“It’s true, Dad,” she speaks up. “He locked me in one of the labs and tried to shove an engagement ring on my finger.”
“He would have dragged her out of there if I didn’t show up,” I add. “He had cars parked outside ready to abduct her.”
Ford stares at us, his face confused about what he’s seeing, compared to what he’s hearing.
His daughter is in trouble, and his response is a disbelieving scoff. “Abduct her? That’s not how the Langstons operate. Pierce promised me he’d let you finish school. You used to love him, Scarlett. With the name Langston, you will have the world at your feet.”
“What?” Scarlett looks like the floor just fell outbeneath her. “I don’t believe this.”
Holy crap, hewantshis daughter married to Langston. “You mean thethird worldwhere women are property?” I sneer and slam my fist so hard on the desk that pens jump in his metal holder.
“Scarlett, come here.” Ford waltzes out from behind his desk. “I’ll talk to Ramses, we’ll straighten this out.”
“There’s nothing to straighten out.” I pull her hand up and against my chest. “Pierce lied to you, Bradley. That Langston prick isn’t getting anywhere near Scarlett.”
“Dad, he told me to my face again today, he doesn’t want me to be a doctor.”
Ford stares at his daughter. He believes her and not me, but this isn’t a contest.
“That little bastard.” Ford’s hands push thinning hair off his forehead. “Scarlett, I don’t have that kind of cash available to pay for your tuition. But I can go to?—”
“A loan shark?” I fold my arms. “One missed payment on a medical school tuition debt, and these men will bury you under the Hudson River Tunnel.”
“I have a few…students renting rooms in the Dean’s residence,” he confesses, because that’s illegal. “I can at least pay for a hotel.” He holds out a credit card, but I smack it from his hand.
It clatters to the floor between us. Ford’s shoulders hunch like a once great titan whose turned hollow.
“The Langstons can either pay a hotel manager to look the other way or pay a cop in their pocket to show their badge to get into the building and take her,” I argue.
“You’re not just in debt, are you?” Scarlett shakes her head. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
“I made a bad investment right before your mother died,” Ford sighs. “I lost more than your medical school savings, Scarlett.”
I know how this works. I’ll have to pay his debts. “How much do you owe?”
“You work here, Cormac,” he grumbles. “I can’t take money from you.”
“Your pride is a little late. Consider it a dowry.”
Ford’s eyes stray to our hands again. “Dowry?” He blinks, his jaw taut. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to marry your daughter.”
The color immediately drains from his face. “No. Absolutely not. You’re her professor. It’s unethical.”
“The semester is already halfway over.” I cut him off with a flat tone. “And your worry about ethics comes a little late, don’t you think? Letting students live in your house.”
“What do I tell the other faculty?” Ford cries out. “How do I explain that I allowed a professor to marry a student?”
“Tell them Scarlett and I met after she and Pierce broke up in August. We had a relationship before you hired me.”
“No one will believe that.”
“Then say you wanted to play matchmaker. After all, you gave me the only class you knew your daughter had.” I’m not sure that’s entirely a lie. “Everyone is afraid of the Langstons. They will applaud you for taking a stand against what Pierce did.”
Ford waves his hands like I’m holding him at gunpoint. “I’ll figure out a way to take care of my daughter. She can wait until next semester, then I can?—”
“No. She’s not leaving school again. She’s marrying me,” I grind out. “I’ll handle her tuition. Her security. The roof over her head will be mine.” I lean in. “You wanted me to get a wife, and your missteps and trusting the wrong people resulted in your daughter needing a place to live.”