His Many Rules

by Ali Parker

  I'd kick him in the nuts for hurting Olivia so bad. It was a hot mess that none of us wanted to revisit. Our glory days of high school definitely ended with a bang and would remain locked in the past forever if any of us could help it.

  I finished cleaning up the house before taking a shower and packing up my bag to head to the library. I could get in a few hours of studying before a quick lunch and an afternoon shift at the hospital. A knock at my door left my heart skipping a beat.

  Where I didn't expect it to be Kendal, I couldn't help but hope that maybe it was. He was the only person outside of Jackie that I'd have expected to stop by my apartment.

  I pulled the door open to find Cameron standing on the other side with a handful of flowers.

  "You have got to be kidding me." I tilted my head to the side and put my hand on my hip. "I already told you that we're over."

  "And I heard you, but I don't think you really meant it." He extended the flowers toward me. "Come on, Dana. Let me just explain myself. Please, baby?"

  "You were horrible to me the other night in the parking lot when I had dinner with Kendal. Why in the world would I give you even a second of my time?" I took the flowers and chucked them toward the kitchen table. "I'm not letting you in."

  "Fine. Then come out for a quick sandwich with me."

  "It's not lunch time." There wasn't even a seed of desire inside of me to hear this asshole out, and yet I knew that to deny him was to invite him to get violent. I wasn't sure what he was capable of, and I wasn't exactly scared, but after his off the wall behavior, it seemed like a better idea to get him away from the apartment, even if that meant sharing a quick meal with him.

  "Then breakfast." His jaw locked. "Just give me half an hour and if you're not convinced that I'm truly sorry and deserve another chance, I'll walk away for good."

  "You promise? No more of this showing up on my doorstep at random hours of the day bullshit?" I put my hand on my hip again and glared at him.

  "I promise. I'll wait in the car. Just get dressed and come down."

  I closed the door without answering, locked it and walked toward the bedroom. "I am dressed, you asshole."

  Was I really going to do this? What if we ran into Kendal? The chances were less than likely, but with the way my luck had been lately, it wouldn’t surprise me. I changed into a blue blouse and a pair of jeans before slipping my feet into sandals and walking toward the door.

  I texted Jackie just so someone would know where I was in case I never showed back up from the date. At least the cops would know to come after Cameron and not Kendal. I smirked at the thought.

  "Thank you for this." Cameron's voice was soft and friendly as I got into the passenger's side of his car.

  "I'm just ready for this to be over." I buckled up. "You left me, not the other way around. It should be me who's begging you to come back, but when you left, I realized how good it felt not to have someone shitting down my throat all the time."

  "I know, baby, and I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He reached over to take my hand, but I slapped his away.

  "Don't. Touch. Me."

  "Okay." He nodded and pulled out of the parking lot. "How's the hospital been? Work going okay?"

  "It's an internship, but it's been going great. I'm starting my mini-mester now."

  "You know if you need any help with your business classes that I'd be happy to help you, right?"

  "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." I clasped my hands in my lap and concentrated on breathing. I half expected him to talk my ear off as we drove toward one of his favorite breakfast cafes, but he didn't say another word. A comfortable silence fell between us, and I used the time to try and decide what I was going to wear to New York. I wanted to impress Kendal, but at the same time be comfortable and enjoy myself. It sort of felt like we were past the point of the flirting stage. He wanted me in his life and I sure as hell wanted him in mine.

  "Why so quiet?" Cameron glanced over at me after he parked outside the cafe.

  "Just lost in thought." I shrugged and reached for the door.

  He gripped my wrist, stopping me. "And what are you thinking about? Us?"

  "I was thinking about all of the patients I've lost at the hospital lately. It's been rough." I tugged my hand free from his and got out of the car. Going anywhere with him was a serious mistake. I could only hope that we'd eat, chat and be on our way within the hour. Anything more than that and I was going to have to ask Jackie to call with an emergency and come get me.

