Fraternize: Enemies to Lovers Read online

  I was not sure of the status of the feud as I had moved away at eighteen when I went across the country for college and had only been back once a year for Christmas in the last fifteen years. In the two days I had been back, it had not been at the forefront of my consciousness either, and had only become relevant just now when the hotel had come into view.

  I pulled into the parking lot at eleven past nine. I was pleased to see that Pamela’s vehicle was nowhere to be seen. I turned off the ignition and sat looking at the front of the restaurant. I could recall the many evenings I had sat at that corner table, doing my homework while my parents ran the business. Then six years later, Pamela had come along and were both sitting in the corner. It was not a case of my parents being unable to afford a nanny. We were not destitute. It was more a strategy of theirs to have us in a place where we could see what the family business entailed.

  As we grew older, Pamela and I would start doing little odd jobs in the restaurant. As I went through high school, I was dismayed to find that my interest was not at all in economics or anything related to business. Secretly I had developed a passion for the arts, Literature in particular. I knew my parents would not be the ones to try to force me in an academic direction. They would respect my choice. I knew they were disappointed when I opted to study English Literature and become a teacher. But they gave me their blessings nevertheless. Over the past fifteen years, I had blossomed in my chosen career and now enjoyed being at the top of my game, which is what had brought me back home.

  I had started working with Munro College right after getting my Masters ten years ago. I had continued studying and by twenty-five had my Ph.D. I was currently the deputy department chair. Over the last two years, out of sheer boredom, I had revised the department curriculum, opting to use an integrated genre approach. I had used my classes as the guinea pig, and it had worked. As a result, I had spent the last year rolling it out across our department. It had come as no shock that other colleges had gotten wind of the approach, and requests had come in for assistance to implement the same thing in different colleges. I had spent the last semester doing that at Munro’s neighbor, Hampton College. The decision to do the same at Excelsior had been last minute and made only after my visit at Christmas. I had gotten a sudden urge to spend some more time with my family. As a result, when I went back home for the new year, it was to make arrangements to postpone Decarteret college until the next academic year and put Excelsior in their place. My family had been ecstatic when I turned up two days ago with several suitcases.

  I was supposed to be at the department meeting but had only heard about it when I stopped by that morning to meet with Professor Migdonia, whose classes I would be taking over.

  I stirred at a knock on my window and smiled when I saw my sister standing outside. I opened my door and stepped out, pulling her into a warm embrace. She was a miniature version of me with long black hair and blue eyes. But whereas I got my height from my father, she took after our mother and was on the petite side at only five feet three inches.

  “Henry! It’s true! I can’t believe you’re going to be here for longer than Christmas. What a time I chose to move out. Just as you moved back.”

  “Mwah!” I smacked her cheek loudly and laughed as she grimaced. She had always hated it when I did that.

  She dug a tissue out of her purse and scrubbed at her cheek. “Must you do that?” She tucked her hand into my elbow, and we went inside. The manager hailed us warmly, and we took our seats at the corner table. Our parents had taken more of a back seat in running the empire and were enjoying the fruits of their labor at home, or anywhere else they chose to be at any given time. Right now, they had put their travels on hold as I was going to be home. It would provide us with the time to catch up.

  I took a sip of water from the freshly poured glass and looked at my sister.

  “So how is it you cannot be at work right now? Slacking off as usual?”

  She pulled a face at me then giggled. “Well, if you must know, I got a promotion last week.”

  “Oooooohhhhh! Promotion! So you can now be as lazy as you want to be, huh.”

  “Hey! I work very hard. I’m very good at what I do, and my efforts have been recognized and rewarded accordingly.”

  “So, what is the nature of this promotion?”

  “You are looking at the third in command in the Product Development Division.”

  “Nice! Congrats, sis! Well done, Miss Arleigh! I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you, bro. But of course, not everyone is as happy and proud as you are. You would never believe who I had the unfortunate luck to be up against for the promotion. Go ahead, guess. But you won’t believe it.”

  “Why don’t you just come out and tell me then.”

  “Christopher Hudson.”

  My face went blank, registering shock. “You’re kidding, right.”

  “I’m as serious as a judge. I was just as shocked as you are when I walked into the holding room for the interviews and saw him. I mean, I knew he worked with the company and everything, but he was in Marketing, and I was in Sales. We stayed the hell out of each other’s space. But had it not been for the fact that the promotion meant so much, I would have walked out the minute I saw that carrot top. And as if that isn’t bad enough, although he did not score the promotion, he was transferred into the division and now I supervise him directly.”

  “If you ask me, this is Karma finding a way to vindicate the family by putting a Hudson where they belong – underneath us.”

  She gave me a strange look. “You haven’t been talking to the Mom and Dad, have you? That’s the same thing they said.”

  I shrugged. “You have your confirmation then that the gods favor the Arleigh’. And who would have thought the one to do it would have been you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Or maybe this tiresome feud will end, especially since neither of us is in the family business, and from what I hear, neither is Christopher nor his sister.”

