ChristopherI felt like a bum, but I didn’t suppose it really mattered. I had no reason to jump out of bed. I had nowhere to go and no one to see. Lying in bed under the warmth and comfort of my blankets was about all I had the energy for.I knew I was being weak. I was caving in. I was letting the world win. I had been fighting for so long, and I was tired. I was tired of having everything only to have it cruelly yanked away. I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and face the world. I just couldn’t do it.I would do it tomorrow. There was no reason I had to get out of bed. No reason at all, which was probably what bothered me the most. Olin was old enough to get himself to school. No one needed me. I could lay in bed for a week and the world would keep marching on without even a hiccup.Maybe that was my problem. I was so used to being significant. My business depended on me showing up for work and kicking ass. My wife had depended on me to support our family. I had a nice littl

LeilaChristopher was angry. I could feel the anger radiating off him. He made no move to touch me. He barely even looked at me. It hurt to see him that way.“How are you?” I asked finally.“Fine. You?”“Terrified,” I whispered.“Of what? Your secret is safe.”“What happened?” I asked.He shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me? I saw you coming out of the dean’s office.”“You did?” I scowled. “I didn’t see you.”“I figured you were purposely ignoring me,” he said angrily. “Not wanting to sully your good name.”“No!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t see you. I was a little distracted. I tried calling you over and over. Why aren’t you taking my calls?”He blew out a breath. “Because I wasn’t sure what to say to you after what you did.”“After what I did?” I questioned. “What did I do?”“You told the dean who I was.”My mouth dropped open. “I did no such thing! He asked me if I knew the man in the picture and I lied. I told him I didn’t know who you were.”He scoffed. “How is it I got pulled out of clas

ChristopherLeila returned, taking her seat and the offered coffee. There was a weird awkwardness between us that I didn’t like. I realized the misunderstanding was on my end. She had no involvement in me being exposed. I had taken it out on her and it wasn’t right. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt. I jumped to some very wrong conclusions. It wasn’t at all fair to you.”She smiled. “It’s okay. I’m sure it didn’t look good from your side of things. I thought for sure you told the dean who I was. I thought that was why you weren’t answering my calls.”“I would never do that to you,” I told her. “Never.”“I wouldn’t do that to you either. I love my job, but I do understand loyalty.”I chuckled, shaking my head. “I guess we’ll need to work on our communication skills.”“Definitely. I should have tried harder to talk to you and clear things up.”“I promise to be more open-minded and not automatically assume the worst,” I promised.“Me too.”“I hate that there was a lot

LeilaI looked at Alan and shrugged. “Well, I guess that’s that,” I said.He smiled. “You two make a great couple.”“Thank you. I feel like I’m in a bit of a Romeo and Juliet situation. He’s the forbidden fruit.”“Or you’re the forbidden fruit.”I had to laugh at the thought. “I suppose you’re right. So, how did you know?”“Know about you and Christopher?”I nodded. “Yes.”“I didn’t actually know, but I did have my suspicions. I wasn’t lying when I said the sparks were flying between the two of you. I recognized the sparks. My wife and I are like that.”I smiled. “That’s very sweet. Is she retired?”“She’s retired until she’s not.”I laughed. “Until someone brings her a case she can’t resist.”“You’ve got it. I love to watch her work. She just glows. I think I was hoping your situation would be something she could help with. I’m still going to run it by her. She’s the legal mind, I’m not.”I smiled, but there was something else that was still bothering me. “How did you know that we mi

ChristopherI was being made to wait, which didn’t surprise me all that much. It was a power play. He wanted me to sit and stew. He probably assumed the longer he made me wait, the more inclined I would be to pay him a heftier sum. I considered myself a nice man, but I wasn’t a pushover. People often mistook my kindness for weakness. I wasn’t a weak man.My anger was fueled by Leila’s stress. She was a damn good teacher and the dean had no idea what kind of gem he had. I was still mulling over the idea of paying him not to keep investigating. I would pay him whatever it took to keep Leila’s job safe.I had tabled that idea. It would be showing my cards too soon. If I gave up Leila’s name when there was no possible way he would ever uncover her identity, I would be giving him too much information. I would watch him and try to determine just how much he knew. I felt I had a pretty good poker face. I hoped the dean didn’t.“Mr. Evans, the dean will see you now,” a young woman said from b