Chapter One: Losing For the First Time

Through the halls of Prestigious Law School, she was known simply as ‘The Beast’. 

As an assistant professor, she had been given the nickname by the first-year students. Six years later and the moniker had stuck with her. Though never uttered in her presence, both the faculty and students referred to her as such. The incoming students were terrified of her, the graduates were traumatized and the other professors made a point to avoid her. She was so scary that it was a known fact that even the President of Prestigious University was intimidated by her.

“You’re exaggerating,” Evan Alston chuckled as he listened to his brother’s description.

Andrew stared intently as his older brother, shaking his head vehemently. “Why would I lie? Trust me, Evan; I had her my first year and it was a total nightmare. Her reputation can’t do her justice.” The man looked pained as he recalled one specific incident. “She made a classmate pee his pants—that’s how bad she is.”

“Wow—how terrifying!” Evan laughed, still unconvinced. “If she’s that terrible, why hasn’t she been fired? I don’t believe for one second that President Smithson would keep her on his faculty,” He crossed his arms over his chest as he waited patiently for his brother’s explanation.

“He couldn’t even if he wanted to! Her family’s got connections…besides, she’s an excellent professor,” Andy smiled at his brother’s raised eyebrow. “She’s a great teacher; prepared us well for the next few years of law school—but she’s still one scary-ass lady!”

“You’re confusing me, Andy—am I supposed to be scared of her? Or impressed?”

“Be very afraid!” Andy shouted. “I know that you’ve faced many a scary criminal in your career, but she’s different. The Beast was also gunning for this position, Evan. She’ll be your worst enemy if you take the job!” He gave one final attempt to dissuade his brother.

Evan merely smiled. “Andy, you’ve only managed to make the job more interesting.  You know how much I love challenges. Besides, how scary can one old broad be?” He patted his brother on the shoulder affectionately, making his decision to Andrew clear. He would take the job as new Dean of Prestigious Law School.

Andrew shook his head in pity. He could only imagine how his brother was going to react when he found out that The Beast was actually a young, tiny Asian woman. His face paled when his thoughts changed to how the professor would react to the news that she had been passed over for his brother. If he knew The Beast’s reputation, she was surely going to react strongly. 

He was right. 

The Beast was having an extremely bad day and it had only just begun. When news spread over campus, everyone steered clear of her path. However, an unfortunate few weren’t so lucky in their quest.

Kat stalked through the thick double doors that led into the gymnasium, nearly colliding with a small group of women. She neither slowed her steps nor apologized for the near hit.

“What the hell is her problem?” Patty Swanson, a manager in the admissions office glared at the rude woman’s back. “Is she becoming nastier and bitchier with each passing day?”

“You haven’t heard, Patty?” Joy Gallagher asked her companion. “I heard the news this morning…she didn’t get the promotion,”

“What?” Pat couldn’t believe that the gifted professor with the genius IQ and family connections had failed. She burst into laughter a few seconds later. “You’re kidding? That’s shocking,”

“I couldn’t believe it either until I was introduced to the new Dean himself this morning.” Joy’s eyes twinkled with excitement.

“Who is he?” Pat grabbed her friend’s arm.

“President Smithson hired an alumnus you may have heard of…a Dr. Evan Michael Alston.”

“Of Alston and Sons Law Firm downtown?” Pat asked, shocked.

“Yes, and the elder grandson of Princess Penelope Alston,” Joy answered, giggling. “He’s from old money and a Prince!”

“Young, rich AND hot, too, I bet,” Pat grabbed her friend’s hands as they proceeded to jump around in glee.

“Oh—I think he’s here!” Joy abruptly stopped dancing as she looked past Pat’s shoulder to the entrance.

“He’s here?” Pat knew that she looked as sweaty as she felt after an hour on the treadmill. “I can’t have him see me like this. I need to look my best so that he can fall madly in love with me,” With that, the woman dashed into the women’s locker room with Joy following quickly behind.

Kat pulled tightly on her pony-tail, securing the heavy mass in place. She was completely oblivious to the other people in the room; she only had one goal in sight and it was the thick, heavy punching bag which had become her best friend over the years. Knowing that she needed to take care of her body first, she forced herself to perform stretches before going on to satisfy her emotions. She became almost invisible in the cloud of dust that resulted from her actions. Her swift and sharp movements were hard and precise as she vented her anger on the innocent object. Her display had drawn an audience, which she ignored. The men watched in amazement while the women looked on in open disgust. Kat continued for ten more minutes before she became aware of an intruder.

“Hey, lady!” The man yelled, his hands on his hips.

Kat sighed impatiently, momentarily halting her movements. She hugged the bag and glared at the man. “What is it?”

“You’re tearing up my bag!” Chad Brunswick pointed to the hole in the punching bag. “This is the third one this month and I’m sick of cleaning up after you! Either control your temper or find another way to cope with it,”

“This way works best for me,” Kat said, a small smile spreading over her dusty face. “If that’s all, you can leave now,” She turned back to her bag, preparing herself for another session.

“I’m not finished yet, Chxxk,” The derogatory term drew a gasp from the onlookers.

“What did you just call me?” Kat gave him her full attention, her body strung rigid in anger and her jaw clenched.

“I don’t think you understood me the first time, but I’ll make it clear. I’m banning you from using the bags,” Chad refused to be swayed by the death stare directed at him.

“I’m sorry, but did you just refer to me as a Chxxk?” Kat walked to stand directly in front of the huge man. She only reached his shoulders and was easily one-thirds his size.

