Chapter 1
Ivy’s POV
“Oh God, this can’t be happening,” I muttered under my breath as I sat in the dean’s waiting area, my knee bouncing so hard it made the cheap plastic chair creak.
My palms were slick with sweat and I kept wiping them on my jeans, but it didn’t help.
They’d pulled me straight out of the morning lecture without a word, just a curt message from the department secretary that Dr. Marcus Hale wanted to see me immediately.
My stomach twisted into knots. I knew exactly why.
The door to his office swung open and a deep voice cut through the silence. “Miss Bennett. Come in.”
I stood on shaky legs and walked inside.
The office smelled like polished wood and expensive cologne, heavy and masculine. Dr. Hale sat behind a massive oak desk, his broad shoulders filling out t
