“Okay!”
He strode happily out of the room, and I sighed as I finished putting my stuff together. I lifted the bag onto my shoulder and walked out of the class. A couple of girls went ahead of me through the door, giggling. I heard one of them mention Ben’s name and glance at me as they giggled, and just like that, my annoyance at Ben was back.
If he was going to be so disruptive in my class, could I kick him out? Or hold him back from doing tests? The school did have its rules, while there was a blatant disregard of it going around, I didn’t want to have to deal with Ben.Chapter Four
AngelaIt was time for lunch. I was relieved as I left my stuff in my office and went to the faculty room. Our school was very good to its professors, and we had food brought in each day. A few other professors were already there, and they looked up when I opened the door.
“Look who’s finally here! Angela, come to join us, or you’ll miss your share…”
I chuckled. “If you eat my food you better order me something else.”
Most of the professors at the school, and especially in my faculty, were pretty friendly. It was nice, because very few of them had an inkling about my private life, so while I was at work, I didn’t have to worry about someone bringing up my ex-husband.
Not everyone was there. I grabbed some food and sat down to eat. Some of the other professors chatted together quietly, and the guy next to me turned as I opened my box of food.
“How was your class?”
I sighed heavily in irritation, picked up my fork and stabbed into my salad.
“That same guy is still giving me trouble! Can you imagine he just up and walked out of class while I was in the middle of talking, and when I asked him to stay back, he just said he was busy and left?”
Jason Tyde, also a professor, chuckled while he nudged me with his shoulder.
“You’ll meet a kid like that sometimes. I usually don’t let it get to me; I don’t care about their grades because I get paid anyway. This isn’t high school, so they have be more responsible for themselves. Who was it, though?”
My lip curled. “Some kid called Ben.”
That had everyone at the table going quiet and turning to me. I blinked, wondering what I’d said to have them paying such close attention to me.
“What,” I muttered when no one said anything.
“If it’s the Ben I think you’re talking about,” Jason said slowly. “Then I think you’re better off leaving that guy alone.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Well, how do I put this… he’s untouchable. Completely.”
“But he’s just a student,” I complained.
“Yeah, but he’s also rich and walks around New York like he owns the entire city, not to mention this campus. He’s also pretty favored by the top brass, so they don’t care about his attitude because he’s also one of the top swimmers and on the triathlon team. He’s popular, and no one says a bad word about him. They wouldn’t dare, not even the professors. He’s got way too much backing.”
No wonder he’s that confident. He doesn’t need to pretend. If anyone says anything, he knows he won't get in trouble anyway.
“Maybe it’s time someone takes him down a peg or two,” I muttered, getting back to my food. “Maybe I should do it.”
Jason snorted, and everyone else slowly went back to their conversations.
“Good luck with that,” he said, looking sympathetic.
I scowled at him, but I knew why he reacted that way. I had to admit, dealing with Ben wouldn’t be a simple thing. It was enough to make me hesitate, but if the boy kept giving me shit, I wasn’t going to keep quiet about it.
Halfway through lunch, my phone vibrated. I was all but done with the meal, still chatting with Jason and the other professors. I didn’t get a lot of people contacting me, so my curiosity was instantly piqued. Besides, I had an idea of who it could be—or who I wished it was, so I quickly excused myself to head back to my office.
I checked the message as I walked and almost tripped on my heels.
“Hey, baby. Sorry for leaving you hanging before, but how about I relieve you now? I’ve had a hard day.”
My eyebrows jumped up as I stared at the text, before I rush into my office and locked the door behind me. I wasn’t sure what he meant by a hard day. Did he mean it as a euphemism or did he have a rough day? It wasn’t my place to comfort him, but I was curious.
“With pleasure,” I texted back.
I had a moment of wishing I was back in my bedroom. It had been so much fun, last night. While there was a part of me that found it amusing, it had been hot, too. I hadn't done anything like that, ever. My sex life with Stuart hadn't been anything to write home about in years, and my memories of our first years were hazy. My body had burned hot when I thought of actually doing everything I had texted to him. I didn’t touch myself last night, but only because I thought it would be a little pathetic.