  "Yeah, I can't imagine having to deal with losing someone you've been caring for." He opened the door and moved back. "Well, I can. I mean, it feels like that’s what happened between us."

  A patient dying at the hospital feels like him losing me? The guy was a fucking nut case. How had I not seen it before?

  "How is your family?" I tried to change the subject as we walked into the cafe.

  "They're doing fine. Same old same." He put his hand on my lower back and moved me through the restaurant behind the hostess. Chills ran down my back and warning signals went off inside my head, but I was stuck. It was just an hour. Just one meal. I would simply tell him at the end of it that I wasn't interested in anything, not even a casual friendship and he'd walk away. He said it himself.

  "Hi kiddos. What can I get for you?" An older woman in a blue and white apron stopped by the table and smiled down at us.

  "I'll have two eggs, bacon and toast. My girlfriend here will have a grapefruit and small cup of oatmeal." Cameron glanced up from his menu at me. "You like fruit on your oatmeal, right?"

  I glanced up at the woman and gave her a shit-eating grin. "I actually want a ham and cheese omelet with extra butter and cheese. Toast with smothered hash browns and a Coke, please."

  "Wow. That sounds awesome." The woman chuckled and glanced back toward Cameron, who was staring at me wide-eyed. "Is that all?"

  "Yep." I handed her the menu and leaned back in my seat, letting out a soft sigh. "And I’m not your girlfriend."

  He seemed to ignore the last part as he leaned back and blinked a few times. "You know what you ordered is horrible for you, right?"

  "Absolutely, but I only live once and it tastes so fucking good." I smiled warmly, trying to remind the cock that I was my own person. He started to yap about something related to my health or his job, of which I wasn't sure. I'd tuned him out.

  The memory of being at the pizza place with Kendal was all I could see. He didn't mind my curves, and almost seemed to prefer them. A laugh bubbled up inside of me as the visual of us dancing in the little restaurant that night to a 1950's song moved through my mind.

  "What's so funny?" Cameron tapped the table in front of him, bringing me back to reality.

  "I'm falling in love with this guy at the hospital."

  "That professor guy? You know that's against their code of conduct, Dana. He's a professor. He cannot date a student. Period."

  "Not him, but thank you for the update. I'm sure he's aware of that. He's far too much man for me anyway." I shrugged and pulled my soda near me as his eyes narrowed.

  "And I'm not?"

  "Nope. You're not nearly enough. Now... what were we talking about?" I was probably headed for the bottom of a deep freezer with the way the weirdo was watching me, but I was getting tired of being someone I wasn't. The only person I could be was me, and somehow that seemed like more than enough sitting in that diner across from my ex-boyfriend. At least I wasn't with him anymore. I couldn't figure out why I ever was in the first place.

  Chapter 27

  Kendal

  "Thanks for meeting up with me. I know you have a lot going on." Mark lifted his coffee cup as if to somehow salute me with it. We weren't necessarily friends seeing that he was dean of the accounting department, but he was a brother from my fraternity back in his day. Kappa Alphas always worked to respect and help one another in life, no matter the situation or circumstance. I was more than grateful for the connection if nothing else.


  "Of course." I took a quick sip of my coffee and set the mug down before leaning back in my chair and giving him my attention. It was early Thursday morning and where I'd gotten back in the routine of being back on campus the last few days, I was still a little unsure of myself. Getting over my sister's death wasn't going to be easy, but keeping busy seemed to help.

  "How are you holding up?" Mark lifted his thick black eyebrow at me.

  "I'm doing all right. As good as can be expected." I clasped my hands in my lap and let the excitement of going out of town with Dana the next day keep me warm and awake.

  "Good. Well, you know if you need time off, you just need to ask for it. Eliza has stopped by here twice this week already offering to take your classes if you need some time."

