Connor chuckled. He had no way of knowing what game I was playing. If he thought I was just going to roll over while he fucked the woman I was interested in, he was dead wrong. But if he thought I was going to come down like a ton of bricks, he was wrong about that too. We were all adults. I just wanted to get the lay of the land, to understand what Connor had going for him.
“All right,” the professor relented. “When and where?”
“I can come to your office,” I offered.
“No way. Let me come to your office.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then we’ll meet in some neutral place,” Connor suggested.
“What did you have in mind?”
“What about a café?” Connor asked.
“I’d rather meet somewhere private,” I instructed. I didn’t know how this meeting would go, and I didn’t want a bunch of strangers around.
“We could meet at my condo,” Connor offered.
“Perfect,” I said. “Half an hour?”
“Do you know where it is?” he asked.
“Yes.” I wasn’t going to tell him that I had detectives on staff who had given me all his information. At the same time, I wasn’t going to pretend that I didn’t know everything there was to know about him. Let him draw his own conclusion.
“Do I need to be worried?” Connor questioned.
“I’m not going to bring a gun, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I could hear him exhale in relief, and I realized that was exactly what he was worried about. “I’m not trying to take her away from you.”
“We’ll talk about it later,” I said, hanging up.
It would take nearly half an hour to get to Connor’s place, so I powered down my computer and collected my things. Passing Hud on the way out, I told him that I would be gone for several hours.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Out,” I said with a finality that invited no further questions.
Taking the stairs down to the parking level, I got into my car. I felt calm. I wasn’t as angry anymore, now that I knew I would be getting some answers. I drove casually across town and arrived at my destination with time to spare. The detectives had even given me Connor’s floor, so I could go right up.
The elevator was mirrored in an attempt to make the space look bigger. I wondered if Bre had taken this particular car up to the love nest and if Connor had touched her there. The thought brought all my anger back in one suffocating wave. I’d imagined myself above all that pettiness, but I had to admit that I was wallowing in it.
Breanna wasn’t mine to control. She was a free person who happened to work in my house. I wasn’t going to win any battles with her by flying off the handle. Presumably there was something truly likeable about the man I was there to meet. Otherwise, why would Bre have left the club with him?
Not only had she gone home with him, but she’d spent the night. That told me that he was potential boyfriend material. That was what I wanted to nip in the bud. A night out was fine, but I didn’t want to find myself shut out of her affections.
Thinking through all the ways I could convince Connor to step aside, I waited for the elevator to bring me to the top level. When the doors opened, I was surprised to find myself in his living room. I had been expecting a hallway and at least a few other apartments on the same level. The guy must be even more well off than I’d previously thought.
The detectives hadn’t provided me with Connor’s financials, although I knew that they could. I suspected that his wealth approached my own level and wondered what he did to deserve it. Was it family money? Or had he invented something that provided him with passive income? Maybe he was into real estate. Whatever it was, he had decided to spend most of his time teaching undergraduates. I had to admit, that made him somewhat more likeable.
“Flynn?” the man himself stepped out from another doorway, maybe a kitchen or a home office.
“Connor,” I presumed.
Connor held out his hand, offering it to me for a shake. I answered robotically, not feeling particularly cordial.
“Do you want to have a seat?” Connor asked uncomfortably.