His Nasty Nerd

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Meet The Halloween Honeys

  Preview of Bought

  About the Author

  SYDNEY

  Ms. Lynn,

  Dean Robinson asked me to contact you to set up a meeting with him as soon as possible. He has meetings in the morning, but wanted to know if you could come by the office this afternoon.

  I’ve gone ahead and scheduled an appointment for you at 1:00pm. If this time doesn’t work for you, please let me know as soon as possible. This is a time-sensitive matter so if it’s at all possible, please try to make this appointment.

  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me in the office.

  Sincerely,

  Mrs. Tilden

  Secretary for Dean Jeffrey Robinson

  * * *

  This was not the kind of email anyone would want to see first thing in the morning. Although I’m no stranger to overthinking things, there certainly was an ominous tone to the message.

  What could the Dean want to see me about so urgently? I’d only ever spoken to him in passing and was surprised that he would even know who I was. I keep to myself, so I didn’t think I was any kind of trouble, but maybe I was wrong.

  He wouldn’t want to see me so urgently unless there was a problem. My grades were on point, so I wasn’t in trouble academically. What in the world could it be?

  I looked at the clock to see that it was just after 7:00 am. What in the world was I going to do while I waited to see Dean Robinson? I needed something to occupy my time, but what? I was all caught up on my class projects and the other girls in the sorority were recovering from a night of drinking and debauchery.

  After giving it some thought, I decided to pull out my journal and start writing. I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, but that wasn’t surprising. Usually, I just close my eyes and let the story come to me.

  There was something about using my creativity that was so relaxing to me. I could sit for hours and hours just creating short stories about anything and everything. When I came to this school, I was excited to learn that I could concentrate on creative writing as part of my English major. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, I’d eventually find my dream job of teaching creative writing to inner city kids, showing them the difference that a creative outlet could create in their lives.

  Teaching and being a positive influence in the lives of children was all I ever wanted to do. Growing up, I had quite the rough time and did’t have a lot of the same opportunities that my friends had. My father drank himself into a stupor on a nightly basis and mom was always out playing bingo. Writing was my getaway.

  I’m not much of a partier, so it surprised a lot of people when I pledged Mi Alpha Alpha. Many of my friends back home couldn’t believe that I had become a sorority girl. They envisioned a bunch of girls sitting around the house on the weekends, getting shit faced and passing out everywhere. Yes, there was partying, but there was so much more to us than that. I was part of the sorority because of the participation in philanthropic causes first and foremost.

  A half-hour passed and I was still sitting there staring at my journal. I couldn’t get my mind off what the meeting must be about. I was scared to death because I had no idea what in the hell the problem could be.

  Was it my grades? It shouldn’t be. The last time I checked, I had a 4.0 GPA. It couldn’t be my attendance because I never missed a single class. Hell, I helped tutor the girls in the sorority and half the guys over in the frat house.

  I stared at my journal for what seemed like an eternity, but wasn’t able to come up with a single word. Before I knew it, it was 11:30. It was finally time to jump into the shower and make my way to Dean Robinson’s office.

  * * *

  “Hi, I’m Sydney Lynn. I have an appointment to see Dean Robinson,” I told the secretary as I walked into the office.

  “Ah yes, Ms. Lynn,” she replied. “Th Dean is just finishing up with someone now. Please have a seat and he’ll be with you in just a moment.”

  I sat down and proceeded to pick at my cuticles. It’s a nasty habit I have whenever I get nervous or anxious about something.

  I looked up as the door swung open and was immediately drawn to the man in the doorway. I’d never seen him before, but I couldn’t look away. He was tall with the most gorgeous green eyes I’d ever seen. His hair was dark and all I could think about was running my fingers through it.

  “Snap out of it!” I thought to myself.

  I didn’t know what was the matter with me. I’m not usually the type to get all crazy when I see a cute guy, but there I was, staring like a schoolgirl with a crush. I was surprised I didn’t have a stream of drool coming out of my mouth.

  Who was this beautiful man? Where did he come from? I felt like I was already infatuated and I knew absolutely nothing about him. Unfortunately, he didn’t even look in my direction as he exited the office. As usual, I was invisible to most guys. It had been that way my entire life.

  “Ms. Lynn, The Dean will see you now,” the secretary announced about five minutes after the mystery man had left the office.

  “Dean Robinson, you wanted to see me?” I asked timidly as I walked in.

  “Yes, Ms. Lynn, please have a seat. How are you this afternoon?”

  “Well, to be honest, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been summoned to your office before. Am I in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, you’re not in trouble, but we do have a bit of a problem. We were looking through the records of the graduating class and it looks like there was a computer glitch when your classes were assigned to you. This has effected your schedule for the entirety of your education here.”