  Eliza Turner was a good mentor to me, and an excellent friend. She was the only one aware of Heather's advances toward me at work, and she wanted me to spill all of it to Mark. I just couldn't. It wasn't in my nature to complain or cause trouble and in all actuality, Heather hadn't done anything but rub up against me a few times and offer herself naked on a hot platter.

  She hadn't changed a bit since college.

  "I appreciate that, but I'm good. I'm headed to New York for the weekend to see some old friends and just hang out away from home. I think it'll do me some good to have a few beers and a handful of laughs."

  "I bet it will." He took another drink of his coffee. "How are things going with Heather?"

  My throat tightened, making it hard to breathe or speak. "Heather?"

  “Yeah. Dr. Turner. You're still mentoring her, right?"

  "Somewhat. With everything that's been going on in my personal life, I hate to say it, but I think she's had to work through most of the newness of being here on her own." I gave him a sympathetic look. "She's a strong woman though. She'll do great."

  "She told me that you guys went to college together."

  I nodded, not sure where the conversation was going. "I wasn't sure that was her the day we first met in your office, and I didn't want to look like a fool, so I didn't mention it."

  "No, it's good. It's been like six or seven years, right? People change."

  "Something like that." I sat up and reached for my coffee. "Did she mention needing help on something?'

  "No, not necessarily. She seems to think highly of you, so I'd like you to stay involved with her." He set his cup down. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but her father is a big oil tycoon. Her family is from there and the man is loaded. He's thinking about donating a new wing to the business department, and our dean has asked that we help facilitate that if at all possible."

  "Oh wow." I faked surprise. Everyone knew that Heather was loaded back in college. It was half the reason we kept her around. The other half was her willingness to drop her panties at the mere sign of someone getting a hard-on. "How can I help?"

  "Just help me keep her happy." He shrugged. "Not sure what a woman like her wants or needs, but figure it out and give it to her if you're able."

  I snorted. "I'm happy helping Heather with anything work related. Outside of that... consider me off limits."

  "Of course." He shook his head. "I didn't mean anything of a personal nature. I would never ask that of you or anyone else."

  Right. Why didn't I believe that all of a sudden?

  "Who's running Beta Alpha Psi now that Daisy left? Did Heather take over for her?"

  "The accounting honors fraternity thing?" He looked less than interested, which was humorous. The group of students that ran it were the top of our business program and would be key decision-makers in big businesses around us in the next three to five years.

  "Yes." I pulled my phone from my pocket and turned the vibrator off to keep it from going off in my pocket. Damon had called a few times, which meant he was in desperate need of my attention, or simply impatient like he'd always been.

  "Let's have you and Heather run it together. That would be good for both of you, and perhaps give you a better opportunity to interact with each other. That sound all right?"

  It sounded like a question, but it wasn't. It was a request from my boss to spend more time with our rich new accounting professor that just happened to be a whore from my past.

  "Absolutely. I'll check with one of your secretaries to find out if the club has an upcoming meeting and who their current president is." As if I didn't have enough on my mind.

  "Excellent. Let me know if anything comes up, or if you have too much on your plate Kendal. Eliza seemed awfully worried about you."

  I got up and picked up my mug. "I'm good, but I'll let you know."

  Eliza was worried because she knew the truth of who Heather was and what she was after. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Eliza told Mark all about my run-ins with Heather in an effort to save me from myself. Hell, she might have already done it.

  It wasn't like Mark was going to do anything to make ripples in the pool. Heather's family was too wealthy for that, and it would seem that our new dean was just as greedy as the last.

  "Hi Dr. Tarrington." Jake greeted me as I walked into the auditorium after my meeting with Mark. I half expected to see Bethany there, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.

  "Hey Jake. Is Bethany scheduled to come in today?"

  "Yeah, but she texted me earlier to let me know that she's not going to be in. She's working with Damon on a new project at his accounting firm."

  Jake looked less than happy to be discussing Bethany in the context of her boyfriend, boss and my best friend.

