“Come with me,” I grind out. “My office is at the end of the hall.”
I keep walking, then push open the door to my new office with its bare walls and the faint scent of fresh paint. Scarlett passes me, and I squeeze my eyes shut to brace myself.
I close the door behind her harder than necessary.
She jumps at the sound. Good. She should.
“Ford,” I say, my voice flat. “Any relation toBradleyFord?”
Her brows pull together. “My father.”
That’s all it takes. The floor drops out from under me.
“That’s just great.” I pin her with a stare that feels like it could burn through iron. “What the hell do you thinkyou’re doing takingmyclass?”
“Me?” Her jaw drops. “What amIdoing? What are you doing teaching atmyschool?”
Damn, she has a point. I just got here. Doesn’t change that I’m dying inside right now.
“Fair enough. But you can’t be in my class.”
“I don’t have a choice.” She folds her arms.
“Sure you do,” I snap. “Pick another section.”
“There is no other section,” she snaps back.
I know. But I can’t let her stay. I run both hands through my hair, pacing once across the room. I swear, I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack.
Scarlett’s voice pulls me back. “Dr. O’Rourke?—”
“Don’t…” I point at her. “Don’t say my name like that.”
She stiffens and her cheeks flush. God, she’s beautiful when she’s angry.
“This is ridiculous,” she says. “I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t know you’d walk into that classroom. I didn’t know anything.”
“Exactly. And now you do. Drop the class.”
“No.”
My head snaps toward her. “No?”
Her chin tips up with defiant, stubborn resolve. And my cock turns to steel.
“I’m already behind. I took a year off,” she confesses coolly. “If I drop Pharm now, it’ll delay everything further. I just reinstated my loan. I can’t extend it to cover another whole semester because you can’t handle looking at my face.”
I step closer, but she doesn’t retreat. God, I like that. Someone who will stand up to me. But she’s the last person I should want like this.
“Let me make this simple,” I say, voice low. “I can’t teach you.”
“Why not?” she challenges.
I drag my eyes down her body. Slow. Deliberate. She shivers under my penetrating gaze.
Yeah. She felt that.
“That’s why,” I say.