“I’m guessing the dean would frown upon the idea of me screwing my student.”
I hissed out a breath.
“That came out wrong.”
“You think?” I fought the urge to throw something at his face. “And this isn’t just about you! That’s me! That’s my reputation!” With shaky legs, I collapsed onto the couch. “What are we going to do?”
Tristan joined me on the couch and pulled a blanket over his lap. “We’re going to find the bastard and destroy him and then… you’re going to move in with me. Even if you fight me every step of the way, I’m going to keep asking until you give in. Whoever did this…” He swore. “…knew your every move. Who knows where else the cameras—”
Tristan jolted up from his seat, ran into the bathroom, and started pulling things from the cupboards. I slowly walked after him and froze when he pulled a camera from a spot behind one of the fake plants I’d put on the shelf for decoration. “That’s not from Gabe.”
“No.” Tristan sighed. “It’s not. We need to check your room.”
All in all, we found six more cameras. I had no idea how much they’d caught, but it was enough to make me feel more than terrified. I was dirty, shameful, like I’d been performing for someone without even knowing it.
“I’m going to kill that guy…” Tristan pulled on his jeans and threw a T-shirt over his head. “…with my bare hands.”
“Don’t.” I shook my head. “We have no proof it’s him… none. If you go after him, it could make things worse, just… we need to just lay low. I can drop out of school and—”
“Hell, no!” Tristan roared. “You aren’t dropping out of school just because some psychopath has a sick obsession with you.”
His phone went off again. “Shit.”
“What?”
“The dean.”
I cringed.
“Hello?” He blinked, his shoulders tense. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes…yes…yes.” His eyes found mine. “A few weeks. Alright.”
When he hung up, the room was tense.
“Are you fired?”
“I have a meeting…” Tristan sighed. “…where I’ll most likely sign papers of resignation if the dean’s pissed-off tone was any indication. It seems all the money in the world can’t protect you from giving the university a bad rep.”
“It’s my fault.” Tears started pooling in my line of vision. “If you wouldn’t have seen my picture… if I wouldn’t have fallen for Taylor.”
“No!” Tristan rushed to my side and gripped my face with both hands. “Look at me, Lisa! None of this is your fault! None of it! You’re perfect. He was sick, a sick kid, alright? It’s not your fault. Don’t let him win. We’re going to be okay… I swear. Just... damn it, I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“Starbucks.” I nodded. “It’s not like the whole world has seen the website yet, unless it’s gone viral, which that’s always possible, too. I’ll hang out at Starbucks. I’ll put on a hat, and I’ll read or something. Nobody would attack me in public.”
“Okay.” Tristan sighed, running his hands through his reddish brown hair. “I’ll drop you off and pick you up when I’m done. I don’t want you going to class today, not with a lunatic running around. I’ll send an email to your professors, explaining the situation.”
I nodded.
“It’s going to be fine.” He kissed my mouth hard. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”
“Yeah.” My lower lip quivered. “And this isn’t your fault, Lisa. Please, it destroys me when I see that look on your face. Now, put on something hideous, so people don’t notice you, and grab a hat.”
****
Minutes later, I had a quad-shot latte and a romance novel in my lap. Starbucks wasn’t that busy, and, for the most part, nobody seemed to even notice me. I kept my phone in my lap with my book, just in case I needed to call Tristan. I knew it was bad… he was going to be fired. But what was worse, I knew that if it leaked out into the media who he really was, who I was? It would destroy his father’s career, and to me, it just seemed like a matter of time before that happened.
The freaking Secretary of State was going to know my name.
Because it looked like I was in a sex tape with his son.