Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
ADONIS
Maggie
I’m concerned about Clover. She’s not behaving like a team player.
Adonis
She just got here. Whatever it is, I’m sure you misunderstood.
Maggie
She refused to take the desk next to me. I mean, it would be so much easier for us to work together if she was right beside me. She gave me some lame excuse about loving natural light. I just don’t buy it. I think she’s going to be a problem.
Trust me on this. Woman can sense when other women don’t want to play nice.
And she definitely doesn’t want to play nice.
Are you getting these? This could be a serious problem, Dr. Rosi.
Adonis
I’ll talk to her.
Maggie
Oh thank you, Dr. Rosi. I really appreciate that. I don’t want anything to disrupt my experience here. I really want this to be fun.
G roaning, I clench my hand around my phone. Maggie is going to drive me insane before she graduates. We’re not even a full year into her program and I can’t wait to get rid of her. She may be smart, but her intelligence doesn’t come close to making up for her annoyance.
I hope I can manage Maggie. Or avoid her as much as possible. I thought I had things under control until Lulu showed up. Of all the universities, she had to accept a position at mine. Despite what she said, she probably did it deliberately.
Add Clover to the mix, and my career is not off to a great start.
I was so determined to start my career off on a positive note. I need it after the stressful circumstances of my PhD experience.
Grad school started out great. I was so hopeful and blissfully na?ve. I loved my faculty advisor, and I earned high marks in all my classes. Then I met Lulu, and everything went to hell.
Thankfully, her impact on my mental state didn’t hurt my reputation in the department. Everyone just saw it as a failed relationship between two people who weren’t compatible. No one told me how much of a fool I was to trust her in the first place. At least not to my face.
I can’t let the same thing happen again. Maggie, Lulu, and Clover will not distract me from my goals. I will earn tenure or die trying.
I can handle Maggie and Lulu, that much I know with confidence. I don’t like that I have to deal with them, but I can do it.
Clover, on the other hand …
She’s going to be a problem.
Despite what I told her, working with her is going to be problematic. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her lips wrapped around my cock or how tight and warm her pussy felt as I fucked her.
Of all the women in this world, why did she have to be my new student?
A loud crash pulls be out of my thoughts. It’s quickly followed by one of my brothers yelling. If I were to guess, it sounded like Eros.
I don’t love living with my brothers, but it’s practical. Rent is cheap and all I have to worry about maintaining are my bedroom and bathroom. We found this apartment when we first moved to New York City. None of us had any money, and we couldn’t afford much. This apartment is rent controlled and rents by the room, not the unit. We got lucky that all four bedrooms opened up at the same time. We each have our own bedroom and bathroom and share a small living space.
It’s not much, but it works.
I moved out for a few months when I foolishly thought Lulu was the girl of my dreams. At first, we were happy. But that was short-lived. Turns out I wasn’t enough for her, and she needed to fuck multiple men to be satisfied.
Thankfully, Atticus covered the rent for my room, and it was still open when my relationship ended. Otherwise, I’ve no clue where I would have ended up living.
Lulu’s betrayal makes me never want to trust a woman again.
I grab my vest off the hanger and finish getting dressed. I’ve got several meetings scheduled today and don’t have time to wallow in my troubles. One of those meetings is with Maggie and Clover to discuss my upcoming schedule and teaching needs.
I am not looking forward to it. If Maggie insists I talk to Clover about her concerns, I don’t know what I’m going to do. My plan is to ignore her complaints and hope it all works out.
Stupid—I know—but it’s the best I’ve got at the moment.
I open my bedroom door just as my youngest brother, Eros, goes running down the hallway. He’s a big guy, and takes up all the space, forcing me to step back. We’re all tall and larger than most men, but Eros makes us look small.
“Get up, fucker!” he yells into Demetrius’s room. “You’re late and Dylan is almost here.”
I squeeze past him and make my way to the kitchen. I couldn’t see much, but it looked like Demetrius had passed out on his bed in the same clothes he wore yesterday.
“What’s going on?” I asked my oldest brother, Atticus. He’s in the kitchen cooking scrambled eggs.
“Dem got wasted last night and won’t wake up.” He gives me a disappointed look. Demetrius likes to have his fun, but lately he’s been taking it too far.
“Again?” I shake my head. “Is he ever going to grow up?”
Atticus shrugs. “He’s young. Besides, we can’t all be as mature as you.” He teases.
I glare at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Nope, just annoying.” He gives a playful smile. “You’re always so serious. Even more so ever since Lulu.”
