Chapter 21

The winter break had ended and the spring semester had began. She only had one class in the English building, Professor Walcott's, and hoped she'd not run into Beau when she entered the venue. The rest of her classes were in other buildings far away, in places she knew he had no business being in.

She hadn't managed to run into him after a month of classes, which in some manner, saddened her. She missed him so much. Her last memory of him was leaving in the middle of the night after their passionate reunion that only lasted that evening. She'd wondered what he was doing, how he was doing, and who he was doing. She tried her best to put this behind her, she knew this last semester was going to be something to remember the rest of her life. A failed relationship wasn't.

While leaving Professor Walcott's class one day in late February, he called out to her before she made her way out of the assembly.

"Victoria, may I have a word with you in my office?" he posed a question.

"Sure."

"Meet me there in 5 minutes."

Victoria had no previous opinions of Professor Walcott beyond what Beau had told her, apparently in their own little rivalry. She did notice him staring at her in a similar fashion that Beau previously had, making her slightly uncomfortable. She knew for a fact that his office was just a few doors down from Beau's as well, which made her nervous as well.

Victoria waited in the hallway until he met her as quickly as promised.

"Sorry to call you out on such short notice, I hope you aren't busy," he apologized, unlocking his door to allow them access. "Have a seat."

"I have no engagements today or tomorrow."

"Good. I guess I could start by telling you that your grades are phenomenal. You're amazing, and I've heard that from some other professors as well."

She wondered if Beau had previously gone bragging about her work, back when he still thought the world of her.

"Thank you."

"But I'm here to talk to you about something else. You aren't just intelligent, you're gorgeous."

Victoria immediately felt sick to her stomach. Not again. Not only was she not about to date another professor, she wasn't going to date him because she found him unattractive.

"I wanted to ask if you might be interested in coming with me to a gala this weekend. It's on, ironically, Vancouver Island in Victoria."

Victoria swallowed hard as she mustered the courage to tell him she wasn't interested. "That's very kind of you, but to be honest, I am still coping with the loss of my last relationship. It's been quite hard, and I'm absolutely not ready to move on. I don't want to hurt him either, moving on so fast."

"Well, the funny thing is, you don't have a choice."

Victoria was taken aback. She arched her back straight and glared at him. "What?"

Adam smugly leaned back in his seat and cracked his neck, never once dropping an arrogant hint of confidence on his crooked face. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper that looked wildly familiar to her. "I found a love letter from your ex boyfriend on your homework. It says, I quote. Splendid as usual. I especially enjoyed your reasoning behind what drove him insane. Your work never ceases to impress me. You also never cease to impress me. I cannot stop thinking about the pain I caused you. I miss you dearly, and will do anything to gain your forgiveness. How can I spend the rest of my life knowing I won't get to touch you, hold you, or feel you again? I love you. I love you from your brilliant mind down to your heavenly body. Please, give me another chance. Beau."

"How did you get that?"

"I found it in the student centre. And when I saw it, my eyes lit up. Not to find out that you were in a relationship with that twit, but that I had an upper hand on both him, and you. So, you can accompany me as my date and look delicious for me, or, I can show this to the Dean and have Beau's life ruined. Not only will he be terminated for writing love notes on your assignments, he will be wilted out of my social circle so fast his head will spin. And that is something I would love to have happen. But the only thing I want more is to show you off in front of him. Get him where it really hurts."

"Why do you hate him?"

"Why? Because…that isn't important, what's important is that his reputation is now in your hands."

"You disgust me," Victoria shook her head. She couldn't believe what a disgusting stunt he was trying to force upon her.

"It's your choice, Ms. Montoya. Do you want to be my date, or do you want to have your old flame's life ruined? By the way, I know where you work. I went to see you a few times. You looked delicious. It will be even more fun when I tell everyone Professor Edison chased a student AND a stripper."

"FINE!" Victoria shouted. Anything to get him to shut up. Her heart flopped around in panic. He had such a huge card hanging over her head. She didn't have a choice. She'd protect Beau no matter what.

"Splendid. We will dine in an exclusive restaurant on the BC ferry before my town car picks us up for the gala. Dress glamorously please, I want Beau to see what I have. Friday night, I'll pick you up at 6pm. I already have your address."

"How?"

"I have connections," he lied. Of course he wouldn't tell her he snooped through her file.

Victoria stood up, grabbing her purse and hastily tossing it behind her shoulder. She said nothing to her blackmailer as she stormed out. Victoria looked over just in time to see Beau unlocking his own door. He eyed her with skepticism to see she was departing his enemy's office. Even more so, he wondered why she looked so distraught. Victoria said nothing as she walked passed him, and neither did he.