The Professor (2 page)

I had lunch at the student union then left for the College of Business. The Professor's office was on the third floor and I climbed the stairs up.

“Come in,” the Professor called after I tapped on the door lightly.

He looked up at me from behind his desk. For a moment my stomach twisted itself into knots - he looked so good sitting there. Papers were scattered all across the desk, and his face was tight with concentration.

"Ms. Ellis," he said, looking up from his work on the desk. He had a pair of tiny reading glasses on and his hair teased the corners of the rims as he peered over them. "Please, come in. What can I do for you?"

I shut the door behind me. "I wanted to talk about my score on the exam."

He leaned back in his seat and took me in. With a deft hand he swiped the glasses from his face and ran the edge of the tips along his lips. Heat solidified in my core, and I struggled to keep my thoughts innocent. He wore an expensive button up shirt with a bold red tie. The shirt was a light blue with fine white pinstripes. It was sexy as hell, and I had to remind myself why I was there.

"I hoped you would come see me," he said. His eyes watched me for a moment then he gestured toward one of the chair opposite him. "Please, have a seat."

I did as he directed, hoping all the while that I wouldn't make a fool of myself. I had never been this close - this intimate - with the Professor before, and I was already having a difficult time keeping my concentration. Now I knew there was a reason I had never been to his office hours before. It had been a subconscious decision - a way to protect myself from the vicious little thoughts I toyed with while in his lectures.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked. He didn't budge an inch in his seat. He watched me like some predator ready to pounce, and I felt put on the spot by his question.

"I don't know what happened," I began, struggling to find my words. "I haven't had any problems in your class before." I hung my head, not wanting to admit what had really happened - but there would be no way around it.

"I got cocky," I continued, my head slumping as I focused at a neutral spot on the desk. "I was out late the night before. Drinking and partying."

There was a long silence as the Professor considered what I said. An eternity of silence passed between us, and a sense of dread crept through me. I wondered what the Professor must think of me.

He probably thought I was just some typical rich college girl that was here on Daddy's dime. He probably though I had no real goals or ambitions - that I was just going through the motions. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"That's a touching tale," he said, leaning forward on the desk to draw my attention. "And I'm sure it took a lot to swallow your pride and admit what you had done wrong. But I'm not sure what it is that I can do to help you."

His lips pursed together as he studied me, and my eyes searched him; pleading with him.

"Is there anything I can do to make up the grade?" I asked. "Maybe take on some extra projects or something? I'll do anything."

He leaned back in his chair again, his lips twitching in time with a jerk of his head.

"I made my policy very clear at the beginning of the semester," he said.

"Please," I begged. "There must be something. I won't tell anyone, and I'm more than willing to putting in the work." His face was stern; granite. "I don't want one stupid night at college to mess up my entire future."

I thought I saw a chink in the armor. His face softened a touch as he digested what I said. The hard exterior he was putting on was beginning to wear thin.

He considered me for a long time. The silence was deafening. In twenty years I didn't want to look back at college and have regrets - especially the one time I failed an exam in the most important class I'd ever taken because I had gone out drinking the night before.

"Maybe an exception can be made," he said finally. The weight on my shoulders immediately began to recede. His eyes glanced down over me, drinking all of me in. The heat inside of me ignited - hotter than ever before. The look in his eye told that he was hungry, too, and that I was beginning to look like a tasty meal.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked. My body had already begun to respond to what it thought was going to happen. Instantly, I forgot the whole reason I was there, the whole reason I had come to see the Professor. A primal desire and need was taking hold and was demanding that I give in to it.

The corner of his lip turned upward in a wolfish grin. He knew exactly what was on my mind - and that I was helpless to defend myself from his advances. He probably even knew that I didn't want to defend myself. That, right now, I wanted his advances more than anything in the world.

He licked his lips before he spoke.

"Be here bright and early tomorrow. Eight o'clock."

He didn't move an inch, and the hungry look in his eye remained.

"On a Saturday?" I asked. My voice had taken on a lower, more sensual pitch. "What do you have in mind?"

He considered me again, letting the tense moment draw out even longer. Then, his hands gestured toward the wall. Bookshelves filled to swelling stood there looming over the office.

"You'll be helping me on a research project," He said. "Be prepared to do a lot of reading."

Confusion officially overcame me. "Research?"

"You said you were willing to do anything. I have my own deadlines looming and right now I'm in need of a research assistant."

"Oh," I began, my thoughts and words trailing off.

"You are still interested, right?" His tone contained a hint of danger - of challenge.

"Yes. Yes, of course."

"Good," he said. "Then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I sat there stunned for a moment as he disregarded me and returned to the work on his desk. The heat inside me had yet to subside. I raced out of the office, praying to God that I didn't make any more a fool of myself than I already had.

* * * * *

The door clicked shut and Ethan let out a breath he didn't realized he'd been holding. The bulge in his pants, however, refused to subside. Maybe now that Kayla was gone it would go away - or maybe he would have to excuse himself to the men's room and handle the situation himself.

He looked at the papers scattered around his desk with a sense of frustration. There was no chance he was going to get any work done now, not after having Kayla there. It was Friday, he deserved to cut out a bit early - right?

Ethan sat back and closed his eyes. He had taken note of Kayla the moment he saw her in his class. She was sitting in the third row, bright eyed and excited to be there. It was a far stretch from the majority of her classmates that only took his class because the University required it. The more he saw of her work, the dedication and intelligence she demonstrated, the more turned on he became.

Then the most recent exam had occurred. It was the last before the end of semester finals, and her performance on it was sure to destroy her hope at earning an 'A'. All of the drive and hard work were going to be tossed out the window because of that one exam.

