I wrinkled my nose, not wanting to offend him. “A little. I mean, the beard, the hair, the clothes... they are very ‘I live on a beach’ and not ‘I can successfully manage your multimillion pound project’.”
Jasper looked down at himself and sighed. “I like the ‘I live on a beach look’.”
I felt for him, I did, but the Dean had already been contacted about Jasper’s appearance by a couple of the stakeholders, and he wanted me to ‘fix’ it. I was officially employed by the university and not by Jasper himself, so I needed to keep my big boss happy, even if it meant offending my day to day boss a little.
“Professor, you have one chance to make a good first impression, and while you are the expert in your field, it’s hard to take you seriously when it looks like you have been marooned for the last five years. Trust me. Let’s go shopping, give you a bit of a makeover, and you’ll have everyone eating out of your hand, and I’ll stop getting emails from the Dean about whether you plan to shave anytime soon.”
Jasper’s face fell. “Dean Walton contacted you?”
I nodded. “It was just a suggestion,” I tried to reassure him because I didn’t like his expression. “Look, you don’t need to wear a suit and tie, but maybe a shave and a haircut.”
His fingers brushed the loose hair back from his face and I wondered what it would be like to have those fingers touching me. I shivered.
“Go get changed. We might even have some fun.” I flicked my fingers, telling him to get a move on.
His shoulders slumped defeatedly. “Fine, but I think the ‘fun’ might be pushing it a bit far.”
“You have no idea how ‘fun’ I am.” I lifted my brow, challenging him to argue, and when he didn’t, I pointed to his bedroom, trying not to think about him lying on the massive king sized bed I could see out of the corner of my eye. “Get dressed, Professor.”
He fake saluted me. “Yes, sir.”
* * *
“I feel naked.”Jasper ran his hand over his now smooth face and then through his buzz cut as we walked back to the office.
“I suggested you get your hair cut and tidy up your beard. I didn’t suggest you lose the lot.” He looked so different, but it had the desired effect because now Professor Fischer looked like he could command a room of stakeholders and successfully manage their millions.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, maybe you’re right. I need to look the part, but maybe I wanted to look like someone else... someone new.”
I didn’t have time to overthink his words before we stepped into the lobby and flashed our ID to the University’s security guard, who did a double take as he looked at Jasper.
“Professor Fischer. Is that you? You’re going to want to get your photo updated, otherwise, anyone new to the job won’t let you in.”
“Thanks. I’ll get on it,” I replied because Jasper already looked like I’d pushed all his buttons today with the makeover and the shopping we’d bought so much of, I had to have a car take it back to his apartment.
We walked to the lifts, and I pressed the button for the top floor. “Why would you want to be someone new?” I asked as the doors opened and we stepped inside, finally giving me a chance to check what he’d meant.
He shrugged, glancing at the black diving watch he wore on his wrist. “Travis thinks I’m having a mid-life crisis.”
“Travis?”
He chewed his lip for a second before letting out a sigh, making my curiosity spike. “He took over my old job when I came back here. He’s a friend—was a friend.”
“Was?”
The doors opened, and we walked the short distance to our office.
“It’s a long story. I did something, and I don’t think he’ll forgive me anytime soon.”
He looked so sad, I couldn’t help reaching out and placing my hand on his bicep. “I’m sure he will.”
He huffed out his disagreement before saying, “Thank you for today. I guess it was kind of fun. Right, best go and do some work now that I look like a professional and not a beach bum.”
He twirled and did a cute little bow before he walked away, and I was left thinking that I was in trouble, because the more time I spent with the professor, the more I liked him. And right now, I liked hima lot.
TEN
JASPER