Not So Casual: Part 2: Bre & Collin #2 (Power Play Series Book 14)

by Kelly Harper

  "You'll be helping me on a research project," He said. "Be prepared to do a lot of reading."

  Confusion officially overcame me. "Research?"

  "You said you were willing to do anything. I have my own deadlines looming and right now I'm in need of a research assistant."

  "Oh," I began, my thoughts and words trailing off.

  "You are still interested, right?" His tone contained a hint of danger - of challenge.

  "Yes. Yes, of course."

  "Good," he said. "Then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

  I sat there stunned for a moment as he disregarded me and returned to the work on his desk. The heat inside me had yet to subside. I raced out of the office, praying to God that I didn't make any more a fool of myself than I already had.

  Chapter 4

  The door clicked shut and Ethan let out a breath he didn't realized he'd been holding. The bulge in his pants, however, refused to subside. Maybe now that Kayla was gone it would go away - or maybe he would have to excuse himself to the men's room and handle the situation himself.

  He looked at the papers scattered around his desk with a sense of frustration. There was no chance he was going to get any work done now, not after having Kayla there. It was Friday, he deserved to cut out a bit early - right?

  Ethan sat back and closed his eyes. He had taken note of Kayla the moment he saw her in his class. She was sitting in the third row, bright eyed and excited to be there. It was a far stretch from the majority of her classmates that only took his class because the University required it. The more he saw of her work, the dedication and intelligence she demonstrated, the more turned on he became.

  Then the most recent exam had occurred. It was the last before the end of semester finals, and her performance on it was sure to destroy her hope at earning an 'A'. All of the drive and hard work were going to be tossed out the window because of that one exam.

  Perhaps that was why he had offered to help her out. Or at least that was the lie he was telling himself. He hoped giving her extra credit wasn't a mistake. He knew how he felt about her - and he hoped it didn't cloud his professional judgment. The University had given him some flexibility with regard to a student's final grades. Extraneous circumstances needed consideration - and that's all he was doing - giving a bright and promising student a little extra consideration.

  Ethan rubbed at his eyes and looked at the clock. His day would be ending soon, and then he could flee campus as fast as possible. He desperately needed some distance, some perspective. And there was no better cure for that than getting lost in the heat of the gym.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning I climbed the three flights of stairs to the Finance department. My watch read 8:02AM - two minutes late. I was surprised to be there at all.

  Keep it together, Kayla.

  A last minute case of nerves nearly kept me in bed. It was like a part of me insisted on sabotaging everything. The Professor had definitely played his part in my hesitation as well. I was nervous to see him again - nervous that I would make a fool of myself, that he would see how much of an idiot I really was. I could ruin any possibility I had of earning his respect and trust.

  But why did I care so much? I mean, sure, I wanted his respect. He was a well known - and liked - professor in the College of Business. Having him in my corner could open doors that I never even knew existed; but did his respect mean something more to me?

  Snap out if it, you just have a little schoolgirl crush on your teacher. Stop acting so childish.

  Was that all it was - a school girl crush? I’d had those before; what girl hadn’t? I knew I could move on from them, that I could focus on what was important and keep things in perspective.

  Why, then, was I having such a hard time doing that with the Professor?

  The light inside the office was on when I arrived, and I could see the blurred form of the Professor sitting at his desk through the frosted glass window. Heat crept over my face as I glanced again at my watch. At least you’re here, I bargained with myself. Better late than never.

  I tapped on the window lightly.

  “Come in,” he called from inside.

  I eased the door open and entered. The office looked exactly as it had the day before with papers and files scattered wherever space allowed. What had changed, however, was the table in the corner had been nicely organized and cleared away. Yesterday there had been loose papers and books stacked high, now everything was orderly and prepared.

  The Professor looked different too. I was used to seeing him in his expensive suits, but he wasn't wearing one this time. He had on a tight fitting polo shirt that nicely outlined his muscular build. I suppressed a groan of pleasure when he looked up at me from some of the papers on his desk. His beautiful brown hair fell in front of his gorgeous blue eyes and it drove me wild with delight. All of the cautions I had tallied before were instantly cast aside, and the wetness within me took control.

  "You're late," he said.

  I bit my lower lip timidly. "Only just."

  He eyed me up and down, taking all of me in. I wanted stop time right that instant. With his eyes on me. I had never felt more vulnerable, or more secure, in my life. Thoughts of my future, and the reasons why I was standing there in the office were forgotten - were they really what was important, anyway?

  "Please, have a seat," he said.

  The Professor motioned to the table in the corner. I noticed how close it was to his desk - almost too close. We would be working nearly back to back. I could already smell the light cologne he was wearing, and it was driving me crazy. Could I handle being that near him for long periods of time?

  Had he planned it that way?

  I felt his eyes glued to me as I sat down. I tried to concentrate and glance over the papers that were there waiting for me, but it was impossible. All I saw was a mess of numbers, tables, and charts.

