Reed is passing out stapled, multi-page handouts. “In the papers I’m giving you, I’ve listed the tasks that need to be done, the dates they need to be done by, and a blank spot so we can determine who will complete each task.”
We flip through the sheets in silence. The only sound is the rustle of papers and the air conditioning kicking in. Reed is amazingly thorough with every detail of putting together a fashion show, and I wonder where he acquired this kind of knowledge.
After we read the sheets, Reed lists the duties, and we sign up for specific jobs. I might be impressed with Reed’s organizational skills if he weren’t so controlling.
“Excuse me, Mr. Pendergraft.” I stress his last name, hoping that calling attention to it will show him the ridiculousness of his formality. “But I was under the impression that this was a committee, not a Marxist takeover.”
Lexi’s shoulders shake and she finds her lap fascinating.
Reed leans forward. “Ms. Hunter, when I am in charge, I am in charge. If you don’t like it, you may leave.”
He’s issued a challenge, and I’ll be damned if I back down. “This isn’t one of your classes, where you can boss your students around to feed your monstrous ego. How many souls are sacrificed each day to appease your thirst for fear and cowering? You don’t scare me. In fact, I can assure you, Mr. Pendergraft. I’m not going anywhere.”
We have a momentary stare-off, and I can feel everyone’s eyes on me. I’m not Scarlett, and I’m used to attention, although it’s usually positive. Not because I’m in the middle of some asshole’s pissing contest. So I hold my gaze and ignore the unwavering contempt plastered on his face.
Finally, his back stiffens, and he turns his irritation to the rest of the group. “Does anyone else have an issue with the way I’m running the committee?”
I wait for Greg to speak up since he had no problem standing up to me, but the asshole remains silent. I wonder if I’m being unfair. Reed has an intimidating presence, and Greg strikes me as a non-discriminating bully. Bullies back down when threatened by bigger bullies.
The next thirty minutes pass quickly, and my list of grievances against Reed Pendergraft continues to grow. He’s a stuck-up Northern snob who looks down on all things Southern, both the region and the university. What the hell is he doing in Tennessee? From what little I know about the math department from Scarlett, Southern University doesn’t even rank in the top twenty universities.
So what’s Reed Pendergraft doing here?
Reed announces that we’ll have another committee meeting on Wednesday at four, and if we can’t make it due to other commitments, we can quit right now. When everyone remains silent, he reminds us that our assignments are due then. “That’s it for today, everyone may go. Ms. Hunter, I need you to stay.”
Lexi remains in her chair as everyone gets up to leave. I’m tempted to go with them, but I’m curious why Reed has asked me to stay. If it’s to chastise me again, let him have his fun. I stood up to bigger, meaner bullies than him in high school, and I had much more to lose then. The last members leave the room, and Lexi’s gaze shifts from Reed to me and then back again.
Reed taps the end of his remaining papers on the table. “Lexi, you may go.”
“No way.” She remains in her seat, and Reed sighs. She must have him wrapped around her little finger. It’s nice to know that bossy Reed is controlled by someone, but their relationship confuses me.
“Whatever you have to say, I have a right to hear,” she says.
Interesting change in dynamics. Maybe Lexi is suddenly the jealous type, and she wants to make sure nothing inappropriate happens behind the closed door.
Reed shoots her a scowl, then turns, his cold brown eyes staring at me. “Ms. Hunter.”
I return his stiff tone. “Mr. Pendergraft.”
Irritation flickers in his eyes.
I’ve gotten a reaction from him, and a thrill races down my spine. I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying this exchange.
“Ms. Hunter, I can’t have you disrupting the meeting with your fascist comments.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Fascist? Which part of me objecting to your hostile takeover is fascist? Do you understand that you have invaded our program? For years the show has been run by the design department, and this year we’ve had the business department thrown at us. We’re expected to give them equal say. I had my doubts this would work until we all introduced ourselves, and I decided this plan was actually brilliant.”
I point my finger at him. “But then you show up and act like you’re a dictator. I’m willing to work with the other members as a committee—and excuse me if I’m wrong, because I’ve been led to believe that a committee is a democracy—but you came in and bullied the members into silence. Everyone in this room is scared to death to contradict you.”
I stand, picking up my notepad and purse. “So if that’s your management style, Mr. Pendergraft, no thank you. Good luck with that.”
His eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything when I stomp to the door and leave the conference room. Raw anger courses through my blood, warming my chest and my face. But pride fills me too. I haven’t stood up to anyone like this in years. When I was a kid, I never backed down to bullies. Never let them see my fear and humiliation, even if it was boiling behind a hard expression.
The people who know me now wouldn’t recognize Carol Ann Hunter from Shelbyville. When I packed up my life and came to college, my parents never expected me to make it. My mother thought I was uppity since I didn’t think their life was good enough for me. I was scared enough to move to Southern. I didn’t need their negativity and expectations of failure to remind me of what I risked. So I never went back. Her choice, not mine.
