Chapter Eleven
ELEVEN
Micah
“So Professor Douche Canoe just sat there and stared at your chest?”
I sigh. “Yeah. He did.”
Jordan makes a disgusted scoffing noise. “That prick.”
I take a sip of my tea, then set it on the coffee table. I grab a blanket from the end of the couch and drape it over me while I give my sister a play-by-play of my blowup with Aidan yesterday.
“You have to retaliate, Micah. No more Ms. Professional Auditor. That creep objectified you to your face. He needs to pay.”
I groan. “Jordan, I don’t know…”
“He can’t get away with this, Micah.”
“He apologized.”
“He gave you a half-assed apology, and then he blamed you for what he did. That’s beyond messed up.”
I’m quiet for a second. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“Exactly. Screw that guy.”
“Jordan, what exactly do you want me to do? Key his car? Egg his office? We still have to work together. If I try to go after him, I’ll get fired.”
She lets out an evil chuckle. “No, no, no. Nothing like that. You have to think strategically. Don’t do anything that can be traced back to you.”
I shake my head, impressed and a little scared by my sister’s calculating thought process.
I look at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late where you are. I’ll let you go.”
“No, I want to plot revenge with you,” she whines.
I chuckle. “Venting to you was exactly what I needed. I don’t want to do anything more than that.”
She makes a huffy noise. “Fine.”
We say goodbye and hang up. A minute later she texts me.
Jordan: I know you said no revenge, but just in case you change your mind, here are some ideas:
-laxatives in his coffee
-anonymous glitter bomb delivered to his office
-Carolina reaper sauce in his lunch
Me: Wow…you came up with those reeeaaaallll quick
Jordan: Old law school habits die hard
Jordan: Promise me if Professor Douche Canoe does one more disrespectful thing to you, you won’t stand for it. You’ll get back at him.
Me: I promise
I finish my tea, knowing full well that I don’t have the guts to get revenge on Aidan.
But as I reread my sister’s text, I can’t help but think about how satisfying it would feel to get back at him.
I let out a sigh and shake my head. No way can I do that.
* * *
I walk into the English department, my body tense as I pass Aidan’s office. We haven’t spoken for the past few days, not since I caught him staring at my chest.
I know I have more class observations and meetings with him coming up, but I don’t want to think about that right now. Right now, I just want to focus on getting ready for today’s meetings and enjoy not having to deal with Aidan.
I reach the end of the hall and turn the corner, almost bumping into Dr. Wauncho.
“Sorry about that,” I say.
“Not a problem. These hallway corners are quite sharp.” He chuckles. “Say, you don’t have any meetings or class observations right now, do you?”
“No, I’m free for the next half hour or so. Did you want to meet with me about something?”
He shakes his head. “I was thinking you could join us for some coffee and bagels. It’s an English department tradition. Every Wednesday morning.”
“Oh…” No way. Aidan will be there, and I can’t handle even looking at him right now.
But it’s not just the idea of running into Aidan that makes me not want to go. It’s also that no one would want me to show up at their gathering, other than him.
“I really shouldn’t.”
“Oh, come now.” He flashes a jolly smile. “We’d love for you to join. I’m the one who brought the bagels today, so I can promise they’re good. Thank goodness you missed it last week when Jason brought them. He picked them up from a gas station. Can you imagine? Gas-station bagels?” His face twists in disgust.
I force a polite smile. “Dr. Wauncho, I appreciate the invitation, but let’s not beat around the bush. No one in your department even wants me here. I’m certain they’d be upset if I just showed up during what, I’m assuming, is supposed to be a fun time for the department faculty.”
His smile fades, and he nods. “I understand. How about you just stop by and grab one, then you can leave?”
I let out a sigh and try to maintain my polite smile. He’s not going to give up.
“Okay. Thank you.”
I follow him to the conference room. The second I walk through the doorway, conversation stops. Everyone is glaring at me. I instantly get that needle-in-the-skin feeling that always hits when I’m uncomfortable.
