To answer yours, he tried to approach me multiple times throughout my graduate and Ph.D.
programs. Of course I wasn’t interested. ”
“And now he’s going to do some weird shit like try to get you under his thumb and make you feel as though you’re beholden to him in order for you to advance.”
My stomach turned and I hated the way his words sounded but that didn’t make them any less accurate. “That sums it up. Which is stupid. I could literally quit and never have to worry about having my bills paid.”
He huffed and poked his chest out proudly. “Especially now.”
“What does that mean?”
“You don’t think you’re still going to pay for bills once we’re married.”
“I’m never one to turn down a new Wilbur.”
He grinned but this time it wasn’t the sadistic type of smile. It was filled with humor and I was happy that he took my words as a joke. I wasn’t lying, though.
“Only unlike him, I know what lies beneath and I would do more than drain every account I have to ensure I stay within your good graces.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Because his words sounded a touch too transactional and I didn’t like it.
“It means that I would go to war with and end the life of anyone who felt the need to disturb the peace that I can see you have battled so hard to maintain in your life. Your world is full of beautiful things that bring you joy and someone attempting to make it ugly is unacceptable. Starting with Dean Callahan and his attempts to belittle the accomplishments that come with earning all those letters before and after your name. Since he wants to make you feel small I would take a hammer to the bottoms of his feet as he hung upside down breaking his bones a centimeter at a time as he screamed for mercy. I would even desecrate something as sacred as fire by having it touch his body. I would let him dry out in a kiln until his body was little more than a husk and feed it through a wood chipper until it was ground into dust.”
His words painted a vivid picture. One that spoke to me on a visceral level judging by how my nipples were fighting to break free.
Thankfully, the padding meant I wasn’t exposed but somehow he knew how aroused he had me.
Ori seemed pleased that I wasn’t running away screaming and that I was too intrigued by his words, wondering why and how he’d found the time for his imagination to run so wild.
“That was explicit.”
His eyes sparkled, although his face hadn’t changed. “Explicit. Interesting choice of words. You need to run to your father and tell him I’ve scared you?”
“No. Is this you trying to give me an out?” And why did the idea of that offend so greatly?
“No. Showing you what I’m capable of if someone tried to harm you.”
“More of you keeping your promise to me?”
He didn’t look at all remorseful for his words. “Yes. Glad you see it for what it is. I’ve interrupted enough of your day. When you leave here we need you at the office.”
He stopped speaking abruptly his body held tight before he dipped his head at me respectfully, before he turned and walked out the door.
What the hell had just happened?