  "What am I going to be doing?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him.

  "You're going to help me with my research," he said plainly.

  My stomach twisted; mortified. Who did he think I was. There was no way I was smart enough to help a professor with their research. I was just a lowly undergrad - and only a sophomore at that. I hadn't even been accepted into the College of Business yet, let alone really began to learn anything about how the business world worked.

  "Don't you need a grad student for that? I have no idea what to do."

  "I thought you were serious about this extra credit?" he asked, his voice deadpan.

  My stomach did another back flip.

  "I am. I'm very serious - I'll do anything. But I don't think I can do this."

  "The business school has high expectations of its students," he said. "You're going to have to tackle some pretty difficult things if you want to make it."

  "I know," I said, trying to find words. "I just, I mean, this is all so much." I waved a hand over the stacks and stacks of paper. "What do you even do with all of this?"

  I could only imagine what my face looked like. A deer in headlights was more composed than me right then. The Professor's face was granite stone - emotionless. He stared at me with a blank expression for what felt like an eternity. Then the stony look broke into a wide smile, and he began laughing.

  My stomach did another back flip on its own.

  "I'm just messing with you," he said through his deep laugh.

  "I don’t understand,” I said.

  He composed himself before continuing.

  “Of course I don’t expect you to know how to do everything.”

  The grin on his face was on the verge of driving me crazy. Why did he insist on teasing me when it should have been obvious that I was out of my element? Didn’t he know I was having a hard enough time just being around him - I didn’t need him to go and make things even more difficult for me than they already were.

  “You’ll be reviewing some of the data I’ve compiled for my latest paper. It's on the effects of bonuses in the wo
rkplace. It’s mundane and boring work - but someone has to do it.”

  I breathed a small sigh of relief.

  “Sounds interesting,” I said.

  “You’re too kind,” he said.

  “What made you want to study that?” I asked. “It sounds… random.”

  He grinned at me. “It’s an important field of study, actually. Businesses need to know how to properly motivate their employees, and how to adequately reward them for a job well done.”

  I bit my lip. “I see.”

  The Professor was much smarter than I would have ever given him credit for - and that was saying a lot. I knew the Business school had a reputation for its scholarly work - but in a million years I would never have guessed what that work entailed. I looked at the stacks of papers in front of me and wondered how all of this work was going to help him out. It all seemed quite overwhelming, and the enormity of the task in front of me was finally beginning to set in.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, as though he could read my mind. “What you’ll be doing is really straight forward.”

  I looked back at him, and was surprised how much his gentle look comforted me. His shaggy brown hair had a way of putting me at ease.

  “Here, I’ll show you.”

  He scooted his chair up next to me. The subtle scent from earlier came on more strongly, and I instantly felt the heat of his body. My head did funny little loops around itself and my thoughts threatened to thicken like a good alcohol buzz.

  It was going to be difficult keeping my thought straight while I worked with the Professor, and I suddenly realized that the research might not be the hardest part about the extra credit after all.

  Chapter 6

  The Professor was so close. Too close. He pulled a stack of papers from the piles on the table and leaned in to show me something. His shoulder rubbed against mine - it was as hard as rock and as comforting as a soft pillow. My body craved to be even closer to him - to curl up against his warmth.

  But that would have been horribly inappropriate.

  I leaned away, subtly; just enough so that I couldn’t feel him against me. The Professor didn’t notice - or he didn’t let on if he did. I tried to calm my racing heart and pay attention to what he was saying.

  I was hopeless.

  “Ms. Ellis?”

  I snapped out of my daze.

  “What?” I said reactively. “Sorry.”

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again. “It’s just all so much.”

  He paused for a moment and regarded me.

  “Let’s take it slow then,” he said. “Keep it simple.”

  I nodded and agreed with him.

  He pursed his lips in a tight grin. I had the distinct impression that he wanted to say something more - that he was censoring himself. I found myself wanting to say more, too, but I didn’t dare. How do you tell the man trying to look out for you that you want him to be so much more?

  “And it’s just Kayla,” I said. His eyebrows pinched together. “If you call me Ms. Ellis again I’m going to be very upset with you.”

  He recoiled, a distraught look darkening his features. “I’m sorry,” he said seriously. “I was just trying to be respectful.”

  I flashed him a smile and nudged his shoulder.

  “I’m just messing with you,” I said.

  He smiled nervously, still off-put. “Right, of course.”

  “So you can dish it, but you can’t take it? Typical guy.”

  “It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just… I have a hard time reading you.”

  He didn’t know how to read me? What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t think he was doing all that much “reading” in the first place.

  “I’m an open book,” I said. “If there’s something you want to know just ask.”

  He hesitated for a moment, but smiled and nodded his head.

  He nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

  We sat there for a few more minutes while he re-explained some of the things I would be helping him on. It was all pretty straightforward once I was able to pay attention. The heat lingered between us, still, but I was better able to keep it under control. Eventually he left me alone to get some actual work done - and I found it more difficult to concentrate when he wasn’t near me than when he had been.

