Chapter Eighty-Six

After everything Damien confessed to her last night and the deeper direction he wanted to take them, Valerie decided to avoid her office that morning, and therefore, Dean. Instead, she went straight to her classroom, setting her briefcase on the desk and pulling out her class notes. Afterward, she busied herself with straightening the room and cleaning the chalkboard. She had to admit, it made for a peaceful morning. At least, it did until she heard Dean’s smug tone.

“Now, now. Are you trying to give me a complex? I thought we had an understanding about my morning expectations.”

She turned, determined not to permit him to annoy her first thing in the morning, and hoping to put some distance between the two of them. After all, they were in her classroom. A public room. Not her office with a closed door. “I needed to get some things accomplished this morning. Damien kept me up last night talking about our future.”

Dean pressed his lips into a thin line and walked over to her desk. “So