Chapter 22
The Gilded Spoon was the newest addition to downtown’s restaurant scene.
The tables were covered with crisp white cloths, velvet banquettes lined the walls and sparkling chandeliers hung from the coffered ceiling.
The air hummed with low conversations, soft music and the clinking of silverware against dishes.
It was the kind of place where hushed whispers carried weight, where deals were brokered over perfectly seared scallops and wagyu steaks.
Daniela desperately wished she was there on a romantic date with Caleb.
Instead she was seated at a large private table with her classmate Kolter, waiting for the rest of their party to arrive.
He’d been chatting nonstop since picking her up, which he’d insisted on doing because he lived right around the corner, and downtown parking was limited.
Good thing that wasn’t the case. Kolter Busch was attractive enough, but definitely not her type.
His face was clean-shaven and exfoliated, smooth as a baby’s bottom.
His sandy blond hair was artfully gelled to one side.
In a starched white shirt, striped blue tie and dark sport coat, he looked like a boy playing dress up in his father’s clothes.
“You look amazing,” he told Daniela for the fifth or sixth time.
“Thank you, Kolter.” She was wearing a pink spaghetti-strap halter dress that hugged her curves and set off her brown skin.
“This place is pretty dope, right?” Kolter crowed with a big grin. “It’s damn near impossible to get reservations, but my dad knows the owner. Got us the best table in the house.”
“It’s really nice,” Daniela agreed, smiling. “Kinda fancy for a study group meeting, but hey, who am I to turn down a free meal?”
He laughed and needlessly adjusted his tie, his gray eyes sweeping around the room. “Just think, Daniela. One day when you’re a kickass lawyer charging astronomical billing hours, dining at places like this won’t even phase you.”
“Hmm…we’ll see.” Ignoring the subtle condescension in his words, Daniela sipped her blood orange margarita and scanned the entrance for the umpteenth time, impatience gnawing at her insides. Where the hell were the others? What was taking them so long?
Kolter followed the direction of her gaze. “No worries, they’ll be here soon. Parking is an absolute nightmare downtown. Aren’t you glad we rode together?”
His offer to pick her up had seemed reasonable at the time. But now, alone with him at a candlelit table set for six, the vibe was starting to feel a little too…intimate.
“So what do you think of our professors so far?” he asked conversationally. “Got any favorites?”
“Hmm…” My dream lover, hands down! “I’m still deciding.”
Kolter smirked. “I know it’s not Adler. She’s gorgeous, and that island accent is sexy as hell. But she’s got a stick up her ass. Seriously. What the fuck is her deal?”
“She can be a bit rigid,” Daniela conceded mildly, “but that doesn’t make her a bad instructor. Her teaching style is really effective, and I already feel like I’m becoming more of a legal thinker.”
Kolter’s blond brows shot up. “I’m shocked to hear you say that.”
“Why?”
“Because she obviously hates your guts.”
Daniela feigned surprise. “Really? You think so?”
“Duh. Everyone can tell.” He snickered. “We’ve even joked that she’s jealous of you because she’s not the hottest sista on campus anymore.”
Daniela shrugged a careless shoulder. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Kolter laughed like he didn’t believe her.
She redirected the conversation. “So who’s your favorite professor?”
“Thorne, and it’s not even close,” Kolter said without hesitation. “Dude is a straight up G.”
Daniela smirked. “A gangsta? Really? He grew up rich. With servants.”
Kolter waved her off. “C’mon, girl, you know what I mean. He’s a total badass and you know it.”
Daniela chuckled and sipped her margarita.
“So what do you think of him? And don’t say he’s hot,” Kolter added wryly before she could respond. “Every chick on campus would drop her panties in a heartbeat if he so much as glanced her way. He’s a pussy magnet.”
“Crude much?” Daniela chided, looking pointedly around the elegant restaurant.
“Sorry, my bad.” Kolter grinned. “I heard Thorne was on the fast track to make partner at his father’s firm.
He was racking up billable hours and huge bonuses, and my dad told me some of the senior partners resented him, called him the Golden Child and the Chosen One behind his back.
But he was winning big cases and making a shit-ton of money for the firm, so what could the haters really say?
When he quit, he gave away half his fortune to charity and put a bunch of inner city kids through college.
I mean, his net worth still has more zeros than most people’s.
He inherited a massive trust fund and he’s made a killing in tech stocks, according to Forbes.
But his income obviously took a hit when he changed careers.
” Kolter wagged his head. “Took balls of steel to walk away from BigLaw. I still can’t believe he did it. Couldn’t be me.”
