Page 39 of Silver Fox's Baby
“I think the right person doesn’t bring drama.” My words surprise me. “But anyway, yes, I understand.”
“You’re a wise man.” Dr. Lewis chuckles, standing to his feet. “You can hire whoever you want on your own dime. I’m glad I didn’t have to come in here and lay down the law.”
“I know the policies.”
He gives me a half-smile. “I know you do. But you never know these days. I just had to let one of our math professors go for sleeping with a student in his class. We don’t have strict policies on interrelationships with students, but they can’t be in one of your classes.”
“I’m sorry to hear that someone didn’t follow the rules.” My voice comes out as collected as ever, but my head spins at the reminder.
Ms. Everett and I have been nothing but professional. However, in my fantasies, I’ve crossed lines.
“It’s not your fault—or mine.” He laughs, opening my office door. “Good luck with your TA. Hopefully, she’s a good one. I had one a few years ago that rarely, if ever, graded a paper appropriately. She wanted to give everyone a good grade. Have a good rest of your day.” With that, he slips out.
However, his words linger.
I grab for the stack of papers and begin to pour over them, ensuring that Ms. Everett graded everything appropriately.
And luckily for me, she did.
Crisis avoided.
I already hired her mostly out of sympathy. The last thing I want to do is rip the hope right from the young woman. I’m giving her every chance I can for her to have a simpler, more manageable life.
And it has nothing to do with whatever lust is budding beneath the surface.
At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
***
“You know, you don’t have to call meMs. Everett.” Her voice cuts through my thoughts as I step into my office after the end of my last class for the day. She is in the chair I assigned her and has the laptop open in front of her.
“I prefer to address you as such.” I grit my teeth as I take in the sight of her, the olive blouse tousled after a long day. A small, but mouthwatering glimpse of cleavage beckons my eyes downward, but I battle the urge, keeping my focus on her face.
“It seems so...formal.”
The university laptop in front of her is one I gave her when she returned from her first class, allowing her to enter the grades into the system. She can’t see the overall scores of any of the students but can still enter individual points into the system.
“Does the name bother you?” I linger just in front of the closed door, my bag still hanging heavily on my shoulder.
We’ve only got about an hour left of the day, and the headache throbbing in my temples calms slightly down at the reminder.
“It doesn’tbotherme, it’s just...” Her voice trails off as she glances down at her hands. “I’d just prefer to be called by first name.”
“Alright, if that’s what you’d like,Melody.” The sound of her name rolling off my tongue feels good.Toogood.
Her eyes flicker with something dark, and my cock comes to life as her cheeks redden. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” I quickly walk around her to my desk chair. The last thing I need is the embarrassment of her seeing me aroused, even if my mind wonders what she’d do about it.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I feel like I haven’t really thanked you enough.” She closes the laptop and sets it on the edge of my desk. “I finished entering in all the grades, so I’ll be ready to start on something fresh tomorrow.”
“Great.” I set my messenger bag down. I don’t have anything more for her today, and I’m tempted to dismiss her. But...
I also like the idea of her staying.
“Do you have any questions for me?” I lean back against the headrest of the chair. “I’m more than happy to answer anything you might want to know or help you with your homework.”
She raises a brow. “I think now that I have the time, I should be able to work through my homework on my own. Dorian is also really excited that I’ll be home in the evenings. I had no idea I was depriving him of so much.” The guilt in her face is so clear, and my heart squeezes.