  “Computer glitch? What kind of glitch?”

  “Well, in looking at your grades, it looks as though you’re going to be an English credit short of graduating. Without that credit, you won’t be able to graduate on time.”

  “What? I’m a credit short? Can I just take whatever class I’m missing?”

  “I wish it was that simple, but unfortunately, there isn’t any space in the class you need.”

  Even though there was no mirror in the room, I knew the color had drained from my face. My breathing quickly became labored. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I could feel a full-blown panic attack coming on.

  “So there’s nothing I can do? I’m not going to graduate on time? How did something like this go unnoticed for so long? This isn’t my fault and I really don’t think it’s fair to be held responsible for something I had no control over.”

  “‘I’m sorry Ms. Lynn. Although this was a glitch in the system, it’s up to each individual student to ensure that they have the credits required for graduation.”

  “I was also told that when the classes were assigned, they would equal the amount of credits needed to graduate. Why would I think I needed to monitor something when the schedule was supposed to ensure I had what I needed? I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  Choking back tears, I was fighting very hard to keep my composure, but I had no idea how long I was going to be able to do so.

  “I can see you’re getting upset and I’m sorry. I was looking over your grades this morning, and it seems you’ve been an excellent student. Your grades are fantastic and the work you’ve done for charity since you joined your sorority has been amazing. I’d like to offer you an option, if you’re interested.”

  “What kind of option?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t about to take d
own his zipper or something.

  “Professor Anderson has had to leave the University for personal reasons, so we had to bring in a new teacher to take over her creative writing class. I know your schedule is pretty full, but he’s going to need a student aide. If you’re interested and do a good job, I’ll treat it as a class and use it for the last credit you need.”

  “I’ve never done anything like that before. What exactly would I be doing?”

  “It varies based on what the professor needs, but typically you’ll be grading papers, answering emails from students, things like that. Every once in a while, you may be called on to lead a class if the professor isn’t able to make it. Generally it’s part time, but it all depends on the workload assigned to you.”

  “Well, I think I could manage that,” I said after thinking about it for a few moments. “As long as I can get the credit I need to graduate, I’m willing to give it a shot.”

  “Perfect. I’ll have my secretary get you the forms to fill out and the professor will email you about getting started. Do you have any other questions for me?”

  “No, I think I understand.”

  “Great, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call the office.”

  I walked out the door and nearly collapsed in the hallway. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t earned the credits I needed, but was happy I was at least being given the opportunity to make things right.

  DYLAN

  What in the hell was I doing? What in the hell was I thinking? These were the thoughts going through my head as I was staring in the Dean’s office of Oak Ridge University. I wasn’t a teacher. I’d never been a teacher, yet there I was, interviewing for a teaching position.

  “So let me get this straight. You have zero teaching experience? None? Not even a little?” The Dean asked, apparently annoyed that I was even in his office.

  “I’ve never been a traditional teacher in a school, no. I do, however, have experience training people at work, so I do know how to educate people.”

  “No offense, Mr. Jacobs, but training people to do a job is a whole lot different than academic teaching. What was your career?”

  “I was the Creative Director at one of the most prestigious advertising firms in the country. My department specialized in adult products. I was one of the best Creative Directors out there and I’d still be doing my job if it wasn’t for the incident.”

  “Yes, the incident. Let’s talk a little about that. Your grandfather has told me a little bit about it. Apparently this incident involved you and a female intern, is that correct?”

  “That is correct, but the incident was blown way out of proportion.”

  “If the incident was blown out of proportion, why were you let go?”

  “That’s the thing, I wasn’t let go. Technically, I’m still employed. Right now, I’m out on unpaid administrative leave while the claims are being investigated by the board. Basically, we are just waiting for everything to die down so we can sweep it under the rug and get on with our lives.”

  “You know, that doesn’t exactly make me feel at ease considering the class you’ll be taking over. Historically, it’s only been taught by women, mostly because the females in the class are more comfortable that way.”

  “I promise I’ll do my best to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible. What will I be teaching?”

  “You’ll be teaching a themed creative writing class called Exploring Female Sexuality Through Fantasy.”

  I was taking a drink of my coffee and nearly spit it out all over him.

  “Come again? That’s a real class?”

  “Yes, sir. Some of our students have gone on to write full erotic novels and have credited the class for helping them feel at ease with their sexuality enough to make it happen.”

  “Okay, I can make that work. How come the position is open anyway? It seems kind of weird that you’d be looking to hire this late into the year.”

