Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“I’ll be back before our next class.” Chloe took off and wasted no time reaching the parked car they had left earlier this morning. She thought she had successfully dodged the suits who were supposed to appear invisible, so it wasn’t until she pulled out that she noticed them racing for her.
She didn’t even bother to try to lose them when they finally caught up to her on the drive back to the casino. She pulled up to the front of the hotel and threw the car in park, trying to pump herself up for what she was about to do.
WWMD. What Would Maria Do. WWMD.
Finally able to channel her inner Maria, she got out and threw the valet the key. “I’ll be back in ten minutes. I want it here when I get back.” As she mimicked the authoritative way Maria would talk to people, her confidence was given a much-needed boost at his respectful nod.
With her security beginning to catch up to her, she managed to jump through the rotating door without them, and as it spun, she gave Henry one of Maria’s death glares through the glass.
“You can wait here,” Chloe said, entering the elevator. However, only the door already sliding closed had given her the courage to say that to him.
When she punched in the secret code of buttons to take her straight to the top, Chloe felt a spurt of satisfaction at outsmarting them.
Ding.
The elevator door sliding open had Chloe at a standstill when Sal appeared to be waiting on the other side.
“Lucca is in his office. He’s waiting for you.”
“Perfect,” she said and walked down the hall.
Any other time, Chloe would be hesitant to talk to Lucca when she had done something she probably shouldn’t have, but today wasn’t that day.
Opening the door without knocking, she found her beloved fiancé sitting calmly behind his desk. This time, she could see right through him …
“What did you do to my professor?”
One Week Ago…
Entering the lecture hall, Lucca took an empty seat in the back, able to catch the ending of the professor’s lecture. How lucky was he that Professor Miller taught a night class for working moms? And how lucky was he that Sal had been able to find that out on Professor Miller’s Facebook page, where he couldn’t help but post about it before each semester? The countless comments of women of all ages telling him what a “wonderful soul” he was to do such a thing brought a smile to his face, like Lucca was sure brought a smile to the professor’s. What a kind and caring man Andy Miller was, and how grateful we should all be for his presence here at the university.
“Make sure you complete the questions 1, 5, and 6 in the review section at the end of the chapter. I expect the homework assignment to be completed by class tomorrow.”
Lucca was sure that Chloe had gotten that exact assignment from his morning lecture.
Being only there for the last ten minutes, he wasn’t sure how his fiancée could stay awake and listen to him for an hour so many times a week. He made his lectures about as interesting as watching paint dry. If it weren’t for the professor’s good looks, the room would be full of sleeping students. In fact, most of the male participants had to be awoken once the class was over.
He thought his life would be easier if Chloe pulled out of college, but there were some things Lucca knew he couldn’t win. He only hoped his sanity would last a few more years until she graduated.
It wasn’t until the last student had left that Lucca rose so the professor would notice him. There was someone else he needed to pay a visit to after this, and he would like to make it home before a new day began.
“Can I help you?” Professor Miller asked, packing up his things.
Lucca began stepping down the stairs of the pitched floor. “I believe so.”
As he drew closer, the professor got a better view of him.
“I’m sorry, are you a student or future student?”
Lucca stopped before the final step. “Neither.”
Professor Miller’s eyes darted to the exit door at the top, the one he’d have to pass Lucca to get to. “Then I’m not sure how I can hel—”
“Chloe Masters.”
Dawning realization had Miller’s feet frozen to the floor. “Mr. Caruso, I’m not sure what you have been told, but Chloe and I—”
“You’d do well to address her as Ms. Masters, soon-to-be Mrs. Caruso.” He let him know he shouldn’t be on a first-name basis with his fiancée. “Not only in this conversation but in any capacity.”
“S-sorry, you’re correct.” Professor Miller collected his nerves to start again. “Ms. Masters and I strictly have a student-teacher relationship.”
“Well, I certainly hope not like the …” Raising his hand, he began counting on his fingertips, saying a different name with each finger he lifted. “Oh, that’s right, eight of the student-teacher relationships you’ve had in the past.”