Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
ROSE
Three hours later, I balanced a round cake box in my hands as I walked down the hallways of the chemistry building.
My conversation with Sophie and the three glasses of champagne had put me in a daze.
After the fundraiser, I found myself in my apartment, putting my baking skills to use with a showstopping dessert.
I didn’t know what I expected to accomplish, only that I couldn’t get Sophie’s story out of my head. Suddenly, I needed to bake every treat Professor Maxwell’s mother had refused him. Hell, I would even write notes with them if it revived some of his lost innocence.
Feeling particularly proud of my creation, I straightened the box to display its contents through the clear plastic window.
This was my masterpiece—two layers of yellow cake with strawberry jam filling, hazelnut frosting, and a chocolate ganache finish.
It was decorated with macarons, sugar crystals, and swirls of white chocolate.
It took me hours to bake and smooth the edges to perfection.
I even tied a creamy ribbon around the bottom.
According to my phone, it was past nine p.m. If Professor Maxwell were still at the lab, I could act like a teacher’s pet —a suck-up trying to get on his good side with home-baked goods.
If he wasn’t in the lab, I could drop the cake off with an anonymous note.
Either way, he would get the birthday cake he was denied as a child.
However, I hadn’t accounted for a third possibility.
I froze as soon as I walked through the lab doors.Professor Maxwell was at his station as expected…and so were all his research assistants.
Shit.
I never expected the rest of his staff to be working after hours. So much for work-life balance.
The brunette, who had stared me down yesterday, was the first to notice me.
Her hair was pulled back in a chic bun, and though she was well dressed under her lab coat, the tight black skirt and white blouse were wrinkled from the day’s wear.
The exhaustion was probably why she was staring daggers at me.
Miles was the second person to sense my presence. “Rose?” he asked, confused. The fatigue on his face was reflected in his rumpled lab coat, a few stray dirt specks dotting the fabric.
Professor Maxwell, who seemed to have blocked out the world with his concentration, lifted his head from the microscope at the sound of my name. It was so rapid I wondered if he had been waiting for someone to utter it. Our gazes clashed, though he was otherwise unmoved.
My bravado faded at his unreadable expression. Suddenly, I felt incredibly self-conscious and started second-guessing my decision.
What was I thinking?
Even his brother and childhood friends didn’t bother with sentimental gestures because they were terrified of his reaction. Yet here I was, trying to tear down his walls with a birthday cake.
The worst part—it wasn’t his birthday.
“What are you doing here so late at night?” the brunette asked harshly, the corners of her mouth turning downward with deep lines of disapproval.
The other staff—there were at least thirty of them—stared at me expectantly, some open-mouthed and others wide-eyed. My unanticipated arrival had shocked the hell out of them. No one dared to enter Professor Maxwell’s sanctuary, and I had done it twice.
“What’s going on?” one of the research assistants whispered to a colleague.
“Who’s that?”
“One of the students,” someone responded.
There were snarky whispers, too. “Semester has barely started, and female Casanova here is trying to get into Professor Maxwell’s pants. When will they learn?”
I wanted to die of embarrassment. Worst of all, I couldn’t give them an explanation, not with this many people staring at me.
The inability to speak at will had become my lifelong companion.
I accepted it and adapted accordingly. However, at this moment, frustration filled me as my throat constricted from the unwanted attention.
I so badly wanted to give Professor Maxwell something he had been deprived of for his entire childhood.
Instead, I had become a vixen with a plan.
The longer I went without speaking, the more curious everyone appeared. Some leaned forward, some had their eyebrows raised, while others stood with their arms crossed, studying me to see what I would do next.
My heart started hammering loudly at the unprecedented attention, and my gaze inadvertently landed on Professor Maxwell. I couldn’t deal with another bout of his anger right now. Not while the blood in my veins ran cold from being the center of attention.
I needed to get the hell out of here.
Before he could blast me for showing up unannounced, I lifted the box in my hands. His brow furrowed when I carefully placed it on the steel counter.
“Erm—” Miles started, but I didn’t wait for him to speak, either.
