As I walked into class the next week after ignoring his pleas to meet Dr. Topalli in his office, Harry was teaching and it would be that way for the next two weeks. Apparently, Dr. Topalli had been on assignment from his full-time job with the FBI. Harry didn't elaborate on what assignment Dr. Topalli was working on but I assumed it was pretty serious and time consuming if he couldn't make it to an hour and fifteen minute lecture twice a week.
"Last class we talked about what aggression is. Who can summarize what we learned?" Harry started off class as he paced the front of the room.
Seeing him so professional and authoritative was strange. We didn't have a normal teacher-student relationship. I don't think we would ever get along. Every time I looked at him I was reminded of how broken I was.
A girl near me raised her hand and smiled as he pointed to her, "Aggression is a behavior directed towards another individual or group carried out with the immediate intent to cause harm to that individual or group."
"Good," Harry smiled and I watched like every other female in this room as his dimples dented his cheeks. The girl who answered started glowing and I rolled my eyes with how obnoxious her behavior was toward him. She was lusting and drooling over him.
He continued asking the four main types of aggression: hostile, instrumental, active, and passive. I soon became bored as we went over them in detail. I zoned out staring down at my pencil and paper as talks of the Bobo Doll experiment went on around me. Theories and statistics started flowing around the room and I yawned as Harry called my name.
"Emilia," he said in his swift accent, letting it roll off his tongue so easily.
"What?" I flushed a shade of red when I realized he had asked me a question in front of the other 200+ students in the room. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question?"
I fidgeted in my seat and watched as he walked closer to me. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and I stared into his clear-as-day green eyes hoping I would know the answer.
"What's it good for? Aggression..." he shrugged his shoulders and placed one finger on the table in front of me, tapping the pad of it twice.
I swallowed and cleared my throat to speak up. "Well, aggression isn't just a human thing. All animals show aggression. But we are the only ones who show aggression just because we can or just because some individuals enjoy it. Animals are known to show aggression as a way of protection, like prey against predator, or fighting for their babies. But also there is an aggressive behavior towards mating."
His eyes narrowed as I paused unsure of how to phrase my next thought.
"Um..." I broke eye contact and put my hands in my lap. "Like for instance, fish..."
"Are you comparing fish and humans, Ms. Dowry?" he smiled and the entire class vibrated with a soft chuckle.
"Maybe some humans," I flexed my jaw at him and sat back in my chair. He raised his brows and decided to keep his remarks to himself.
Some humans liked rough and aggressive sex, just like fish. So fuck him, yes, I was going to compare fish and humans.
He backed away from me and asked the class this time. "What is it good for? What is aggression good for?"
"To knock the shit out of someone," some guy said in the back of the classroom.
Everyone laughed and Harry continued on with his lecture. As time finally ended, our papers from the other day were layed across the counter of his desk and we had to find whichever one was ours. When I finally found mine, I had a grade of 71 which was unacceptable. I stood in the hallway and waited for him to finish his last conversation with one of my peers.
Finally, he walked through the door and locked it behind him.
"Emilia, what's up?" he sighed and I handed him my paper.
"Why didn't I get an A?" I asked while shoving the paper into his chest.
"You didn't cite any of your sources in it. I could have had you removed from the class. That's considered plagiarism at this school,"he ran his hand over the scruff on his cheeks and looked over the paper again.
"I didn't use any sources. I knew all of this. It's in my own words," I scoffed.
"Well, you were supposed to use sources," he raised his brows and smiled at me confused as to why this was an issue.
"I knew it all. Why would I use sources if I knew the answers myself?"
"Because this is college and you're supposed to be learning something scholastic and sources are where that happens," he clapped back and I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, I get it. You're punishing me because I flicked you off and lost my temper. It happens. Just please, I don't make C's, especially low C's."
"Well you did. Make sure next time you source," he said with a tone that told me he was so over this conversation.
"Seriously?" my tone was shrill and I had to take a deep breath so I wouldn't lose it. "Please relook at it."
"Emilia, I'll reread it, but your grade is final. And I'm not reacting to your behavior from the hallway a few weeks ago, which was inappropriate by the way. I'm reacting to your behavior now, which is incredibly disrespectful."
He started to walk off ahead of me and I had to jog to keep up with him. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm not typically a hostile person."
"Really?" He mocked as he turned a corner to head out of the building.
"I work hard and I study hard. Just please reconsider my grade," I basically begged as he tried to ignore me.
His car was apparently parked right in front of the building. A black range rover with chrome detailing beeped and he opened the driver's side door.
"Please, I'll write a ten page paper and email it to you tomorrow with ten sources," I begged. I wasn't above working hard and asking for second chances.
