Chapter 22

MICHAEL

I should back off now, most people would.

After all, a brief yet unforgettable encounter with Betty Graham; my college’s untouchable crush should have been enough.

I’d been dreaming of the day she would finally stop trading words with me, the day she would speak to me calmly without throwing insults my way. God, I knew I loved it when she had that fire in her grey-colored eyes; they burned like hidden passion. It was hot when she snapped or got fiesty, but more than anything, I craved her peace. I only wanted to see her safe.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling like I could see them. Instead, my mind replayed that short conversation we had and the fleeting moments of physical contact. I still can’t get over how soft the texture of her hair was.

But damn, I wanted more!

I rolled onto my stomach supporting myself with both elbows, and shut my eyes so tight I found myself in a daydreaming land. I replayed the way she gazed at me, not as a student, not as that boy she hated, but as a man she wanted to fuck so bad. Or the way she shut her eyes tight I could see her cheeks turn pink. The way her ears felt so soft when I tucked them behind her ears. Damn, she was perfect!

And more than ever I wanted to be inside of her.

I want to be the reason her legs trembled, the reason her lips parted as Moans escaped her lips, moans that only carried my name.

I can imagine her naked on my bed, staring at me with those dangerous eyes but my fantasy was cut short. I hear a loud knock at my door. It jolted me back to reality.

Shit! It has to be Claire.

I need to find a way to get rid of her, she shouldn’t be showing up uninvited, especially not when I was daydreaming about my bellè. I ran a hand through my hair dragging my feet to the door.

I let out a frustrated sigh before swinging the door open.

I was wrong.

It wasn’t Claire. It was Adam.

Perfect! Very perfect!

“How may I help you?” I asked, my tone laced with coldness.

Adam just stood there like a statue smiling back at me, hands in his pockets, “Good afternoon to you too Michael, I hope you enjoyed my lectures today?”

“Can you cut the crap and just tell me why you’re here!”I chortled.

It was starting to get creepy, him showing up at my room after staring me dead in the eye earlier.

“Okay! I was trying to be polite, since we would be kinda working together.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Didn't your father tell you? Your training starts tomorrow, hope you’re prepared to learn the ropes of being a CEO?”

A frown spread across my face, I was getting irritated. “Training? I haven’t even agreed to anything yet, how can he just do this without telling me first?”

He raised a brow like he was shocked at my reaction.

“Well, that doesn’t matter, you should be glad your father already set you up for this, not everyone gets a luxury like that,” he leaned close, “ if it were me, I’d seize the opportunity.”

“And why should I listen to you?”

“I’m not asking you to. You know you remind me of myself when I was younger, I had no plans for myself unfortunately I didn’t have a father who cared or paved a way for me, so I had to figure it all out by myself.” He grinned.

I slanted my eyes gazing hard at him, “Why do you care so much? Unless….wait… hold on, I know. Are you gay?”

Adam jerked his head back in shock. “ What?"

I told my arms across my chest. “ Don’t act dumb now, I saw the way you were gazing at me at school. Tell me, what was that about?”

He parted his lips in shock, his eyes widening, then he clasped his palms together in a prayer gesture. “No, that’s wrong. I wasn’t staring at you.”

“I’m not myopic, I know what I saw!” I pressed.

Adam let out a long sigh before turning his back against me then slowly he faced me. “ Okay, maybe I was staring, but that’s not what I meant. I was just shocked, that’s all, I mean…. I never knew students were allowed to tuck in the hair of their professors publicly.” His eyes locked onto mine once again. “Don’t you think that was a little off and unprofessional? On her side? She shouldn’t have allowed that! It can send off the wrong meaning.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line feeling the anger simmering beneath my skin. “ And what about your stalking? Don’t you think that’s unprofessional too? Meddling in matters that don't concern you?”

A gentle smile plays on his face. “ Calm down Adam, I wasn’t blaming you, I’m only looking out for you. I know Professor Betty more than you do and I can tell you that she is exactly who you think she is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”I retorted.

“I’ll implore you to do your research, that will tell you all you need to know,” he whispered. He turned to leave then stopped looking over his shoulder. “ She’s got some kind of history. Look it up if you think I’m lying and trust me, they aren’t pretty!”

Before I could say anything he was walking away, “looking forward to training you,” he said as he rounded the hallway.

What a creep!

But as I stood in the doorway I kept wondering if he was right.

Does she have dark secrets? Is that why she’s so uptight with Adam in the class, because he knows something I don’t?

I didn’t want to believe a word he said but this made me even more curious.

I slammed the door shut leaning against it, my breathing is faster than usual. Adam was everything but a liar even if he was, what did he stand to gain by painting Betty bad, well I had to find that out for myself.

I sat down on the wooden chair opened my laptop and typed into the search bar:

Betty….. no, I cleared it and typed again, Betty Graham Crestwood College.

At first, I saw nothing meaningful. Just faculty listings and random Betty Graham. Her old FaceGram account resurfaced, but it wasn’t anything new that I hadn’t seen before.

I almost closed the laptop in anger thinking Adam was just trying to mess with me, but then I stumbled on something as I scrolled further.

My eyes landed on a headline on the screen written with red don't.

“A young Lecturer Betty Graham accused of plagiarizing professor Adam Lewandowski’s work; where we first met.”

It was like time stopped moving.

I checked the date, it was from ten years ago the same time as her engagement photo was posted.

Holy shit!