But apparently he wasn’t. Didn’t the last few minutes of her throwing herself at him prove that?
He pulled out of her, and spooned her from behind.
He whispered in her ear, “You’ve gotten what you wanted from me, sex kitten. Now, it’s time to go to sleep.”
She snuggled into him, but felt strangely deflated. She was going to miss him terribly the next week. She felt like he was slipping away, and she couldn’t figure out why.
Chapter 21
The next morning, she awoke to an empty bed. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and wondered what he would do if she joined him. Just as she was getting out of bed, the shower turned off.
She sighed. Hadn’t he promised her shower sex at some point? Her shower was way too small, so it would have to be here. Well, now he was leaving, and she’d have to wait five more days to see if he would fulfill his promise.
And what about the other present he said he had for her the other night? When was he going to give it to her?
He stepped out of the bathroom, naked as the day he was born, rubbing a towel in his hair.
He looked up at her sitting in the bed, his eyes skating down to her breasts.
“Good morning,” he said with a sexy tilt to his lips.
“Hey, you.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Great.” Even though she hadn’t. “You?”
“Same.”
Well, at least she now knew she wasn’t the only one worrying about this thing between them.
“The bathroom’s all yours.” He walked over, and kissed her softly on the lips. Having not brushed her teeth yet, she kept her mouth closed. He smiled, and leaned back. “I’ll be coming in with you this morning. I need to talk to the Dean about some things.” He cupped her face. “I need to see my mom tonight before heading to the airport, so unfortunately we’ll have to say goodbye this morning.” He paused. “I wish I didn’t have to go away right now.”
“I wish you didn’t have to either.”
He took a cleansing breath then looked her in the eye. “When I get back,” he paused. “I want us to talk about some things, ok? After the gala?”
A feeling of dread came over her. “Ok,” she whispered. “I’m going to jump in the shower.”
She got up and went into the bathroom and closed the door. The lingering steam was still clinging to the air, and the oppressive nature of it clouded around her, enclosing her into a cocoon of despair.
What had Jennifer said? She’d given him two weeks? Was he going to end it? He was going to say they were moving too fast. Even though 99% of the time his words made her feel like the only woman in the world, he was more distant this weekend. There were times that his words and actions contradicted themselves. She blinked back the tears. Don’t you dare cry, Ryann. He didn’t want some clingy female crying all over him. She needed to be prepared and strong for whatever he was going to say.
She got in the shower and steeled herself for the coming week.
…..
Manny dropped them off at the Institute at 7:30, and as they entered the lobby, she saw Armand coming out of one of the Admin offices with coffee. Jeremy had his hand at the small of her back, but she slowed her steps, not wanting Jeremy to see him.
“Why don’t you head into your meeting, and I’ll go up to Paul’s office. Can you text me when you’re done, so we can say goodbye?”
He smiled at her. “You bet.”
Just then, Armand came into her peripheral vision, and she heard him clear his throat. She tensed.
“Jeremy. How are you?”
Jeremy clenched his jaw, then turned to look at Armand. “Hello, Armand.”
“Good morning, Ryann. It’s wonderful to see you again. How was your weekend?”
She croaked out a “Fine.”
He turned to Jeremy. “You’re here for the security meeting, I assume.”
Jeremy nodded, but shifted closer to Ryann.
Armand looked at the two of them, and his eyes took on a knowing look. “My apologies if I interrupted something.” He didn’t look too sorry. Not only had he made no movement to leave, he was smiling down at Ryann appreciatively.
“You did, actually,” Jeremy said, his hand running up and down her back.
Ryann muttered a ‘good grief’ under her breath, then turned to Jeremy. “I’ll talk to you soon, ok?”
He reached his hand up and settled it at the nape of her neck, then pulled her close. “I’ll text you in a bit,” then he leaned down and kissed her on the lips, branding her.
She blushed to the roots of her hair. Although it made her giddy that he kissed her, it also made her extremely uncomfortable when he was affectionate at the Institute. She kept thinking everyone was looking at her like she was a floozy, or something.
She backed away clearing her throat, then walked past Armand to the elevator, but not before she saw his smirk.
…..
She arrived to Paul’s office, and tried to concentrate on preparing for the day, but found she was unable to do so. She needed to get it together. This internship was extremely important to her, and she was going to have to work extra hard at it, so people like Jennifer didn’t screw it up.
The knowledge of her relationship with Jeremy wouldn’t bode well with others either. No one had made any comments to her except for Jennifer, but she had to wonder how many others were thinking it.
Shit. This is why she’d hesitated so much when he was pursuing her. This whole thing had been a bad idea from the beginning. A wave of sadness washed over her. God, how was it possible that she’d fallen for him so quickly?
He said he wanted to talk to her when he got back. She would have a few things to say to him too. She needed to think this week, and if necessary, she would end it with him. That way, she would beat him to it, and save face, and maybe a little of her heart in the process.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through the day, let alone the week, without him. If he had wanted her addicted, he had reached his goal.
…..
