“Good morning, I’m Dr. Davis, and I’ll be your statistics professor for the duration of the semester.”
After working for a few years, I was approached by an old professor to come speak at one of his classes. The university was so impressed they asked me to teach a few introductory classes in business and statistics. They are beginning classes for college students but are important foundations for what they decide to do next. Either they excel in my class or they fail. There doesn’t seem to be much in between.
Normally I enjoy teaching because it’s not hard, and I don’t need the money, but today I’m not feeling it. Right now I wish I was anywhere but in this auditorium, but I have an obligation to the university to do what I said I would do.
I open my mouth to continue with the next part of my general introduction that I do for every class I teach, but before I can continue, I hear a slight gasp. Thinking that someone is in the wrong room, I turn to tell them it’s okay to leave, and then I’m frozen in place.
There, two rows up and dead center, is Heidi.
“Fuck,” I whisper as my entire world comes back into focus.
Chapter Seven
Heidi
This is not happening.
The same blue eyes I’ve been thinking about since Saturday night are locked on mine. I was so sure I’d never see them again, not with how everything ended. They narrow in on me for a second before he mutters something under his breath.
He’s pissed, and I guess I can’t really blame him. It wasn't his fault the guy he came to the club with showed up in our private room and went nuts. Reese was trying to break it up, and I can still remember him shouting my name, trying to see if I was okay. For a brief moment I thought maybe he cared.
That was until I got a phone call a few hours ago from Sadie, and she filled me in on a few things. Such as the man who started the brawl is related to Reese and has some lawyer making a bunch of threats.
She thinks he’s making up crap in hopes the club won't press charges, and they can settle outside of court for damages. This Tino guy is saying someone stole money from him. I have to go down to the club straight after class to tell them everything that went on in the room with Reese and me.
Apparently the cameras weren't working, and honestly, thank god. Still, I don’t want to tell them anything about what I did or what I let be done to me. I might get fired, and I’m sure I’m on thin ice already. The giant brawl went down in the room I was in with a client. I cringe thinking about Reese as a client.
Sliding down a little in my chair, I wish a hole in the floor would open up and swallow me. My heart is pounding so loud I’m sure everyone around me can hear it. So many different emotions gnaw at me as I look at him in a new light.
Reese shakes his head, turning around and giving the classroom his back. He runs his fingers through his short hair, and I remember sliding my own fingers into it as he brought me to climax. Heat rushes to my face thinking about that moment, but I’m sure my face is already beyond red at this point.
“He’s hot,” the girl to my right says under her breath. I glance over to see her talking to her friend on the other side of her. I’d tried to introduce myself to them when I sat down, but they brushed me off. I thought I’d left high school behind and was really hoping this was a new start for me. So much for college being different.
“Nice ass too,” the other girl responds before they both burst into giggles.
I grip the side of my desk as a rush of unexpected jealousy fills me. I’m almost thankful for it, because I’ll take anything to get this blush to go away. There’s no need to be jealous; Reese was just a client. One that might be costing me my job since Sadie mentioned some of the accusations being made are about me.
“Let’s start with the syllabus,” Reese says, turning around to face the class again. I drop my head, letting my hair fall forward to help hide myself. I wonder if it’s too late to drop this class.
Everyone opens their laptops while I pull out the syllabus I printed out in the library this morning. I went there after the student center, where I tried to check out a laptop for the semester. They were out, and I was put on the waitlist. The guy working the front desk took my number down and said he'd call me when one comes in from repairs and move me to the top of the list. I don’t know why he took pity on me, but I’m thankful for it.