Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ADONIS
E ros: Do you even live here anymore?
Atticus: Who is that directed at?
Eros: Take your pick.
Eros: You’re always at your girlfriend’s, Dem is always out drinking, and I’ve no clue where Donnie is at. I feel like I live alone.
Demetrius: I’m not out drinking. I’m on call. Sleeping at the station.
Atticus: My girlfriend is more fun than you guys.
Eros: Whatever.
Adonis: I’m working.
Eros: Losers.
When I get into the office the next morning, I have an email from Dr. Carver asking me to come to his office first thing this morning. Again, with the impromptu meetings? It causes my anxiety to skyrocket.
Did someone see me with Clover last night? I checked the hallway and all the offices last night before I left. I saw no one.
I rack my brain and walk through last night’s events again. I create a mental checklist of each office and corner I checked. The only room I didn’t check was the women’s restroom.
My anxiety turns into full on panic. If someone was hiding in there and saw us, I’m screwed. I knew I should have checked. That’s not a mistake I’ll make again.
I take a deep breath and shake my hands to my side. “Calm down, Donnie. No one saw you.”
No one ever works that late, except occasionally Dr. Carver. But I know he was gone last night. He told me he had a dinner date with his wife.
I check the time on my phone against the time he sent the email. It’s 7:45 a.m. Ten minutes have passed. I have a couple of minutes to spare before he’ll expect me to show up. He knows I come in early. It’s rare that I ever get in past 8:00 a.m. If I wait too long to show up, he’ll know something’s wrong.
I run my fingers through my hair and take a few deep breaths. It’s fine. It has to be. There’s no way anyone saw us. I have to believe that.
I scroll through my emails just to make sure I haven’t missed something that could clue me in on the urgency of this meeting, and I find nothing. Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I push to my feet and head to his office.
When I enter the main office, the receptionist is just now arriving. “Good morning, Dr. Rosi,” she says in a seductive tone. If I missed the flirtatious tone of her greeting, her smile lets me know exactly what she wants from me. “Can I help you with something?”
I shake my head and avoid eye contact. “Dr. Carver asked me to meet with him this morning.”
“Oh.” She looks disappointed. She flirts with me every time I see her, and frowns when I ignore her advances. I’d hate to think about how she’d react if she knew I can’t even remember her name.
She says something else, but I’ve already stepped into Dr. Carver’s office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
He looks up and smiles. “Yes, thanks for coming by on such short notice.”
“Of course.” I take a seat in the empty chair opposite his desk. “What can I do for you?”
He sits back and clasps his hands together, making a steeple with his ring fingers. Then he holds them to his mouth and gives me a curious look. My anxiety comes back with a vengeance.
Fuck, he knows something.
I do my best to school my expression, but it’s next to impossible with my nerves raging like a wild beast under attack.
“Maggie stopped by to talk to me yesterday,” he says after several seconds. I relax, knowing this has nothing to do with what happened between Clover and me late last night.
I furrow my brows, attempting to look confused, but I don’t speak. I’ll let him lead this conversation.
He opens his notebook and reads through what I can only assume are his notes from this meeting. “She’s not happy with how you’re managing her program. She wants more one-on-one correspondence from you.”
“Ah.” I nod. “She’s been trying to get me to tell her how to write her proposal. I keep insisting she write out her thoughts first.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “That’s not how she put it.”
I groan and rub my forehead. This girl-trouble is giving me a headache. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I’ll never control how my faculty manage their students as long as they’re meeting the grad school’s requirements, but maybe give Maggie a little more of your time. She seemed very upset.”
I nod. “I’ll see what I can do. But sir …” I think for a second about how best to say this. I don’t want to make things harder for Maggie. “I think she’s jealous of Clover. She’s been very unhappy ever since Clover started.”
He sighs. “I sensed that. She had several complaints about her.”
“With regards to me?” I ask too quickly. My defenses are still on high alert thanks to my damn anxiety.
He shakes his head. “She says Clover is uncooperative and refuses to work with her. That doesn’t sound like Clover. Can you offer any insights?”
“Well, I know she’s unhappy that Clover chose a desk by the window instead of taking the empty one next to her. Other than that, I haven’t heard any complaints.”