Once I made that decision, I realized I could become whoever I wanted to be. This was my chance at a fresh start. No one here knows I grew up in a trailer park at the edge of town. No one judges me because I ate subsidized lunches. I left that girl and my past with her. I became Caroline, a sweet, soft-spoken girl who Southern boys want to take home to their mommas. Only Scarlett knows my secret here. I never even told Justin, even after two years of dating. I dodged most questions about my past and made up the rest.
For three years I’ve buried Carol Ann deep inside and for the first time since I drove out of Shelbyville in my beat-up, rusted Ford Focus, she’s resurfaced. All because of Reed Pendergraft.
And I don’t like it one bit.
Megan is waiting for me in the hall, worry lines crinkling her eyes. “Well…?”
I lift my chin. “I quit.”
Her eyes fly open. “No!”
The realization of what I’ve done hits me full force. This was my shot at boosting my flimsy resume, and I’ve thrown it away all because of my temper. My future employer won’t care that conceited egomaniac Reed Pendergraft ran the whole damn thing. They only want to know I was part of it and what role I played. Reed gave me roles. I just tossed them away. All because of my pride.
I shake my head and grip the strap of my messenger bag to hide my now trembling fingers. “What’s done is done. I suppose I should go tell Ms. Carter.”
“Maybe you can go back and—”
“No.” My answer is firm, hiding my temptation to do the very thing Megan is trying to suggest. Go back and grovel to get my spot back. And as much as I know I should, I can’t bring myself to do it.
“Caroline. Wait!” Lexi’s voice calls behind me.
I take a deep breath before turning around to face her.
She stops in front of me, her eyes pleading with mine. “You can’t quit.”
“I think I just did.”
“No, I know.” She shakes her head and her blonde curls bounce around her face like a shampoo commercial. I want to hate her but she’s so damned sweet. “But I’m asking you to reconsider.”
I try to contain my shock. Reed’s girlfriend is asking me to stay on the committee.
“Why?”
Conspiratorial glee
washes over her face. “Because no one talks to Reed that way, and you have no idea how much I loved watching you make him squirm.”
Now I’m really confused. Why would Lexi want her boyfriend to squirm? And why would she want me to do it? “Look, I’m not sure what—”
“Please.” She clasps her hands and brings them to her chest. “Reed really is nice, once you get to know him.”
I clench my jaw. “I guess I’ll never know since I have no intention of getting to know him.”
“You don’t have to, just hang in there for a month and continue to stand up to him. I’ll stand with you next time and between the two of us, we’ll bring him down a peg or two.”
I squeeze my eyes closed then open them. “Forgive me for asking—because this is really none of my business—but why would you want me to help you bring your boyfriend down a peg or two?”
Shock covers her face, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve crossed a line, although I’m not quite sure how. Then she breaks into giggles.
Irritation prickles the hair on the back of my neck. “I’m not sure what’s so funny.”
“Reed … my boyfriend….” She shakes her head and takes a breath.
“Are you saying he’s not your boyfriend?”
She gets her laughter under control. “No. He’s my brother.”
“Your brother?” But it all makes sense now. At Scarlett’s party, Reed touched her in a protective way, but there hadn’t been anything that suggested they were a couple. Just me jumping to conclusions. And at the club, Lexi was annoyed that Reed was there. Of course, she would be. Who wants their brother cramping their dating life?
She leans closer and lowers her voice. “Reed is used to getting his way, and he’s used to bossing people around to get it. It will be fun to watch you work him over.”
I’m not sure how Reed became part of the committee that includes his sister, but nothing surprises me when it comes to the chancellor. “Lexi, you seem like a sweet girl.” I take a deep breath. “But I’m not on the committee to settle some score for you with your brother. I’m there to build my already pathetic resume.”
“Then come back to the committee and do that! And give my brother the opposition he needs.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
An evil glint fills her eyes. “You have to admit you kind of liked it.”
I did. And that’s the problem. I liked every moment of telling him off. It was like the dam burst free, letting loose all the times I’d bit my tongue and buried my irritation and anger over the last few years. I not only liked it, but I’m desperate for more. I’m not sure I can control the Carol Ann begging to come out.
Even more alarming is the way he makes me feel. Even when we’re fighting, an undercurrent of desire flows beneath my skin. My reaction to him is dangerous.
But Lexi’s right. I need this for my resume, and the show is in a month. I can endure anything for a month.
Why do I think I’ll regret those words?
Chapter Six
I call Scarlett as I storm across campus to my car. “Why is a math grad student on a fashion show committee with a bunch of business and fashion degree students?”
“Slow down. What are you talking about?’
“Reed is the chairman of the fashion show committee.”
“How did that happen?”
“The chancellor.”
“Oh.”
“Here’s the even weirder part: his girlfriend? She’s really his sister. And she’s on the committee too. How did that happen?”
“I don’t know.”
I hear the distraction in her voice. I know her schedule, and she’s in the math lab, but she knows I wouldn’t call her unless it’s an emergency. While this doesn’t count as a technical emergency, I’m feeling out of control after my encounter with him.
“Perhaps he’s there as an outside mediator.”