  “Or maybe it will continue with our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and when they gather around for family reunions, they will tell the tales of how the Hudson and Arleigh feud began and continues to this day.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Me thinks you’ve been reading too much again. Let’s order shall we. I do have to get back to work sometime today.”

  “And here I thought we were spending the day together. Bummer.”

  She laughed as the waitress came to take our orders. A few hours later, we parted. She went back to work, and I went for a quick drive around the neighborhood. Despite the changes, some spaces remained. One such area was the park. I found a bench and sat watching people come and go. Being the middle of a workday, it was scanty. I allowed my mind to wander as it processed the last few hours. As I thought about the meeting at the college, I began to visualize my classes. What would the students be like when I met them? How would they receive the revised curriculum? I thought about Professor Migdonia – sweet little lady. Then I remembered the red-head who had run into me at the door. I wondered who she was. She had looked a little young to be a lecturer, so it was more likely that she was a student. That would put her out of my reach, of course. I could always hope on the off chance that she was some lecturer’s child and had come visiting. She would, therefore, be accessible and legal.

  I had been in relationships on and off through the years, but in recent times, I had opted to remain single and unattached as I had grown tired of playing the field. I had decided to relax and allow the universe to do its job in bringing my mate to me.

  I sat for a while longer before running a few errands and calling it a day.

  The next morning at nine on the dot, I presented myself at Professor Migdonia’s office. The space was big and airy and held two desks. The one by the window was the one I would be using, while the other would be reserved for the TA.

  “Would you like some coffee, Henry? Juliet should be along shortly. I told
her nine-fifteen, which means she will be here by ten past.”

  “She observes time. Good. I don’t tolerate tardiness, excuse, or not. Tell me a little more about her.”

  “She’s a senior specializing in Education with a major in English Literature. She wants to become one of us. This three month period is her practicum session.”

  “An undergraduate doing practicum at a college? Wouldn’t it have been better to go to a high school? That’s a bit unusual.”

  “Well, so is Juliet. She is a genius, plain and simple. Trust me when I say that I am leaving you with the best TA and project assistant the college has to offer. And she will do it all while balancing her research plus her life outside of the college. You have never met anyone like her in your lifetime, and I doubt if you ever will again.”

  “Wow! She sounds spectacular.”

  “She is.”

  We both turned at a slight knock on the door. Professor Migdonia checked her watch and smiled.

  “What did I tell you?”

  I watched as the door was slowly opened and in stepped a young woman. I felt the blood drain from my face as I recognized the woman who ran into me yesterday morning. Surely this couldn’t be…

  “Right on time as always, Juliet. Have a seat, and let me make this introduction official.”

  I watched as she folded herself into the chair next to mine while Professor Migdonia looked from her to me and back.

  “Juliet Hudson, meet Professor Henry Arleigh. Professor Arleigh, your TA Juliet Hudson.”

  It seemed as if Professor Migdonia had spoken through a haze.

  “Wait. What? What did you say her name was?”

  The red-head spoke.

  “Juliet. It’s Juliet Hudson, Professor Arleigh.”

  Her tone was crisp and cold. I turned to look at her. Gone was any warmth from her honey eyes. They looked instead like brown chips of mud. Her cheeks were slightly pink, and her mouth pursed disapprovingly. I felt my expression mirror hers. Then a smugness came over me as I realized that a Arleigh again had the upper hand over a Hudson.

  3

  Juliet

  It did not take long for the stroke of luck I called a blessing to be turned into a curse. When I had stepped into Professor Migdonia’s office and found the object of my thoughts of a few minutes before sitting there, I had immediately thought that I could not be this lucky. It turns out I was not. The introduction froze me, and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks.

  “Juliet Hudson, meet Professor Henry Arleigh. Professor Arleigh, your TA Juliet Hudson.”

  I watched as his mouth dropped open. I was happy to see that I was not the only one caught off guard.

  “Wait. What? What did you say her name was?”

  I bit out tersely with much more hostility than I had intended. “Juliet. It’s Juliet Hudson, Professor Arleigh.”

  He turned to look at me. I knew my face exuded my anger. Slowly I watched as his face turned to stone, and the eyes that I had so admired became like ice cubes. Then a strange look came over his face, and I could not help but feel a strange sense of defeat. Regardless, I was going to be the bigger person. I stretched out my hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” I bit out through barely clenched teeth. He took my hand in a cold grip.

  “Likewise.” He dropped my hand as if he had touched a piece of live fire.

  “Well, I have a meeting to get to by nine-thirty. I’m going to leave you two to get better acquainted. I have extra copies of my office keys, which you’re both going to need.”

  With that, she exited the office, leaving me alone with the Arleigh bastard. Well, I was going to be the bigger person. I sat and waited patiently, staring straight ahead at a spot on the wall. I felt his eyes boring into me as he stood and proceeded to perch on the edge of the desk just a few inches from me. I was forced to look up at him and thought I could detect a faint smirk as I did so.

