Chapter Three: Sharing Her Office

The following Monday morning, Kat braced herself for the meeting with the new Dean of Law. She knew that it was going to be the beginning of a miserable week, much like the week before. Not only had she lost the position, but she had been humiliated at the gym. Stories of the incident were still circulating around campus and social media and saw no signs of slowing. Kat hated being the subject of gossip but she knew that it was best to ignore it.  

Sighing loudly, she entered her corner office. She noticed right away that the secretary, Joy Gallagher, wasn’t at her desk. She was, instead, leaning over Kat’s large desk, her breasts spilling from her low-cut blouse.

“What in the world is—“ Kat began. Her voice trailed off when she saw that someone occupied her custom-built leather chair. It was the man from the gym. “What are you doing here?”  

Kat dropped her briefcase with a thud, causing Joy to jump off the desk in fear. Kat gave her a menacing glance and that was enough to cause the other woman to scurry out of the room.

Evan grinned as he leaned forward to put his elbows on the clean, mahogany desk. He glanced at the woman’s clenched fists before bringing his dark eyes to her face.  “Professor Ridley-Forrester, I presume? Please have a seat so that I may properly introduce myself,” he nodded towards the chair in front of her own desk.

“You presume correctly. Now, who are you?” Kat ignored his polite gesture, choosing to stand and glare at him. “And, more importantly, what are you doing in MY office,” She demanded.

Evan only grinned more widely. “I would think that you, of all people, would know—after all, weren’t you also gunning for the position?” His dark eyebrows rose when he saw her face change to one of alarm. 

“Ah, I see that you do know, but, allow me the pleasure, anyway. The name’s Evan Alston, the new Dean of Law here at the university.  Pleased to meet you,” He leaned over to shake her hand.

Kat looked at his outstretched hand in absolute disdain, but forced herself to shake it firmly. Through clenched teeth, she said, “The pleasure is mine,”

“Please sit down, I have some news to discuss,” Evan sat back in the chair. He made a quick survey of her appearance as she obeyed him. All five-feet-three of her was clad in a hideous black suit that obviously wasn’t tailored to her shape as it hung loosely over her figure. Her face was devoid of make-up and her hair was fashioned into an untidy bun. 

“Are you quite finished?” Kat asked, her foot impatiently tapping on the carpet.

“Yes, of course,” Evan’s mouth twitched in amusement.

“Good, then can you leave now? I have emails to check before class starts,”

“I’m sorry but I can’t do that. You see, while my office is being renovated, I’ll be sharing this office. As the Dean, I was able to choose any office and since this one provides the best views of campus…” Evan spun around in the chair to look out the large window behind them before turning back to her.

Kat’s face was beet-red now. She knew that he was deliberately goading her, throwing his new position in her face. She disliked being reminded of her personal failures. Losing the promotion had been a huge blow to her. She had hoped to impress her parents with the job, but it seemed it wasn’t meant to be. She had wanted to prove to them that her career was more than mere teaching. Becoming Dean would have been a huge accomplishment, especially for someone her age.

“Ahem,” Kat cleared her throat, taking the extra seconds to calm her temper. “You can’t expect me to just move aside and let you have my office!”

“Yes, I can—I can have whatever I want—since I am the Dean,” Evan’s tone was mocking.

Kat found the control not to punch him into the wall. “I don’t care that you’re the new Dean. This is my office and that is my chair!” 

His lips curled. “No, I don’t think you understand, Kat—“ He saw her jaw clench at his informal use of her name. “President Smithson already gave me permission.” He paused to let her absorb the information.

Kat gasped, then gulped loudly. She was speechless. She had never been spoken to in such a condescending manner before and she didn’t like it. She had never been in such close quarters with a man and she hated how she was reacting to his nearness. Her heart was beating wildly and her mouth was dry. She licked her lips nervously. How was she supposed to share her office with this man…who was immensely handsome in his custom designer suit. She stared at him, stupefied.

“For the time being, you can use that desk,” He nodded to a smaller desk against the wall.  

