Page 36 of Faking It With My New Boss

“I think you're probably doing just fine,” I said. “If you want to be a lawyer, you're going to have to be more confident in yourself.”

“Asking a professor for help on a project isn't about not being confident in myself. It's about wanting to do well and get my career started,” she argued. “I can't believe you're reacting like this.”

“Reacting like what?” I asked. “I'm just saying maybe this professor is encouraging you to come to him for all this help because he has some other motives, and you should stand on your own two feet and thrive on your own.”

Courtney stood up from the table and started toward the doors leading inside. She whipped around to face me.

“I'm here to help you. I want to remind you of that. This little game of yours wasn't part of the deal. And I really don't appreciate feeling like you are trying to control me the way you seem to be able to control other people,” she said.

She continued inside and I stood to follow her. “We still have another day here.”

Courtney turned around again. “I know. I made a commitment to help you and I'm going to. But right now I just need some time to myself.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Bryan

As Monday morning dawned, I felt the jealousy reaching uncontrollable levels. The way she spoke about this professor, defending him and the way he acted toward her, drove me insane. How could she not see he was using his position to get something out of her? Just so he could notch his belt or then turn around and ruin her reputation.

What bothered me more, though, was the thought that she liked the attention. That she liked this older man paying attention to her. That she was interested in him.

Just letting that thought batter around in my brain was enough to make me absolutely crazy. I knew she had her meeting with him and she had mentioned where his office was. That meant I could go there and give him a piece of my mind. Let him know that his game was transparent to me, and that if he kept it up with Courtney, he’d be dealing with a lot worse than reprimands from the school.

I drove to the office in a fog. I was swerving in and out of traffic, cutting off other people and generally being a dick. Normally, I hated people who drove like that, but there I was flying down the road well over the speed limit. I gripped the steering wheel tightly as I pulled into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes in the spot closest to the building.

Slamming the door probably only alerted the people in the building someone was coming, but it felt good. I needed to try and stay as calm as possible when I got in there, or else I would just launch at him.

I found the door with the Professor’s name on it and swung it open. Sure enough, he was standing all together too close to Courtney, a leering grin on his face.

“Hey,” I called out. “Get the fuck away from her!”

“Bryan?” Courtney called out, but my eyes were focused on the man in front of her, his surprised expression only fueling my anger. Didn’t he expect that one day this would happen?

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, seeming to gain his bearings again. I slammed the door behind me.

“A big fucking problem is who I am,” I said.

“Bryan, stop. This is ridiculous,” Courtney said.

“What is going on?” the professor said.

“You, and how you act with your students. Especially this one,” I said. “You are being inappropriate, and you know it. Everyone knows it. And I won’t stand for it.”

“Excuse me?” the man said, his brows furrowing and an indignant look crossing his face. “Just who the hell do you think you are?”

“The man who is putting a stop to this,” I said, stepping closer. He puffed out his chest and something clicked. I didn’t have the time or the patience to deal with an argument. Not when white-hot rage was flowing through my veins.

I hit him, hard, with a closed fist to the jaw.

It was a simple right cross but it did the job and he went sprawling across his desk, papers flying everywhere.

“Bryan!” Courtney screamed. “Get out! Get out!”

I turned around to face her, the anger still pounding through my heart so hard I could feel it through my chest.

“Let’s go,” I grumbled.

“No!” she cried. “You get out. This is insane! Go, now!”

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