Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Trent

I moved across the hall into an empty classroom. I didn't want Mira to know I'd witnessed her discipline, but I also didn't dare move too far from the slippery Professor Stahlbaum. I wanted to speak with her before she could gather her bearings or talk with Derek about resigning. It sounded a bit like overkill, but I was talking about a woman who snuck out of a restaurant bathroom in the middle of a date.

Mira's Mary Janes sounded down the hall, telling me Maureen wouldn't be long, so I popped out of the doorway to wait. Only wait isn't quite what I did. I paced, way too eager for our reunion. Only, even after thirty minutes, Maureen still hadn't come out.

Narrowing my eyes at the classroom door, I wondered if her office, which was connected to her classroom, had a window. Mine didn't, but hers, on an outer wall, might've.

"Master Holland," Master Derek's cheerful voice called down the hallway. "How are you settling in?"

Sliding my eyes from Maureen's door to the leader of the resort, I realized what had happened. She'd seen me watching and called in reinforcements.

Afraid to be alone with me, are you, Maureen?

Where was the confident woman I knew from before our date?

That woman wouldn't go to such lengths to avoid an awkward interaction with a colleague. But it seemed Maureen had, and now I had to play nice with the director of the Ranch, the big man himself, instead of having the conversation I so desperately wanted to have with her.

"Very well, thank you," I said, shaking the man's hand in a firm grip.

"I'm sorry I still haven't had a minute to take you through to the Dungeon. I'm sure you're eager to play."

I wave him off. "It's not a big deal. I'm sure one of my colleagues could take me."

"Oh, yes, good idea. Have you had a chance to get acquainted with some of our other professors?"

My eyes cut to Maureen's doorway at his question. "I was just about to introduce myself to?—"

As if she'd heard our conversation, Maureen's crisp footfalls echoed. "Master Derek. Thank you for coming. I just had a few questions about—" She paused speaking and looked at me. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize someone else was here." Her hand went out and I stared at it, gazing back and forth between it and her eyes.

I gritted my teeth.

"Oh? Don't you know each other?" Derek asked, looking between us. "If I recall correctly, you two both worked together at?—"

"Columbia," we both replied in unison.

Again, my eyes narrowed on the beautiful woman. Her lies aggravated me even more, but for the sake of our fearless leader, I pasted on a smile. "It's good to see you again. What's it been, now? Two years?"

"Three," she answered, giving me a look that said "not long enough".

Though she smiled, it was tight and forced and I could tell she'd rather be anywhere other than standing in the hallway making small talk with me.

"Three," I parroted, with a nod even though I'd already known the answer. I knew it down to the exact date. If I had a calendar, I could have told her exactly how many years, months and days it had been. But I wouldn't do that, not in front of the boss. She wanted to keep it professional and act like we'd never been anything other than colleagues, I would play along. For now anyway.

"How long have you been here at Rawhide, Maureen?"

Though I would have said it wasn't possible, Maureen's smile got tighter, her teeth gritting together behind her full, red lips. "Three years," she said evenly, her eyes meeting mine in a challenge of sorts.

"Three already, hm," Master Derek chimed in with a shake of his head. "She has a stellar reputation as a professor, and as a Domme. A highly sought-after favorite in the Dungeon."

"Is that so?" My mouth hitched up on one side. Three years meant she'd been here at Rawhide University pretty much since its inception, and since she'd left our date through the window. "Well, then, I know who I'll come to if I have questions."

Her gaze shuttered, she hated that idea, clearly, but she couldn't say so in front of the boss.

And I had no desire to keep torturing her, at least not in public, so I pasted a full smile on my face and said, "We'll have to catch up. You look well, Maureen. Clearly Rawhide agrees with you."

If she were being polite, she'd have said that I looked well too, and returned the compliment in some form or another. Instead, she said, "It took me a minute to recognize you, Trent. It's been years."

"Yes, I've changed a bit," I replied, rubbing my close-cut beard. "You haven't changed at all, Maureen. You look as young as ever, like you could still scale a wall and climb out a window without breaking a sweat."

She blushed at the clear reference to our last fateful meeting. And I took satisfaction from it. Derek looked perplexed.

"A training exercise," Maureen clarified. Or rather clari lied. The nervous laugh that followed her statement aggravated me but somehow also charmed me. I liked her nervousness. And knowing she was a Domme here, but seemed off-kilter with me, well, that was like applying gas to an already hot fire.

"Huh, very well. Perhaps we should do some of them," Derek said, suddenly distracted. "Trent, since you and Maureen already know each other and she's been a regular in the Dungeon, she'd be the perfect person to show you around."

Maureen's eyes crashed into mine, and her mouth dropped open slightly. I itched to reach forward and close it with a finger to her chin. This was getting better and better by the minute.

"That sounds good to me. It'll give us a chance to catch up, Reenie."

Her throat worked with my words, and her eyes widened when the name hit. Such a cute subbie name for her. It wasn't until she straightened that I saw just how much I'd gotten to her.

"I go by Maureen now, Trent."

Oh, the firm tone and expression she attempted fucking delighted me. "Of course, I'll try to remember that. Old habits can be hard to break though, so please excuse me for the occasional faux pas."

Her jaw shifted sideways. "Do your best," she ground out, making Derek's brow furrow.

"Everything okay here?" He looked between us.

I shrugged. "Yes, fine as far as I know."

"Is there something I need to know, Professor Stahlbaum?" Master Derek asked, his voice taking on a tone he might use with a student who was withholding information.

"Not at all," she replied, this time sounding relaxed.

"Okay. Good. If that changes, I need to know." Again his gaze bounced between us before he cleared his throat and said, "Now if you'll excuse us, Trent, Maureen requested a private word with me."

"Certainly," I replied with a wide smile. "You'll come get me for that tour when you're done, Maureen?" I really should have taught drama with how well I played innocent.

She nodded, and it was clear that she was going to try to find some way out of it. "Fine."

Knowing by sheer instinct, she'd bail on me, saying she didn't know where to find me, I added, "I'll wait in the cafe for you."

As Derek walked into the classroom, Maureen shot me the stink-eye before following him. And I had to fight the urge to both laugh and clap myself on the back.

This was going to be fun.