"Are you shagging him?" When she puckers her lips again, I realize I probably shouldn't have blurted that out. "I meant are you, ah, romantically involved with that bloke."
"No, I am not. We're friends. But I know you were asking if I'm screwing him, and I don't appreciate it."
"Sorry. If you're friends with him, why can't you be friends with me?" I raise my hand to stop her when she starts to speak. "I'm not an average student, am I? And I'll gladly sign a waiver granting you my permission to sexually harass me to your pretty little heart's content."
"You're insane."
I shrug. "As you well know, I've been called worse. On the internet. By anonymous wankers who don't have the nerve to say things like that to my face."
"Uh-huh." She closes her file folder. "Why did you quit one semester short of getting your degree in business?"
Somehow, I'd hoped she wouldn't notice that, or at least wouldn't mention it. Of course she noticed and mentioned it. A student of advanced age who quit nineteen years ago within spitting distance of earning that degree? Anyone would be curious.
Dr. Griffin seems more curious than most people.
"It's a long story," I say. "My reasons are personal, and I don't know you. Now, if we had lunch together and chatted to each other, I might feel more comfortable sharing my life story with you."
One corner of her mouth slants upward into a grudging smile. "Are you blackmailing me into having lunch with you?"
"I can't blackmail you since I don't have anything on you." I smile. "Not yet."
Maybe I shouldn't flirt with her, but I can't help it. Underneath her prim exterior, I sense there's a wild woman dying to get out.
SJ Griffin picks up a pen and taps it on her lips. "You're going to give me trouble, aren't you? The university has a code of ethics, one by which I am bound to abide."
"Could you say 'bound to abide' again? It's the sexiest thing I've ever heard."
My luscious adviser stands up, stretching out a hand to offer me a business card. "Here's my office number if you need anything. Please go to the bookstore and buy all your textbooks. Classes begin on Monday."
I get up and take her business card. "Is your home number on the back?"
"No." She sits down. "I saw that you've registered for one of my classes. You won't get any slack just because you're older than the average student. Business analytics is an advanced statistics course. I hope you can handle it."
"You really have low expectations for me, don't you?"
"Realistic expectations. A lot has changed in the past nineteen years." She points at her laptop. "We have computers now."
"Oh yes, we had to make do with parchment scrolls back in the Dark Ages when I was growing up, but I can adapt. Do you have a quill pen I could borrow?"
Her lips twitch, but she doesn't quite smile. "Go buy your books, Mr. Hunter. You're probably staying in the dorms, eh? With all those nubile coeds."
"I have a flat off-campus, for your information." And my brother is paying for it, but I don't need to tell her that. I lean over her desk to gaze straight into her eyes. "If not lunch, then have dinner with me. I need advising. Lots of it. You can't abandon a student from another country who has no idea how to survive in America. And at my advanced age, I might need help finding the right classrooms."
"Sure you will." She eyes me from head to toe like she had when she first saw me. "Why do you want to dress like a frat boy? You're a grown man."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" I'm wearing my Arsenal T-shirt, because I love football, and also stonewashed blue jeans and cowboy boots. Don't Americans love cowboys? Not my adviser, I guess. When I was getting dressed this morning, this outfit seemed appropriate for my first day at university.
Dr. Griffin screws up her mouth, then shrugs. "Goodbye, Mr. Hunter."
Since I've been dismissed, I walk out of her office. Dr. SJ Griffin intrigues me, but I came here to finish my degree, not chat up my faculty adviser. I shouldn't flirt anymore. Kissing her is absolutely out of the question. Under no circumstances will I offer her a "special" massage.
Unless…
No, you sodding arse, you're here to learn, not to seduce SJ Griffin.
Not knowing her first name has made me want her even more. To strip off those stuffy, yet somehow sexy, clothes could be the best time I've had in years. The uptight ones often turn out to be the most incredible lovers once they let go.
But I will not cock up getting my degree. I've waited a long time for this, and I will behave like the mature man I'm supposed to be. All work and no play might drive me barking mad, but I will prove to everyone I am a serious businessman.