The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 83

The moment Lavinia stepped into the classroom, she was swarmed by the other girls.

"Lavinia, what's your relationship with Mr. Sheffield?" The girl closest to her had a bright, eager look in her eyes.

"He's my cousin," Lavinia replied, lacking any real conviction.

"Oh, no wonder he made you drink that soup." The girls exchanged knowing glances. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"I don't... think so?"

The girls squealed. Some covered their mouths, some slapped the desks, and their eyes practically sparkled.

"What's his type?"

"Can you introduce us?"

"Let's ask him to get dinner with us after class."

Lavinia felt a headache coming on. She took a deep breath and said earnestly, "Honestly, guys, he might look alright on the outside, but he is impossible to deal with."

"No way," the girls chorused in disbelief.

"He seems so nice. He's charming and funny."

Lavinia tried her hardest to persuade them. "He's extremely strict. He's incredibly mean to me. Could you imagine having a boyfriend who acts like a demanding boss?"

"Uh..." The girls exchanged a look. "That would be pretty rough, actually."

Suddenly, everyone stared at the spot right behind Lavinia, falling dead silent.

All the hairs on Lavinia's arms stood up. She slowly turned around.

Charley was standing right behind her, his expression icy and unreadable. His gaze swept over her face.

Lavinia gave an awkward, forced smile.

He withdrew his gaze and strode toward the podium with his long legs.

"The afternoon session is starting." He opened his lecture notes and swept his eyes over the room. "First, let's review what we covered this morning."

His gaze zeroed in and locked directly onto Lavinia. "Lavinia, summarize the points."

Lavinia felt like her head was going to explode. Under the watchful eyes of the entire class, she stood up.

It was tragic. She had offended the absolute devil himself. Over this one-month crash course, he was going to peel her alive.

***

She barely survived until the bell rang.

Some students headed home, some grouped up for dinner, and others stayed in the classroom to study.

Lavinia was about to pack up her things when Charley walked over and dropped a stack of test papers on her desk.

There was a two-second silence. "When did I ever say I was trying to win her over?" Charley fired back.

Jimmie blinked, momentarily stunned.

"She was always mine to begin with," Charley said. Dismissing him, he turned and walked right back into the room.

When he stepped inside, he caught her pulling a bandage out of her pencil case. She peeled it open and clumsily wrapped it around her finger.

His gaze fell to her hands. "You hurt yourself?" he asked, his voice softening.

Lavinia nodded. She picked up her phone, snapped a picture of her bandaged finger, opened the messaging app, and pulled up Garnett Harper's chat. Holding down the voice record button, she spoke in a sweet, soft voice:

"Garnett, I hurt my finger today, so I can't cook. Grab something to eat before you come back. I'm getting food with a friend."

She lifted her finger. Phew, message sent.

A few seconds later, Garnett replied with an audio message: "Since I'm not getting a home-cooked meal, I'm taking Chairman Locke out to dinner. Head home early after you eat. Don't wander around by yourself."

"Got it, Garnett," Lavinia replied.

After sending it, she placed her phone face down on the desk, looking up to meet Charley's gaze.

His expression was neutral, but the line of his jaw seemed visibly tight.

"What did Mr. Jennings want?" Lavinia asked. "Is he mad we're using his classroom for free?"