"No, I'm not reading a last minute ten page paper. I don't know what to tell you, Emilia. Just because it was all right doesn't mean you get an A+. You needed to elaborate and you needed to source some things. You should know that by now and I shouldn't have to explain it to you," he shrugged his shoulders.
"I have a scholarship that I can't lose," I sighed feeling frustrated and anxious that this was my first ever 'C' grade.
"You should have thought of that before," he frowned obviously irritated that we were still having this conversation.
I backed away from his door and bit the inside of my cheek trying not to get too upset. He sat in his seat and shut the door between us. A little bit of hope grew in my chest as he rolled down his window but as he spoke it quickly died away.
"It's not your only grade. You'll be fine. Just make sure you source things from now on," he said out his window and I nodded my head defeated and unsure where to go from there. "Have a good weekend, Emilia."
"You too," I pressed my lips together and spun around on my heel to head the other way to my next class. I guess it was worth a try...
I worked the entire weekend at the florist trying to get our big order ready for that Sunday's wedding. Saturday night we had to rearrange some bouquets since the flowers were not as healthy as they should have been. Sunday morning, everyone but me left for the delivery.
Customers were in and out all morning and I was exhausted by the time the owner came back. She was an older lady, in her sixties, and she was quite opinionated about everything. But somehow, Lillie and I got along quite well.
"You look tired, Mia," Lillie sighed as she went to the back office behind me sitting at the front desk.
"I am a little tired. I haven't been getting much sleep lately," I was doing some of her bookkeeping since she'd taught me over the three years I'd already worked there.
"Well, you shouldn't stay up so late. Have you tried hot tea or milk?" she sat in her chair with another heavy sigh.
"I tried some tea last night, but I think I've just had a lot on my mind lately."
"Are you thinking about your mom again?" Lillie said exasperatingly. "Listen here, your mom will never speak with you like she did, if I can help it," Lillie said matter-of-factly as the front door of the shop chimed.
"No, I haven't spoken to my mom since last year and I sure as hell am not thinking about her. But I've been worried about school, I think. I don't know. I just haven't felt like myself and I haven't been behaving like myself," I scribbled down a number from what I calculated in the calculator on my desk.
"Hi, ugh," a familiar British accent prickled the hairs on my neck and I stared up at the day dream of a man in front of me. Harry stood there in a black suit with a crisp white collared shirt underneath and his hair gelled off his forehead.
"H-hey," I stuttered admiring his beauty and his sudden appearance in front of me.
His dimples popped in his cheeks and I flushed as I realized we were staring at each other, both shocked with each other's appearance.
"W-what can I help you with?" I cleared my throat and fidgeted my arms on the desk accidentally knocking my pen onto the floor. I looked down at it and then back at him speaking.
"I need an arrangement of flowers. Do you have any pre-made in a vase by chance?" he cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets.
"Um we don't usually have pre-made arrangements in a vase. But I think we might have something in the back. What's the occasion?" I asked and he narrowed his brows in.
"Ugh, memorial service," he muttered not looking me in the eye and then pursing his lips in a flat line.
"Oh, ok. Um, yeah, these should work then. Follow me," I walked around the desk and to the back of the store where our work room was located. There was an extra vase made for the wedding today, but wasn't needed. It sat there untouched and radiantly glowing all shades of green and white.
"That's perfect," he commented as soon as it came into sight.
"It's a little pricey just to warn you," I turned to look at him over my shoulder as his eyes wandered over the buckets of flowers surrounding us.
"How much?" he brought his green eyes back to my brown ones.
"$160 with the vase," I flinched and he seemed unbothered.
"That's fine," he pursed his smile and I nodded my head and grabbed the vase to walk back to the front desk.
"There's so many flowers here," he observed and I acknowledged him with a simple chuckle. "What's your favorite?"
"The peonies and dahlias," I said politely. He found the two different flowers with his eyes and walked over to them and lifted a bouquet of white and pink peonies out of their bucket.
"They are quite beautiful, aren't they?" he looked them over to make sure they were healthy and then smiled back over at me.
All I kept thinking about was our last conversation and how he had called me 'inappropriate and disrespectful'. But I supposed he wasn't wrong. I had been acting impulsively and treating him wrong when he was just trying to help.
"I'll ring you up back at the desk," I flexed my jaw and broke our lingering eye contact.
"I reread your paper," he commented and I continued to walk ahead with him following incredibly close behind.
"Yeah?" I said snarkily.
"It was good and everything was correct, but I can't make exceptions so I apologize for that," he said as softly as he could with an awkward stare.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. Please just forget that I even bothered you for-," I started to dismiss the encounter, but he wasn't finished reprimanding me.
