Finn, Amber - Her Prized Student (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

Avery’s stomach dropped to the floor, and she felt like she was going to get sick. “I think you’d better leave now, Leslie.”

Leslie looked stunned. “But,” she stammered, “we haven’t discussed my new grade.”

Avery looked Leslie straight in the eye and said coolly, “You came to the wrong woman. I won’t be blackmailed.”

Leslie jumped to her feet. She practically shouted, “If you don’t change my grade, I’ll go to the department chair.”

“I’ve got news for you, Leslie. Blake is considered an employee of the university as well. He gets a paycheck, so he plays a dual role here. Yes, it is against the rules for me and him to have a relationship because he is a grad student. But it is also against the rules for the two of you to be romantically involved because as a teaching assistant, he receives that paycheck. And you have just revealed to me that the two of you have had sex. That now puts you at risk for dismissal from the school if I go to the dean.”

Leslie lost all color in her face. “That can’t be true.”

“Next time, check the university bylaws, Leslie. I suggest you know what you are talking about before you try to blackmail someone.”

Avery stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and motioned for her to leave. Leslie walked out of the office. Avery closed the door and started to shake.

Avery went to her desk and sat down as she considered her next move. For a brief moment, she had hoped that Leslie was lying, but when she left without argument and didn’t try to pursue her blackmail, she knew then Leslie wasn’t lying. Leslie would not have dropped it so easily if she had made it up. So now Avery had to face the fact that Blake cheated on her. But what did he cheat on? They had never declared themselves exclusive with one another. Avery still had not told Blake she loved him, and of course he had not said it to her. So why did she feel like her world just ended?
Because you are in love with him, and you haven’t felt this way about anyone—ever.
Avery slowly gathered her things and left her office in a daze, much like Leslie did not long before.

* * * *

Just as Avery pulled up to her home, her cell phone rang, and the caller ID showed Blake’s number. Too numb to deal with him at the moment, she let it roll into voice mail. Avery was not sure when she would be able to deal with him. She barely had the strength to climb the stairs to her bedroom and crawl into bed. She let the bliss of sleep take over and closed her eyes. The sound of her cell phone ringing once again woke her from her pain-free existence. It was, again, Blake. She wasn’t ready to deal with him, so she let voice mail take the call. Avery looked at her phone and saw that Blake had left four voice mails since she arrived home.
Four? How long have I been sleeping?
Avery was surprised to see that it was six hours later. She sighed as she still felt exhausted. She rolled over and closed her eyes.

The next morning there were five more messages from Blake. At this point, it was clear to Avery she was not going to be ready to speak to Blake anytime soon and deleted the messages. She put on her robe and headed downstairs to make coffee. Avery was grateful for the weekend. If she’d had a class, she would have had to face Blake. How was she going to get through next week? Thankfully, it was the last week of classes. The students would be working on their portfolios, so Avery did not have anything to prepare. On the other hand, the downfall to that was preparing a lecture would have kept her occupied. During portfolio preparation, she would wander the room and offer assistance when needed. Unfortunately, it would leave free time for her during class. This was what she was afraid of. She did not want Blake to have any chance to get to her. After class, she could leave straight from class in the midst of the students. The only thing that eased her fears somewhat was the thought that, during class, Blake would not try to discuss anything personal or fear of anyone else finding out about them. That thought did quite a bit to waylay her fears, so she now set about trying to figure out how she would avoid him until graduation.

Chapter Five

It was the last week of classes, and Avery had only two class meetings left. Avery woke the morning of class feeling as nauseous as she did the first day of class.
Wonderful. I’ve gone back to feeling like a green professor who has yet to get her feet wet.
She arrived on campus and went straight to her office. She had over an hour before class and wanted to be sure she was available for any students in a last-minute panic over their portfolios. When she got there, there was a note in her mailbox from the department chair asking to see her. She instead went straight to Dr. Amelia Wentworth’s office. She knocked on her door, praying Amelia was in. Amelia called for her to come in. Avery said a prayer of thanks.

“Avery! How’s your first semester treating you? I haven’t seen you much. I hope you haven’t felt ignored?”

Avery felt at ease by Amelia’s pleasant tone.
She can’t be firing me and sound this happy!
“No, I’m not feeling ignored at all. My students are keeping me plenty busy, thank you. Was there something you wanted to tell me?”

“Yes, I wanted to tell you that your Graduate Assistant, Blake Emory, was picked to present his master’s thesis at a regional conference, so he won’t be in your classes this week. He’ll come back for graduation, but of course, classes will be completed by then. He said he tried to call you but only got your voicemail.”

Avery couldn’t tell which emotion won out, relief or disappointment, and wanted to get out of Amelia’s office as quickly as possible as her mind tried to figure it out. “Thank you, Amelia. My class load is light this week, so that won’t be a problem. I wish him luck.” Avery walked back to her office shaking with the news.

Blake had tried to call to say good-bye, but she didn’t take the call. What would she have said?
He slept with Leslie! You should have said good riddance! But I love him! Well, guess who doesn’t love me?
Avery reached her office, closed her door, and collapsed on the couch.

