Dear Professor(25)

But he wasn’t alone. Professor Banks, my literature professor, was sitting in a chair opposite his desk. She turned when I stilled.

“Darcy! I thought you were sick.” Her dark eyes combed over me.

“It was a twenty-four-hour thing,” I lied smoothly. “I’m feeling better now.”

“Oh, good, good. What are you doing here?” She looked between me and Jordan.

“I asked Jake Haas to contact Miss Hamilton and have her come and see me regarding her last assignment if she was feeling up to it,” he answered, lying just as easily as I had. “Clearly, she is, although I can’t say I appreciate the late hour.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t want to risk coming earlier and vomiting all over you.”

His eyes cut to mine, a warning sparking in them. “Thank you for your consideration, but perhaps an e-mail rescheduling for tomorrow would have been more appropriate.”

“Probably.” I put my hands in the back pockets of my jeans and shrugged. I even offered a little smile for good measure.

His grip on his pen tightened. He really did hate my attitude, didn’t he?

“Thank you for stopping by, Carly,” he said to Professor Banks. “But, since Miss Hamilton is here, I’d like to get to the bottom of the issue with her.”

That sounded…threatening.

Professor Banks paused for a second, and I’d swear she pouted. I wondered if she had a crush on him. That wouldn’t have been ridiculous. Half the campus did, after all. And they weren’t all female.

“Of course,” she said. “Let’s discuss again tomorrow.”

“I’ll check my schedule.” Jordan’s gaze dropped back down to the paper he was grading, and Professor Banks stood.

She came to me and, with a scrutinizing eye, said, “I hope I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Darcy. I take it Mr. Haas also passed on the assignment.”

“Yes, ma’am. He sent right after class. I already turned it in online.”

Shock flashed through her eyes. “Of course you did. See you tomorrow, Darcy. Jordan.”

I lifted my hand in a wave, but Jordan ignored her completely. She didn’t look too put out about it, but she left the door wide open as she walked down the hall.

“Take a seat, Miss Hamilton,” Jordan demanded. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Wordlessly, I took the seat Professor Banks had just vacated. Minutes ticked by as he finished marking down on the paper with a blood-red pen. Incessantly, he scrawled messages in the margins and circled and underlined.#p#分页标题#e#

Whoever that belonged to was going to get a right ass-kicking. I bet it was Jake’s. It’s what his always looked like. It amazed me how my best friend never dropped a mark in law, but he could barely remember what happened last year in history.

I took a deep breath as even more time passed. Jordan didn’t seem to notice though. I wondered if this was how he was every night, even if there were interruptions. Another few minutes went by and I rested my hand on the desk.

Then I tapped my nails against it.

He didn’t bat an eyelid.

What the hell?

I kept it up until his jaw ticked and he slammed his pen down. He hit me with his electrifying gaze. That one look made me stop the tapping.

With his eyes firmly on me, he took the paper and put it on the stack to his right. He got up and walked around his desk, toward the door. My mouth went dry with every step he took, especially when he turned the lock. The click seemed to echo through the small room, but I refused to let him see that it affected me.

“Miraculous recovery, even from a twenty-four-hour thing.” His words drawled through the air between us.

I fought my smile. “I’m a fighter. What can I say?”

“I know for a fact that I didn’t send Mr. Haas to get you. So, why are you here?”

“I wanted to talk about last night.” I met his eyes and held his gaze.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. He tilted his head to one side and slowly removed his glasses. Our stares stayed connected as he folded the arms of the glasses then gently set them down on the desk. Leaning forward, he grasped the corners of the piece of furniture, and his lips pulled to one side.

“Talk away.”

“I…” I swallowed, but with a deep breath, I centered myself once more. “I don’t appreciate the way you treated me.”

“You didn’t seem to be complaining at the time.”

“My attention was compromised.”

His lips curved up even farther. “It most certainly was.”

I stood up and set my hands on my hips. “If you’re going to make a joke out my feelings and your clear lack of respect for me, go ahead and tell everyone what I do. I don’t care. I won’t be so openly treated like a piece of shit by you, Jordan.”