“No, but I’ll wait until he’s free.”
“Take a seat.”
Jessica sat next to his closed door. She could hear Dr. Ellington yelling in the office and she watched the shadows of her pacing feet under the crack of the door. “I want her out of my class. She’s nothing but trouble. A stupid little whore who has no right to continue at this institution.”
The dean’s voice was muffled by distance. Jessica strained to hear his reply. “Mary, you know we can’t expel her. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Either she goes or I go!”
“Do you know how many students were in my office complaining about you yesterday?” Taylor said. “More than twenty. What you did was way out of line. To save my reputation, you should be the one to go.”
“What? You’re siding with her? How can you even consider such a thing, Harold?”
“You know I want you to stay, baby. Come here.”
Jessica heard Dr. Ellington sniff her nose. The dean’s chair creaked. “That’s better.”
“You’re not really considering firing me, are you?” Dr. Ellington’s voice sounded needy.
“I am. But you know how to change my mind, don’t you?”
The chair creaked again. Jessica heard… a zipper being released? She leaned closer to the door.
“That’s my girl. Suck it how you know I like it. That’s it… Jessica.”
Jessica? Ellington’s name wasn’t Jessica. Why would he call her—Oh…
Jessica’s eyes widened. Oh! She jumped to her feet, her focus darting around the room. She met the receptionist’s gaze and the woman shrugged as if to say this kind of thing happened all the time.
Jessica moved to stand before the receptionist’s desk. “I don’t think I need to talk to the dean after all.”
The secretary nodded, her uncomfortable gaze trained on her desk. As Dean Taylor’s vocalizations grew increasingly enthusiastic, his receptionist’s cheeks grew increasingly pink.
“How does listening to that make you feel?” Jessica nodded toward the closed door.
The receptionist hesitated and then spoke in a whisper, not meeting Jessica’s eyes. “Physically ill. I’ve been looking for another job, but haven’t found one yet. And I can’t afford to just quit.”
“You need to file a sexual harassment suit against him.”
The secretary’s eyes widened and met Jessica’s directly. “Oh, he’s never touched me. A couple of students. Dr. Ellington. And—”
“He doesn’t have to touch you. The fact that you’re being forced to listen to that while you’re trying to work is enough to win a sexual harassment case. And working here, I’m sure you can find a good lawyer.”
“I can’t afford a lawyer.”
The sounds of Dr. Taylor getting off came through the door. “Yeah, yeah, suck me, Jessica. Oh God. Swallow it. Swallow it. Yes!”
While Taylor shouted in triumph, Ellington choked. Gagged. Then all was quiet. Jessica held her breath. She didn’t want Taylor and Ellington to realize she was out there listening.
“Why are you crying, Mary?” Taylor asked, his voice muffled through the door. “You’re getting what you want. Your job is safe. I’ll make sure of it.”
Jessica’s heart twanged with empathy. For Dr. Ellington. She didn’t really know why. The woman had treated her like garbage. The ice queen was probably getting exactly what she deserved. “You should take this straight to human resources,” Jessica whispered to the receptionist. “They’re required by law to investigate.”
“That’s how his last receptionist got fired,” she whispered. “False accusations. Dean Taylor has too much clout at this institution. They’ll never do anything about him.”
Well, maybe they wouldn’t do anything about the pig, but she would.
“I don’t have my degree yet,” Jessica said, meeting the receptionist’s dark brown eyes and holding her gaze, “but I’m sure I can find someone to represent you in court. For free. It’s time to take him down a peg or two.”
“You’d do that?” the receptionist said. “Go against the dean? For me?”
“For you,” she said. “And for me. And every other woman he’s ever harassed. Including Dr. Ellington.”
Chapter 48
When Jessica heard the front door open, she hurriedly lit the candles she’d arranged on the dining room table to set the mood. She leaned to the side so she could watch Sed approach around the two-story high pillar in the foyer, but stayed in her chair and waited for him to join her. That had been a close call. Jace had left less than ten minutes ago. If Sed would have caught him here, she knew it would have gotten ugly. And ruined Friday’s surprise.
“What’s all this?” Sed murmured.
“I thought you’d be hungry.”
When he noticed she sat waiting for him in the tiniest of pink lace negligees, he growled in appreciation. She indicated the seat to her left. “Have a seat, sweetheart.”
Sed kissed her temple and then sat beside her. “Is this my surprise? You look beautiful.”
She flushed with pleasure. “Part of it. And thank you. How’s your throat feeling?”
“Not bad. I heal quickly. I can talk okay now.”
“No, you can’t.” She reached under the table and retrieved the gift bag she’d stashed at her feet. “Your surprise is in here. Have you been good for Eric today?”
He hesitated, looking at the ceiling in deep concentration, and then nodded.
Somehow she doubted he was being sincere, but she handed the gift bag to him.
“What is—”
She covered his mouth with her hand. “No talking, Sed.”
He reached into the gift bag and pulled out a small dry-erase board and marker. He didn’t even try to hide his disappointment. “I thought you’d get me something sexy.”
“If you use that to communicate instead of talking, I have another surprise for you.”
“Yeah?”
“You’ll probably like this one better.”
He uncapped the marker and wrote OK on the board.
She reached up and cupped his face in her hand. His cheek was rough with a day’s beard growth and she took a moment to enjoy the texture against her fingertips. She then kissed him tenderly. “If you’re a good boy, I’ll be a very naughty girl.”
VERY naughty? he wrote.
“Very, very naughty,” she murmured and kissed him again.
His gaze caressed her skin in a most distracting fashion. She was determined to get through this meal without pouncing on him, but now that he was here, she doubted they’d make it all the way to dessert. He’d be lucky if she let him finish his appetizer. Or start it.
School? he wrote.
“I’ve decided to finish law school—I have important work to do—but I’ll tell you about that later. Right now, you need to eat. Are you hungry?”
He nodded earnestly.
She removed lids from the containers of food scattered across the table. “I tried to think of things that wouldn’t hurt your throat.”
He watched her reveal one dish after another. You cooked all this?
She read his message and laughed. “No, sweetheart, it’s take out. I wanted you to enjoy it, not have to choke it down and pretend I’m not poisoning you.”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
“So what are you hungry for?”
You, he wrote.
“That’s dessert.”
Let’s start with dessert.
“Don’t tempt me. I’m trying to take care of you. Help you build up your strength for your concert next week. And our little side trip on Friday.” The one Jace had helped her plan while Eric kept Sed distracted in the recording studio.