Page 66 of Toy for the Teachers (Forbidden Fantasies)

MILLIE

As I finished the last of my mint tea, I couldn’t help but think about how busy my Monday had become. I had woken up with Vlad, had my encounter with Warren, and soon enough, Caleb would be back from his morning classes for our working lunch.

Dealing with all these men could certainly keep a woman on her toes.

It could definitely keep her toes curling too.

Laughing at my own thought, I got back to typing in the outline for Caleb’s paper. Everything was flowing well together. The hypothesis he was developing seemed to be getting stronger each week. Caleb’s department was going to be proud of this work. After all that time living in his head, these ideas were likely going to be a new source of inspiration in his field, and I was happy to be a part of it.

But… could I really keep doing this?

Between glimpsing the HR building on our way into work and crossing paths with Warren, I was beginning to see the fatal flaw in my plans. The men and I could all be in different departments, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t cross paths or get under each other's elbows. Such intimacy fostered close quarters, and if the university decided to send me off with another traveling professor, where would I be then?

Would I have to leave them all behind for a year or more?

Could our relationship survive that kind of distance?

I wasn’t even a full employee of the university. I was an independent contractor set in a wide pool of research assistants, and though the money was good, there was little chance of growth in the department. Sitting there, staring at my tablet, I began to seriously consider how long I could keep this going.

“Maybe I should just look…,” I muttered under my breath.

It couldn’t hurt for me to open up a new tab and do a quick job search in Chicago. Like my sister once said, there were other universities in the area, and there were other kinds of businesses that could use talents like mine. With a few quick clicks, I began to find them.

There was an academic journal looking for an assistant editor that looked promising. A book publisher was looking for a nonfiction editor, and there was another university, a small Catholic institution, looking for a writer in their communications department.

“Yeah, I don’t know how a bunch of Catholics would feel about me,” I half-joked alone.

Still, the first two jobs sounded promising. The book publishing job would be a substantial pay hike, and there would be benefits like retirement and health insurance. I was still pretty young. Most people my age weren’t thinking twice about the end of the career, but I knew the sooner I started planning, the better.

Besides, it was about time I started re-rooting myself. A woman like me could flit around forever, especially if she wanted to hold onto her three delightful professors. My eyes scanned over what I’d need to apply to each job, and as my thoughts grew more intent, I didn’t hear the door open.

“That doesn’t look like astronomy,” Caleb teased from behind me.

I felt a quick kiss on the back of my head before a thermos of coffee was set down on my desk. I looked up, and those endearing baby blues met my gaze with a light-hearted look.

“How was your morning meeting?” I asked, knowing he’d met with his department chair about our work.

“Good,” he answered, and I saw his eyes catch a glimpse of my tablet’s screen. “Are you looking at job openings?”

I let out a long exhale. If there was anyone who would be a good ear to have, it would be Caleb. His attention was already willing and waiting as he set his things down on his desk, not yet bothering to log into his computer.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about us, all of us,” I explained first. “I know this campus is big, but I’m worried about everybody not having the space they need. I don’t want our relationship to become a conflict of interest.”

“It already is between us,” Caleb pointed out, “not that I mind.”

“And that’s my point. We’re already blurring our lines here.”

“Are you happy working like this?” he then asked.

“Enough, but what if the school wants me to travel with another professor? What if I go back to Europe or somewhere like Australia? We have a school partnered with us down there. It’s not impossible.”

Caleb brushed the straight brown hair from his eyes. He mulled my answers over, his eyes going distant.

“This requires food,” he declared finally. “Why don’t we order something and work out your options? I know we’ve got paper stuff to cover, but this shouldn’t eat up too much of our time.”

I couldn’t hide my growing smile. “Look at you, making plans and multitasking.”

“I guess you’re rubbing off on me, Millie.”

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