“If the shoe fits,” Chad shrugged his thick shoulders.

“First of all, I’m a human like you—unfortunately! Secondly, I’m faculty here and, therefore, allowed access to this facility and its equipment,”

“I don’t think so—like I said, lady, either control that temper or find another way to vent it, so long as it’s on my poor bags!”

“Fine—you, me, mat—now!” Kat didn’t wait for his reply as she turned and walked onto the center of the wrestling mat. She assumed the fighting stance, her legs evenly spaced and arms up. “Come on, big boy…unless you’re scared…?”

Chad snorted and went to stand in front of her. He winked at the women who had gathered to watch them. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,”

Kat rolled her eyes upwards, disgusted by his cockiness.

“I’ll let you have the first move—I’m not one to ever hit a woman,” His grin widened as the women in the audience giggled. “Go ahead, lady,”

Kat smirked as she brought her fist towards his face. As expected, his hands went to block his head, leaving his middle completely unguarded. Kat took advantage of his carelessness and kicked him full-force in the abdomen. For a heavy man, he flew far, landing a good ten feet away from his starting position. The room fell into shocked silence.  As one, they looked at the short, skinny woman in utter disbelief. After a few moments, a fellow gym instructor ran to his friend’s side. 

“What the hell just happened?” Chad shook his head to clear the cobwebs before slowly getting to his feet.

The other man laughed. “Looks like you got your butt kicked by a skinny broad,”

“No way,” Chad was furious at his defeat. “All right, lady, I let you have that one,” He stumbled back onto the mat. “Now, I’m serious,” He waved at her. “Come on, try that again,”

“If you insist,” Kat said innocently. 

Her face became expressionless as she aimed for his side, he blocked the move and brought down a beefy fist towards her stomach. Kat stepped aside easily, grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and promptly pushed him to the mat. The move was so quick that if one had blinked, they would have missed it. The audience breathed a sigh of wonder as the woman stared down at her opponent. “Now that I’ve beaten you twice, can you leave me the hell alone?”

“Wait, lady, how about I try—obviously my friend here isn’t as skilled as he thinks he is,” The other instructor snorted rudely. The man didn’t wait for an answer. He ran towards Kat and immediately began to strike out at her. In the next instant, he found himself beside his friend.

Stunned, the two instructors looked up at the scrawny woman. She was smiling down at them, which only scared them all the more. 

“You know, fellas, because you were both so much fun to kick around, I’ll not fire your asses for your racist comments and threats. Oh, and for future reference—my name’s not ‘lady’, it’s Dr. Kat Ridley-Forrester.” Kat nodded when she saw recognition dawn on them. “No, it’s not a coincidence, the gymnasium is named after my family. Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, I trust that I’ll not have any more interruptions when I use the punching bag.”

Evan Alston watched the threesome from his position against the wall. He had been as enraptured as everyone else at the strength and skill displayed by the tiny woman. It had been astonishing to see the woman defeat men three times her size. He became even more intrigued when he overheard someone whisper her identity. 

The Beast.  

He was surprised to say the least, that Professor Ridley-Forrester was a young, Asian woman. She was about as intimidating as a butterfly. Had his brother been joking about her reputation? Sure, he’ll admit that the woman possessed great self-defense skills but nothing about her screamed evil bitch. Evan decided to introduce himself. Without another thought, he strolled onto the mat, stopping in front of the petite woman.

Kat blinked, momentarily stunned by the big—massive, really—handsome man before her. He was taller and just as muscular as his co-workers, but unlike his friends, his smile seemed genuine. His eyes glittered like dark gems and were so piercing that she felt her heart skip a beat. She hated her reaction and his effect on her. She also disliked his thorough perusal of her slim body clad in loose jogging pants and university gym shirt. Lifting her chin, she glared at him belligerently.  

“You want to join your friends?”

Evan blinked in surprise at her hostility. “Sure,” 

He waited for her to make the first move. She didn’t disappoint, aiming for his stomach, which he blocked smoothly. He continued to deflect her attempts, never once moving to hit her. His actions and her failed efforts only enraged her more, causing her to become sloppy in her movements. Evan saw his opportunity and took it. He put his foot behind both of hers and brought her down onto the mat easily. Kat’s hair had loosened in the process and now lay in a black cloud around her face. Evan stared down at her, surprise evident on his face.

The woman was much younger than he had initially thought. She possessed the smooth, unblemished complexion other women spent time and money to achieve. Her high cheekbones rivaled those of supermodels and a small, straight nose and round, slightly uptilt eyes clearly distinguished her ethnicity. They were of a dull brown color. 

Evan thought she was probably the oddest-looking person he had ever encountered. However, he wasn’t sure if he found her plain or pretty…there seemed to be something not quite right about her features. In the end, he found her memorable though unattractive

Not my type. 

Kat was stunned into silence as she found herself under his heavily muscled frame. Her body was completely covered by his much bigger one. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, her face flushed from her exertions. His legs were entwined with hers and his broad chest lay directly on top of her breasts. His mouth, full and sensually curved, was positioned only a few inches from hers. Kat gulped audibly when she saw that his dark eyes were also focused on her lips. 

Reality came crashing down like ice water. In the next instant, she flipped him onto his back, catching him off-guard. She scrambled to her feet and was making her way towards the exit when the room erupted into boisterous cheers. The onlookers were congratulating the man who had managed to best ‘The Beast’…if only for a few minutes.