LeilaChristopher was angry. I could feel the anger radiating off him. He made no move to touch me. He barely even looked at me. It hurt to see him that way.“How are you?” I asked finally.“Fine. You?”“Terrified,” I whispered.“Of what? Your secret is safe.”“What happened?” I asked.He shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me? I saw you coming out of the dean’s office.”“You did?” I scowled. “I didn’t see you.”“I figured you were purposely ignoring me,” he said angrily. “Not wanting to sully your good name.”“No!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t see you. I was a little distracted. I tried calling you over and over. Why aren’t you taking my calls?”He blew out a breath. “Because I wasn’t sure what to say to you after what you did.”“After what I did?” I questioned. “What did I do?”“You told the dean who I was.”My mouth dropped open. “I did no such thing! He asked me if I knew the man in the picture and I lied. I told him I didn’t know who you were.”He scoffed. “How is it I got pulled out of clas
LeilaChristopher leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over his knee. His foot bounced as he rubbed his jaw. “I’ll drop out. He never has to know it was you.”“But your education,” I protested.“I was only taking classes to keep myself busy. I don’t really need that now. I have you—don’t I?”I nodded. “You do but I can’t let you make a sacrifice like that. I understand you are seeking something. I don’t know what it is exactly, but you have to go on this journey. I don’t want you to resent me because I got in the way of what you want. What you need. There has to be another way.”He slowly shook his head. “I don’t want you to lose your job—your career. You’ve worked so hard to get your dream job. I won’t let you give that up, not for me to chase something I don’t need.”“You might not need it, but you want it,” I insisted.“What do you have in mind?” he asked.I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. Then I thought about what he’d just spent the last twenty-four hours thinking and fee
ChristopherLeila returned, taking her seat and the offered coffee. There was a weird awkwardness between us that I didn’t like. I realized the misunderstanding was on my end. She had no involvement in me being exposed. I had taken it out on her and it wasn’t right. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt. I jumped to some very wrong conclusions. It wasn’t at all fair to you.”She smiled. “It’s okay. I’m sure it didn’t look good from your side of things. I thought for sure you told the dean who I was. I thought that was why you weren’t answering my calls.”“I would never do that to you,” I told her. “Never.”“I wouldn’t do that to you either. I love my job, but I do understand loyalty.”I chuckled, shaking my head. “I guess we’ll need to work on our communication skills.”“Definitely. I should have tried harder to talk to you and clear things up.”“I promise to be more open-minded and not automatically assume the worst,” I promised.“Me too.”“I hate that there was a lot
Christopher“I think that even with my kickass wife on your side, you’re likely to both lose. Leila, you would likely be terminated. If he can’t legally fire you for that, he’ll find another reason. You could try and sue for wrongful termination, but I don’t know if that would work. I’m sure my wife will know more than I and I will definitely run it all by her. If she thinks there is a chance, I will have her reach out—assuming it gets that far.”“But how can he expel Christopher?” she asked.“That’s an easy one. Sex in the library is definitely an offense that could get him expelled. Again, if it isn’t, it is easy to make something up.”She groaned, rubbing her hand over her face. “I can’t believe this. I’m jobless. I’m unemployed.”The strain on her face and the worry in her eyes pulled at my heartstrings. She didn’t deserve to lose everything. “I’ll take the fall,” I said. “You told me from the very get-go what this could lead to and I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”“No!” she gas
LeilaI looked at Alan and shrugged. “Well, I guess that’s that,” I said.He smiled. “You two make a great couple.”“Thank you. I feel like I’m in a bit of a Romeo and Juliet situation. He’s the forbidden fruit.”“Or you’re the forbidden fruit.”I had to laugh at the thought. “I suppose you’re right. So, how did you know?”“Know about you and Christopher?”I nodded. “Yes.”“I didn’t actually know, but I did have my suspicions. I wasn’t lying when I said the sparks were flying between the two of you. I recognized the sparks. My wife and I are like that.”I smiled. “That’s very sweet. Is she retired?”“She’s retired until she’s not.”I laughed. “Until someone brings her a case she can’t resist.”“You’ve got it. I love to watch her work. She just glows. I think I was hoping your situation would be something she could help with. I’m still going to run it by her. She’s the legal mind, I’m not.”I smiled, but there was something else that was still bothering me. “How did you know that we mi
Leila“The dean called it a donation to the school, but Christopher thinks he was blackmailing him.”She grinned. “He didn’t give up your name, did he?”“No, he didn’t.”“Told you,” she sang the words. “I told you so, I told you so.”“Gloating is not an attractive quality on anyone.”“I don’t care. I was right.”“Fine, you were right,” I mumbled.“Is he going to pay him?”“No. We talked with another guy whose wife is a lawyer, hoping we had some legal ground to fight back, but we don’t. Alan doesn’t think we have a chance to sue to keep my job and Christopher enrolled. He thinks the dean would just find another legal reason to get rid of us. Christopher has decided to take the fall for both of us.”She grimaced. “He is going to pay him?”“No. He’s not going to pay or give up my name, which means he’ll be expelled.”“Is that going to stop the dean from investigating?”“Christopher is going to tell him I’m not a student.”“Do you think that will work?” she asked.I shrugged. “I have no
ChristopherI was being made to wait, which didn’t surprise me all that much. It was a power play. He wanted me to sit and stew. He probably assumed the longer he made me wait, the more inclined I would be to pay him a heftier sum. I considered myself a nice man, but I wasn’t a pushover. People often mistook my kindness for weakness. I wasn’t a weak man.My anger was fueled by Leila’s stress. She was a damn good teacher and the dean had no idea what kind of gem he had. I was still mulling over the idea of paying him not to keep investigating. I would pay him whatever it took to keep Leila’s job safe.I had tabled that idea. It would be showing my cards too soon. If I gave up Leila’s name when there was no possible way he would ever uncover her identity, I would be giving him too much information. I would watch him and try to determine just how much he knew. I felt I had a pretty good poker face. I hoped the dean didn’t.“Mr. Evans, the dean will see you now,” a young woman said from b
ChristopherThe detective left, leaving me and Alan alone in the office. I stared at Alan, absolutely dumbfounded. “What the hell?”Alan laughed. “Sorry I had to keep you in the dark, but we needed this all to play out just right.”“We? Who is we?”“The cops. My wife. Me.”I studied him carefully. “Who are you?”“I am who I say I am, but I did not sign up for more classes because I’m interested in pursuing any more education. The last thing I want to do in my golden years is study and take tests while hanging out with a bunch of kids. My wife made me do it.”“Made you do what?” I asked feeling like I had skipped several chapters in a book and was missing the bulk of the story.“Go undercover,” he said with a grin.“As an old guy in college?”“I’ve been talking to students and trying to get information on the dean. Almost a year ago, a young man from an affluent family came to my wife and asked for help. As it turns out, the dean had been extorting him for months. He pulled the same sh