Chapter Two
Corey
Corey entered the building and took the wide dark wood stairs up to the second floor. She had to get this job. Truly, she had no other options at this point.
She had packed up her whole life and run away from home. Well, ran away was a little dramatic. She’d needed to get away. She needed a change of scenery, a change of pace. Corey had known only one way of life, and she was ready for an adventure. Plus, her loving family was suffocating her, and her ex-boyfriend was the worst.
She wouldn’t admit that she was lonely, because she wasn’t that girl. She wasn’t wounded. She wasn’t broken. What she’d been through with her ex had made her cautious, that was all. She had chosen to move her life across the country for a fresh start and a fresh perspective. See? Not broken, and not dwelling on past mistakes. Not today, not ever.
Quickly, she shoved those thoughts away and focused on Dominic’s sexy smirk instead. Dominic Hardy. Corey had been dealing with men like him since the day she turned sixteen. It was obvious Dominic was a man who got what he wanted. He probably had women falling all over him and never had to work too hard to get them in bed. She chuckled to herself. He could be a lot of fun.
But right now she had a future to think about and a job interview to get through. She squared her shoulders and knocked lightly on the door to Dean McCormick’s office.
“Come in.” The voice that answered sounded warm, weathered, and slightly gravelly. It reminded her of her grandfather’s, minus the deep Cajun accent, of course.
She opened the large heavy wood door and turned her sweetest smile on the man standing before her. He definitely looked like someone’s grandfather: a rounded midsection, thinning gray hair, and kind, crinkly eyes set behind rimless glasses. And, no joke, he was wearing a tweed blazer.
“May I help you?” Dean McCormick returned her smile with one of his own, warm yet utterly confused.
She put her hand to her chest, cocking her head slightly. “Yes, I’m Corey Cooper. I’m here to interview for the counselor position. We had an appointment at five?”
His confusion faded into surprise. “Oh. Uh, well, please come in, Ms. Cooper. Sit down, dear.” He motioned to a leather winged-back chair that was angled in slightly toward his large mahogany desk. “Ms. Cooper, I have to say, you weren’t exactly what I was expecting. Please don’t think I’m trying to be rude here, but I assumed you were a male Corey.”
She laughed lightly. “That happens sometimes. I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to apologize for her name. “That doesn’t change anything, does it? I mean, does it make a difference if the counselor you hire is male or female?” Surely not, she thought. This was 2017. He couldn’t refuse to hire her because she was a woman. She became nervous, biting her lower lip.
The dean sat behind his desk and folded his hands on the surface. “Actually, Ms. Cooper, it does make a difference. St. Leasing is an all-boys boarding school. I was looking to hire a male for this position due to the fact that it requires a pretty personal relationship with our students. These boys, they are teenagers with hormones and tempers. There are no girls or women here, other than a few older teachers. I don’t want my students to be embarrassed to come to you with their problems because they find you attractive.”
She jerked back slightly. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I can assure you, Dean McCormick, that I am great at what I do. And I would never let a student feel embarrassed or uncomfortable in my presence. I can do this job, and I can do it well. I understand where you are coming from. I understand that I would be working with a large group of teenage boys, but I know I can help them.”
“I have no doubt that you are good at your job, Ms. Cooper. Your experience and schooling alone speaks for itself. But that doesn’t change the fact that I was looking for a male for this position. My boys here, they are isolated from their families and from girls for a reason. Both tend to be a distraction for them. Their education and success is my top priority. I don’t need them thinking about how pretty you are, when they should be confiding in you.”
Her eyes went large. Okay, now she was pissed. Pretty, but incapable? “Look, Dean McCormick, with all due respect, that’s bullshit. I went through four years of college, plus two years special training dealing with troubled adolescents, then I worked at a school full of dangerous teenagers. I have helped drug addicts, gang members, young pregnant girls…you name it, and I’ve seen it. There is nothing your privileged boys can throw at me that I can’t handle. And the fact that you think otherwise is sexist. I am a grown woman. I’ve had ‘boys’ hitting on me my whole life. Believe me when I tell you, I know how to shut them down.”
Silence.
Corey started to chew on her lip again but then thought better of it. She didn’t need the dean to see that she was nervous or unsure. Her little outburst had shocked even her, but she didn’t want him to know that.
McCormick leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples like he had a headache coming on. “Well, Ms. Cooper, in truth, I need to hire someone to fill this position quickly. We don’t currently have a counselor on staff, and there are some urgent matters that need attention.”
Corey stood her ground, tilting her chin up, determined to make him say he’d hire her.
He leaned forward, lacing his hands back together on his desk. “The job is yours. You can have it as long as you can handle it. However, if I hear of one instance where you are put in a bad position, or one of my boys comes across too aggressively, or if someone is hurt because he was too embarrassed to come to you, I’ll send you on your way. Understood?”
Corey nodded, her jaw clenched, holding in her victorious grin.
McCormick grunted. “Your office will be located in the athletic building rather than the admin building. You will be surrounded by capable people who can help you if needed. You will not conduct office hours any time after four o’clock. You will email me daily with a list of your appointments, that way I can know exactly who is coming and going from your office. Those terms are nonnegotiable. They are for your safety as well as my boys’.” He stood, using the top of his desk to hoist himself up. “Now, I realize you have come a long way to be here today. We can meet tomorrow morning to go over the paperwork and finalize everything.”
Holy crap. Corey couldn’t believe her ears when she was spouting all that stuff to the dean. But apparently, it worked. Not that any of it had been a lie, but she had assumed the dean would get angry and throw her out anyway.
“Thank you so much, Dean McCormick. I promise I won’t let you down. And at the first sign of trouble, I will come to you. I don’t want to see these kids hurt any more than you do.” She got up and grabbed his hand, shaking it until he politely pulled away. She had a job, now she needed a home. “In the job description, it mentioned faculty housing?”
He came around to her chair, holding his hand out in a gesture that suggested she should start to leave. “Yes, we have a row of houses located on the edge of campus set aside for teachers who prefer to stay here rather than in town. They are small and old, but they’ve been well taken care of. The rent is pretty cheap as well. Are you interested?”
She took a couple steps toward the door, talking over her shoulder, “I am. I saw some pictures online and they look charming. It would be nice to be able to walk to work every day. Are there any for rent at the moment?” She’d driven all this way praying that she’d be able to stay on campus. The houses in town she’d searched online were much more expensive than her place in Louisiana had been.
“As a matter of fact, we had one come available last month. It’s already been cleaned, and it comes furnished. Let me get you the key and then you can go home and unpack. Welcome to St. Leasing, Ms. Cooper.”