“Not with his sister on the committee. At least I can see why she’s there. She’s a sophomore business major. Their family connection breaks down all suggestions of a nonbiased tiebreaker.”
“Huh.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I called you. You’re working. I’ll just talk to you later.”
“Caroline, wait.” She pauses for a second, and her voice isn’t as muffled. She must have moved out into the hallway. “Do you think you can work with him after what happened Friday night?”
“I don’t know.” I gnaw on a cuticle on my finger, then stop when I realize what I’m doing. I haven’t done that in years, either. “He gets under my skin and irritates the hell out of me. If he’s from Boston, why is he even here at Southern University?”
She sighs. “I don’t know much about him, but I’ve checked into him today after what he did to you. He’s from the east coast. He went to a prestigious school before he started grad school here this semester, but for the life of me, I can’t find out which one, which is really odd. Even more odd is that Southern doesn’t rank up there in the best of the best schools for mathematics degrees. Why would he go to an Ivy League school for his undergrad work then come here for his master’s?”
“So why is he here?”
“I don’t know. He keeps to himself, but he seems lonely, so that’s why I invited him to my party. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to show up. I don’t see him much. He runs the math lab this semester, but our hours usually don’t correspond. Even when he’s here, he doesn’t talk to us much.”
“Because he’s stuck up.”
Scarlett pauses. “People always have a reason for what they do.”
I’m at my car, but I lean my hip against the side door, brushing back the loose hairs that blow into my face. Don’t I know it? I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve done, but there’s always some reason for it, even if it’s misguided. “I like the person I’ve become here at Southern.” I finally say. “He brings out the old me.” It seems stupid now, that I let him affect me so. And I’m embarrassed I’m admitting this to Scarlett.
“There is no old you and new you, Caroline. There’s only you.”
Leave it to pragmatic Scarlett to say something so rational.
“So what do you want to do?” she asks. “Do you want to quit?”
“I already quit.”
“What?”
I unlock my car door and slide into the driver seat. “He walked in and took over, Scarlett. He came in with an ‘I’m better than you attitude’ and started bossing everyone around, assigning jobs and being hateful.” I grimace. “I may have compared his entrance to a Marxist takeover.”
Scarlett laughs. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.”
“So that’s it? You’re just giving up on your dream? You’ve been talking about being on that committee since freshman year after you attended your first show. You’re going to let one guy take that from you?”
I’m so glad I coerced Scarlett to room with me freshman year. I truly don’t know what I would do without her. Our conversation reminds me how much I miss seeing her every day. “No. Lexi convinced me to stay on the committee. She said Reed isn’t used to people standing up to him, and she wants me to stay and help put him in his place.”
“Why would she do that? She doesn’t like him?”
“No, that’s not it. She obviously loves him. I suspect it’s a sibling rivalry thing. But I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it.”
“So don’t. Do your job and ignore him.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Caroline. You think the person you were before is slipping out, but you’ve grown. You’ve changed. She’s in there; she’s just evolved. Give yourself more credit.”
“You weren’t there, Scarlett. You don’t know what I said and did.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad if his own sister witnessed it and asked you to reconsider your resignation.”
“It was bad.”
“Okay. Then consider this a cha
llenge to your personal growth. You’ve faced adversaries and haters in the design department. And you know you’re bound to face it in the real world when you get a job. Creative people tend to get jealous.”
While I’d love to argue with her, she’s right. “Yeah.”
“Good.” I hear the smile in her voice. “I’m proud of you. You can do this, Caroline. You are in control of your reactions.”
“Easy for you to say since you don’t work with Reed much.”
“If you like, I can talk to him about you. Convince him you’re not so bad.”
My heart stutters. “Don’t you dare!”
“I’m joking. But I’ll try to get to know him a bit better. Maybe I can give you some insight to help you get along with him.”
“All right. But don’t be too obvious.”
She chuckles. “I’ll be discreet. Now I have to get back in the lab. But call me if you need to talk later, okay?”
“Thanks, Scar.”
I go home and take a nap then grab some dinner and head to the design studio. I haven’t the vaguest clue what to do for my project, but I need to figure it out soon. I’m not surprised to find several students already working on projects. Now that I’ve presented the dress I was working on last week, I have four weeks to come up with ten completed designs, as well as plan the show. I’m feeling the pressure of the looming deadline, but it doesn’t jog any ideas loose as I sit with my sketchbook and pencil. I end up sketching a dozen ideas, but none of them grab my interest. After I spend ten minutes staring out the window, I decide I’m not getting anything accomplished here, but I’m not ready to go home either.
Instead, I head to The Higher Ground, the campus coffee shop. It’s open until eleven and I need to study for my U.S. government test. I order a coffee but resist a muffin and find a table for two in the corner. This isn’t the best place to study. The coffee shop is usually full of socializing students in the evening, not studious ones, but I don’t feel like leaving campus and I hate the library. Thankfully, I’m good at tuning out the rest of the world, a necessary skill learned in a mobile home full of kids my mother babysat at night after her day job. I’m so zoned out that I’m startled when someone plops in the chair in front of me and drops her books on the table.
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