  "Really? I thought she quit." I walked up on stage and pulled a few papers from my briefcase. My class would be there shortly, and though they were all sympathetic to my situation, I wanted to get life back on track. The sooner, the better.

  "She did, but I guess the bastard talked her into coming back." He shook his head. "Sorry, Dr. Tarrington. I know he's a friend of yours, but the guy just gives me the creeps."

  "It's all good. It's one of his superpowers." I pulled out my phone and texted Damon that I was in class and would get back to him later. A smile formed on my face at the look that most likely formed on his. He hated to be left waiting.

  "All of your notes are already put together in handout form, and I got your PowerPoint loaded as well."

  "Very cool. I love having you guys up here. You need to let me know if you're interested in teaching a little and if so, I'll move over on a subject that you feel confident about and let you have the mic."

  "Really?" Jake's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Something about seeing the kid brighten up considering his situation left me feeling good about myself.

  "Absolutely." I glanced down at my notes and flipped through the PowerPoint on the screen below me. "Hey, Jake, are you a member of Beta Alpha Psi?"

  "Yes, sir. I was president last year when I was a senior."

  "Awesome. I need to find out who their current president is and get the list of events. Is that something you can get for me while I'm teaching today?"

  "Yeah. I have the e-mail somewhere on my phone. The president is Dani Bruce. You had her last year for cost accounting, I bet. She's a junior this year."

  I groaned internally. Dani Bruce was another Heather Turner in the making. The girl wore clothes that shouldn't have been legal and looked far more like a pole dancer than an accountant. Of-fucking-course Dani Bruce was the head of Beta Alpha Psi. Heather might have to take the lead with the group seeing that I wasn't coming near their president with a ten-foot pole.

  "Awesome. Just e-mail it to me. I think me and Professor Turner will be taking over as co-advisers for the fraternity."

  "Oh nice. That'll be fun. Heather is her first name, right?"

  I glanced up to see the gleam in the boy's eye. Where I wanted to warn him that she was a piranha with ten-inch teeth, it wouldn't go over well. I needed to remain completely unconnected to Heather, and an emotional response would tie me to her faster than anything else I could do.

  "Yes, but she goes by Dr. Tu
rner, I believe."

  "I can see why." Jake snorted and rolled his wheelchair toward the door. "She needs to keep things professional or she'll be mobbed by every guy on campus with a pulse."

  "And most of the girls." I gave him a cheeky grin as he glanced over his shoulder and snorted again.

  "I'll be back in a minute with the schedule. I'm actually glad to hear you're getting involved. It's going a little off track lately." He opened the door and left before I could ask what he meant.

  I had no doubt that I'd find out sooner than later on my own and be quite disappointed when I did.

  "Great job today, class. We'll pick back up next Tuesday on page seventy-five. Have your point-of-sale diagrams completed and come ready to discuss." I glanced around the room and smiled as everyone mumbled their responses and walked to the door like a bunch of zombies. Teaching cost accounting was the fucking pits. I'd be picking up the master's level financial statement analysis class in a week or so, which would be far more interesting and intellectually stimulating because of the level of the student.

  I couldn't help but wonder if Dana was still planning on taking the class. The naughtiness of seeing her behind closed doors and yet having her right in front of me, watching me with the same eyes that held all of my secrets was terrifying - and exhilarating.

  "I'm sorry for your loss, Dr. Tarrington." One of my students stopped by the stage and gave me a warm smile. Several others stopped beside her, echoing her thoughts.

  "Thanks guys. Losing my sister was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. I think it was because she was so young and she's all I had left." I shrugged and gathered my things. "Anyways. Tell those closest to you that you love them. You just never know about tomorrow."

  They all shared my sentiment and walked with me to the door, patting me on the back and giving away a few more sympathies. It felt good to let my guard down just a little and be human in front of them. I'd worked so hard for the last six years to be anything but. Maybe change was in the air. I sure as fuck needed it.