Page 7 of Grumpy Boss in Love

She was on her own with the month-long partying. I had more important things to think about, like tackling the next chapter in my life. My internship at Westwood Collective, which would set me on the right track for a great job, started next week.

“So, are your sisters still here?” Megan asked.

Throwing back my shot of sambuca, I shuddered. “Nope. The entire family disappeared as quickly as they rolled into town.”

My sisters Lucy, Tessa, April, and Cassandra all showed up for my graduation. Nic, Lucy’s husband; Julian, April’s husband; and Damian, Cassandra’s fiancé, flew in to celebrate my big day too. Even my nieces and nephew came. My family was getting bigger by the year, and I loved it.

Lucy, the eldest Bennet, was disappointed that I wouldn’t visit Oakland during my free week. I couldn’t mention that I had to stick around because of my job. If I had, my sisters would want to know all about the job, and there was no way I was going to tell them about Luxe Elite.

Just the thought of the club made my face catch fire because I couldn’t think about it without remembering Professor Sinclair… I meanElliot. He’d told me to call him that as if we were buddies. I had tried so hard to forget about that awkward night last week, but it was futile.

As if reading my mind, Megan elbowed me. “Hey, you have to tell me more about your run-in with Professor Sinclair at Luxe Elite last week.” She sighed. “How I wish I hadn’t been off that night.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s nothing more to tell.”

“Come on, you didn’t give me details. I can’t believe I’ve never seen him there.”

The sheer disappointment on Megan’s face made me shake my head. “He claimed it was his first time at the club.”

“Tell me everything so I can live vicariously through you.” Megan threw back her shot and winced. “Had I been in your shoes that night, I would have shamelessly thrown myself at the hot professor.”

“Of course, you’re one of his groupies.”

“Groupies?”Megan laughed.

“Yes,” I huffed with sheer annoyance. “I swear every girl in class behaved like Professor Sinclair is a rock star. The way they sighed and batted their eyelashes. The way they practically drooled. Despicable!”

“The lady doth protest too much.” Megan smirked. “Is somebody harboring a secret crush on the hot professor?”

“One, stop calling him that. Two, absolutely not. I despise him.”

Megan assessed me through squinted eyes. “You mean to tell me that you’ve never fantasized about Professor Sinclair like the rest of us? It’s okay, Ruby, you can admit it. Your secret will be safe with me.”

Images of that dream I’d had during my snooze in the professor’s class weeks ago flashed through my mind. My back pressed to his front, his palms sliding up my thighs, his breath caressing my skin, and the dangerously seductive quality of his voice when he promised to spank me.

Was Elliot like that in real life? I’d wondered since I woke up and saw him looming over me with his signature scowl. Pulling myself back to the present, I held Megan’s gaze. I could imagine how red my face was.

“Fantasize about him?” I scoffed with as much derision as I could muster and pressed the tip of my nose, hoping it didn’t grow like Pinocchio’s. “Me? No. Never!”

Megan lifted one eyebrow and smirked.

“He can’t even smile, for goodness’ sake,” I added. “I am not attracted to grumps no matter how physically attractive they are.”

“So you admit it, he’s hot.”

With an aggravated growl, I threw my hands up. “Can we drop the subject of our former professor now?”

She signaled the bartender and held up her shot glass. “Not until you give me the deets.”

Rolling my eyes, I resigned myself to giving her thedeetsbecause I knew it was the only way to get her to give it up. I didn’t mind Megan’s prying. Having four sisters, I was accustomed to it.

“Okay, so it was a typical night…”

Megan nodded and drew her barstool closer to me. I shook my head at her eagerness to hear about the man who made my last year at school miserable.

“Rebecca asked me to take the food order for a table she’d already served drinks to. She had a headache and needed to take a five. When I got to the table, there sat Elliot and —”

“Elliot? You’ve always called him Professor.”

---