Obsessed, page 12
“I have no idea.”
“I could move down here, you know. I know you don’t need as much security outside the city, but I could rent an apartment in your building and keep a low profile. I’d even be able to take care of stalkers.”
I laughed. He’d done a similar background check on Kristen Dwyer for me last year. But it wasn’t because I liked her. It was because I wanted to make sure her mental state was sound. I didn’t want her showing up naked in my apartment with a knife like a crazy person. But she was clean. Certainly cleaner than me. If someone did my background check they’d be a lot more concerned. I eyed my satchel. Maybe there were some reasons to check out Penny’s file…
“How’s Jen?” I asked. It was better to change the topic than give him any false hope of moving here. I didn’t need any security on campus. And it was a breath of fresh air to have time to myself, even if it was a little lonely. Besides, Penny made it significantly less lonely.
“How would I know?”
“I know you give her rides sometimes…”
“Oh. Well. Yeah.” He looked a little flustered. “She’s fine, I guess. Why?”
Weird answer. “I haven’t spoken to her in a few months. She’s relentless with trying to get me to patch things up with my parents.”
“She may have mentioned that.”
Of course she had.
“Are you going to talk to them soon? Pretty sure it’s driving Jen crazy that you’re fighting with them.”
“You’re a lot nosier than I remember,” I said.
“You’re a lot happier than I remember.”
I laughed.
“It’s because of the girl, right? Penny?”
Dr. Clark had said something similar to me. That I smiled more now. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“You don’t think the age difference will matter?”
Penny was 21. That wasn’t that young. She was an adult. She could make her own decisions. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Her parents are going to hate you.”
“It’s a little soon for that. I haven’t even taken her on a date yet.” And I strongly doubted that her parents would hate me. It’s not like I was a deadbeat. I had plenty to offer their daughter. Although that background check of mine might be an issue. It would be good to at least see if either of her parents were cops. I was itching to open the folder, but I didn’t want to do it with Ian watching me. At least he was only concerned about her age. That was probably a good thing.
“So this is going to be your first date?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t this a little extreme? Why don’t you just take her to a restaurant a few minutes outside town if you’re worried about getting caught?”
“That is what I’m doing.”
“No…that’s what a normal person would do. You’re planning on buying a place and making the entire staff sign confidentiality waivers.”
“I make everyone sign confidentiality waivers.”
“Has Penny signed one?”
“No.”
“Are you going to get her to sign one?”
I lowered my eyebrows. “No.”
“What if she’s trying to exploit you?”
“I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m a poor professor. She’s never asked me any questions about Blive Tech or anything else business related.” Which was refreshing.
He shook his head. “But you’re about to buy her a restaurant for your first date. If she doesn’t already know, she’s about to. This is why you need me here. I could tail her and figure out what her motivation is.”
“Is it so hard to believe that she actually just likes me?”
“Even if she does like you for you, there’s still the whole professor thing. You’re in a position of power. There’s a whole other level of issues with that.” He shook his head again. “There are countless opportunities for blackmail. I have to strongly advise you not to go through with this date. Cut things off before they escalate.”
“She’s not like that, Ian.”
“Then for my sake, at least confiscate her phone when she’s with you.”
“I can’t do that. She’s not a petulant child.”
“She’s a college student…so she pretty much is a kid. Just tell her no phones at dinner,” he said with a laugh.
I didn’t find it funny. “Did you find anything in her background check that was alarming?”
“No. Middle-class family. Only child. She grew up in a normal suburban neighborhood with two working parents. Average life.”
Penny was anything but average. “So nothing that screams blackmailer? Great. Can we drop this then?”
He pulled into the parking lot of the first restaurant on the list. “College is expensive, even for middle-class families. Maybe she’s being financially resourceful. Just be careful.”
The line between good mother and security detail felt blurred. “I’m not in New York anymore. Not as many people know who I am down here. Besides, I’m going to buy one of these restaurants. Which means you can set up security cameras to keep an eye on everything.”
That seemed to perk him up. “Consider it dropped. Let’s go find the place for your first date. Maybe we can test out the concept for that new security system you sent me the details of the other day. Did you hash out the surveillance issues?”
“I think I have it all set.” The security system was what I’d started designing the night after taking Penny in my office. I had so much energy and so many ideas floating around in my head. She inspired something in me. I didn’t know why or how, but she had. It was the first good business idea I’d come up with in over a year. And based off Ian’s excitement, it was a great idea.
He rubbed his hands together. “Can I spend the night to go over all the details? And then I can spend the day tomorrow setting up the system.”
“Only if you brought me a Totonno’s pizza.”
He laughed. “It’s in a cooler in the trunk. I wouldn’t have come without one.” We both climbed out of his new car. “But aren’t we doing food tastings at all these places?”
“There’s always room for Totonno’s.”
“True. And there’s a case of beer in the cooler too. And the Mets are playing tonight so we can catch the game later.”
