The Protege (2 page)

She
looked up into his intense blue eyes, whose disdainful expression hadn’t
changed from before. Thank goodness he didn’t see that. What must he think of
her as a potential student, if she was caught with those on her. She quickly
put all the spilled content out back into her bag, while she got up off her
knees, trying to avoid looking clumsy while his blue eyes swept over her body
from head to toe, lingering a while on her face and breast. “I’m so sorry,
Professor Williamson. I’m not usually this flustered or clumsy. I’m…”

He
shot her a derisive snort. “Sorensen.  Sebastian Sorensen.”

“Professor
Sorensen, please don’t be so casual about my future. I’m an above average
student and any one of my professors can attest…”

“Miss
Singleton.  I am not merely throwing you out of my office on principle.  I do
have other students to see, you understand, and…”  He looked at his watch. 
“The next student, if they dare arrive on time, should be here in ninety
seconds.”

“Then,
please reschedule me. I’ll be here an hour early. I’ll do whatever you want.
Please, Professor, this is far too important to me.  I can’t just let go
because of something as trivial as a few minutes of tardiness.”

“I’m
sorry, but the
trivial
matter of your tardiness is not my problem.”

“Professor,
I’m begging.  I’ll do anything.  I’ll clean your office, get your dry cleaning,
walk your dog, help grade papers. Truly, I’ll do anything to make up for
offending you.”

He
sat back down and eyed her over his clasped hands. “I admit, I’m overloaded. I
have more work than I can handle, but I can’t receive any…”

“But
it wouldn’t be a bribe. I’d be working for you, just as if you’d hired me.”

With
a keen glint in his fair blue eyes, he scrutinized her, from the tightly pulled
dark hair that retreated into her chignon, to the parting of her lips, to her
primly covered but full breasts and down to tiny waist, slim hips, and her long
shapely legs and leather clad feet.

“I
don’t know,” he mused.  “You're rather thin.”

“Thin?” 
She looked down at herself.  She’d always considered herself healthy and
athletic, not thin.  Besides, what did that have to do with anything?

“Maybe
a little too thin.”

“No,”
she said adamantly.  “I’m not some frail damsel.  I’m strong and capable,
capable of whatever you have to throw at me.”

“The
thing is…”  He eyed her intently.  “If anything, I might need your help at my
house, but…”

“I
can cook.  I can clean.  I even do windows.”

Amused,
he chuckled.  “You really do want an adviser.”

“Yes,
sir.”

Showing
more interest in her, he stood and came around the desk to stand before her. 
His gaze was steady and curious as he reached out to gently wrap his fingers
around her forearm. “Very petite.  Thin…”

“I
prefer the word, ‘slender’,” Serena said quickly. “What exactly do you have in
mind?  What am I so petite for?”  Though intrigued by him, she feared he could
very well ask something of her that she could not do.

Releasing
her arm, he walked around her, trailing his long but strong finger across her
shoulder, sending a bolt of desire through her. “You’re not too bad, though not
quite the cool beauty Willow is.”

“Willow?” Serena said, trying to hide the sting of his comment.

He
waved her comment away.  “All right, Miss Singleton, this is the situation. I
have a family gathering I must attend. I also have an invitation to bring along
a guest. I would like to avoid Willow and her gold-digging mother. I think if I
had a young woman on my arm, a date, as it were, I could more easily avoid
contact with them.  At the very least, it would diminish their very ardent
attempts at getting my attention.”

Frowning,
Serena stared straight ahead.  This wasn’t quite the deal she’d bargained for. 
“You want me to be your date?”

“What’s
the matter?” he said with an amused chuckle.  “Is the notion that unappealing?”

She
pulled her shoulders back and regained her composure.  “No, not at all.  I’m
just a little surprised.”

A
gentle knock sounded at the door and the professor glanced at Serena then the
doorknob.  “What will it be?”

“If
I accept, we will talk about my adviser situation, right?”

“Consider
it done.”

Serena
shot a sidelong glance at the door as a firmer knock sounded.

