Doctor’s Duties by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 27

LOGAN

She wasn’t in the next class.

Abby hadn’t been in touch with me since the incident on Tuesday, when she’d bumped into Jolene at my house and followed it up with a text letting me know it was over. I figured she wanted some space, so I had no trouble holding off on texting or calling.

Deep down I’d only been able to deal with not speaking to her because I knew she’d be in class on Thursday. Sure, we might not talk. But at least I’d be able to see her.

However, as I watched the students stream into class and take their usual seats, I realized that Abby wasn’t going to be among them. And her friend Blake wasn’t there, either. Did he know? Or was it a coincidence?

And to make matters worse, Emma Strange was there. She sauntered into class with a big smile on her face, as if she had a plan that was playing out perfectly. Emma started out in her usual seat. But when she realized Abby wasn’t there, she got up and made her way down and plopped into Abby’s spot, front and center.

I sighed internally. It was going to be a rough day – no doubt about it.

“Alright, class,” I said, the chatter among the students silencing as I got their attention. “So, we’ve got an exam on Tuesday. I figured, since I’m such a nice guy, that we could take today as a review day. Any questions, now’s your chance to ask them.”

The class jumped at the opportunity. Hands shot up, everyone eager to ask whatever they could. A review day worked out for them, and me – they’d have the chance to catch up, and I could go on autopilot. But during the questions, one hand stayed down.

Emma’s.

Instead, she stayed seated in Abby’s chair, a big, beaming smile on her face. Part of me wondered if she was taking some kind of sick pleasure out of being in the chair of the woman I was involved with, as if she was stealing her place in my life. But that couldn’t be true, could it? That would mean she knew…

“And that’s all we’ve got time for today. Study hard this weekend, and if you’ve got any questions that can’t be answered by the book or your notes, send me an email. See you all on Tuesday.”

With that, the class sprang out of their seats and streamed out. Emma stayed, however, still staring at me with her big, dark eyes, her slender face wreathed by her big, curly hair.

I didn’t stick around. I grabbed my things and left the auditorium, joining the students in the hall as I walked at a brisk pace to my office. Once there, I shut the door and dropped into the seat, letting out a long sigh.

What the hell was I going to do?

I clicked open my computer and began sifting through emails, more to distract myself than anything else. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Abby. I wanted her like crazy, wanted her more than I’d wanted any woman I’d ever known. But it seemed more and more like I wasn’t going to get what I wanted.

There was a damn good chance I’d have to let her go.

It seemed unfair that someone like her would come into my life only to be taken away by forces out of both of our control. But I’d been around the block enough times to know that there was no sense in whining about fairness when it came to what life chose to throw at you.

I’d have to start moving on.

A sharp series of knocks at my office door snapped me out of my daydreaming. I glanced up just in time to see the door open, a familiar slender face surrounded by big curls poking into my office.

“Emma!” I exclaimed, sitting up. “What are you doing here?”

It was a ridiculous question – what other reason would she be there other than to cause trouble?

Without waiting for my permission, she slid in through the door and shut it behind her. A wicked smile was on her face, as if she had something big to discuss. And there was something else I noticed about her – she was dressed in the same short, black tennis skirt she’d had on the first time she came to my office uninvited. But her top was different – a skimpy white and pink spaghetti-strap tank that left very little to the imagination.

“I’m here to talk,” she said, maneuvering into one of the seats across from my desk.

“There’s nothing for you and I to talk about. Now, I’m going to ask you very, very nicely to leave my office.”

“Oh, come on, Professor Frost,” she said. Emma leaned forward, exposing so much of her chest and the bra underneath that everything but her nipples were on display. “You can’t seriously be —”

“Be what? Asking a student who has clearly come into my office to try and seduce me to leave? Where the hell did you get the impression that this is proper behavior?”

The sly smile fell from her face. My tone must’ve made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t having any of it.

“Proper behavior?” she asked, reaching into her black, studded purse and fishing out her phone. “You’re going to talk to me about proper behavior?” She scrolled a bit, then turned the phone and angrily shoved it toward my face over the desk.

It was a picture of Abby at my front door. I realized instantly it was from the other day when I’d bumped into her there with Jolene. The photo had been taken from a distance and was a bit blurry. But there was no doubt it was Abby.

Just seeing a picture of her was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

I turned my attention back to Emma.

“So?” I asked.

“So?” she replied, shoving the phone back into her bag. “So? This is a picture of a student at your place!”

“Right. But that’s all it is. You can’t prove anything with that.”

Emma opened her mouth to speak but closed it when she seemed to realize I was right. It didn’t look good, but that was all.

“Well then, I’m going to say something,” she said. “I’ll tell them you propositioned me.”

“I keep a security camera in the room,” I replied, gesturing to the small camera situated on the top of my computer. “For meetings with students in case we discussed anything they want to talk about later. All of our interactions, including this one, have been recorded.”

Her dark eyes flashed. I could sense the rage building in her by the second.

She was not happy to hear that.

“Then let’s see what Dean Pritchard thinks about all this!” she stood up, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes still flashing with anger. “I’ll go talk to her right now and tell her about you and Abby and me and you. Maybe she’ll believe me, maybe she won’t. But we’re about to find out!”

It was strange. There I was with a woman threatening to ruin my career. I had done nothing to her, nothing to deserve this.

But I wasn’t scared. If anything, I saw the situation with perfect clarity, and I understood what I needed to do.

The lying was over.

It was time to tell the truth.

“OK,” I said, getting up from my seat. “Let’s go talk to Dean Pritchard.”

“Wait, what?” She clearly hadn’t been expecting this turn of events.

“Let’s go talk to Dean Pritchard. We can tell her everything. And we’ll tell her the truth.”

“Um, we don’t have to do that!” exclaimed Emma, rushing to my side as I rose from my desk. “I mean, we don’t need to make a thing out of this. Listen, Professor Frost, all I want is for us to spend some time together. To grab coffee or whatever. I like you! And I think if you gave me a chance…”

I opened the door and held it for Emma.

“Sorry. Come on – Dean Pritchard will take a walk-in from me.”

Emma stayed put, stunned.

“No! We, um, we don’t have to do that. How about this – we forget it all happened. I go back to class and we put this all behind us. Please, please, please,” she clasped her hands together.  “I’ll do anything. Please! You can’t tell the dean because she’ll tell my parents and —” I stopped, doing my best to hide the smile on my face. I’d called Emma’s bluff, and it had paid off.

“Here’s the deal, Emma,” I said, turning to her. “You leave my office and that’s the end of it. From here on out, we talk about nothing that’s not school related. I get the slightest hint that you’re out of line, I transfer you out of my class and cite behavior problems. Got it?”

She nodded.

“Just please don’t tell the dean.”

“I won’t. But you’re on notice.”

“Thank you so, so much,” she said. “I promise I won’t ever do anything like this again.”

“Let’s see to it that you don’t. Now, leave my office.”

She nodded, her curls bouncing as she did. Then she was gone in a flash.

Part of me worried I’d been too easy on her. But at the end of the day, she was nothing more than a kid with a crush. No need to derail her education if she’d promise to cut the BS.

Not to mention, I still needed to talk with Dean Pritchard. And I had a feeling that after that meeting was over, I wouldn’t be around to worry about Emma.

I left my office and headed down the hall to the double doors that led to Dean Pritchard’s office. My gut was tight as I drew nearer.

But it was time to come clean, to tell the truth.

I’d deal with the consequences, whatever they might be. And maybe, if I was lucky, Abby would be there on the other side.