Bad Teacher

Either way, I’m not messing around with her, and she’d better not mess around with me.

I march toward the door and open it, despite hearing loud music coming from the other side. My jaw drops and my brows draw together the moment I see TJ … dancing like a maniac … with a dog in his arms.

“What the …?” I mutter.

He’s also half-naked.

Going crazy in his underwear like it’s nobody’s business.

He doesn’t stop, and I can’t stop staring at the scene in front of me.

Gillian grabs my shoulders and says, “I told you not to go in.”

Suddenly, TJ glances over his shoulder and says, “Oh, shit.”

He rushes to grab his pants and put them back on again while Gillian and I look away, pretending we didn’t see all that.

“I’m sorry, sir. I tried to stop her,” Gillian says.

“No, you lied and said he wasn’t there,” I hiss.

“I see,” TJ says.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you were having a freak-out in your office,” I say.

“It’s a habit,” he says as Dozer jumps from his arms and runs under the desk.

“This is why I told you not to go,” Gillian says. “This is his daily alone time.”

“And you spend it by dancing like a lunatic?” I muse, peeking through my hand so I can see him zip up.

He smiles. “Yep. Nothing like a weird dance. Shake off all the nerves.”

I snort. “I don’t know why I expected anything less from you.”

“Do you need anything from me, sir?” Gillian asks. “Now that you’ve been interrupted, I may as well bring you some lunch.”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you. You can go now,” TJ says. “Oh, and for future reference … you can let Miss Fischer in when she has something for me. Got it?”

She purses her lips and says, “Yes, sir.”

I part my fingers again. “Can I look?”

He laughs. “Of course, you can.”

Gillian leaves and closes the door behind her. “I’ll leave you to it.”

I sigh out loud when she’s gone. “I thought she’d never leave.”

“You two don’t get along?” he asks.

I smile stupidly. “I don’t think she likes me that much.”

“Sure, she does. She’s just worried.”

“About what?” I ask.

“Oh … just … everything that concerns me,” he says, and he clears his throat. “Anyway, now that you’re here …”

He turns around and grabs the dog that’s under the desk. Only then do I notice what he did to Dozer. “What do you think?” he muses.

At first, my lips part, but then I burst out into laughter. “You’re shitting me, right?”

The dog has a drawn-on moustache … and eyebrows.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen eyebrows on a dog, but there is literally nothing sillier than that.

“Looks good, right?” TJ says, wiggling his eyebrows while moving Dozer’s up and down, and it’s got me cracking up. Like, honestly, I’m unable to catch my breath. That’s how hard I’m laughing.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter between laughs. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

“I know. It’s hard to deal with so much handsomeness in one room,” TJ boasts.

“Is this what you do in your spare time?” I ask.

“Yup. Gotta waste the time somehow.” He puts Dozer down again. “Besides, laughing’s healthy for you.”

“And here I thought you were doing useful things with your time,” I reply.

“Useful? You don’t consider a dog with a moustache and eyebrows useful?” He makes a face and shakes his finger at me. “Shame. Shame on you.”

I snort and playfully slap his arm with the stack of papers in my hand. “You’re such an idiot.”

“And you’re in love with him,” he muses, grabbing my arms to press a kiss on my lips. “Now who’s the idiot?”

“Fuck you,” I murmur, but I let him kiss me anyway because I’m such an idiot and I know it.

“Bad talking to your boss? That could get you fired,” he replies.

“If you wanted to fire me, you would’ve done it a long time ago. You know … back when we first had sex,” I murmur against his lips.

He smirks. “I don’t want to … but don’t force my hand, young lady. It might suddenly spank your ass.”

“Shhh …” I whisper. “Gillian might hear.”

“And then she’ll be even more jealous of you than before,” he says, making me grin.

I narrow my eyes. “I knew that’s what it was …”

He shrugs. “Maybe. I dunno. Don’t care either.”

“What else could it be?”

“As I said, she’s rather protective of me.”

“She acts like she’s your mother,” I say.

He frowns and pulls back, and I’m wondering where the hell my kisses are. I lean in, but he doesn’t allow me to kiss him. Instead, he walks back to his desk and sits down.

“What? Is it something I said?” I ask.

“No, no. I just thought I should get back to work,” he says, looking up at me. “Enough fun time.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Well, I came in here to give you this.” I place it on his desk. “It’s my marketing plan.”