Page 2 of Bachelor

I rounded the bed and tapped on the keyboard. “What’s going on, exactly?”

“There’s a new student advisor for some of the graduate programs,” she breathed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Apparently she planned a little shindig for tonight but failed to notify any of us graduate students until a meager three hours before we’re supposed to be there.”

I arched my brow, glancing from my screen to Jessica.

She shrugged. “She’s new and must think we just sit around twiddling our thumbs all day. It’s not like we have copious amounts of research to be doing for our thesis papers or anything.”

I bit down on a laugh as I pulled up my email and found exactly what Jessica was referencing.

Hello!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cassandra Martins, and I will be your new student advisor for the remainder of your graduate studies here at the prestigious Gatlington University. I am deeply honored to be taking over this coveted position in the wake of Mrs. Roache’s unfortunate waterskiing accident during her vacation over Christmas break, but I assure you your academic future is in good hands!

Tonight, a special social will be held in your honor. It will be a time to mingle, meet and greet with other students and professors, and start what will be, for some of you, your final semester in your graduate programs. I look forward to seeing each of your smiling faces at five o’clock sharp in Carver Hall!

Sincerely,

Cassandra Martins :)

“There’s a little smiley face in her email signature,” I mused, tilting my head.

Jessica snorted with laughter from her perch across the room. “See? Told you.”

“Well, I guess you’re right.” I straightened up and closed my laptop, blowing out my breath in a whoosh. “Let’s skip it.”

“And do what?”

“Literally anything else.”

Jessica gave me a knowing look. “You’re going to have to see him eventually.”

“But it doesn’t have to be tonight.”

“Whitney,” she sighed, shaking her head. “It’ll feel good to get it over with. Plus, this Cassandra lady is the one doing your TA assignment, and you’ve been stressing over that for like, a week—”

“Fine, I’ll go,” I cut in, throwing my hands in the air. “But I’m not going to talk to Rhys.”

She grinned, rolling her lower lip between her teeth. “Great, because I am not going alone. I mostly just want to confirm this Cassandra Martins is as sweet as her email makes her seem.”

“It’s always the admin with the nicest emails that are the most ruthless in real life,” I mused as I walked to my closet to go through my dresses, pulling out a business casual Gucci pant suit. “I’ll see you in an hour, then.”

***

CASSANDA MARTINS BEAMEDat me as she looked me up and down. Her bright hazel eyes were fanned by dark lashes, and her makeup was exquisitely applied, in my opinion. Young, in her early thirties, with bleach-blond hair and a slim figure, she wasn’t at all what I imaged she’d be compared to the typical admin in their tweed and bulky sweaters.

“Gucci, fall 2018?” she asked, eyeing my outfit with marked appreciation. “I heard you were the It Girl on campus, and you haven’t disappointed me at all.”

“Thanks.” I smiled, meaning it. I immediately liked her.

She’d found me only a minute after I stepped into Carver Hall, which housed all of the administration offices and several large gathering areas like the one we stood in now. She knew who I was, apparently, just by a glance.

“I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice,” she said, roping her arm around mine. “I was just about to send you an email about your TA position.”

“I’ve been wondering about that.”

“It took a minute to get it all hashed out. Lots of professorswantedyou, but I found someone whoneededyou—your skill, your expertise, your background in wrangling large groups of people.” She grinned at me as she started to guide me through the crowd toward the far side of the room. “You were sorority president, were you not?”

“I was.”

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