Page 6 of Savage Surrender

“Yeah. Basically,” I answered. “Going to and coming back from Moscow wasn’t enough of a break from it. I’m glad to do something different for a while, get back into the field, so to speak.”

Rurik laughed again. “Even if it means grading papers?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Why not?” Grading papers and making up lessons would go a long way to making this experience different. It would be tedious busywork, but that sounded like a nice change of pace. If doing those things would make my presence here as a professor that much more believable, then that was what I’d put up with.

We continued down the massive corridor to reach my office, but it wasn’t a simple stroll. Countless women watched us, all checking me—or Rurik—out. I felt their stares burning, but it didn’t matter. None of them would matter. They all looked way too inexperienced—in a bad way, not a sexy one. I never cared too much about a woman’s age when I wanted to get laid, but something about these academic ones just made themtooyoung.

Rurik left me at the door to my office, agreeing that we’d be in touch more often on campus, working together. He was expected to just keep an eye on everything, being the eyes and ears, but I was expected to follow up on Irina Petrov more closely. She’d be a student in my lecture hall. Giving lectures would be different, but I was up for it. It was all the more reason to familiarize myself with the material. If I were extra prepared and confident in acting like a professor, I would have more energy and time to devote to watching her both in my class and outside of it, when I could.

Settling into my office wouldn’t take long. I just wanted to get acquainted with what went where. Oleg’s hackers had already handled the headache of putting me into the system here, but still, getting around in the computer system required a few minutes of my attention.

When my stomach growled, reminding me that I had yet to get lunch, I logged out of half of the things I had open on my laptop. I’d leave soon. I could go to my apartment and order something to be delivered there. Before I could make good on my plan to leave, a tall, gorgeous redhead knocked on my door that I’d left cracked open a couple of inches.

“Hey, there,” she greeted with a sexy purr that would’ve been more fitting at my previous job. “I thought I saw someone come in here.” She entered fully, giving me a full look of her svelte figure, huge tits, and flawless face. A coy, confident smile lifted her lips, but it seemed too cunning for me to ever lower my guard. “You must be Professor Remi. Viktor, right?” She increased the wattage of her smile, extending her hand for me to shake it. “I’m Jessica Nolan, assistant director of administration.”

And you just happened to be here?Her title sounded like something that would be found in the main administrative offices.

“Nice to meet you,” I lied. I didn’t need to know anything else about this woman to realize she was an opportunist, horny and eager to fuck her way anywhere. Women only gazed at men the way she did when they wanted dick.

“Oh, nice to meet you, too,” she replied, proving my point when she faked stumbling over her own foot and falling into me. Leaning forward, she practically thrust her tits into my face. “Whoops.”

“You all right?”

She was slow to stand upright again, running her hand over my shoulder and squeezing. “I’d be even better if you took meout to dinner tonight. I would love to personally welcome you onboard.”

Yeah, no thanks. That’s enough of that.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not interested in a personal welcome. I’m here to work, Ms. Nolan, and that’s it.”

“Oh.” She huffed as if I were being silly. “Just Jessica, please. Are you sure I can’t interest you in anything else?” She dipped her chin, giving me a sex-kitten look.

“I’m sure.” I wasn’t falling for this bullshit. Of course, sleeping with someone for intel wasn’t out of the question, but this woman wasn’t a person of interest.

Jessica was quick to change her tune, pouting—and even that was sexy, but annoying. “Are youreallysure? Because I’m the dean’s niece.” She set her hands on the desk, slanting over so I’d get a full view of her low-cut dress revealing the tops of her breasts. “And I’mreallyused to getting my way.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Is that a threat?” I could play hardball if I had to. I didn’t want this woman trying to bother me, but I wasn’t going to ruin a connection I might need later.

“Oh, no.” She beamed at me. “Just making myself clear.”

That you intend to prey on me. Great.“Noted.” I nodded to further acknowledge her and how easy she wanted to make herself seem.

As she left my office, I sat there and wondered if I’d have more complications than I expected in taking this job.

The goal was clear. The Boss’s instructions were simple.

Get close to Irina Petrov and obtain whatever intel I could.

Getting close to any other woman wasn’t on the agenda.

4

IRINA

The first day of the spring semester was here. I’d spent every day leading up to it at my father’s house, holed up in my room unless he demanded I attend dinner with him. Those meals were only more opportunities for him to berate me, remind me that I was nothing, or order me not to try to mess around when the semester started. Having my only parent tell me that I was useless unless I was gathering intel for him was a hell of a downer.

I wasn’t allowed to have a dorm room anymore, not since someone had gone to the room that Eva and Kelly Garnet were supposed to share. Eva hadn’t lived on campus, staying with Lev elsewhere. But Kelly had been in the dorms.

After stopping by the apartment adjacent to the campus—which therefore made it feel like it was part of campus, after all—I headed toward my first building. The morning was crisp and chilly, the kind of low temperature that made the air seem to turn to ice and crystalize in your lungs if you took too deep of a breath.

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