Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 40

Hogan cut into our chat, “We’re gonna be late for the concert.”

Cecilia waved at me with a grin, “So, Xaviera, we’re heading off first, alright?”

Once they were gone, I immediately fired up the N University forum.

Boom, there it was, the top post – Hot rumor: N University’s hunkiest prof, Darren, is off the market!

And slapped right there was a pic of Darren and me chowing down in the student cafeteria.

Gotta hand it to the OP, they’d got some mad candid skills. Smiles, forehead flicks- even I, the subject, felt like there was something fishy in those snaps.

The comments were all over the place.

[Holy moly, is this the legendary match of brains and beauty? That prof’s date’s got some killer looks!]

[I mean, how can someone rock both sweet and icy vibes? She got a celestial face!]

[We totally approve of Professor Yearwood’s love life!]

The more I read, the wilder it got, until my eyes landed on this gem: Ain’t that Xaviera, the one who used to drool over the finance department’s golden boy?

was fresh, with just

to play hacker and wiped that gossip post

me was fine, but I couldn’t let Darren’s rep

wrapped up, it was the

the

the man’s face obscured in the backlight, murky and indistinct. But I

I was surprised.

the concert? What’s he doing here at the office building?

face, but when I was just two meters from Hogan, I heard him ask, “All

puzzled, and looked

I heard him scoff, “Or is it, you programmers are best at

1/2

12-20 –

yourselves?”

Backups?

was totally lost, so I just came out with it, “Mr. Zade,

exhaled a ring of smoke, eyes sharpening as he replied, “Frank’s just being polite for the Yearwood family’s sake. You don’t actually think, with his status, he’d be

skipped a beat as I caught Hogan’s insinuation.

out why Wallis and

Darren was just to use him to snag

have with your company,” I said calmly, “but still thanks for the high regard.”