Her first class was at 8:30. It was now 8:25, and students were walking into the studio. Jeremy hadn’t finished his meeting yet, and there was no way she was going to ask Paul to cover for her while she went down to say goodbye to Jeremy when he texted.
She had to fight down the bubble of panic and depression that tried to consume her. She was trying to come to grips with the fact that she wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to him before he left. She looked at the clock one last time.
8:28.
She turned off her phone, and walked into the studio to meet her students.
…..
An hour and a half later, her students were filing out of the studio. The student who had flirted with her the week before lingered behind. His name was Enrique, but everyone called him Rick. He was a handsome Latino man in his late 20’s, and very much an artsy type, with long hair, and a messy flair to his style.
He walked over with a smile. “Class was great today.”
She smiled back. “I’m glad you thought so.”
“I was wondering if you had some time later to get some lunch. I wanted to talk to you about my project that needs to be ready for the showing at the end of the summer.”
Knowing she needed to make herself available to her students, she immediately said, “Of course.” But right after that she clarified. “I have to work on some stuff at lunch, but why don’t we meet down in the parlor later? My last class is over at 4pm. Is that too late?”
“Nope, that works. Well… good then. I’ll see you down there at four,” he winked and left.
She sighed. She needed to watch that one. He was charming and cute…and a student. If he put the moves on her again, she would have to put a stop to it fast.
Her next class wasn’t for a half hour, and her stomach began to hurt as she made her way into the office to check her phone. Paul was still finishing up his class, so she had a few moments alone.<
br />
She turned the sound back on on her phone, and saw two text messages and one voicemail. She checked the text messages first.
JM: Hey. The meeting ran long. Any chance ur not in class yet?
Then,
JM: Check ur voicemail, baby.
She took a deep breath, and listened.
“Hi, baby. I’m so sorry I missed you. The meeting went long, and when I got out, you were already in the middle of your class.” He paused. “I didn’t think you’d want me to say goodbye to you in front of your students.” Pause. “I miss you already, baby. I’ll be free around four today if you can talk. I’ll just be packing, and then will be with my mom before I head to the airport. No matter what, let’s try to talk today, ok?” Pause. “Ok….gotta go.” Pause. “Bye, Ry.”
She swallowed down the emotion that swelled up. Even though she knew it wouldn’t have looked good if he had come up to her class to say goodbye, she couldn’t help but wish that he had.
There was no playfulness to his message. No sexual innuendo. He just sounded…resigned…sad. The fact that she wouldn’t be able to talk to him until much later made her more depressed. She had her meeting with Rick after her class was over at four, so she probably wouldn’t talk to him until he was already at the airport.
She thought for a moment, then began texting him.
RT: Listened to msg. I’m sorry I missed u, too. I won’t be able to call u until much later, I have mtng at 4. What time does ur flight leave?
She put the phone down, and got ready for her next class.
…..
By four, Ryann was exhausted, and on edge. In between classes, she and Paul talked about her progress, and discussed things that needed to get done during the week.
He noticed she had seemed out of sorts, and asked if everything was ok.
She mentally kicked herself. The last thing she wanted was her relationship with Jeremy to interfere with her work. She smiled and turned up the charm.
“Everything’s fine. Have I been doing ok, do you think?”
“Puhleeze, sweetheart. You’re doin’ great! I can’t wait until the end of the summer when I can give my recommendations to the board. You’re gonna be an awesome permanent addition to the team here.”
She blushed at his compliment. “Why, thank you, sir. That’s good to hear.”
“Ya sure everything’s ok?”
“Yup. All is good.”
“If ya say so,” although as he looked at her, he didn’t look convinced.
For the rest of the day, she had made it through classes, and had finally gotten a text back from Jeremy. They were going to talk to each other at nine, when he was at the airport. His flight was to leave at 10, getting him in to Chicago around midnight EST. He had meetings scheduled all the next day starting early.
After her last class, she had finally made her way to the parlor for her meeting with Rick, and made herself a cup of coffee when she got there. She saw him sitting off in the corner, and headed his way.
He looked up and smiled. “Hey.” He stood up and pulled out her chair.
She blushed, but smiled back, “Thanks.”
“Thanks for meeting with me. I’ve been wanting to flesh out my ideas ever since the assignment was given.”
“No problem,” she smiled again.
“How’s your day been?”
“Good, thanks. How about you?”
“Great. Any time I get to see you twice in one day makes it great,” he said winking.
She took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s talk about your project ideas.”
They spent the next half hour or so talking, and toward the end of the conversation, he looked her in the eye and said, “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure. As long as you know I may not answer it,” she said giving him a pointed look.
“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “This is probably a really inappropriate question given our roles, but I was wondering if you were seeing anyone.”
She just couldn’t seem to get away from this question, could she? Her relationship with Jeremy had taken a tenuous turn since their ‘off the market’ conversation, but regardless, she didn’t want to, nor would she ever, date a student.
She figured it was easier to just cut to the chase.
“Yes, Rick, I am. But even if I wasn’t, I think it’s important for you to you know that I would never date one of my students.”