I growl. “Don’t talk about her.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. You want some eggs? I already cooked up a pound of bacon. If you want some, you better grab it before Eros gets his hands on it.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I grab a plate and snag a few pieces of bacon, then I put two pieces of bread in the toaster.
“Penny invited us over for dinner on Thursday. Do not miss it,” Atticus says with the authority of an older brother who thinks he’s in charge.
“Can’t. I gotta work.”
“Donnie!” He slams the spatula down on the counter. “You missed the last dinner and upset our sister. You will be at this one.”
“I’ll call her,” I say, hoping that’s enough to get Atticus off my back.
He doesn’t say anything else, but I feel his eyes on me. All my brothers give me shit for how much I work, but Atticus is the worst. It’s surprising since he takes his career just as seriously as I do.
The toaster pops, giving me a much-needed distraction. If I stand here doing nothing while I wait for the eggs to be done, I’ll fidget. A fidgeting me only draws more questions out of my brother.
Atticus has always thought of himself as the responsible one. Not because we’re all irresponsible—Demetrius got all of those traits at birth—but because he’s the oldest brother. He sees it as his duty to make sure we’re all cared for and doing well.
He does this with Persephone too, even though she’s the oldest and more than capable of taking care of herself.
“He’s dead to the world.” Eros grumbles as he enters the kitchen. “Maybe you’ll have better luck.”
“I’ll go wake him in a minute,” Atticus says as he takes the eggs off the stove. He dumps a heaping pile on my plate before he divides the rest up between him and Eros.
Eros furrows his brow and looks me up and down. “Why are you so grumpy?”
“Who said I was grumpy?” I ask.
“Don’t have to say it.” He stuffs a fork full of eggs into his mouth, then points it at me. “It’s written all over your face. Who pissed you off this time?”
“You did,” I deadpan.
Turning my back to him, I pile my eggs onto my toast and then add the bacon. I press the second piece of toast on top and take a huge bite. This will make it easier to take my breakfast with me and get the hell out of here. Something tells me if I stay, my brothers won’t leave me alone.
“What did I do?” Eros sounds offended.
“You talked to me.” I grab a travel mug from the cabinet and fill it with coffee. “Gotta go.”
“Wait, we need to settle the dinner plans,” Atticus yells as I head back to my bedroom.
“It is settled,” I yell over my shoulder. “I’ll call Penny.”
“Dude, you have to be there.” Atticus stands in my doorway, making it impossible for me to leave. I set my breakfast sandwich down and shrug on my coat. After it’s buttoned, I gather my bag and my sandwich.
I glare at him, willing him to move out of my way. “I said I’ll call her. Now move.”
He sighs and steps aside. “Fine, but she’s gonna cry.”
“No, she won’t.” I insist as I squeeze past him.
He’s right though. She probably will cry. I’ve always been the closest to Persephone. She’ll definitely be upset if I miss another family dinner.
But I’ve got a career to manage. Family dinner will have to wait.
This is excruciating. All I wanted to do was have a quick meeting with Maggie and Clover to discuss my schedule. Instead, I’ve had to endure thirty minutes of listening to Maggie complain about everything.
She’s not happy about the grad student office situation. She’s concerned the space between her and Clover will disrupt the other students.
Her class schedule is not what she signed up for. One of her classes was canceled, and she was put in a replacement class at a different time without her approval.
She’s still struggling with her proposal because I refuse to meet with her to discuss it before I read what she’s written, but then she refuses to write it until we discuss her ideas.
No matter how many times I’ve tried to intervene and take control of my meeting, she talks over me and keeps going.
“Dr. Rosi?” I look up to find Maggie staring at me. “Did you hear what I asked?”
“Sorry, I was making some notes. Can you repeat that?”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “I asked if you had time to meet with me this afternoon?”
I let out a deep breath and gently place my pen on top of my notebook. The controlled action is so I don’t slam it down in frustration. “When I receive the draft of your proposal, I’ll set up that meeting. Not before then.”
“But Dr. Rosi—”
I hold up my hand. “This is not up for debate. I have a process, and I will not change it for you. It’s my responsibility to make sure you learn how to maneuver a research position. I cannot do that work for you. Write up your thoughts. Give it to me for review. Then we’ll meet. End of discussion.”
“Fine.” She crosses her arms over her chest and sits back in her chair. As much as I hate the pouty lip she’s giving me, I smile. It’s a sign she’s finally done complaining, and I can take control of my meeting.