  “Well, Miss Hudson, I guess we will need to cover some ground rules that will obtain for the next three months. First of all, tardiness will not be tolerated. That includes time getting in, time getting to classes, time getting back from breaks, time getting documents and reports completed. Understood?”

  “Yes.” I bit my tongue to prevent heated words from spewing forth. Let it not be said that I was rude.

  “I will be supervising your content delivery in each class for the first two weeks. After that, depending on how well I perceive that you have progressed, you will be supervised occasionally or left to deliver without supervision. I will rejoin you closer to the end of the semester when other lecturers also come in to observe and issue your final grade. Understood?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Professor Migdonia told me that you had been given a class schedule and the content to be covered. The schedule remains, but the content will not.”

  My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. What is the problem?”

  “Problem is a strong word.”

  “What appears the be the challenge?”

  “I had already received the list of topics to be covered and spent most of my Christmas break preparing and researching to deliver these topics. Classes begin next week, and to now be told that the content has changed has come as a shock.”

  “Well, in life, one has to roll with the punches.”

  “I am quite accustomed to rolling with punches.” I stiffened and bristled. Who the hell did he think he was to imply that I could not cope with a sudden shift. And just to prove him wrong, I would go without sleep if I had to do that to get my content back on track.

  “Could you say when I would be able to have access to this new content, sir?”

  “I can send it to you right now if you would like.”

  “Please do.”

  I remained rooted in my seat, a million and one thoughts ricocheting through my brain. He reached for his backpack, which was beside the chair he had vacated. I watched from beneath the sweep of my lashes as he took a seat at the desk and opened the device. I used the opportunity to take my notebook out and boot it up likewise.

  “Email?”

  “Juliet Hudson. And the rest is the college’s domain.”

  His fingers moved swiftly. Shortly afterward, I heard a ‘ping’ as the message came in. I quickly opened my email. I clicked on the new message and the attachment. I almost gasped when I saw a twenty-page document open. I downloaded it and saved it to my desktop. I felt his eyes boring into me and looked up.

  “Got it. I will go over it and make the adjustments to my plan accordingly.”

  “Good. Do you have the plans on your notebook? You could email them now, and we start the process.”

  I swallowed sharply and swiftly opened a new email. With a few clicks, I copied and pasted in his address and then searched my desktop for the plans and attached them. In a few seconds, I heard the notification on his laptop, and he started to read. I sat in silence while he perused what I had sent. I saw him pause now and then and make a few clicks with the mouse as his fingers flew over the keyboard. Finally, I heard him clear his throat.

  “I’m sending them back with a few notes. You may make the adjustments and send the plans back by email in the interest of time. I would like to have them by Thursday.”

  My brows shot up. “That’s in two days.”

  He smiled smugly. “That should be too much time for a whiz kid like you. But I will be gracious and accept them on Thursday. That way, I can make any further adjustments and have you submit the final draft for approval on Friday before your first class on Monday. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We are on the same page.” He dug into his pocket and slid his cell phone across the desk towards me.

  Wordlessly I put my number in and slid the phone back. I closed my notebook and put it back into my bag.

  “Will that be all?”

  “For today, yes. You do have adjustments to make to your plans after all, and I would not like
to take up any more of your time. I will see you at nine in the morning.”

  I gave a brief nod and stood. I was at the door before he spoke.

  “Miss Hudson?”

  I turned, stifling the urge to roll my eyes and ask, ‘what the bloody hell now?’.

  “Yes?”

  He stood and came over to me. I held my ground as he stepped into my space. Our eyes met and held. I could have sworn I saw some of the ice melt a bit, but they were still cold. He held up his hand with a small metal ring. A key dangled from it.

  “You’re going to need this for the next three months.”

  I plucked it from between his fingers, ensuring that I did not touch him.

  “Thank you.” I slipped through the door, my heart racing slightly. I was going to be honest with myself. When I had entered the department earlier and opened the heavy front door, I had almost expected to see him again. My disappointment had barely taken root when I stepped into the office, and hope flared again to find him seated there. Then the introductions had dashed all hopes. But if I were going to be honest with myself, if his surname had not been what it was, I would have to admit that I found him quite attractive.

  I waved to Elsie and stepped out of the building. I dug into my bag for my cell phone and dialed the first person that came to mind – my brother Christopher. I checked my watch as the phone rang without an answer. Just as I was about to disconnect the call, he picked up.

  “Took you long enough. I could have been dying.” I opened my car and sat inside.

  “You wouldn’t have been dying, sis. You would be dead.”

  “You’ve got that right. Can you talk a bit?”

  “I’m on my coffee break to which I am entitled. What’s up?”

  “You would never believe the rotten luck I’ve had today. Remember, I told you I had to come in and meet Prof. Mig’s replacement?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s Henry Arleigh.”

  I heard a choking sound on the other end. I heard him sputter.

  “Henry Arleigh. As in that missing heir that no one has seen in almost twenty years? Damn!”