It sounded like something I used to do with my friends. I glanced at Ian as we walked across the parking lot. Maybe giving him this paid time off had broken some barrier between us. Because in a lot of ways, he was acting more like my friend than my employee. He really didn’t need to come all the way down here. I could have checked out these places myself. New York City was a lonely place. Maybe he felt that as much as I did. “That sounds great,” I said. “You can stay as long as you want.”
“I knew I could bribe you with pizza.”
We both laughed as we walked into the restaurant and looked around. Unlike Penny, it was completely average. And that wasn’t going to do. All the décor was even beige. What had Ian been thinking? Penny had been dating boys like Tyler. I needed to show her that she was out of his league. “Nope,” I said and turned around.
“But we have a meeting with the owner in just a minute,” Ian said.
“Give him my regards, but it’s a pass. What’s the nicest place on the list?”
Ian brought up the restaurant list on his phone. “There’s this old country club ten minutes from here. Definitely upscale. And they’re actually looking for a new owner. The current one is retiring. Plus, who are you going to find from the university at a country club?”
“Let’s go there next.”
“Our meeting there isn’t for another hour.”
“I hope the food is good then. Because we’ll be testing it out.”
When we arrived, a valet took Ian’s car keys. Ian stared after it longingly, probably worried that it would get dinged. But I had a feeling that the valet had it covered. When we walked inside everything was elegant with gold trim. The chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling completed the entrance.
“Hello. Are you here to dine with us this evening?” asked a well-dressed hostess.
“Yes,” Ian said. “And we have a meeting with…”
I elbowed him in his side. I wanted to see how they treated normal patrons. Not ones they were trying to sell the country club to. “A meeting with our bosses later,” I said. “So we’ll definitely need a round of shots.”
The hostess laughed. “Very well. We have top-shelf liquor, and I definitely recommend the tequila. I can grab those shots for you as soon as I get you seated.” She glanced at the seating chart. “If you’ll follow me right this way.” She ushered us into the restaurant portion of the country club. “Is this table alright?” she asked.
“It’s perfect,” Ian said. “And that tequila sounds great too.”
“Wonderful. Here are your menus. Your waiter will be right over to tell you about our specials today. And I’ll go get you those shots. Enjoy your meal!” She hurried off to grab our drinks.
“Good service,” Ian said.
I looked around the room. The dining area was filled with mostly older patrons. Ian was right, there probably weren’t any people from the university here. It was far enough away from campus to be inconvenient and a little expensive for students and professors.
The hostess came back with two shots of tequila. I slid mine over to Ian. By the time dinner was over, I was hoping he’d let me take a spin in his Tesla. “Let’s go take a look at the golf course,” I said, trying to get him to down both of them.
“But we haven’t even ordered yet.”
“They’ll wait.” I stood up. “Aren’t you coming? You gotta check out where to put surveillance.”
“Rich people are so weird.”
“Says the guy who owns a Tesla.”
Ian laughed. “I like the new you,” he said. “You’re way more fun.”
Life was more fun when you didn’t want to jump out the window of your high rise.
Chapter 21
Saturday
I readjusted my glasses and continued to read through the papers I was grading. But my mind kept shifting focus to Penny. We didn’t get a chance to talk on Friday because another student had a question for me after class. I thought the distance from Penny might give me some clarity. And in a way it had…just not in the way it should have. Not being allowed to talk to her. Touch her. Taste her. It was driving me slowly insane. I had all the fucking clarity I needed.
It had been a long time since I’d had something to look forward to. It had also been a long time since I’d been on a date. But I wasn’t worried about that. It was clear to me that Penny hadn’t dated anyone worthy of her. And even though I wasn’t worthy, I was very capable of showing her a good time. A better time than some broke college student could. I thought about the blood dripping down her knees when I’d picked her up from her last date.
The edge of the paper in my hand crinkled in my fist. Shit. I tried to focus on the paper I was grading, instead of Penny walking alone in the rain. Seriously, what kind of idiots had she been dating? I wasn’t a good person. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t be good to her. She certainly wouldn’t be walking around alone on my watch.
“Surveillance is all set,” Ian said as he came into my apartment.
I looked up from my papers. “I thought you finished that yesterday?” I welcomed Ian’s distraction. Thinking about Penny with other men made my blood boil.
“Yeah…at the restaurant. I put a few test cameras throughout your apartment complex and right outside. I stopped by your office too. And I left some around campus. Don’t worry, they’re undetectable.”
I ran my hand down my face. What he’d just done wasn’t legal. It was one thing to have them in my apartment and new country club. I owned those things. But he couldn’t just put cameras around campus. “That really wasn’t necessary.”
“Peace of mind.” He set down one of the to-go coffee cups he was carrying down in front of me.
“So where exactly are these cameras?”
“I thought it might be nice to set one up outside Lerner Hall. That way you’ll never have a surprise visit from someone you don’t want to see.” He sat down on the stool beside mine. “Like Isabella.”
That did give me a little peace of mind. And if it was just one tiny camera on campus, it wasn’t a big deal. “So that’s it?”