“Now,” I flip through my notebook until I find my notes, “I’d like to discuss my schedule. I’ll be teaching two classes this semester. One is an entry-level overview if Greek literature. All the exams are multiple choice and low effort, so I won’t need a teaching assistant for that one. But the other one is an in-depth study of the style and genres of ancient Greek poetry and how they relate to modern day. Clover, you’ll help teach that class.”
“Oh, but I can do it.” Maggie raises her hand like we’re in class.
I shake my head. “It’s more in line with Clover’s research topic. She’ll assist.”
“But what about my interests?” She frowns.
“What about them?” I stare at her, making it clear I’ve no clue what her interests actually are. “I’m still waiting for your proposal.”
“You haven’t read Clover’s proposal either.” She declares.
“Not true.” I dare a glance at Clover to see her reaction. I’ve avoided looking at her this entire meeting. She’s staring at her lap like it’s the most interesting thing she’s ever seen. “Clover emailed me her proposal on her first day here.”
“What?” Maggie’s eyes widen and she looks back and forth between Clover and me. “But how?”
“As a transfer student, Clover is two years ahead of you. She already had a written proposal for me to read. Do the same, and then I will know the specifics about your interests. Understood?”
She nods, but her expression makes it clear she’s not happy. If I dare to venture a guess, this topic of discussion is not over.
“In fact,” I lean forward as an idea hits me, “maybe Clover wouldn’t mind helping you talk through your ideas. Work it out with her guidance and then send it to me, if that makes you more comfortable.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Maggie furrows her brow. “She’s going to be so busy getting settled and adjusted. I’m sure she doesn’t have time.”
I feel Clover’s eyes on me, but I don’t look at her. She doesn’t like Maggie either, and I just forced her into an impossible situation because I don’t want to deal with it.
“I can handle it,” Clover says. I can hear the challenge in her voice. She’s daring Maggie now. It makes me smile. “Let’s discuss it tomorrow when I get in. Say around 9:00 am?”
“But—”
“Great, it’s settled,” I say before Maggie can object. “Clover, I assume you’re good with teaching this class?”
When I look up, I meet her honey brown gaze. I can see every bit of her annoyance with me, and it turns me on. My chest tightens and my cock thickens. She’s too fucking beautiful, and all I can think about is fucking her again.
“Of course.” She quickly looks away. I assume because she feels this intense attraction between us too. “I assisted with a similar class at Harvard, so it should be an easy transition.”
“Perfect.” I scribble a few notes before I continue. “The spring department potluck is scheduled. Maggie, you should have gotten the email already. I’m not sure if you did, Clover.”
She shakes her head. “I just started getting the department emails yesterday.”
“I’ll forward that to you,” Maggie says.
“Thank you, Maggie.” I force a smile. “Everyone is expected to attend. The email will say it’s optional, but it’s not. The department gets together as a group twice a year. Christmas and spring potluck. If you don’t attend, the chair will take notice, and it will reflect poorly on me. I expect you both to be there.”
“Of course.” Maggie smiles emphatically, and I struggle to hold back my grimace. Why does this woman annoy me so much? “I wouldn’t dream of missing. These events are so much fun.”
“I wish I could say the same thing,” I say truthfully. “I prefer quiet nights alone with a good book. How about you, Clover?”
She clears her throat and adjusts in her chair like she’s nervous. I hope I didn’t hit a sore spot. “I’m good with either. I like to go out with friends occasionally, but I’m equally happy staying in.”
Her answer pleases me even though I shouldn’t care either way. Lulu hated staying in. We fought about it often. It was also the main thing that drove her away and into the arms of several other men.
I don’t know why I’m thinking about this right now. It’s not like Clover and I will ever date. Her preferences mean nothing to me.
“Then you should fit right in with the rest of the department,” I say. “It’s a good group.”
“Oh, yes.” Maggie interjects. “Everyone is amazing. We can go to the event together, and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“Thanks.” Clover smiles, but there’s something off about it. It doesn’t feel genuine. “We can settle those details as the event gets closer.”
I look between my two grad students and fight the urge to groan. The next two to three years are going to suck. I have one student I can’t stand, and another I want to fuck.
Why do I get the feeling my career is sabotaged before it even gets a chance to begin? What God did I piss off to deserve this situation?
I take a deep breath and push to my feet. “Thanks ladies. I’ve got another meeting to attend. Please email me if you have any questions or concerns, as I’ll be unavailable for the next two days.”
That last part of was a lie, but I don’t give a shit. I need a break from Maggie, and if I spend any more time with Clover, well … then I’m fucked.