AFTER HOURS: MY DEAL WITH PROFESSOR BANCROFT

CHAPTER 8

JULIA

I pushed the door open into Professor Bancroft's office.

His eyes followed me as I walked, the relaxed posture unsettling me.

"Sit" the sharp order followed and I obeyed. My legs were trembling and it felt like they'd give out if I didn't sit down quickly.

"The essay is ready" I said softly, meeting his gaze for a second and quickly averting it as I reached for the copies I'd printed during the day.

"I want to hear it"

"You won't look at it?" I asked sharply, feeling myself getting irritated.

"No"

"But..."

"Did you write the essay yourself Miss Walker?"

"Of course I did" I retorted sharply.

"Let me hear it"

I formed. What was the point of writing five hundred words if he only wanted to hear me say it? My fingers curled. He was only trying to torture me.

"We don't have all day Miss Walker" he growled, twirling a fancy pen between his fingers. My eyes followed the movement and then I drew my gaze back to his face.

"Love"

"Obsession first" he growled.

"There's no order" I watched his jaw work.

"You didn't give one" I said smugly and his eyes narrowed at me. The movement of his finger stilled.

"Go ahead then" he drawled in a tight voice.

I fought the urge to let my lips relax into a victorious smile.

"Love. It's subjective"

I saw his expression flicker. Very subtle but it was there and that gave me the confidence to continue.

"It can mean different things to different people"

"How so?"

"To some, it means doing anything and everything for another person... unconditionally. To others, it can be the feeling of butterflies when they see the other person..."

"And what does it mean to you?" He cut me off, his eyes peering deeply into me and my confidence wavered.

"Miss Walker"

"To me, love is choice"

He raised a brow, and the silence stretched, demanding an explanation.

"That's what it is to me" I said instead, not offering the explanation he awaited.

"If your choice is taken from you, then you consider yourself not loved?"

"Yes," I answered firmly, not taking a moment to think about it. I watched Professor Bancroft's reaction but it stayed the same.

"Continue Miss Walker"

"Obsession" I whispered and saw his fingers twitch. This time, I allowed myself to smile. There was an order he'd created in his head and I was wrecking it.

The most exciting part of this was the realization that I could also get under his skin.

"Obsession is the absence of control"

His lips quirked. A small smile that instantly made him look younger.

"And lust?"

The air in the room changed at the rumble of his voice. The change in his accent as he addressed the last word.

"Submission"

His gaze darkened and the pen dropping to the table made the softest sound.

"To whom?" Professor Bancroft asked as he leaned forward.

"Y-Yourself... your desire" My voice shook. His gaze raked over me for a moment too long and then he leaned back, relaxing into his chair.

The office grew cold from the silence. My fingers twisted the hem of my shirt as I waited.

"That's less than five hundred words" he finally spoke and the air rushed out of me.

I wasn't expecting that response.

"Hand it over" he drawled. I reached for the copy again, my fingers trembling as I handed it over to him.

His eyes landed on my hand, noticing the twitches, and he dragged them back to my face. He held my gaze for another second, and I saw the indecision in his eyes.

Professor Bancroft broke our gaze and retrieved the paper from my hands. I swallowed dryly and watched his pen fly across the paper. And at the top of it, he graded.

My eyes bulged. 'B'

My eyes flew to his own in surprise, my lips parting but no words coming through.

How... I'd written less than he'd asked for.

"A few lines with meaning are better than pages of words that tell me nothing"

"I-I..."

"You may leave Miss Walker"

My body froze, unwilling to move. Just like that?

"Is there a problem with your grade?" He leaned forward again and that forced me to my feet.

"N-No. Thank you Professor" I said loudly, genuinely. I'd been so pissed about doing the assignment and so frustrated that I hadn't managed anything.

Professor Bancroft didn't spare me a glance and I rushed out of his office, a wide smile on my face.

A student walked past me, brows drawn together in surprise... or confusion?

I didn't care.

I'd just gotten my first passing grade in Professor Bancroft's class. That gave me more hope than I had in the last week.

Just one more passing grade, and I was going to graduate.

I grabbed my phone and texted Nina.

'Where the hell are you?'

'North Cafe'

The reply came a second later.

I slipped my phone into my bag and rushed towards the North Cafe. I spotted Nina at our usual table.

"Nina" I squealed when I was close enough and she looked at me.

"What happened? You look very excited"

"I f*****g am" I sang as I pulled the paper out of my bag and handed it over to her.

Her eyes skimmed over the paper.

"B?"

I nodded excitedly.

"This is all you wrote" Her brows pulled together.

I nodded.

"But it's barely..."

"The whole point of the assignment was to explain the words in a way that reflected me. He didn't even look at it. Just an explanation and..."

"I'm shocked. Professor Bancroft graded this?"

"Of course Nina. Who else would it be"

She handed it over to me.

"You're right. I'm happy for you. You don't have to worry about graduating"

"Right. I can finally sleep a little easier"

"No way! We should totally go out to celebrate this"

"Nina..."

"You got a passing grade. There's nothing to worry about. Come on"

I pondered for a minute. I was really in the mood for celebrating.

"You haven't been to a single party in the last month" Nina reminded and I groaned.

"Fine. Let's do this"

Her lips widened in a broad smile.

"What are we celebrating?" A voice came from above me. I turned to see Jared, and following closely behind him was Timothy.

My smile slipped.

"Julia is partying with us tonight" Nina broke the news and I groaned.

I was going to regret this.