Love Lessons by Aiden Bates & Ali Lyda

Author:Aiden Bates & Ali Lyda [Bates, Aiden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Goodreads: 52919937
Published: 2020-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

13

Grady

I’d just dismissed my students to recess when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket, and their chatter and laughter hadn’t completely faded down the hallway as I glanced at the screen.

I wasn’t expecting a call today, and it was a Lakeshore area code. Hope started a wild beat in my heart. Maybe it was the call I was hoping for rather than one I was expecting. I took a deep breath. The university could call with bad news, too.

Crossing my fingers, I pressed to answer and lifted the phone to my ear.

“Grady Caldwell.” I never answered my phone with my name, and it seemed to put the person on the other end off their flow as well.

They hesitated. “Mr. Caldwell?”

“Yes?” My word was tinged with the anxiety gradually working through my system.

“This is Helen Stevens at Lakeshore University.”

I didn’t move. My heart didn’t even beat until she spoke again.

“I’m calling with good news.”

I inhaled a sharp breath.

“Congratulations, we’d like to offer you the position of English professor you recently interviewed for. As discussed during your interview…”

I had to remind myself to listen rather than focusing on containing my squeal of delight. Emotion threatened to close my throat.

“You will also teach creative writing, and your start date is January. In the meantime, we need you to return to the university to begin your paperwork. I’ll email you all the details and dates you can choose from to come back into the department to look at that paperwork and start the HR aspects.” She stopped speaking and waited. Then, “Mr. Caldwell?”

“Wow,” I blurted.

She laughed quietly. “Congratulations, Mr. Caldwell. We look forward to seeing you very soon. Don’t forget to check your email.”

“Wow,” I said again. “Just wow. I mean, thank you.” Joy filled me as we said goodbye and hung up.

I glanced at the calendar hanging in my classroom. January gave me a few months to prepare lesson plans for the university students, but I had a lot to do between now and then. My third graders were still chasing each other around outside, and I headed to the breakroom.

I whistled as I walked through the door, and Eli looked in my direction immediately, glancing up from his phone. “You sound happy, dude.”

I dropped in the seat next to him, desperate to share my news with a friend without informing every member of staff in the breakroom before I told the principal. I leaned closer to Eli. “You’re looking at Lakeshore’s newest professor,” I murmured.

He drew back. “What?”

“I got the job,” I continued. “They literally just called.” My smile felt like it might stretch right off my face. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well, I can.” His voice and eyes hardened.

“What?” Confusion flashed through me.

“Don’t be dumb, Grady. Neither of us is stupid.” He scoffed. “Who does Rome know on the faculty?”

“What?” Confusion gave way to a creeping cold that numbed my chest.

“He clearly pulled some strings.” Eli’s eyes flashed with an anger I’d never seen directed at me before. “So don’t come in here telling me how you’ve got the job that should have been mine.

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