“He obviously had good reasons for leaving,” Daniela said quietly. “And I could be wrong, but he seems happier teaching.”
“If you say so.” Kolter swigged his gin and tonic. “My parents were stoked when I got into Thorne’s CivPro class. They told me to ‘soak up all his knowledge’ and ace his class, and if I make a good enough impression, maybe he’ll hook me up with a paid internship at his old man’s firm.”
Daniela thought guiltily of her pending dinner engagement with Crandall Thorne. If Kolter ever found out, he would accuse her of casting couch shenanigans. He wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
“I’m starving,” he announced. “Should we order some appetizers?”
“Not yet. Let’s give the others a little more time.”
“Sure. Okay.” He hesitated. “If they don’t show up, maybe we could ask to be moved to a smaller table.”
She frowned. “Why wouldn’t they show up?”
“Just saying. Shit happens.” Averting his eyes, he sipped more gin and tonic.
Smoothing the high-waisted skirt of her dress, Daniela let her gaze drift across the room, past the linen-draped tables and gilt frames on the walls, until it snagged on a familiar face.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Caleb.
He was sitting in a blue velvet banquette in a far corner. He wore a dark blue button-down shirt, open collar, his strong profile illuminated by the soft glow of a nearby chandelier. He wasn’t alone. Across from him, his silver hair catching the light, sat Gavin Kinsale, the dean of the law school.
A jolt went through Daniela.
It had only been seven hours since Caleb pleasured her in his office. Two nights since their bodies had tangled together in desperate need, since his hands had traced every curve and hollow of her body, since he’d given her the best orgasms of her life.
“Hey, isn’t that Professor Thorne?” Kolter’s excited exclamation broke into her thoughts. He pointed across the room. “And Dean Kinsale! Holy shit! Talk about the perfect two for one. Let’s go say wassup.”
“Let’s not,” Daniela blurted, her heart hammering against her ribs. At the surprised look he shot her, she added, “Maybe they’re talking shop and don’t want to be disturbed.” She tried to sound casual, but her voice felt thin and reedy.
“Are you kidding?” Kolter scoffed, already pushing back his chair. “I was literally just talking about networking, and two minutes later, the opportunity falls right into our lap.” He took her hand and tugged her out of her seat. “Come on, gorgeous. Don’t get shy on me now.”
Before she could protest further, he was already weaving through tables, and she had no choice but to let herself be towed along. Her muscles were stiff, a cold knot forming in her stomach. Every step felt like a march toward inevitable exposure.
As they approached the velvet banquette in the corner, Caleb looked up first. When he saw her and Kolter, his dark eyes narrowed before flicking down to their joined hands. A flash of something unreadable—surprise or displeasure—crossed his face, and his mouth tightened almost imperceptibly.
Daniela tugged her hand free and inched away from Kolter, guilt heating her face even though she’d done nothing wrong.
“Good evening, Professor Thorne, Dean Kinsale,” Kolter gushed, practically bowing.
“Hello there.” Dean Kinsale offered a genial smile, his blue eyes alight with curiosity. “And who might you be?”
“Kolter Busch, sir, and this is Daniela Moreau. We’re in Professor Thorne’s CivPro class.”
“Indeed,” Caleb murmured, his gaze sweeping over Daniela, lingering just a fraction too long on her slinky dress, on the curve of her hip, before shifting back to Kolter.
“Mr. Busch, Miss Moreau. Nice to see you again.” His deep voice was smooth, controlled, giving nothing away.
Yet Daniela felt the prickly heat of his disapproval, a silent reprimand pulsing in the air between them.
She forced a normal smile to her face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dean Kinsale. I hope we’re not interrupting your dinner.”
“Not at all,” he said amiably, gesturing to the cleared table.
“We just finished our meal and were debating what to order for dessert. Or rather, I was debating. Unlike your esteemed professor, I lack the discipline to limit my weekly sweets intake. Guess that’s why he has the big muscles and I don’t,” he told Daniela with a self-deprecating wink.
She laughed, but it sounded high-pitched and unnatural.
Kolter gave her a teasing sideways grin. “Daniela was a bit hesitant to come over and say hello,” he confided. “I think Professor Thorne terrifies her even outside the classroom.”
Daniela blushed as Dean Kinsale laughed good-naturedly.
Caleb leaned back against the velvet banquette, his finger tracing the rim of his whiskey glass as he silently watched her. The directness of his stare, weighted with the knowledge of their scandalous secret, made her cheeks burn hotter.