“Yes,”
Professor Sorensen called out.  “I’ll be right with you.”  He looked
expectantly at Serena, his blue eyes assessing her.

“Okay,
I’ll do it.”

“Good.
Meet me here in an hour… sharp, and we’ll discuss a few details. We need to get
a little acquainted before I introduce you to everyone.”

“Yes,
sir. Right. Of course, Professer Sorensen. Yes, thank you.  You have no idea
how…”

“I
must meet with my next student,” he said with a patient and tolerant tone.

“Yes,
right.  Absolutely.”  She fumbled to get her handbag and sling it over her
shoulder then reached out to shake his hand.

He
simply grinned and guided her to the door.  “In an hour sharp.”

Chapter 1

S
itting at her beat up, old upright Ludwig,
Serena plunked her finger absentmindedly down the same key over and over again;
middle C. Her eyes glued to the living room window that overlooked the
boulevard below, she viewed and reviewed the past few hours. The afternoon had
taken a turn she’d not anticipated and the decision she now faced left her
puzzled and confused.

She’d
already been accepted in the graduate music composition program she’d enrolled
in. At least that was settled; one less thing to worry about. Now all that
remained was finding the suitable adviser.

Sebastian
Oliver Sorensen. She’d heard a lot about the handsome and sexy professor, even
met him shortly once before a long time ago. He was not so much a professor
then, but more of a film composer. Still as sexy or even more so than before.
The entire female student body spoke of his piercing blue eyes and sultry
smooth voice that can convince any woman to peel off their clothes for him. For
all the talk she’d heard about him, she still hadn’t expected him to affect her
as he had. She forgotten how he was so young to be as accomplished as he was,
and talk of his blue eyes and voice didn’t even do him justice. She was sure
that if he had been born in another time period, he would have been amongst the
greats like Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. Sebastian Sorensen was the modern equivalent
of them. They were the rock stars of their times, and Sebastian was a rock star
composer in modern times.
Just as sexy as one, too.
Serena could feel
her face flush and nipples harden just thinking of Professor Sorensen’s voice
and presence.

As
far as looks go, he was anointed by the gods. As far as talent, no one else can
compare. He was where Serena hoped to be someday. A highly-sought after
Oscar-winning film composer, a professor, and even a show producer.

“He’d
be perfect as an adviser,” she murmured as she spread her fingers over the keys
and played a G chord. He was highly acclaimed in the music department and the
musical community as well. He was in her chosen field and in the perfect
position to help her. Though she mentally ran through the other possible
candidates, no other professor at the university suited her needs the way
Professor Sorensen did.

If
only he hadn’t made such an absurd request of her; escorting him to his family
party. She was sure he can have his pick of women, so why her?

While
the long fingers of her left hand stretched across the keys to settle on a C
chord, she reached for her phone and set her elbow on a few keys causing an
interesting, if not off key clamor. Glancing at the card the professor had
given her, she punched in his number.

He
answered too quickly, throwing her off.

“Um. 
Hello.  Um, Professor Sorensen, this is Serena, Serena Singleton.”

“So
I see.”  His voice was warm velvet over the phone.

“I
beg your pardon.” Her foot tapped the piano’s peddles in a nervous twitch.

“A
little innovation they invented a while back: caller ID.”

“Oh,
yeah, right.” She felt inexplicably flustered and was thankful he couldn’t see
her heated cheeks. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was thinking about… I was
thinking about the conversation we had.”

“Good. 
I’m happy to see you’re contemplating my invitation.”

The
low resonance of his voice held something sexy and sultry.  Just by closing her
eyes, she could see his smoldering gaze and the effect went directly to her
lower belly.

“Well,
the job… um, the invitation that you offered me… um, to be your escort for this
family night you have, well…”

“Do
I hear a note of uncertainty in your voice, Serena?”

