“Want a ticket?” he asks with a hopeful smile.
“Sorry, I have other plans,” I step out of the stairwell and into the hallway.
I hurry my steps so as not to prolong the awkwardness of this conversation. Seriously, I have no idea why he’s suddenly interested in a conversation after acting like what happened between us meant nothing.
Veer is okay for those who find tall, Scandinavian-looking rockstar types appealing, but I have other obsessions. Looks-wise, he’d be perfect for Charlotte, though, but I wouldn’t want her to get ghosted.
He keeps up with my strides. “Was my debut last week terrible, considering I got pelted with that chair?”
I huff a laugh. “It wasn’t bad.”
“V.”
One of his friends gives him a hearty clap on the shoulder, which leads to Veer wrapping an arm around the other boy’s neck and putting him into a headlock.
The pair of them double over, bumping into the wall, like play fighting twelve year olds. I quicken my pace and put as much distance between me and them.
Finance and Accounting is next, and I want to teach Professor Segul a lesson…
The small lecture theater fills with students, and I spot Charlotte sitting in one of the seats close to the back. She raises a hand. I give her a wave and ascend the steps to join her.
Silence spreads across the large room as I reach her row, and every fine hair on my body tingles.
He’s here.
I shuffle past the other students on Charlotte’s row, who have to fold in their chairs and stand.
“Hey.” She looks me in the eye. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Not really,” I mutter and take my seat.
He wears an ash-gray suit today that’s even more closely tailored to his athletic frame. My insides inflate with pride at how the last button of his waistcoat is missing. That minor imperfection is nothing compared to what he did with my ass.
“Hubba hubba,” Charlotte mutters.
I shoot her a glare. “He’s not even your type.”
“Heh.” She nudges me hard in the ribs. “A man as sexy as him is universally attractive.”
Irritation tightens my skin. I tear my gaze away from the professor and sweep it across the rows in front of me. Some of the other female students have stopped chatting to watch him speak to the technician who’s setting up the overhead projector.
“Look at Thalia Grace.” Charlotte nods toward a trio of raven-haired cousins fluttering their lashes in the professor’s direction.
“What do they think they’re doing?” I whisper.
“Like he’s really going to be interested in those airheads,” Charlotte whispers back.
But when the professor’s gaze wanders in that direction, and he jerks it away, I can’t help but wonder if he is looking at them or someone else.
The title CAPITAL BUDGETING appears on the screen. I don’t bother to reach for my laptop to take notes. Dad covered this subject in excruciating detail both before he allowed me to study here, and during my weekend visits, except he called it investment appraisal.
Professor Segul launches into an explanation of why businesses need to choose wise investments and walks up and down the stage. His gaze touches mine for an instant before moving onto someone else’s. He looks at everyone except Thalia Grace and her cousins.
Does he find her too attractive or something?
One of them leans forward and brushes her fingers over Veer’s blond hair. Veer turns around and flashes her a grin. Professor Segul makes a point of speaking to the guy with the scar across his cheekbone.
Shouldn’t he be tossing his desk at them?