He nodded. “Ok.” Pause. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying,” he said with a charming smile.
She chuckled, “No, I guess you can’t.”
“Thanks again, for meeting with me. Talking through my ideas has helped a lot.”
“Any time,” she smiled.
They both got up, and threw away their trash.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ryann…Have a good night,” he smiled with regret.
“You, too,” she smiled, then grabbed her bag, and turned toward the exit, only to find MG sitting by the door.
Shit. Her emotions were close to the surface as it was, without having to deal with Jennifer’s bitchy attitude.
Just walk right by her, no matter what she says. Just keep on walking, Ry.
Ryann made her way to the door, completely ignoring Jennifer. Just as she walked past her, MG murmured, “Lining up the next one for when Jeremy dumps you?”
Ryann kept walking, but MG wasn’t finished. She tsked, “So many options…Armand, Enrique…” she said a little louder.
Ryann didn’t look back, she just kept going until she got to the elevator, then collapsed against the wall when the doors closed. She rushed out when she reached her floor, and walked into Paul’s office, letting her anger take flight, and feeling tears prick at her eyes. She wished crying wasn’t her emotion of choice. The tears came whether she was happy, sad, pissed…whenever an extreme emotion hit her, the tears followed closely behind.
“Fucking bitch….unprofessional…” she whispered furiously under her breath, trying to gain control of herself, but needing to blow off steam.
“Whoa…what’s goin’ on, sweetie?”
She whipped around, surprised to see Paul packing up his bag behind her. She hadn’t seen him when she walked in.
“Paul,” she stuttered.
“What’d she say to you?” his voice filled with anger and concern. “And don’t tell me that ya didn’t just bump into MG, because I won’t believe a word of it.”
“It’s fine…I just have PMS, and I’m overreacting…” she laughed lightly.
“Don’t ya dare do that, Ryann. Don’t belittle this situation,” he said furiously, putting his hand on her arm. “Tell me. Right now.”
She sighed, and collapsed into one of the chairs. “Oh, Paul.” Pause. “She just keeps making comments about Jeremy…and being…mean spirited.” She put her hand to her forehead, and rubbed it.
“So basically she’s been harassing you, and being completely unprofessional, as well…and you haven’t said a word.” He continued drilling into her with his eyes.
She squirmed under his scrutiny. “I can handle her, Paul.”
“Ya shouldn’t have to handle her. She’s an instructor at this Institute, which was founded on good will toward their fellow man for god’s sake, and she’s a total bitch who’s harassing an intern. It’s gonna stop, and it’s gonna stop right now.”
He turned away, and slammed the rest of his things into his bag, then slung it over his shoulder. “Everyone on the staff hates that bitch,” he muttered vehemently. “Well, she won’t be here for much longer, if I have anything to say about it.”
Ryann reacted in a panic, and got up, “Please, Paul. Don’t do anything. This is so…high schoolish. The board shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of thing. It’s just her being petty and stupid. I’ll take care of it.”
Paul took her hand, and sat her back in the chair, then sat opposite her. He leaned forward, and said, “No, ya won’t take care of it. I’ll take care of it.” He
paused. “Ryann, if ya were an instructor here, and ya knew of another instructor harassing an intern, wouldn’t ya wanna say something? I need ya to think like the instructor that you’re gonna be in less than three months. This horrible woman is a representative of this Institute, and she’s completely misrepresenting us.”
When put that way, she totally understood where Paul was coming from. But she felt extremely uncomfortable with him fighting her battles, and she told him so.
“I’m your mentor, sweetie. It’s part of my responsibility to make sure you’re taken care of. So, right now, I want ya to sit there and write down the things she’s said to you. Then, I’m schedulin’ a meeting with the Dean, and I’m gonna say to him what I’ve been dyin’ to say about that woman ever since she arrived here.”
Ryann groaned. “Paul, I really don’t want to do this.”
“Tough. We’re doin’ it anyway. That’s an order, young lady.”
He opened up a word doc, and said, “Start typin’.”
…..
By the time she got home, it was well after seven. She was starving, exhausted, and mentally drained. Paul had stayed with her the whole time she typed up her complaint, then walked her down to the Admin office, where he submitted her complaint to the Dean’s office, along with his request for a meeting that week.
Due to the preparations for the gala, neither of them thought that a meeting with the Dean would take place that week, but Paul was hopeful.
Ryann was trying to get over the mortification of having her dirty laundry being aired out for all to see, and only the second week she was there. Especially since Jeremy was part of it. But as Paul kept telling her, it wasn’t about Jeremy, per se. It was about the fact that an instructor was being unprofessional toward an intern, and it needed to be dealt with.
She unpacked the grocery bag that she had filled with salad fixings from the store around the block, and made herself dinner. After eating, she took a shower, and settled in, trying to wind down after her awful day.
She missed Jeremy, and couldn’t wait to talk to him. She was torn because she knew it was best that they end whatever it was they had started, especially given today’s events. And because of his distance for the past two days, she felt a moment of despair. But the thought of ending it made her stomach cramp.
Release (Iris Series) Page 25