37

Jonathan

The rage simmering in my veins threatens to boil over as I lead Chris into my apartment and shut the door behind us. His gaze roams over my space. The side of his lip pulls up. “Definitely needs some work in here. Then again, I guess an underpaid professor can’t afford much better.”

I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to deck him right then and there. “Just get to the point, Chris. How much do you want?”

He tears attention from the room to fix me with a smug look. “Straight to business, I like that. Ten thousand will last for a couple of weeks.”

White hot fury lances through me at the thought of this creep extorting Cathy for years with the same sick game. I can feel a vein in my forehead pulsing as I struggle to contain the hatred roiling in my gut. Somehow, I manage to force out a neutral response.

“Ten thousand is a lot of money.” I cross to my desk and open up the screen on my laptop.

He rounds my desk. I quickly minimize the screen, but not before he’s seen the amount registered in the account.

“I’d say ten grand is a drop in the ocean of what’s in that account,” Chris says. “I’ve found I’ve changed my mind. I want that twenty mill that’s in that account.”

My heart is thundering in my ears as I try to keep my face impassive. “Twenty million? Chris, are you insane? There’s no way I can funnel that kind of money without setting off all kinds of red flags.”

He claps his hand on my shoulder, “I have faith in you. You’re a business analytics professor, aren’t you? I’m sure you can figure out a clever way to get me that money.”

I shouldn’t be surprised at this level of greed. I really shouldn’t. But for a moment my surprise slips past the incandescent rage eating a hole in my stomach. I want him to burn for what he’s done to Cathy until he’s nothing but a charred, hollowed out husk. My fists clench as I work to rein every inch of it in. I have to sell this act. If he has any indication he’s doing exactly what we expected, it’s over.

“I can do this, but it’s a once-off. I’m putting myself at risk. I’ve already been implicated with Marty Sotheby, even if I have been cleared. If my name is connected with any more fund transfers like this, I won’t be able to do anything for you again because I’ll likely be in prison,” I say.

Let him think I’ll be in prison. Let him think this is his one and only chance. Let him be so greedy that he can’t resist.

Chris considers this for a long moment, his brow furrowing. I let him see the anger on my face. Let him think it’s because he has me where he wants me and not because I want to see him go down for Cathy.

Then he shrugs. “I want it all.”

That greedy fucker. Of course he does.

I force myself to hesitate like I’m mulling it over, my mind racing. “All right, Chris, I’ll do it. A once-only transfer. But I need insurance of my own.”

His brow creases and a laugh huffs from him. “What? You can’t just put demands on me…”

“I want those photos. Of me and Cathy. And the other photos you’ve been using against her for years,” I snarl.

He rears back. “And give up my leverage? I thought you were more intelligent than that, Professor.”

“I’ll demand anything I want. It’s a good deal for you, Chris. I can’t send you more funds from prison, and you know full well Cathy doesn’t have access to that kind of money. The Blue Sky income is caught up in shares and investments. It’s not liquid. You’ll be stuck with a few thousand filtered through to you every now and then at best. This is your one and only chance to become a very rich man.” I’ve pressed my point and but I press harder when I see the doubt on his face. The heated greed. “Even if you worked for a lifetime, you’d probably never see anything close to that amount in a lump sum ever again. It’s a once-off offer. But I want those photos in return. Your call.”

My teeth clench as his gaze turns calculated. His eyes rise to mine. Catch. His lips thin into a tight line. He doesn’t like what I’ve said. Who would when he’s giving up a lifetime of a free ride? But he knows I’m right.

“Give me every last photo you’ve ever taken of Cathy and I’ll give you that money. I’m not saying this lightly, because it’ll likely damage anything I can salvage of my reputation. I’ll be watched very closely after this at best,” I say. “That’s my price. Take it or leave it.”

He stares at me for a long, tense moment, the cogs visibly turning behind those cold, dead eyes. Please, let him be arrogant and greedy enough. Please let the bastard take the deal.