  “First of all, as you probably already know, this is just a temporary position. The professor that normally teaches this class does a damn good job and we can’t wait for her to come back. Unfortunately, she had a personal matter with her husband to attend to. We are hoping to have her back after Christmas.”

  “Let me guess, I’m kicked to the curb at that point?”

  “Most likely, yes. Mr. Jacobs, I do hope you understand that if you were anyone else, we wouldn’t even be talking right now, especially with the accusations hanging over your head. You are being considered for this position for two reasons. First, your grandfather is a generous donor and has given a lot of money to our English department. I consider this almost a personal favor to him. Second, your mother is basically best friends with my wife, so if I didn’t offer this position to you, I’d probably never hear the end of it at home.”

  “Wait, so are you offering me the position?”

  “I’m offering you a temporary position, and even the temporary position is on a trial basis. I’d be lying if I said the whole intern thing isn’t a little concerning for me, though. You’re going to have a lot of impressionable young girls in your class. Sure, they’re all over the age of 18, but I would hope you wouldn’t use your position in a way that could negatively effect them, this school, or yourself at some point down the line.”

  “Dean, I give you my word that I will be on my absolute best behavior. You don’t have to worry about me. Thank you so much for the opportunity.”

  “You’re welcome. Don’t make me regret it. Oh, and by the way, since you’re not familiar with university, or teaching in general, I’m going to be assigning an aide to help you. The aide will be a student, a senior most likely, and they’ll help you with whatever you need.”

  “That sounds great. When do I start?’

  “First thing Monday morning. Just meet me here in the office and I’ll show you to your classroom.

  “All right, I’ll see you then.”

  When I left the Dean’s office, I was almost dumbfounded over what had just gone down. How did I go from working in advertising to teaching a class about female fantasies? I had a feeling I was in way over my head, but if there’s one thing I lived for, it was a good challenge. Maybe it would even end up being something I was good at and I’d have to look at the possibility of a career change.

  I nearly laughed out loud at the thought. I wasn’t a teacher and never would be. I did, however, have bills to pay, so the income that the job was going to bring in, even just temporarily, was much needed. I hoped that by the time the normal teacher came back, I’d be working in advertising once again and the incident would be long forgotten.

  As I was walking past the secretary’s desk, I noticed a beautiful young woman sitting in one of the chairs. I could only assume she was waiting to see The Dean as well. She wasn’t the type I’d normally go for. She was wearing a pair of glasses and had her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, but she had this thing about her that I couldn’t quite place my finger on. She was sexy, but in her own way.

  I wanted to pause for a few minute and say hello to her, but I thought better of it. I had just promised to be on my best behavior and I wasn’t going to break that promise before I even got back out to my car. As hard as it was, I didn’t even bother giving her another look as I walked by. Besides, at a campus the size of Oak Ridge, the odds of me running into her again were slim to none.

  SYDNEY

  It wasn’t until the alarm clock was blaring for the fourth time that I’d realized what I’d done.

  Three times the alarm had gone off and three times I hit the snooze button. Each time I pressed it, I was put another 15 minutes behind schedule.

  The problem was, I’ve never been a big morning person. I’ve always been more of a night owl, which was a big reason that my schedule consisted of classes that started in the very late morning and into the afternoon. This allowed me to be up late, when my creativity was at it’s highest.

  I’d been up late, mostly because I was a nerv
ous wreck. I had no idea what I was getting myself into as an aide, and that drove me crazy. I’ve always been the type to have to know exactly what was going on. I’m a bit of a control freak, so when the control is taken out of my hands, I don’t tend to like it very much.

  What teacher was I going to be assisting? Would I get along well with her? What type of class was it going to be? Would be anything I was interested in or did I need to plan on being bored to tears while class was in session. These were the types of questions that had kept me up the night before, even though I knew I needed to be asleep.

  Thanks to my late night, I was hitting that snooze button instead of getting out of bed, half asleep and not realizing that I had to get up right then, especially since I set my original alarm to wake me up at the last possible minute.

  Although I was running late, there was no way I was going to show up on my first day looking like I just crawled out of bed, even though I did. Instead, I turned on the coffee pot and took the fastest shower in the history of showers. That’s quite a feat considering I’m the type that likes to stand there while the water hits me, thinking about any random thing that enters my mind. It’s amazing how many random fights and arguments you can remember while in the shower. I’d stand there and think about what I would say or do during those fights and arguments if I could go back in time.

  There wasn’t time for any of those thoughts. I jumped in just long enough to wet my body and wash my hair. I didn’t even use conditioner, which was pretty much sacrilegious in my opinion. I dried my hair as quickly as I could before running a comb quickly through it and putting it up in a pony tail. All that was left was to throw my coffee in a thermos and run out the door.