Perhaps that was why he had offered to help her out. Or at least that was the lie he was telling himself. He hoped giving her extra credit wasn't a mistake. He knew how he felt about her - and he hoped it didn't cloud his professional judgment. The University had given him some flexibility with regard to a student's final grades. Extraneous circumstances needed consideration - and that's all he was doing - giving a bright and promising student a little extra consideration.

Ethan rubbed at his eyes and looked at the clock. His day would be ending soon, and then he could flee campus as fast as possible. He desperately needed some distance, some perspective. And there was no better cure for that than getting lost in the heat of the gym.

* * * * *

The next morning I climbed the three flights of stairs to the Finance department. My watch read 8:02AM - two minutes late. I was surprised to be there at all.

Keep it together, Kayla.

A last minute case of nerves nearly kept me in bed. It was like a part of me insisted on sabotaging everything. The Professor had definitely played his part in my hesitation as well. I was nervous to see him again - nervous that I would make a fool of myself, that he would see how much of an idiot I really was. I could ruin any possibility I had of earning his respect and trust.

But why did I care so much? I mean, sure, I wanted his respect. He was a well known - and liked - professor in the College of Business. Having him in my corner could open doors that I never even knew existed; but did his respect mean something more to me?

Snap out if it, you just have a little schoolgirl crush on your teacher. Stop acting so childish.

Was that all it was - a school girl crush? I’d had those before; what girl hadn’t? I knew I could move on from them, that I could focus on what was important and keep things in perspective.

Why, then, was I having such a hard time doing that with the Professor?

The light inside the office was on when I arrived, and I could see the blurred form of the Professor sitting at his desk through the frosted glass window. Heat crept over my face as I glanced again at my watch.
At least you’re here
, I bargained with myself. Better late than never.

I tapped on the window lightly.

“Come in,” he called from inside.

I eased the door open and entered. The office looked exactly as it had the day before with papers and files scattered wherever space allowed. What had changed, however, was the table in the corner had been nicely organized and cleared away. Yesterday there had been loose papers and books stacked high, now everything was orderly and prepared.

The Professor looked different too. I was used to seeing him in his expensive suits, but he wasn't wearing one this time. He had on a tight fitting polo shirt that nicely outlined his muscular build. I suppressed a groan of pleasure when he looked up at me from some of the papers on his desk. His beautiful brown hair fell in front of his gorgeous blue eyes and it drove me wild with delight. All of the cautions I had tallied before were instantly cast aside, and the wetness within me took control.

"You're late," he said.

I bit my lower lip timidly. "Only just."

He eyed me up and down, taking all of me in. I wanted stop time right that instant. With his eyes on me. I had never felt more vulnerable, or more secure, in my life. Thoughts of my future, and the reasons why I was standing there in the office were forgotten - were they really what was important, anyway?

"Please, have a seat," he said.

The Professor motioned to the table in the corner. I noticed how close it was to his desk - almost too close. We would be working nearly back to back. I could already smell the light cologne he was wearing, and it was driving me crazy. Could I handle being that near him for long periods of time?

Had he planned it that way?

I felt his eyes glued to me as I sat down. I tried to concentrate and glance over the papers that were there waiting for me, but it was impossible. All I saw was a mess of numbers, tables, and charts.

"What am I going to be doing?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him.

"You're going to help me with my research," he said plainly.

My stomach twisted; mortified. Who did he think I was. There was no way I was smart enough to help a professor with their research. I was just a lowly undergrad - and only a sophomore at that. I hadn't even been accepted into the College of Business yet, let alone really began to learn anything about how the business world worked.

"Don't you need a grad student for that? I have no idea what to do."

"I thought you were serious about this extra credit?" he asked, his voice deadpan.

My stomach did another back flip.

"I am. I'm very serious - I'll do anything. But I don't think I
can
do this."

"The business school has high expectations of its students," he said. "You're going to have to tackle some pretty difficult things if you want to make it."

"I know," I said, trying to find words. "I just, I mean, this is all so much." I waved a hand over the stacks and stacks of paper. "What do you even do with all of this?"

I could only imagine what my face looked like. A deer in headlights was more composed than me right then. The Professor's face was granite stone - emotionless. He stared at me with a blank expression for what felt like an eternity. Then the stony look broke into a wide smile, and he began laughing.

My stomach did another back flip on its own.

"I'm just messing with you," he said through his deep laugh.

"I don’t understand,” I said.

He composed himself before continuing.

“Of course I don’t expect you to know how to do everything.”

The grin on his face was on the verge of driving me crazy. Why did he insist on teasing me when it should have been obvious that I was out of my element? Didn’t he know I was having a hard enough time just being around him - I didn’t need him to go and make things even more difficult for me than they already were.

“You’ll be reviewing some of the data I’ve compiled for my latest paper. It's on the effects of bonuses in the workplace. It’s mundane and boring work - but someone has to do it.”

I breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Sounds interesting,” I said.

“You’re too kind,” he said.

“What made you want to study that?” I asked. “It sounds… random.”

He grinned at me. “It’s an important field of study, actually. Businesses need to know how to properly motivate their employees, and how to adequately reward them for a job well done.”

I bit my lip. “I see.”

The Professor was much smarter than I would have ever given him credit for - and that was saying a lot. I knew the Business school had a reputation for its scholarly work - but in a million years I would never have guessed what that work entailed. I looked at the stacks of papers in front of me and wondered how all of this work was going to help him out. It all seemed quite overwhelming, and the enormity of the task in front of me was finally beginning to set in.