Much Ado About Hating You

Chapter One

ONE

Aidan

I wasn’t planning on kicking off the morning by writing an explicit sex scene, but here we are.

I skim over the last few paragraphs I’ve written.

Rome gently gripped Jia by the chin, hypnotized by the deep brown hue of her saucerlike eyes. The heavenly feel of her hot skin pressed against his body was enough to make him come right here, right now. But no way was that going to happen. He tensed his legs, focusing on the burn in his quads as he held his position above Jia. And then he gritted his teeth so hard, a sharp pain jolted through the back of his skull. That heat and pressure building inside of him started to fade. Good. He needed this pain, this distraction so he could last longer. He wanted to last as long as he could for her.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Us together…like this?” Jia asked.

Her hot breath ghosted over Rome’s lips as she traced a finger along his bottom lip. He closed his eyes and licked his lips right as she pulled her hand away, savoring the faint, sweet taste of her. And then he thrust inside of her, slow at first. The steady, measured movement was enough for her head to fall back as she let out a breathy moan.

“No, Jia. This is a terrible fucking idea.” Rome tangled his fingers through her hair, her pants and moans of ecstasy spurring him on. His thrusts turned faster, harder, more desperate. Judging by the way Jia dug her fingernails into his back and screamed his name over and over, she fucking loved it.

Once more Rome gripped Jia’s chin to get her to look at him. Her eyes were cloudy with arousal. “Our families are sworn enemies. Your father’s got a bounty on my head. But I don’t fucking care. I love you, Jia. I’d gladly lose my head for one night with you.”

Loosening my tie and clearing my throat, I’m grateful that Jason is gone on a coffee run instead of here in our shared office. Damn. That was pretty hot. Not bad for a super nerd who looks the exact opposite of what you’d picture when you hear the words “erotic fanfic writer.”

I catch my reflection in the framed glossy artwork hanging on the wall opposite me. I take in my thick-rimmed glasses and how rumpled this button-up dress shirt is—and how it makes me look like a grandpa. I tug a hand through my hair, wincing at the fact that I look like I’m cosplaying as a sixty-six-year-old man. And that’s when I quietly observe how long my hair’s gotten, how the curls are practically falling into my eyes. A new wardrobe and a haircut are in order. Christ.

I huff out a breath as I hit Save and continue typing on my laptop. All of that will have to wait until after the work week. Yeah, I should be grading essays right now, but I need a break. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job as a professor in the English department here at East Nashville University and honestly love reading, critiquing my students’ writing, and teaching them about classic literature.

But you know what I don’t love? When the department chair sends out an email about a last-minute mandatory faculty meeting that screws up my schedule for the day. I always set aside a sixty-minute block in the morning before my first class to grade papers and exams. But today I’ve got a pointless meeting to head to instead that’s cutting into the majority of my grading time. So I figured doing a fifteen-minute creative-writing sprint would be a better use of my time.

A five-minute reminder for the meeting pops up. I do one more quick skim of what I just wrote, save it, then post it to my homepage on Scribble Share. Part of me still can’t believe that I secretly do this. I’m an English professor who earns a living teaching British literature…who also writes erotic fanfic of my favorite Shakespeare plays under the username ShakespeareInLust on an online forum.

Yeah, that’s probably a hell of a contradiction. But I can’t help it. I’ve always loved reading and writing romance and erotica. And if the academia types that I’m constantly around weren’t so judgmental about that genre, I’d happily talk about it. But it didn’t take me long to figure out that sexy romance is looked down upon in my field. Pretty messed up when you think about it actually. My fellow professionals have no issue championing violent and depressing literature, but the second they read something with a sex scene or a happily-ever-after, they’re ready to rip it apart. God, it’s all so pretentious as hell sometimes.

I catch a few positive comments on my latest post, which is a mafia retelling of Romeo and Juliet —with the characters aged up to their twenties and a happily-ever-after, of course.

OMG hot! LOVE!!

Is anyone else totally in love with the Romeo and Juliet vibes?? Freaking adore this series!

If they let us read this kind of stuff in school, I wouldn’t have skipped out on my English lit class so much LOL

There’s a small burst of pride in my chest. I don’t get a lot of compliments in my job, so reading these comments feels pretty damn good.

I grab my laptop, a notepad, and pen, and head down to the conference room. When I turn the corner, I spot Jason holding a giant mug of coffee.

“Wow.” I gesture to his gigantic mug as we walk down the hall to the elevator.

