Page 12 of Dragon's Unwanted Love
Jackson walked away from Abby, feeling guilty again. It would have been so easy to apologize to her, to set things straight, but that was a risk he just couldn’t take. His feelings for her were becoming dangerous. He shouldn’t have even gone inside; he should have just kept walking when he saw her through the gaping hole where the window should have been. She’d looked so sad and confused pushing the broom around, something had snapped inside him, and all he could think about was comforting her.
That had clearly been a mistake. She was even more annoyed with him than she had been before, but then he realized that’s what he’d wanted; Abby so upset with him that she’d keep her distance. The only problem was that he felt miserable, couldn’t get the hurt look on her face out of his mind, and it was driving him crazy, distracting him from all the other things that needed his attention.
He’d reached the steps to the administration building without even noticing and climbed them, reminding himself why he was there, welcoming the pang of anger when hethought about the science building. The hallways were filled with conversation when he walked in; the ringing of telephones could be heard in the offices, and he looked around, confused for a second since it was Saturday, then realized everyone would have been called in to deal with the mess.
Making his way up to the second floor, he listened to the conversation around him, getting angrier with each step he took until he reached the dean’s office and pushed through the slightly open door. He expected to see Mindy sitting behind her desk, but the chair was empty, and he paused for a second, not sure what to do. He didn’t have time to sit around and wait; he needed to get back and help.
He stood in the middle of the office trying to make up his mind, but then he heard Dean Proctor’s voice and took a couple of steps toward his open door, thinking he’d just poke his head in so he knew that he was there. “Look, I know this wasn’t the plan, but if you want me here with them, there isn’t much choice,” his old sponsor said. “I couldn’t turn the job down. I really had no choice, but I’ll be able to do my job from here.”
Dean Proctor fell silent, and he started to back away, knowing that he was listening to something he shouldn’t be, but he had the strangest feeling Steven was talking about them. “We don’t have much choice, this is just the way it has to be,” Dean Proctor said, breaking the silence. “I don’t really have time to debate this with you right now. We had a few problems around here last night, and I have a long list of things I need to deal with.”
There was another silence, then an exasperated sigh. “Look, this whole thing was your idea,” Steven said. I didn’t ask for this assignment, in case you’ve forgotten. You know where I stand on this project. Lying to the boys isn’t going to work; they have their own hopes and dreams.”
His words were followed by a long pause. “I’m doingeverything I can here. You’re just going to have to be patient,” Dean Proctor said. “Pushing the issue isn’t going to change anything, and threatening me isn’t going to work either, so don’t bother. Now I’m going to hang up and deal with the crisis around here. If you want to be helpful, you might see what you can find out on your end. This is more than just a college prank.”
He was just about to turn away and sneak out the door when Mindy came rushing in, takeout bags in her hands, a worried look on her face. “Oh, Jackson, you scared me,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to Dean Proctor about the vandalism,” he said, feeling his face turning red. “I was just about to knock on his door.”
“Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll see if he has a few minutes to speak with you,” Mindy said, setting the bags down on her desk. “He was expecting an important phone call, so I can’t make any promises.”
She disappeared into the office, closing the door behind her, but was back only a few minutes later. “You can go in,” she said, then grabbed one of the bags. “Can you give him his breakfast? I know for a fact he hasn’t eaten anything this morning.”
He took the bag from her and slipped into the office, wishing he’d never come, his mind wheeling with the overheard conversation. “Jackson, I had a feeling I was going to see you this morning,” Steven said, gesturing to a chair across from his desk. “Sit down. I’m sure you want to talk about what happened last night, and I want to assure you the administration and the police are doing everything we can to solve this crime.”
“The Kappas did this, didn’t they?” he asked, ignoring Steven’s speech. “Don’t bother trying to deny it, everyone knows.”
“But we can’t prove anything, at least not yet,” Steven said. “Until we can, there’s not much we can do but clean up the mess, and don’t even think about going after them yourself.”
“Those guys are bad news. They’re dangerous. You have no idea how dangerous,” he said, the dragon inside him coming to life at the thought of the threat the other fraternity posed to the school. “You can’t just let them stay. Whatever they’re trying to prove, we have to shut it down.”
“I agree, but we have to do this the right way,” Steven said. “We’ll file formal charges against them as soon as we have the evidence we need. In the meantime, I’m going to increase campus security.”
“But that’s not enough,” he said, his frustration getting the better of him. “You saw what they did to the science building. Where are they going to strike next? Someone could get hurt this time.”
“We all need to be on our guard,” Dean Proctor said. “I know this is hard for you, I know you like to tackle problems head-on, but trust me, Jackson, I’ve got this well in hand.”
It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. “I was hoping for more than that,” he said, sighing. “We can’t let them get away with this, or it’s only going to get worse.”
***Abby***
Abby was so relieved when Dr. Vigil cut class short on Friday afternoon, she felt like crying. A few free hours sounded like a gift from heaven, and she wasn’t going to waste it. It had been a grueling week of classes, dissection lab, studying, and work, repeated over and over, and the break would give her a chance to catch her breath and get a few things done that she’d been putting off. Taking the stairs down to the basement, she peeked into the dissection lab,disappointed to see it was full of students, and decided not to interrupt. She’d just have to grab her notes later.
She had plenty of other studying to do. She’d just hang out at the library until they were done, then grab the notes and head home. That would still give her time to shower before work. Climbing back up the stairs, she headed for the front door, but before she got there, her phone began to buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she checked the number, surprised to see it was one of the other bartenders, and then connected the call.
“Hey, Bridget, what’s up?” she asked. “I can’t come in early if that’s why you’re calling.”
“No, that’s not why I’m calling,” Bridget said, then hesitated. “But I do need a favor and it’s a big one, but I’ll make it worth it, I promise.”
“If you’re looking for a kidney, I think I want to keep both of mine,” she said. “But anything else I can do.”
Bridget laughed, “I was hoping you’d take my Monday night, I really need it off,” she said. “I’ll work for you tonight to make up for it, and I’ll even throw in a hundred dollars to make up the difference in tips.”
“Wow, you must really need the night off,” she said. “You know I’ll do it. I can’t say no to you.”
“Oh, thank you, Abby,” she said, then let out a long sigh. I think Michael is finally going to propose. He made a big deal about me getting the night off.”
“That’s wonderful, I’m so happy for you,” she said. “I want to hear all about it the next time we see each other.”