“She mentioned that. She also said Clover has refused to meet with her to discuss research.”
I shake my head before he finishes. “I don’t think that’s how it happened. Maggie asked Clover to meet at a time when she wasn’t available. Clover offered a time later in the week. Maggie wasn’t happy about it, but it wasn’t a refusal.”
“Again, that’s not how she described it.”
I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and try to calm my nerves. I can’t believe she brought these complaints to the chair. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll talk to her and see if I can smooth things over between them. Maggie’s been struggling for attention ever since Clover started, but I didn’t realize it was bothering her this much.”
“There’s no need to apologize. This meeting isn’t to reprimand you, but rather to keep you informed. I trust you to handle it.”
“Thank you, sir. Did she have any other complaints?”
“Just one, but it was silly.” He chuckles. “She’s upset that you asked Clover to help teach your class this semester and not her.”
I roll my eyes and mumble, “Jesus.”
He laughs harder. “In all my years, I’ve never had a student complain about being denied the opportunity to teach a class. It’s always the other way around.”
“I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Maggie can be challenging, but she’s a smart girl. We’ll work through this.”
“I know you will.” He checks the time on his watch before he asks me his next question. “Speaking of Clover, how she’s settling in otherwise?”
My body tenses, and I study his face, searching for the hidden meaning behind the question. He’s focused on his notebook and not on me, which makes me even more nervous. “Good. She’s a brilliant student and her previous work is impressive. She’s transitioned well into her role here. The students seem to love her as well.”
“That’s great to hear.” He smiles at me. “Be sure to tell me if you notice anything odd about her. I promised her parents I’d take care of her.”
“Odd?” I ask.
“Odd may not be the right phrasing.” He clarifies. “Her dad is concerned about her moving home. He wants to make sure she settles into this program without issues. Leaving a school like Harvard isn’t easy, especially for someone as talented and brilliant as Clover.”
“Oh, I get it.” I agree, but I still sense something is off with his inquiry. It feels like he’s probing for an answer without asking a real question. It makes me think he suspects something more. “Would this have anything to do with the reason she left?”
“It does, but as long as you say she’s fine, then I wouldn’t worry.”
“As far as I can tell, she’s fine. But now I’m thinking I need—”
A knock on his door cuts me off. “Dr. Carver, your next appointment is here,” the receptionist says.
She gives me that same damn seductive smile and I fight back a groan.
“Thank you,” Dr. Carver says. “We’re wrapping up now.”
She spins around and purposefully sways her hips as she walks back to her desk. When I turn to face Dr. Carver, he laughs.
“You could try asking her out,” he says.
“What?” I say a little too loudly.
“Oh, come on. It’s obvious she has a crush on you. Ask her out.”
“Not interested.” I push to my feet. “If that’ll be all, I’m going to get to work now.”
“Yes, that’s all. Thanks for your time.”
“Of course, sir.” I turn to leave, but before I exit, he says, “Just so it’s clear, there are no rules against fraternization. You are allowed to date others within our department.”
I grumble and wave off his comment, causing him to laugh harder. I do my best not to run as I leave the office. I do not want to get stopped by the receptionist.
But it’s good to know I’m free to date internally. I just hope that includes students, because something tells me Clover and I are not going to be able to keep our hands to ourselves.
The rest of my morning goes off without a hitch. No drama. No interruptions.
It’s a pleasant surprise because I half expected Maggie to stop by my office and file the same complaints with me that she filed with Dr. Carver.
So far, I’ve been spared.
I’ve also done a great job of keeping my thoughts free of Clover. She’s been on my mind so much lately, my work has suffered. But this morning was productive despite the events from last night and early this morning.
Taking a much-needed break, I grab my phone and head to the coffee shop. I could use a caffeine boost to get me through the rest of my day.
As soon as I open the door to the café, I feel her presence. Glancing around, I spot Clover at a table in the back. The urge to go straight to her is strong, but I force myself to stay in line and order first.
She’s got her nose buried in a book like she’s completely engrossed in what she’s reading. But then she looks up and her eyes lock with mine as if she knew I was standing here watching her.