She
almost fell off the piano stool at the sound of her name. Raspy, gravelly,
inflamed, her name had never sounded quite so appealing. This wasn’t her.  This
giddy, clumsy and flustered girl wasn’t the woman she was.  She was cool,
collected.  She’d never been the kind of girl to swoon over a cute face, but…

Wiping
the back of her forearm across her brow, she shot off the stool and headed to
the window for some air. 

Damn,
why is it so hot in here?

“Well,”
she said after a moment to collect her thoughts, “it pains me to say this,
because having you as an advisor is very important to me, but unfortunately, I
must decline your offer.”

“Really?”
he said with an odd note of surprise.

“My
answer is no.  I cannot be your escort for the night.”

“Funny,”
he said with an amused chuckle that bordered on derisive. “I thought you said
you were desperate. If I remember correctly, you did say you’d do anything.”

“I
guess I’m not as desperate as I thought.”

“Humph,”
he grunted. “And I guess I thought you were serious about wanting me as your
adviser.”

“No
offense, Professor Sorensen, but I do have my reputation to consider. When I
said I’d do anything, it was more in the order of walking your dog, running
errands or cooking a meal. My intention was to compensate you for the time you
had to sacrifice in order to reschedule my appointment. I wanted to repay you
by saving you some time; make up the time you lost because of my tardiness.
However, playing escort isn’t really my thing. I’ve worked hard to have an
academic career, to go back to college, and to get into the graduate program
here. I’m serious about becoming a composer. I can’t risk a blemish on my
reputation by sleeping with my adviser, no matter how tempting. I’m surprised
you’d risk your reputation by sleeping with a student.”

He
let out a loud and surprised, “Huh?”

“Sleeping
with you would…”

“Sleep
with me? Who said anything about sleeping with me?”

“You
said you wanted me to be your escort for this party of yours.”

“I
said I wanted you to accompany me, yes, but that’s all.  If I implied
differently, I apologize, but all I need is a dinner date.”

Staring
at the cars that sped by, Serena leaned her brow against the window pane. There
was something almost insulting in the way he stressed his lack of desire to
sleep with her.

“Look,”
he went on, “this is a public gathering and I don’t want to go alone. I could
always go with someone else, anyone else, but when you arrived and proposed
doing anything for me, I thought… why not? You seemed willing enough to please,
and it will give us a chance to talk so… Anyway, it’s no big deal.  I mean,
it’s probably just as well.  Although you seem a little familiar, despite our
brief little meeting, we don’t really know each other and it could prove
awkward.”

Their
little meeting had indeed been brief.  Though Serena had been at his door an
hour later as promised, the student in his office had been in no rush to leave
him. By the time the love struck student walked out, there was barely ten
minutes left before his next appointment. Being one of the most popular
professors, and perhaps the most eligible bachelor in society with his many
accomplishments, his family fortune, and looks; he was constantly bombarded
with requests from everyone for his time. No wonder why he was strict with
their meeting time. It wasn’t personal. It couldn’t be.

Other
than a few minor and insignificant details, he knew nothing about her.

“I
guess I should go with someone I know more thoroughly. I can always go through
my list, but as it is, all the women I’ve dated or brought to events like these
have always wanted to pursue a romantic relationship afterwards. You, on the
other hand, just want me as an adviser. I’m glad to see you so serious about
your music composition career. And you don’t seem to have a clue about me,
which I find refreshing, but can also be a small problem which my mother might
find odd.”

Tempted
to let slip all she knew about him, she bit her bottom lip and smiled. Telling
him she knew how sexually appealing every girl found him wouldn’t help matters.
Worse still was the possibility of accidentally hinting that she might be
attracted to him as well.

“Too
bad,” Sebastian said.  “I think you would have liked it, but look, I honestly
won’t have the time to interview you before two weeks from now. My agent and
manager wonder why I’m even ‘wasting’ time teaching at an university instead of
working fully in composition, but ever since last year, I felt compelled to
help those starting out, like you. But still trying to balance the music career
I have so forgive me for trying to make this dinner date into a get-to-know-you
meeting, too. I’m putting a lot of hours into my new composition and I’ll be
flying out for business right after this fundraiser thing my parents are
throwing.”