Yup. Just as I suspected. I’m still enemy number one. Everyone still hates me.
Disappointment flashes through me. It would be nice to have a job where I’m not so hated. I think back to how when I first started working as an auditor, I wasn’t fazed by this sort of thing. I guess it’s finally catching up to me.
I glance to the side and catch eyes with Aidan.
He blinks and shakes his head before his gaze falls to the floor.
“I brought too many bagels, so I invited Micah to grab one on her way to her workspace,” Dr. Wauncho explains to everyone.
I flash a weak smile at him in thanks.
He grabs an empty paper cup and offers to pour me a coffee. I thank him. He starts to grab the decaf pot, but I stop him.
“Regular coffee please,” I say. “I need at least a pot of coffee a day, or I get a headache,” I joke.
Everyone around me is silent. That needle-in-the-skin feeling intensifies. I didn’t really think I’d be able to make them laugh, did I?
He chuckles and hands me the coffee. “I’m the same way too. I should know better.”
I tell him thanks. Conversation resumes in hushed tones as I walk to the table with the bagel spread.
There’s a gagging noise. I whip my head up and see Jason coughing and wiping his mouth. He chugs from the water bottle in his other hand.
“You okay?” Aidan asks him.
Jason shakes his head and looks at Dr. Wauncho. “What the… Why is the cream cheese so spicy?”
He frowns at him, confused. A second later, his brow lifts. “Oh, you must have tried the ghost-pepper cream cheese. It’s got a nice little kick, don’t you think?”
Jason groans, his face red from coughing and chugs more water. He offers the half of his bagel that he hasn’t eaten to Aidan, but Aidan shakes his head.
“You know I can’t stand spicy stuff.”
Jason drops the bagel half into the trash and walks out of the room, still coughing.
Dr. Wauncho chuckles and glances at me. “Some folks just can’t handle a little heat.”
I offer a polite smile and grab a napkin and do a quick scan of the food. I’m not even hungry—I just want to get out of here as quickly as I can, so I swipe the bagel closest to me.
I start to turn, but Dr. Wauncho stops me.
“Blueberry! Excellent choice! You must try it with the honey-nut cream cheese! It’s divine.”
I hold back a groan and nod politely, then step over to the container of honey-nut cream cheese, grab a knife, and smear some onto my bagel.
As I look up, I catch Aidan staring at my chest. Again.
Fury burns through me like a wildfire. Is he fucking serious?
A beat later, his gaze lifts to my face. His eyes widen when he sees me glaring at him.
And just like before, his stubbled cheeks turn fire-engine red. He opens his mouth, then closes it quickly. And then he walks off.
Can he really not keep his eyes off my chest? I’m wearing a sweater today. None of my skin is even exposed for him to look at.
I murmur a quick “Thank you” to Dr. Wauncho as I walk out of the conference room and back down the hall to my workspace. The second I’m inside, I shut the door and drop my bagel into the trash can. I feel bad since he was so nice to treat me, but I can’t even bear to look at it. My appetite is long gone after being ogled by Aidan yet again.
With my arms at my sides, I ball my hands into loose fists. The nerve of that jerk to gawk at my chest. He was so obvious about it too. He didn’t even try to be discreet.
I tug a hand through my hair, annoyed and frustrated and pissed off all at once. All the muscles in my neck and shoulders are tight.
How can I make it any clearer to him to keep his eyes above my neck when he looks at me?
The conversation I had with Jordan the other night pops into my head.
Promise me if Professor Douche Canoe does one more disrespectful thing to you, you won’t stand for it. You’ll get back at him.
I stand there and let my sister’s words marinate.
Revenge.
Yeah, it’s petty and unprofessional. But I don’t care. Aidan made it clear just how unprofessional he is when he shamelessly stared at my chest. Twice.
I take a breath and stretch out my neck. I glance down and see the discarded bagel in the trash can.
A second later, the most brilliant idea pops into my head.