Spinning on my heel, I ran out of the lab.
I sprinted down the hallway and took the first left.
I could barely see in the dark hallway and shoved past a set of double doors to end up in another deserted corridor.
I came to a screeching halt, trying to catch my breath now that I had distanced myself from the mortifying situation.
With my back against the nearest wall, I pressed a hand over my mouth. “Kill me,” I groaned loudly and closed my eyes. “Kill me now.”
“Did you bake that cake for me?”
My entire body froze because I recognized the deep voice.
No.
The universe couldn’t be so cruel as to have Professor Maxwell follow me after I had made a fool of myself in front of all those people. I wanted to run from the cringeworthy moment, not relive it.
I kept my eyes closed to block out reality and did the only rational thing possible—I pressed two fingers against my temples, telepathically convincing him that I was invisible.When I didn’t hear anything, I slowly pried one eye open.
To my great disappointment, I hadn’t harnessed the gift of mind control. Professor Maxwell stood at the end of the hallway. He had shed his white lab coat and was in a pair of jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. The casual clothes made him look more like a student rather than a teacher.
His gaze dropped to take in my outfit as well.
In my eagerness to bring him the cake, I had forgotten to change out of my semi-provocative clothes.
Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn he glanced at my chest twice before closing in.
It was covered, but the tight dress made it seem like my rack was being offered up on a plate.
Mortified, I crossed my arms over my breasts, which only pushed them up in the formfitting outfit. I was relieved when he stopped an arm’s length away. His self-awareness was unexpectedly accurate. I generally had to step away before people acknowledged my invisible bubble.
“Did you bake that cake for me?” he asked again.
Realizing that I never gave him an answer, I opened my mouth. Nothing came out, but at least he didn’t rush me like others did when I couldn’t speak within their expected time frame.His patience helped me to manage a curt nod.
“Why?”
I couldn’t reveal the truth—I felt sorry for his terrible childhood.
Sophie was crystal clear that Professor Maxwell didn’t react well to sympathy.
But if I didn’t come up with a good reason, he would believe his staff’s gossip—I was here with nefarious intentions.
Why else would someone wear a sexy dress and deliver baked goods late at night?
I tried but failed to maintain eye contact. “To apologize for breaking into your lab,” I responded quietly, and braced myself, fully expecting his wrath at my audacity.
“You do realize the irony, right?” He sounded amused. “You’re apologizing for breaking into my lab by doing the same thing a second time.”
I twiddled my thumbs and waited for my chance to escape.
“It’s a big cake,” he added after neither of us had spoken in a while. “I can’t finish it alone.”
“Huh?”My head jerked up at the hint of an invitation. He didn’t sound angry at all.If anything, he was trying his damnedest to downplay his scary demeanor.
I stared at him, encouraged by the lightheartedness in his tone. Up close, he looked different than he had yesterday. The five-o’clock shadow had turned into a defined stubble.
“Have a slice of cake with me,” he said with a smile, or it was as close to a smile as Professor Maxwell could muster. It was more of a smirk.
I gaped at him. He wanted to eat cake with me.
Why was he entertaining my presumptuous gesture?
I suspected it had something to do with my scars.
Had I attempted this before he saw them, he would have ruthlessly shut me down.
But ever since he had laid eyes on them, something had shifted between us; I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
If I believed Professor Maxwell was capable of empathy, I would think he felt sorry for me.
However, I doubt he felt compassion for me.
He held out a hand, motioning for me to walk.
I shook my head. I couldn’t return to that lab, not with all those judgmental eyes waiting to see how this would play out. “Um. That’s okay,” I whispered. “Feel free to share the cake with your team.” I skidded past him, but he had other plans. He stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.
“I sent them home,” he informed me. Without touching, he guided me by walking behind me. If I didn’t want to bump into his massive frame, I had no choice but to march ahead.
This was beyond odd. They were clearly in the middle of a project when I walked in. Could the abrupt dismissal have something to do with a simple cake?
No way. Professor Maxwell didn’t look like the boss who would dismiss his employees in favor of late-night sweets.