He huffs out a breath. “I need it, man. I’m not in the mood for whatever doom and gloom this meeting is about to bring.”

“How do you know it’s gonna be all doom and gloom?”

The elevator dings. When the stainless-steel doors glide open, I hold back a groan at how crowded it is and how no one gets off. I sigh and follow Jason as we squeeze in. I accidentally bump my shoulder against someone whose face I can’t see because I had to angle in diagonally to fit in and she’s facing opposite me. All I can see is a ponytail of ridiculously shiny brown-black hair.

“Sorry,” I say softly.

The faceless woman makes a scoffing noise.

“Come on, Aidan. You know this meeting’s gonna be bad,” Jason says. “Dr. Wauncho was vague as fuck in his email. I mean, what the hell else are we supposed to think when he says that he wants to address ‘department efficiency’ with some auditor dude that the university hired named Micah.”

I try to shrug away the stress knot that’s suddenly formed in my shoulder, but we’re packed in here like sardines. I probably should have read that email more carefully because I only vaguely remember the mention of an auditor.

Jason leans in closer to me. “You know what that’s code for, don’t you? Layoffs.”

Half of the elevator turns to look at him as he sips from his mug.

“Don’t say that. You don’t know that,” I say.

“I hope I’m wrong. I really do. But I have a feeling we’re about to walk into the lion’s den so Micah the Auditor can annihilate our asses. And our jobs.”

Jason’s ability to turn even the smallest things into worst-case scenarios is legendary. He’s always been like this in the five years that we’ve worked together. But I can’t deny that he makes a valid point. Still though, I don’t want to panic before we’ve even had the meeting.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, okay?”

My reassurance does little to quell Jason’s obvious nervousness about the meeting judging by the deep frown etched in his face.

“What the hell kind of a name is Micah anyway?” I joke. “Ten bucks says he was some super religious homeschooled kid. I bet he ate paste too.”

That cheap joke earns a chuckle from Jason. The elevator eases to a stop, and we walk to the conference room. All the chairs are taken by the time we make it in, so we stand against the wall in the cramped room. I don’t miss the stern look Dr. Wauncho flashes as he shuts the door and clears his throat.

“Everyone, thank you for making this meeting. I apologize for the short notice, but this is a pressing matter,” he says while standing at the head of the conference table. He tugs at the sleeve of his houndstooth blazer before folding his hands in front of him. “As you all know, the university budget is on the chopping block this year. Every department is being examined by auditors hired by the school. Which means there’s a potential that we may have to make some cuts.”

Grumbling echoes through the room.

“Wait, what about tenured faculty? Will we be part of the cuts too?” one of the tenured professors asks.

Dr. Wauncho winces. “Possibly. No one is immune when it comes to university financial issues.”

I hear the professor mumble softly. I’m pretty sure he just cursed.

“Told you so, man,” Jason mutters to me as he scrubs a hand over his cheek.

I let out a sharp exhale. This is definitely not good.

“Not to worry.” Dr. Wauncho flashes a tight smile. “I truly believe that every member of the English department faculty is worth their weight in gold. I see this as an opportunity to showcase just how crucial we are to the university. And I’m certain that the auditor, Ms. Mila, will see that as soon as she gets started with her evaluation process.”

“Who the hell is Ms. Mila? I thought the auditor was a guy named Micah?” Jason asks me.

“No clue.” I strain to listen as he explains that the auditor will interview each of the faculty about their duties and course load and observe us in class. I grit my teeth in frustration. We’re all essentially auditioning to keep our jobs. Just great.

Dr. Wauncho gestures to someone sitting at the far end of the table who I can’t see from where I’m standing. “Now, if you’ll all join me in giving Ms. Micah Mila a warm East Nashville University welcome.”

The room is silent as a tall woman stands up. For a split second my eyes go wide as I take her in. Holy shit. She’s beautiful. Big brown eyes, tan skin, full mouth. Is this what financial auditors look like? I figured they’d be nerdy dudes who look like me, not women who could moonlight as beauty queens. I banish the thought a second later. I sound like a creep, fixating on her looks.

When she turns her head, dread settles in the pit of my stomach. Instantly I recognize that ponytail…she’s the one I bumped into in the elevator. We were shoulder to shoulder as I made fun of her name right to her face.

Her pinched expression doesn’t budge as she does a quick scan of the room. And then she locks eyes with me and her face shifts to a full-on glare.

This is Micah. And my career is currently in her hands. Fuck.