My mind raced. Despite how little Dr. Haynes clearly thought of me, I did actually want to earn my degree and position in the industry. I didn’t want to have this just handed to me because of who my dad was. I had worked really hard all semester, and I had done a damn good job.

“Well, Amanda?” Something about the way he said my name instead of the usual Miss Matthews made my skin crawl, and I made up my mind.

“No,” I told him.

“You’re really not going to make one simple phone call to secure your future?” he continued to pressure me.

Without warning, Oakley burst through the door.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped at Dr. Haynes.

“Mr. Davis, I’m not sure what you are referring to, but this is a private meeting with Miss Matthews to discuss the consequences of her actions,” he said calmly, as if he hadn’t just been attempting to blackmail me.

“The hell it is. I heard everything that you just said,” Oakley accused.

Dr. Haynes’s face went pale, but he remained composed. He was clearly thinking about his words very carefully, but Oakley didn’t give him a chance to respond.

“Let me tell you how this is going to work. Amanda is my publicist, she basically pulled off a miracle by turning my image around. If you don’t pass her AND give her a glowing recommendation, I’m going to go to the Dean and tell them exactly how you ‘mentor’ your students,” he finished as he stared Dr. Haynes down.

Dr. Haynes started chuckling. That’s right, this asshole thought being exposed for blackmail was funny.

“And what makes you think that the university is going to side with a womanizing frat boy?”

I watched the scene unfold in front of me in horror. I couldn’t get off this emotional rollercoaster, nor could I process what was happening fast enough to even react. And while I wasn’t totally digging the whole damsel in distress thing, I did really appreciate that I wasn’t alone.

Oakley turned pale for a moment. “I think we both know that the university can’t handle any more bad press where my family is concerned,” he replied in a low voice. My heart sank. I didn’t want this.

Dr. Haynes seemed to chew over his thoughts for a moment, then finally decided what to do. “Fine. I'll be following your progress, Miss Matthews. You have an away game this weekend, so I suggest you do your job. At the first sign of trouble, you can bet I’ll bring it up with the university president.” I swallowed his threat like the bitter pill it was and nodded.

“Come on,” Oakley said, gently grabbing my hand and guiding me out of there. The moment we were away, I clutched Oakley’s arm tightly and let out a whimper.