Enemies with Benefits

Chapter One

"Oh, I—"

"Ma'am? The dean is waiting for you if you're next." The receptionist cocked her head towards the large wooden door that the blond in front of me still stood blocking.

I cleared my throat and nodded to the gray-haired woman a few feet away. Smoothing my hands down my skirt once more, I shook my arms out to try to force out my nerves—not that it was any use. Stepping around the blond stranger, I brushed by his side to push open the door. Looking around the office, I shuddered at the realization that I hadn't been in the room since I'd been a student nine years prior. The last time I'd sat in the chairs placed before me, I'd been a tissue-covered mess of a bawling student trying to convince Dean Williams to let me take my finals early to get the hell out of California and over to New York.

Knee-deep in my own memory, I walked slowly towards the empty desk and let my fingertips glide absently over the upholstery on the back of the chairs. Noticing a picture frame blurred in my unfocused vision, I reached for it slowly and lifted it to look at. Blinking rapidly to force my eyes to focus, I'd only barely begun to spin it towards me when a voice sounded from the storage room to my right.

"Sit down. Don't touch anything. I'll be out in a minute."

I jumped like a child caught with its hand stuck in the cookie jar, dropping the frame in the process. When it hit the ground and shattered, I felt the air crash from my lungs and the blood drain from my face.

"Are you fucking kidding me? What are you, an incompetent child? Nice to know the role model the students here will be learning from."

The accusatory tone emanating from the man I couldn't see sent the hairs on the back of my neck to full stand. I turned my face in the opposite direction of the room the voice resonated from, afraid that if he came out and saw my tomato-red face in anger, I'd be fired before even getting to my room.

"Hello? I said are you—" he paused, his voice closer now. "Christ. You're bleeding. One moment."

I frowned, sure enough noticing a light tickle dripping down my leg where my nails had scratched it minutes before, though it must've seemed like the glass had been the culprit. I let my gaze drop to my thigh and flushed with embarrassment before a throat cleared at my side and a ball of tissue was thrust towards me.

"Thank you, I'm sorry about that." I grabbed the offering without an upward glance, uncomfortably shaking off the shiver that flecked my skin with goosebumps when I touched the dean's hand. I lifted my eyes to peek out from under my lashes only to see his back turned as he made his way back to the other room.

What's the point of this meeting if we aren't actually meeting? I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot on the worn, shit-colored carpet. I wiped at my leg for another minute or two, then finally lost my patience.

"Can I ask something?"

"You just did."

The simple retort had my eye twitching, though I couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity in the words with the voice. Brushing the feeling off as a miniature mental spaz from being in this godforsaken place again, I huffed. "Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but I have a desk and room to set up. Is there a reason I'm here, or are you going to stay in there and not speak to me? Because if so, I can leave and come back if you actually have something you'd like to talk to me about."

What sounded like the drawer of a metal file cabinet slammed shut. Heavy steps echoed from the enclosure of the smaller room adjoining the larger office before I realized why the voice and man's touch had had my nerves and body on edge in an instant. Leaning against the doorframe in a casual stance, my ex crossed his arms over his chest, the jacket of his suit straining against his thick arms. I nearly swallowed my tongue, despite the pang of pain that instantly struck my heart and had my insides quivering—in the best and worst ways.