"The only thing that bothers me about you, Emilia, is you not using all of your potential. You need to hear what Dr. Topalli and I are offering you. Some students would kill for this opportunity," he sighed and continued trying to persuade me to work for them.
I rounded the corner of the front desk and started to make his receipt. The quicker I finished the faster he would leave.
"I appreciate the offer, but I can't accept," I blushed after seeing how intense his face became.
Why did he want me to work with them so bad? I was an asshole and he knew it. So far I've been nothing but rude and disrespectful to him. He hasn't seen a single good quality about me.
"Why not?"
"Is it paid?"
"No," his eyes fluttered as I continued writing up his receipt.
"I can't take off of work, you know, a place where I make money so I can pay my bills, to do whatever bitch work Dr. Topalli would have me do," I explained while still being an asshole.
"Emilia," Harry whispered and leaned in toward me, "this opportunity is a gateway into the FBI, into politics, and into your future. I'm not going to take no for an answer."
"I can't I'm sorry," I shrugged my shoulders. "It's going to be $182.65."
He handed me two hundred dollar bills from his wallet and continued his speech. Lillie came out from the office and pretended to look over catalogs on the table behind me.
"When are you off this week?" he pressed for more information from me. He really wasn't taking no for answer.
"I'm not-," I objected again, but Lillie interrupted me and interjected into our conversation.
"Mia's off whenever you need her to be off," Lillie spoke up interrupting me and making me shut my mouth in annoyance.
Harry smirked and his eyes lit up. "Tuesday at 4:30 in Dr. Topalli's office. Come and hear him out."
I sighed and handed him his change. "You're unbelievable," I frowned and shook my head.
"You don't know the half of it, Emilia," he raised his brow and flexed his jaw.
I was speechless as his eyes stared into mine and his smirk turned his mouth upward. He held a secret that portrayed an incredibly egotistical attitude from him and it made me cringe but also lustful. Why was I always into the assholes?
"Thanks again for your help," he raised his brows at me and looked over at Lillie watching him and I closely. "Lovely shop you have."
"Thank you," she smiled and nodded her head. "Come again."
"Of course," Harry smiled the most perfect smile I'd ever seen on a man. It was crooked and it was fleeting, but it still made me weak at my knees.
As he left the shop I looked down at my desk and saw the pen I had dropped sitting on the notepad. I took it in my hand and looked back down at the ground searching for its twin, but there wasn't a pen on the ground.
"He's cute," Lillie bobbed her brows at me and I rolled my eyes.
"He's my teacher, or my professor's assistant rather..." I sighed feeling sick to my stomach about this new meeting or interview or whatever it was. "And he's probably one of the biggest assholes I've ever met."
"Pish posh, Mia. You always have some bullshit excuse about any boy. But let me tell you what, this one's a man. If I find out you don't go to that goddamn meeting, I'll drag you there myself," she stuck her hand on her hip and stared angrily at me.
I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't piss her off any more, but I knew I wasn't going to that meeting. I didn't want any part of whatever Harry and Dr. Topalli were working on. I could be successful all on my own.
"Mia, I'm fucking serious," Lillie continued as she went back to her office. "I've known you for three years and if this is what's going to stop you from being successful, I don't want you to work for me anymore. I only hire hard workers. If some handsome, posh British man really scares you that bad, then that's the way it is, but I've never known you to let a man take control of you like this."
"He does not scare me!" I scoffed while actually laughing. "I just don't like him. I don't think I need his help building my career."
"Honey, we all need help because no one knows what they're really doing in this world," she scoffed right back at me.
I thought about it for a moment and had to agree with her. As much as I didn't want Harry's and Dr. Topalli's help, I knew it would look great on a resumé. But I didn't think I was ready to start building that career, especially with them.
"Go home and get some rest. Thank you for your hard work this weekend. I'll see you tomorrow after your classes," she shooed me with her hands.
"Ugh," I sighed. "Well, do you want me to clean up?"
"No, no I got it. Go home and think about your future," she was laughing at me, mocking me for being so afraid and anxious.
I sighed and turned to smile a fake grin at her. She rolled her eyes at me and gave me one back. It made me chuckle at how similar we were.
I grabbed my bag and walked out to my car. As soon as I got close enough to it, I realized the pink bouquet of peonies Harry bought were on my windshield and inside the peonies was my paper with a red 'A' on the front.
The note on the paper said in red ink:
Well done, Emilia. Excellent use of examples. Looking forward to Tuesday... - H.S.
I grabbed the peonies and pulled them into my chest taking a quick smell of them. As I sat them in my car, I realized how much I did want to go to that meeting and it was just because I thought Harry was the most attractive man I'd ever seen. But still an asshole.