She stole Nana’s ring. Remember that.

Eyes on the prize, not on her thighs.

I clear my throat and adjust my pants under the desk. “Good Morning, Raegan. Glad to see you’re alive and well after yesterday’s fiasco.”

She strides toward me and places a Starbucks cup on my desk. “Oh, that was nothing.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Really? Because it looked like you took a few good hits while you were down there on the floor.”

Her jaw works under her skin and I know I’ve gotten to her. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to take me down.”

Double entendre much? I gesture to the plastic cup in front of me. “What’s this?”

“You helped me yesterday, and I helped you. We’re even now. Take this iced coffee as an olive branch.” She lifts her own cup and slips the straw between her bowed lips for a sip.

Stop looking at her lips, I tell my dick. You’re not helping.

I shake the ice in the cup and take a swig. “Funny how you think five minutes in a costume and some coffee makes us even.”

“Still haven’t found your grandmother’s ring?”

“Still not ready to confess?”

“If that’s what you’re waiting for, don’t hold your breath.” She pauses, eyes flicking to the ceiling like she’s thinking. “On second thought, maybe you should hold your breath.” Her lips curve into a smirk before she turns and struts out of my office, leaving her scent of coconut and pineapple behind.

I mash my teeth together, anger bubbling at the surface.

Then the bell rings.

“Get your shit together, Waters.” Standing, I swipe the coffee off my desk and gulp it until it’s gone. Gonna need all my energy. The second day is always harder than the first.

“You came back,” Beth says when I exit my office.

“Who else is going to give you your sugar fix?” I plop a paper bag onto her desk and watch her tear into it with wide eyes.

“Donuts? Are you trying to buy my loyalty, Mr. Waters?”

“Is it working?”

She takes a mammoth-sized bite of the chocolate donut I bought her and smiles, crumbs falling onto her desk. “It absolutely is.”

I wink and waltz out into the hallway. Students pile in through the main entrance and greet me on their way to class. Several of them high-five me.

A stabbing pain shoots through my stomach. I peek my head into the office again. “Beth, what time is my meeting this morning?”

“Nine o’clock, sir.”

I turn my wrist and check my watch as I hurry to the men’s bathroom. Twenty minutes is plenty of time.

By lunchtime, I’ve been to the bathroom a total of eight times.

Bet you saw that one coming, huh?

That little witch put something in my coffee.

Olive branch, my ass.