When she remained unresponsive, he decided to take pity on her. It was obvious that she only had a career going for her. Perhaps he shouldn’t be teasing such an unstable woman.

“I’m sorry, Kat, but President Smithson insisted on this office. It is the largest, after all. But, don’t worry, once my office is finished, I will be out of your hair. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting,” He stood up to his full height, six-foot-four, before giving her one last nod and strolling out of the room.

Kat remained still, watching him silently as he closed the door behind him. It only took her a few seconds to regain her wits. She let out a silent scream of frustration. Her anger was rapidly increasing as her luck seemed to be running low. Not only had she lost the Dean’s position and gotten humiliated at the gym but now she had to share her office with the man responsible. 

“You egotistical jerk!” Kat cursed the object of her misery. “I will not let you disrupt my life!” 

She was a college-educated woman with a great career and good health—she refused to give the man another chance to best her. So what if she, at twenty-four years old, was completely ignorant of the opposite sex? 

“Should I treat him like a male cousin?” Kat wondered. She thought of her eleven cousins and quickly changed her mind…she had to work with the infuriating man not wrestle him. Sighing heavily, she grabbed the chair from her old desk.

This is not defeat.

He can have her desk but she was keeping her fucking chair! 

If she knew that she was the topic of conversation at the Dean’s meeting, she would have been even more displeased with the sudden changes in her work life.

“Congratulations,” Paul Wong, Dean of Medicine, said. He nudged Evan’s elbow in approval.

“Thanks…I never expected to get the position,” Evan said.

“No, not about that—congrats on beating ‘The Beast’—I heard it was quite a show,” Paul laughed.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t be modest, Evan,” Gerald Smithson said. 

Their boss was seated at the head of the long conference table. With his white hair, rosy cheeks and rotund figure, he more resembled Santa Claus instead of the ambitious, intimidating President of Prestigious University. 

“You’re a hero. Professor Ridley-Forrester has needed her comeuppance since she was a student here,”

“That’s right, I remember her giving the professors hell as a student,” The Dean of Architectural Designs, Sasha Dorfman, added. “Didn’t she catch some of old man Walker’s exam errors?”

“She did,” Paul nodded. He looked at Evan. “Professor Walker had the reputation as the meanest, toughest professor in the school—that is, until, ‘The Beast’ joined the faculty.”

“She sounds brilliant,” Evan stated the obvious.

The other Deans looked towards President Smithson expectantly. They knew that the man loved to sing the praises of his favorite alumnus. He didn’t disappoint.  

“That’s an understatement, Evan. Kat Ridley-Forrester has two Doctorates—one in law, the other in medicine—a Masters in Economics and a Bachelors in Communications. She also graduated with the highest GPA this school has ever seen.” President Smithson’s chest puffed with pride. “And, all by the age of sixteen,”

“She entered University when she was ten,” Sasha added.

“How old is she, exactly?” Evan wanted to know.

“Twenty-four,” President Smithson answered. He was close friends with the Ridley-Forresters and had been invited to the grand affair that had been her birthday celebration.

“She is a lawyer and a doctor?”

“She was an excellent medical student and interned for a year at the university hospital but stopped because she didn’t like it.” Paul shared. “It was a lost—she showed great promise,”

“Seems to me that Professor Ridley-Forrester is superb and she wasn’t given the Dean position because...?” Evan asked, more than a little impressed.

“We didn’t want her to give up lecturing to work on policies and budgeting.” President Smithson said bluntly. “She’s got a fiery temper and her reputation is legendary. However, despite all her faults, she is a very gifted teacher. I only wish that she’d loosen up a little bit, be friendlier even.”

“She never attends social functions,” Paul said. “She’s very distant and anti-social,” From the look on the man’s face, it seemed that he had tried and failed in his pursuit of the professor.

“Maybe that will change?” President Smithson winked at Evan. “Have you read our policy on interoffice dating, Evan?”

“No, not yet,” Evan smiled knowingly. “Should I?”

“You should.”