“What do you mean?”
“You want to sleep with me, or am I wrong?” I accused, standing firmly within his private space, waiting for an answer.
His eyebrows drifted up, his arms crossing in front of his chest. “I could fire you for that.”
“Answer me, or I’ll take my shirt off,” I replied.
He grinned at that, and I could see I was making progress. “I can’t, Bre. You’re under my employ. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“But I’m right.” I stepped forward, placing my hands on his desk. “You do want me.”
He cleared his throat. “I do. But I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
“You already are,” I said, exasperated. “Every time you harp on something I’m doing, I can feel the attraction. I’m not afraid.” It was the closest I could come to acknowledging my feelings, and I hoped he could read between the lines.
He stood up, circling his desk to stand beside me. For a moment, he did nothing, just shared the same space with me. I straightened so that I could meet his eyes. Our gazes locked, each one full of pent-up desire.This is it, I thought. Within seconds, I would be in his arms, tasting his lips. But he turned away.
“I appreciate your honesty,” he said.
“But?”
“But it’s out of the question. Please go.”
“Fine.” I turned on my heels and stormed out of the room before I did something I would regret. In the living room, I felt my heart beat a mile a minute. Had I really just accused my boss of lusting after me, and told him I would be a willing participant? The answer was yes.
I didn’t know what had come over me. He was just so attractive. I decided that I had to get out of the house. The next day was Sunday, my day off. I decided to arrange something to do that would take me far away from Flynn and his annoying good looks.
I took out my phone and texted Millie, the American woman I had met in the café. Maybe she would be up for walking around the city, or at the very least, another lunch date. She suggested a visit to a club that night. I figured, why not? As soon as Seanan was in bed for the night, I was on my own time until Monday. A real night out was just what I needed to regain my equilibrium.
I put my phone back in my pocket, satisfied that I was doing the right thing. At least the air was cleared. Next time Flynn tried anything remotely authoritarian, I could call him on his bullshit. I went to my room to spend the next hour reading before Seanan woke up.
CHAPTERSIX
CONNOR
Life was too short not to play around. I considered this my philosophy and applied it to just about everything. I indulged in good food (in moderation), good drink (also in moderation) and casual sex.
I liked to think I had an attractive physique. I spent enough time at the gym to qualify for a platinum membership. It wasn’t just that I wanted to entice other people; I also wanted to look good for myself.
My sister called me a “himbo,” which is a male version of a bimbo. I took it as a compliment. I wasn’t self-conscious about my intellect. In fact, I considered myself quite smart. I didn’t have to work, with the family fortune at my beck and call. Iwantedto work, although these days, work was more of a headache than anything else.
I was a university professor, teaching advanced mathematics to undergraduates. I didn’t need the paycheck or the politics, but every now and then, I met a student who really inspired me. I liked having a hand in shaping young minds. Some of the young adults were easy on the eyes too, although they were strictly off-limits due to my professional position.
Even though I didn’t need the job, I didn’t want to get fired in disgrace. So I kept my romantic liaisons out of the classroom. That was another thing my sister and I couldn’t agree on. Literally everyone else in my life, including my best friend Declan, or Dex as I liked to call him, thought that casual sex had gone out in the 1970s.
I wasn’t that old, but I felt like maybe I had been born into the wrong era. There was nothing wrong with two healthy adults enjoying each other’s bodies. I didn’t have a preference, male or female. Sometimes I was in the mood for one, sometimes the other. Sometimes when an opportunity opened, I allowed fate to decide.
In my twenties, I used to frequent the dance clubs, looking for hookups. There was always someone there who was willing to have a little fun. As I grew older, that scene no longer appealed to me. Instead, I relied heavily on apps like Tinder and Grindr to satisfy my needs. They were equally as successful and dispensed with the whole strobe light ambiance.
That night, I was feeling nostalgic. I decided to dress up and take in the sights at one of Dublin’s most popular night spots. Because my job was an optional thing, I hated to work too much. Monday through Friday I had classes, so that meant Saturday was reserved for paperwork and lesson planning.
It seemed like the dean of students wasn’t clued in to my work schedule, because he called up in a rage over the latest little thing. Someone had put an unapproved textbook on their syllabus, and for some reason, it became the entire faculty’s problem. I had to listen to the man go on and on in a conference call about appropriate materials and why you couldn’t just curate your own list.
As a math teacher, I didn’t even use textbooks anymore. It was all theory and lectures, with a software package that handled the homework. And of course, the software was university approved. I had been using it for years.
I wanted to beg off, to tell the dean that his little rant had nothing to do with me, but I knew that wouldn’t go over well. He was a petty tyrant who needed an audience. The entire experience left me feeling upset.
Dex told me again and again that I should quit, but I didn’t listen. There were those occasional days when I enjoyed teaching, and I wasn’t ready to retire. What else was I supposed to do? Buy a yacht?