Chris stares me down for what feels like an eternity, tension cloying the air between us. Finally, he snarls and pulls his phone from his pocket, hurling it at me. “The whole fucking lot is on there in a folder labeled ‘Fowler’. Take a look if you need to convince yourself.”

“Pin code,” I snap.

He reels it off and I’m in.

Anger and disgust battle as I navigate to the folder. My jaw clenches as the first few thumbnails load—shots of Cathy in various states of undress, her teenage features frozen in sleep.

He took them when she was sleeping. At her most vulnerable.

I snap the phone closed, bile rising in my throat, and level Chris with a look of pure loathing. “You’re a sick prick, you know that?”

His mouth stretches into a smile and he laughs. He laughs! “Maybe so. But I’m a smart sick prick who’s about to be a very rich man.”

“And the photo of me and Cathy?”

He blinks slowly. “Check the end of the folder.”

I scroll down to see the one shot of us he’s taken. It takes me a long deep inhale to quash my rage.

“How do I know you haven’t made copies or backups of these? I don’t want this coming back to haunt me after today,” I counter, reclaiming my composure.

A sly grin spreads across his face. “Now why would I risk having evidence like that floating around? No, these are the only copies. I’ve never trusted the cloud. I want the leverage right here in my hand whenever I need it. But now with twenty million about to hit my account, I won’t need sad little mementos anymore.”

I eye him for a moment before giving a curt nod and pocketing the phone. Moving to the laptop, I quickly pull up the transfer app and enter the account details Chris gives me. My finger hovers over the send button.

“Wait,” Chris interjects. “Make sure this transfer is layered and encrypted six ways to Sunday. I don’t want any whiff of a trail leading back to me like that idiot Sotheby.”

I turn and feel my lips twist into a semblance of a grin. “What’s the matter, Chris? Don’t you trust your dear old professor?”

His eyes narrow to slits. “This had better go off without a hitch. If I sniff the Feds on my tail because of your screw ups, you’ll be sorry.”

“I could say the same,” I reply evenly. “I’m sorry I ever had the misfortune of having you as a student in the first place.”

He watches as I click send. The transfer bar begins to fill until it becomes solid. He has no idea the transfer is embedded with code that will tie him in with Marty’s embezzlement. An unpleasant chuckle rumbles from him as he backs toward the door. “Nice doing business with you, Professor.”

Not nice doing business with you too, asshole.

The second the door closes behind him, I lock the door and pull my cell out of my top pocket. “Did you get all that?” I ask.

“Every delicious second,” Cathy replies, satisfaction clear in her tone. “God, I love you.”

Relief washes over me in a warm wave. “It’s over, Cathy. He’s out of our lives for good.”

She lets out an amused huff. “Well, he may be out of ours, but Dad has a few more cards to play with Chris when it comes to Blue Sky.”

I can’t help but smile at the implications, already looking forward to watching Dominic putting Chris in his place. I’ve had my revenge and now Dominic is due his. For now, though, I’m content just basking in the first true sense of peace and closure I’ve felt in years.

“And…I’ve heard back from Midwestern administration. I’m free to finish my last weeks of my degree online. You’re officially not my professor as of today.”

“That means…” No more hiding, no more fear. Just us, the way it’s meant to be.

“I do need to finish my dissertation, and as author to author, I’d like to officially request your presence here in New York. Tomorrow. And stay for as long as it takes to finish.”

My heart skips a beat at the prospect of having her back in my arms again so soon.

A thickness enters her tone. “We’re finally going to be able to go out in public together. No sneaking around, no lies about who we are...”

The breath catches in my throat as the implications of her words spark a delicious flare of heat low in my belly. We’ve never been able to be an actual couple before, never been truly free.

But now, finally, we can be.

“I’ll put in my notice. Finish off the rest of the semester for my students online,” I murmur, unable to keep the growing hunger from my voice.

Cathy’s soft laughter dances across the line, stoking the flames even higher.

“I’ll be counting the hours until I see you, Professor. This is just the beginning.”