  What was this mysterious power this man had over me? I barely knew him and still I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  I scolded myself again. What was there to even think about? He was my Professor - just a guy that my tuition paid to educate me - nothing more.

  A tiny pang crept inside of me. It was a pang I had felt only once before, but I knew exactly what it meant even though I was trying hard to deny it.

  I wanted him to mean something more. Deep down, I didn’t want him to just be my Professor.

  Don’t be so silly, Kayla. It’s time to grow up and ignore your school-girl fantasies.

  I shook my head and tried to focus on work. There were stacks and stacks of papers that weren’t going to review themselves. The first few documents I reviewed might as well have been hieroglyphics, and I struggled to identify the key items that needed recording. Slowly I found a rhythm though, and soon I was cruising through them at full steam. I had made it through a third of the papers when something interesting caught my eye.

  “Professor?” I asked after a while. “I have a question about this.”

  I grabbed the sheet I had been uselessly looking over and thrust it toward him.

  “It’s Ethan,” he said.

  “Ethan?” I asked, confused.

  He nodded sharply. “If you insist that I call you Kayla, then I insist that you call me Ethan.”

  I was surprised by the seriousness in his voice - but it was swept aside as I rolled his name off my tongue for the first time.

  “Ethan, then,” I said.

  He grinned at me and took the paper. He studied it for a second.

  “What’s your question?”

  I pushed my chair closer to him and leaned in over his shoulder, pointing at one of the graphs on the paper. That was when I got another whiff of his striking scent. It was intoxicating, and its effect overpowered me.

  Heat rushed to my face and I had to catch myself before I fell into him. My head went thick with a haze, and my heart pounded hard in my chest.

  When I finally came to my senses I saw that his eyes were locked on me. We were so close, only inches apart. The heat of his breath washed over me - it smelled sweet; minty. His eyes bounced between mine and my lips, and I felt a sudden wave of numbness go through me.

  I wanted to collapse into him - to let him whisk me away to some magical far off land. My eyes began sinking closed. I could feel my weight tipping forward, and the warning sirens in my head began going off. I was so close to the edge; so close to falling off.

  “I think that’s enough for today,” he whispered in a pained voice. The soothing, minty breath washed over me again.

  I shook my head, snapping out of the daze.

  “Right,” I whispered back at him.

  Our eyes lingered for a bit longer before I was able to break the contact. I pulled myself away. Slowly. It took every ounce of willpower I had. When there was finally enough distance between us I was able to form coherent thoughts again. Panic set in as I realized what had almost happened - I had almost ruined everything.

  I pushed the chair away from the Professor - Ethan. Every instinct in my body told me to run from the room as fast as I could. To not stop running until I was in the safety of my home where I could pretend the whole day had been just a dream; or a nightmare.

  “I should go,” I said sharply.

  He nodded at me weakly, his eyes never straying from mine. He sat there rigid as I grabbed my things and fled toward the door. I cleared the length of the room in only three steps and threw it open. I was about to break into a run when Ethan stopped me.

  “Kayla?” he cal
led out.

  I froze in place - as though he were some predator that would attack if I moved a muscle. I looked at him over my shoulder, but said nothing. He hadn’t moved a muscle either.

  “Same time next week?” he asked.

  My mouth tweaked, not wanting to reveal anything, and not knowing what to say. I didn’t trust myself to speak - so I just nodded my head curtly, and slammed the door shut behind me.

  Chapter 7

  What is wrong with you, Kayla?

  I chastised myself, and not for the first time since leaving Ethan's office. Why did I let myself get that close to him? Nothing good would come of it - but I couldn’t resist. Boys were trouble, I knew that, but I still let myself get attracted to all the wrong ones.

  I sat in my dorm room that evening, doing anything to distract me from what happened that morning. But nothing worked. Images of the Professor - Ethan - flashed through my head. I couldn't get the soft look of his eyes, or his overpowering scent, out of my head. He was intelligent, worldly, exotic. He was everything a girl could want in a man.

  And that was the problem.

  I had a short list of serious boyfriends for comparison, but Ethan blew each of them out of the water. Not many guys could handle my drive - my ambition. It was what got me through the awkward years in high school and what saw me through to success in college. I knew men were intimidated by me, and that made it easy to not pay them any attention.

  My mom always told me that when the right guy came along I would know. He would be the guy that I couldn't push aside; the guy I was willing to make sacrifices for. That's when I would know it was right. Anything less wasn't an issue. If I never formed an attachment in the first place, then I couldn't be hurt.

  Ethan wasn't intimidated by me, though - was he? So far he had been the guy to buck the norm. He had his own drive, his own ambition, his own reason for waking up in the morning. He paved his own way in life and was already successful. He wasn't like any other man I had met. So what happened if I couldn't ignore him? What happened if I couldn't control myself?