She was granted the miracle she prayed for, no Blake the entire week. She couldn’t figure out why her stomach was still so unsettled. She closed her eyes to relax and almost jumped off the couch when someone knocked at the door. The last time someone knocked at her door it was Leslie Preston.

Avery went to the door and cautiously opened it. She was surprised to see Amelia Wentworth standing there.

“Hi, Avery. May I come in?”

“Sure, please do.” Avery opened the door wider and waited for Amelia to enter. “Please, sit. Can I get you something?”

“No, thanks. Too much coffee already. I do have something I’d like to talk to you about, though. You may want to close the door.”

This time, Avery’s stomach did fall to the floor. She closed the door and walked back to her desk. Amelia surprised her with her next request.

“Could we sit on the couch? The desk is so formal.”

“Okay, sure.”

They sat down and Amelia opened the conversation with, “Are you in love with Blake Emory?”

At that moment, Avery again said a prayer of thanks for deciding not to pick up her cup of coffee off her desk because it surely would have ended up in her lap. She looked at Amelia, stunned, knowing she had been caught. What she couldn’t figure out was how it happened. And she couldn’t figure out how she knew she
loved
him. She decided to tread carefully.

“Yes, Amelia, I have been seeing Blake this past semester.” Amelia smiled at Avery’s admission of dating Blake, but Avery wouldn’t admit to loving him. “May I ask how you knew?”

“Because I thought you two would be a good match. That’s why I assigned him to your class. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you when you came to campus for your interview. I felt it was time he settled down and that you were the perfect woman to capture his heart. You had already captured his interest.”

Avery’s mouth fell open. She could not believe her ears. “I don’t understand. You were
hoping
we’d get together? But what about the university rule against it? You must be aware of it. Blake knows all about it.”

“Of course he does. I told him, so he’d be careful. I can’t have my nephew getting kicked out of school during the final semester of his master’s degree, now can I?”

Avery started to choke on a phantom piece of dust. “Your nephew?”

“Are you okay? Do you need some water?”

Avery shook her head no as she regained control. Unfortunately, she could not claim control of her senses as her mind was still reeling. “Blake is your nephew? I can’t believe it. He never told me. Now I understand why he didn’t want to discuss his past and living with his aunt any further.”

“Well, he keeps that between us because he doesn’t want anyone to claim nepotism in any way. I tried to tell him that wasn’t a way to begin a relationship, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Yes, I can see that. He told me he pulled some strings to get assigned to my class. I can see why he’d try to hide the fact that you are his aunt. However, I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t think he was interested in a relationship. Yes, I am in love with Blake. But I don’t think he is in love with me.”

Amelia smiled and shook her head. “Oh yes, dear, he is. He is head-over-heels in love with you. I’ve known that boy his entire life and have never seen him this way over anyone.”

Avery started to feel hope over that news but then remembered Leslie. Amelia watched as Avery’s face fell.

“What’s the matter? Most women consider it good news that the man they love feels the same way,” Amelia said smilingly.

Avery looked at Amelia through tears and said, “Most women don’t get a visit from another woman claiming a one-night stand with the very same man.”

Amelia stood and paced the room. “Blake is many things, but one thing he isn’t is dishonest. I would stake my own life on that. I’ve never had children, and when Blake’s parents were killed in a car accident when he was 6, I stepped in and raised him as my own. I’ve never looked back. As it would happen, my husband and I later found out we were unable to have children, and we regarded Blake as a gift. But we never spoiled him. We raised him with the morals and values with which we were raised, and Blake inherited his mother’s goodness and integrity on top of that. I don’t doubt that you believed this woman, Avery, but did you ask Blake about it?”

Avery felt ashamed as she remembered the many phone calls she let roll over into voicemail. “No,” she whispered.

“When did you find out?”

“Three days ago,” Avery responded.

“Oh, Avery, don’t beat yourself up. You’re still in shock. But you need to talk to him.”

Avery happily nodded and said she would call him after class.

Avery rushed out of class and went back to her office. She felt as though she was going to be sick at any moment and was convinced she wasn’t going to make it to her office. The women’s restroom was directly across from her office, and Avery made a beeline for it instead. As she finished getting sick, she finally made it to her office.

Avery felt better. No fever, no chills, no body aches.
This doesn’t feel like the stomach flu. Maybe it was something I ate last night?
She couldn’t remember what she had eaten, so she shrugged it off and tried to decide what to do about Blake. What Amelia said gave her great hope on the one hand, but on the other hand, she was somewhat biased and may not know Blake as well today. She doesn’t know the grown man he has become. She also did not know Leslie Preston and would not know her powers of persuasion. Blake could be as honest as George Washington and still succumb to the likes of her. Sitting there wouldn’t get Avery the answers she needed, and Avery decided to take action. The conference where Blake went to present his paper was only two hours away. Avery decided the conversation they needed to have was not one to have over the phone but face-to-face. So she decided to drive there that afternoon to confront Blake. She could be back by dinner or stay the night, depending on how things went. Avery went home to pack an overnight bag to be prepared for the best scenario and then hit the road. She was still feeling sick, so she stopped to pick up some Dramamine and a Diet Coke to stay awake.

* * * *