The Professor

Chapter 10

NOAH

“Where are you?”

“I am walking through the doors right now,” I said to my dad over the phone while walking through the doors of the company.

“Be serious, Noah. It’s almost eleven.” He sounded slightly angry and I couldn’t blame him because I was meant to already be in the boardroom.

“I’m serious. I’m in the lobby.”

“Noah!” a familiar voice called out and I swiveled my head in the direction it had come from to see mum standing with a couple of people.

“Is that your mother?” dad asked as mum said something to the people she was with before she began to make her way over with a grin on her face and I stopped.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Get your ass up here.”

“Yes sir,” I muttered, the corner of my mouth tugging up, and he hung up just as mum got to me. “Hey mum.”

“I was waiting for you.” She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back. “Will you grab lunch with me and your siblings after the meeting?”

“Taylor’s here?” Of course, I didn’t miss that she’d said siblings but I didn’t point it out because I didn’t want to hear another ‘forgive your brother’ spiel.

“Yes. She had a shoot a few blocks away. She’s in your dad’s office,” she replied as I pulled away.

“Okay. I have a class by one though so I can’t.”

The smile slipped off her face. “Oh…”

“I have to get to the boardroom. Some other time, okay?” I pressed a kiss to her cheek and quickly made my way over to the elevator, getting in when the doors slid open. As I pressed the number of the floor I would be getting off, my eyes darted to the person walking into the elevator and I gritted my teeth.

What the hell?

As usual, my older brother looked impeccable in a gray business suit that was as crisp as a new banknote and lace-up Oxford shoes. He was also wearing a cast on his arm and that reminded me he had an accident before the school semester started… the day I met Dalia.

Why was he in a cast though? Taylor had said he just needed a couple of stitches.

Shane raised his free hand and gave me a wave. “Hey Noah,” he said and I frowned but decided to be civil.

“...Hey.”

This was my first time seeing him in over a month and I still didn’t want to be in the same place with him. Of course, I could just get out of the elevator and wait for another or take the stairs but the meeting was starting soon and I didn’t want to make myself uncomfortable because I wanted to avoid him. Besides, he was going to be in the boardroom during the meeting so…

The corner of his mouth tugged up for a brief moment as the doors closed and he stayed quiet for a little while. “I heard you were coming to the hospital to check on me after I got into an accident,” he said and I raised a brow.

Let me guess, mum told him that.

“Hmm.” My gaze then fell to his cast which had a lot of well-wishing messages and the first one my eyes zeroed in on was the message that had a huge heart drawn at the end of it… the one in Allison’s handwriting.

The anger that flared up within me was almost explosive as I remembered what happened between her and him.

Shane glanced at the cast after I lifted my eyes back to his. “People have been signing it all day,” he stated and I hated the fact that he was talking to me like the both of us were still close. Like I didn’t catch him f*****g my fiancée in my bed. “There’s still some space left. Want to get yours in?”

“Pass.” I replied and a line appeared between his brows before I decided to focus on the floor indicator.

“I’ve been calling you.”

“So?”

“...Wait... Is this still about Allison?” he asked and my jaw clenched as the temptation to break his jaw rode me hard but I kept it in check. He snorted. “Geez. Get over yourself.”

My brows snapped together and I faced him. What the f**k?! “Excuse me?”

“Ah, so you can say more than one word at a time.” he replied, beaming, and my right eye twitched as I tightened my hands into fists.

God, I wanted to punch him so bad but he would just take pleasure in the fact that he got a rise out of me. Just don’t indulge him, Noah. Don’t even think about him, think of something else.

The way Dalia had laughed when she thought I’d left the office suddenly came to mind and though I always scolded myself whenever I thought of her, I held onto it this time. Why was she laughing? Was it at me or was it at something else?

If it was at me and it was because I’d finally called her for help after turning her away consistently, I honestly deserved it.

“What’s the matter Noah, cat got your tongue?” he asked before I moved my focus to the reflective doors as when I looked up to find her close to me also came to mind and I swallowed. I had wanted to kiss her and I probably would have if she didn’t move away. “...Are you crazy?”

Yes.

The elevator doors slid open to reveal Taylor standing on the other side and her face instantly lit up but when her eyes darted to the person next to me, her smile faltered.

“f*****g bastard.” Shane walked out, still muttering angrily to himself, and Taylor quickly stepped out of his path before I also got out of the elevator.

“Are you leaving?” I asked Taylor and she raised her brows slightly, probably trying to figure out why we were in an elevator together, before shaking her head.

“Dad told me you were in the lobby so I was coming to meet you.” She grabbed my hand and began to pull me in the direction of the boardroom. “Do you want to grab lunch with me after the meeting?”

“I have a class by one.”

“The meeting will end by twelve. Probably even before then. Can’t you spare thirty minutes to hang out with your favorite sister?” she said, batting her lashes, and I gave her a blank stare.

“You’re my only sister,” I replied before she slapped my arm and a small smile crept onto my face. “If it’s at somewhere close to campus, sure.”

“Okay.” She let go of my hand when we got to the boardroom. “Text me when the meeting’s over.”

****

I got back to campus fifteen minutes before one o’clock and the only thing that had been on my mind during the ride back was if Dalia was still in my office. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was – I did give her a lot to do – but I actually hoped she wasn’t because I was worried I would do something stupid. Like kissing her.

“Noah!”

I came to a stop in front of my office and glanced down the hallway to see Avery walking towards me with a small frown on her face. What? Why is she– Oh… I hadn’t gone to the mixer two weeks ago.

“You weren’t at the mixer on Friday.”

“Yeah,” I muttered and she folded her arms across her chest, giving me a stern look. “I sort of had a thing.”

No, I didn’t. I had simply forgotten about it. I hadn’t even wanted to go in the first place.

A line appeared between her brows and she gave me a curious look. “... What thing?”

“A family thing.”

The frown slipped off her face and she pressed her lips together. “Oh… I was expecting you.”

“Sorry.” I plastered a smile on my face before realizing that my office was locked when I turned the door knob and I moved my attention to the door. Did Dalia lock herself in or has she left?

“I’ll accept that only if you agree to take me out to dinner sometime.”

“Sure,” I muttered absent-mindedly and she squealed while I turned the door knob again. It was still locked. I couldn’t hear anyone inside either so it was safe to assume that Dalia had seen the extra key I left on the table and she was no longer in the office.

I heaved a sigh of relief and pulled the office key out of my bag to unlock the door but my relief didn’t last long.

Wait… What the hell did I just agree to?!

I snapped my head in Avery’s direction and saw that she was no longer there before glancing in the other direction. I was alone in the hallway. “Avery!” I called out but there was no response and irritation pricked at me. I wasn’t interested in hunting her down now since I had a class to get to, so I just decided I would take back what I said the next time I saw her before walking into the office.

As I shut the door behind me, I saw that the tests and assignments I had left to Dalia were stacked neatly on the table close to the wall and she had returned the textbooks I left laying around to the bookshelf. I then walked over to my desk which had the yellow folder on it and on the folder, there was a sticky note with a message from Dalia.

Make proper use of your TA from now :)

The corners of my mouth turned up and I placed my bag on the desk before accidentally knocking the trash can over when I wanted to move to my seat. “s**t,” I muttered as I crouched down to pick up the things that had spilled out of it and my gaze fell upon a sticky note that was the same color as the one on the desk.

It also had something on it but it had been ripped up and I couldn’t resist the urge to put it together to see what she had written.

Make proper use of your TA from now asshole

I picked up the pieces with the biggest grin on my face.