Page 15 of Not In The Contract

“You take that-” I paused and gritted my teeth. “You know what? Yeah, we are.”

“I love it when you play the hits.” She chuckled.

“You just love being right,” I amended, and I could practically hear the self-satisfied shrug through the phone.

“It’s my superpower.” She sighed dramatically. “Both a blessing and a curse.”

“Like your theatrics?” I retorted.

“Anyway, has Alex called back yet?” Tamera asked, artfully steering the conversation her way.

I shouldered the door to the library open and grunted as the weight of it resisted. “Not yet,” I murmured, my voice lowered. The last thing I wanted was a frazzled student yelling at me to be quiet. “I’m a little nervous, to be honest.”

“But you said that it went great,” Tamera reminded me.

“I said it wentokay,” I corrected her. I spotted a vacant nook and dropped my bag on the table. “I couldn’t really get a good read on her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was like… reserved, in a way?” I frowned. “I mean, she’s intimidating and made me want to melt into the floor. But I couldn’t tell what she was feeling at all, whether she liked me or hated me. It’s unnerving.”

“You can’t read everyone like a book, babe,” she said.

“I know that,” I hummed, opening my laptop and turning it on. “But I don’t usually run into brick walls with people.”

“Give it some time,” she offered. “You have two months to figure her out anyway, so you’ve got plenty of time.”

“Two months of living with her,” I mumbled. “Am I stupid for agreeing to that?”

Tamera was quiet for a while, no doubt trying to phrase her answer in a way that wouldn’t hurt me. “It’s the last piece of your puzzle, right?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“And Paula vouched for this woman, too?”

“That’s right.”

“Then as crazy as it sounds, I don’t see the harm in it,” she said decidedly. “As much as it weirds me out that you’re going to live with a stranger, I trust you and your judgment.”

“Thanks,” I said softly, realizing just how much I needed to hear that. “Dinner is definitely on me tonight.”

“You and your swanky scholarship are technically my meal ticket,” she teased.

“Oh, and the team you have working for you are what? Oompa Loompas?”

She gasped, all theatrics and sarcasm. “Don’t you dare talk about my precious babies like that!”

“Yes, mama bear.” I giggled. “I’ve got to go, I’m waiting for Paula to drop by. Catch you later?”

“I’ll pick you up after your classes finish,” she said and hung up.

I locked my phone, remembering to turn it to silent, and set it down next to my laptop.

I had piles of research to comb through, three years’ worth, before I could even think about shadowing Alex full time. I needed more than just a skeletal outline for my manuscript, and the daunting task sat before me like my own personal Mount Everest.

With less trash, obviously.

Actually…