“I may have put one outside of Sussex Hall too. This coffee is good, right?” He took a long sip like that was somehow going to distract me from what he just said. Penny lived in Sussex Hall.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why? I told you I was worried she had ulterior motives for dating you. Let me tail her for a few weeks to make sure. Besides, aren’t you curious about who she spends her free time with?”
I could easily dismiss the first part of what he said. But I was curious about who Penny hung out with when she wasn’t with me. Besides…wouldn’t it be safer if I was watching out for her? She didn’t keep the best company. I knew it was wrong, but now I was curious. “If you have information, you might as well tell me.”
He smiled as he pulled out his phone. “She left her dorm building around noon today to go to brunch.” He pulled up a video on his phone of her leaving her dorm.
It was wrong to look. I didn’t want to spy on her. But I couldn’t help it when the footage was right in front of my face.
“She was with Melissa Monroe, her roommate. Apparently they were randomly assigned to be roommates last year. They must have hit it off if they’re roommates again. They’re the same age. Both have birthdays in October. They both have great GPAs. But Melissa’s family isn’t as well off and her mother is just barely scraping by. She lives in lower Delaware which apparently is called Slower Lower to locals. Which is kind of funny.” He laughed to himself.
It was scary how much he could find out about someone in such a small amount of time.
“Anyway, that’s her,” he said and pointed to the girl next to Penny in the video. There was a boy with shaggy blonde hair on the other side of Penny. “And that’s…”
“Tyler Stevens,” I said.
“You already know him?”
“He’s in my Comm class with Penny. They sit next to each other. Does he live in their dorm too?”
“No. He lives in a frat house off Main Street. He must have been visiting them or someone else.”
I stared at the video footage until they left the screen. The three of them looked like friends. They were all laughs and smiles. No hand-holding. But there was something about the video that still pissed me off. Maybe it was because I knew I would never have a moment like that with her. I could never go inside her dorm. I could never walk around campus with her. Or go to brunch at the dining hall. We’d never just be us. Our relationship would always be professor and student first. What the fuck am I doing?
“Remove the camera,” I said.
“But…”
“I don’t want to spy on her.” Honestly, I did. And that was the problem. The incredible violation of privacy didn’t matter to me. What worried me was that I would watch her. That I wouldn’t be able to stop.
“You wouldn’t be. I’m running surveillance on her. I’ll just tell you if anything important happens.”
“I don’t think…”
“Like if Isabella shows up there,” he said before I could continue.
“She wouldn’t do that.” As soon as I said the words, I didn’t believe them. Honestly, Isabella would do that. She’d never been one to care about consequences. Only results.
“We have no idea what she will and won’t do. You were pretty sure she’d sign those papers, and she hasn’t done that yet. You were pretty sure she’d never step foot in Delaware, but she’s been to your apartment before. Cutting ties isn’t always as seamless as you want it to be. Just look at the surveillance as a way to protect Penny.”
I took a deep breath. “Fine. But you can’t stay in my guestroom anymore.” I pulled a key out of my pocket and tossed it to him. “I’m renting out another apartment in the building for a few months.”
Ian smiled. “I can stay?”
“Just don’t let anyone see you. I’m trying to keep a low profile. And I didn’t buy it, I’m just renting it…so don’t piss me off.”
He laughed like it would be impossible to piss me off. Maybe he didn’t know me as well as I thought he did.
“It’ll be like I’m not even here,” he said. “Except on game nights. And then I’ll be on your couch.”
“Deal.”
“Great. My furniture should be arriving any minute…” he glanced at his watch and then back up at me.
“What? How did you…”
“I told you I set up cameras in the building. I already knew you were letting me move in. Apartment 3B right?” He put the key onto his keychain. “I’ll check in with you later. Unless you’re planning on bringing Penny back here tonight and that’s the reason you’re kicking me out. And if you are…you should consider finally decorating the place. It’s a little…cold.”
I looked past my kitchen into the living room. Everything was white and pristine. The modern furniture was sleek with hard lines. It really was cold. The only room I’d bothered to decorate was my office because it was where I spent all my time. And I couldn’t actually picture Penny in any of the other rooms. She was so full of life, and my apartment was just…empty. It looked the same as it had the first day I moved in.
I could still remember Isabella barging in last semester. She’d looked around and laughed. She’d made some snide comment about how I was nothing without her. But maybe I just liked simple décor. It wasn’t like she’d ever taken the time to get to know me. Either way, the thought of Isabella here made the idea of bringing Penny here less enticing. Isabella and Penny were nothing alike. A stark contrast that just made me appreciate Penny more. Maybe I would do some decorating before I invited her over.
I looked back down at the papers I needed to grade. “I don’t think I’ll be bringing Penny back tonight. So take your time getting settled into your new place.” Ian being here would be a good excuse for me not to bring her back. Because as soon as Penny stepped foot in here? The smell of her would be everywhere. I wouldn’t be able to get rid of the smell of cherry blossoms. It would be all consuming. And that was a dangerous thing if I wanted to stay in control of this situation.
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