Her cheeks turn a rosy pink, and her eyes fall shut. I can’t stop the smile that tugs at my lips. She wants me and there’s nothing she can do to convince me otherwise.
She goes back to reading and does her best to forget that I’m here. But I catch her looking up every few seconds to see if I’m still standing in line. Before long, I have my drink in hand and head to her table.
“May I join you?” I ask when I reach her.
She looks up at me, opens her mouth, but then no words come out. I chuckle.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say as I sit down opposite her. “Interesting reading?”
She closes the book and huffs. “Do you really care about what I’m reading?”
“No,” I admit.
“Why you’re here?” She looks exhausted. Like she hardly slept last night. Neither did I.
I raise my brow. “You’re upset about last night.”
“Um, yes.” She looks around like she’s concerned everyone around us knows what I mean about last night. “Aren’t you?”
I shake my head. “I have no regrets.”
“You can’t be serious.” She looks shocked by my admission.
“I may have anxiety over what we did, but I have no regrets.” I clarify.
She pinches the bridge of her nose like she’s warding off a headache. “We can’t risk that again. What if someone saw us?”
“Then we’ll just have to be more careful.” I take a sip of my coffee and watch her closely. I don’t want to scare her off or do something to offend her.
Her eyes widen. “Not with this again.”
I shrug and maintain my calm demeanor. She doesn’t need to know I’m nervous as fuck talking to her about this. “We’re very good together. What if we agree nothing happens at work? We only meet out where no one knows us. It could work if we control ourselves. I can be professional if you can.”
“You mean like how we controlled ourselves in the hallway last night? Something tells me we’d fail.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Only one way to find out.”
She narrows her gaze. “I’m not sure I’m following your train of thought.”
I lean forward and hold my coffee between my hands. “Maybe if we allow ourselves some pleasure after hours, it’ll make our time at work easier to manage.”
Now she raises a brow, and her lips turn up into a slight smile. “After hour pleasure?”
“May I speak bluntly?” I ask.
“Oh, please do.” The sarcasm in her tone is thick as she leans forward, shortening the distance between us.
“If I knew I’d get to fuck you later, I wouldn’t be so intent on fucking you right now.”
Her pupils dilate, and her chest rises. I can see the anticipation written all over her body language. “Is that so?”
“Tell me you don’t agree.” I take another sip of my coffee, hoping I look calm. I’m anything but calm. My insides are on fire for this woman. If she said yes to fucking me right now, I’d drag her back to the park and put that tree to good use.
“It doesn’t matter if I agree with you.” Her voice is calm and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was unaffected by me. But I know that look in her eyes. “We can’t act on it.”
“You’re probably right,” I say. A hint of disappointment crosses her expression. She didn’t expect me to agree with her. “We should probably quit while we’re ahead. Then again …” I pause and lift my coffee cup to my lips. “Where’s the fun in that?”
I take a sip and lean back in my seat. She stares at me for a few seconds before she speaks. “Maggie suspects something.”
“That’s just Maggie. She’s a very jealous person who craves attention. She’s upset because she thinks she’s in competition with you.”
“Ha!” She shakes her head. “Liked she’d have a chance with you.”
The smile that covers my face almost hurts. “But you, on the other hand, just say the word, and I’ll take care of you.”
Her cheeks turn a bright red, but she doesn’t break eye contact. “Is that so?”
I quirk a brow. “Have I failed you yet?”
“No, I don’t guess so. But that’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Clover?”
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbles on it. She’s trying to gain control of this conversation, but I refuse to let her best me. I want her, and I don’t want to settle for anything less. “We can’t do that again.”
I watch her carefully. She means what she’s saying, even though her body betrays her. She wants me just as much as I want her.
I hold my hand out and offer her a handshake. “Just colleagues and nothing more then?”
She takes my hand, and a shiver runs through me. My body wants her on a visceral level. Based on the way she sucks in a breath and trembles when our hands join, I’d say the same is true for her.
I chuckle. “Or we give into our carnal needs and enjoy ourselves. I can be professional if you can.”
She gives me a soft smile. “Let’s try to behave and see if that works.”
“Whatever you say.” I push to my feet and adjust my jacket.
“We can try that.” I lean down close to her and enjoy the way her breath catches when I draw close. “For now.”