The Risque Contracts Series(64)

I glanced at the clock, staring at it as the minutes passed. After ten minutes, my nerves turned to irritation. I didn’t understand why my professor rushed me out of the classroom only for Mr. Whitehall to make me wait for this long. Another five minutes passed, and irritation morphed into anger. I was stuck cooling my heels while waiting for the dean for who knew what reason, while his assistant sent nasty looks my way. And then his door opened, and I wished I was still waiting because I finally knew what the reason was for this meeting.

“Fuck no,” Gabe muttered, standing in the doorway. He swiveled on his heel and marched back into the office, and I leapt from my chair, following behind him.

“Wait! You can’t just go in there,” the assistant protested.

I shut the door in her face and felt a moment of satisfaction at the action. The feeling was fleeting because when I turned to face Gabe and Mr. Whitehall, they were facing off across the desk

“I need to speak with Miss Young alone.”

“No, you don’t,” Gabe disagreed, coming to stand next to me.

His hand slid into mine, and I took comfort in the quick squeeze he gave me. “It’s okay. I’m willing to answer any questions Mr. Whitehall has for me.”

“If you and the girl have nothing to hide, then you shouldn’t mind if I talk to her while you wait outside.”

“Gabe,” I whispered. “It really is fine.”

“It isn’t about trying to hide something. It’s about me standing by my woman for what I’m sure will be a difficult conversation. What kind of man would I be if I left her alone to handle this?”

My heart melted at Gabe’s vehemence. Seriously, was there any question about why I’d fallen for this man?

“While I understand where you’re coming from, I have to say, calling the girl ‘your woman’ makes it hard for me to believe the relationship started a day ago.”

I jumped slightly, having forgotten that the dean was in the room with us while I swooned over Gabe’s protective streak. My cheeks heated, and I cursed my habit of blushing whenever I got embarrassed. I turned towards the dean and tugged Gabe along with me as I moved to sit down in one of the chairs across from the dean. Gabe and Mr. Whitehall followed my lead, sitting down also.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the best way to explain what had happened between Gabe and me. I understood the dean’s skepticism because our story was hard to believe. “I’m not sure what Gabe has already told you or how you found out about the relationship that’s recently developed between us.”

“Why don’t you tell me your side of the story and then we’ll discuss what Professor Aldric has already told me and how I learned about this potential violation of our fraternization rule.”

I looked towards Gabe, who nodded his head in encouragement, before I began telling the dean about how I’d spent the semester hopelessly attracted to my professor. It was mortifying, but I braved through it because I had to if I wanted to be able to graduate without a black mark on my record. “Gabe never did anything untoward. Not once all semester. If you asked my fellow students, I’m sure they’d tell you there was virtually no interaction between the two of us all semester long. But that didn’t stop me from falling for him all the same. It wasn’t until after I finished my final exam for his class and was no longer his student that anything happened between us.”

“Yesterday?” Mr. Whitehall asked.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “As hard as it is to believe, yesterday was the first time we even spoke more than a handful of words to each other.”

He stroked his chin as he considered what I’d told him, his gaze moving between Gabe and me. “And before this interaction”—he paused there and I fought hard not to laugh at the word he’d chosen to use because it didn’t come close to describing what had happened last night—“happened, you graded her exam and submitted her score to finalize her grade in your class?”

“No.”

I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach, having not thought about the fact that he couldn’t possibly have graded my exam before we had sex.

“As I explained earlier, the very first thing I did after my faculty meetings yesterday afternoon was ask my TA to grade Charlotte’s exam. The same way he’s graded all of her tests and papers this semester because I knew I was developing feelings for her and didn’t want there to be a conflict of interest.”

“You’re the only two people who know exactly what happened and when. The only proof included in the complaint which was made by a fellow student was a photo of the two of you which I can only assume was taken today since you’re both wearing the same clothes you currently have on.” Someone had taken a photo of us? “Considering that Miss Young has an exemplary record during her time here and you’re a valued member of the faculty, I’m prone to accepting your version of the facts.”