Warring Logics (Book 1 of The Institute of Fantasiological Studies)

“How dare you presume-!“ I begin.

But von Graf doesn’t care about my objections to him ruining my life, no this arrogant asshole thinks he knows what is best for me.

“Albert!” he yells.

Unexpectedly, Albert enters the room from the hallway. When the fuck-?

“Yes?”

“Why is Miss Hemstock here?”

Albert just shrugs his shoulders, “She seemed angry, I thought you two might want to talk it out”

Von Graf pinches the bridge of his straight nose before shaking his head, “Take her out. I told you to keep her safe”

Albert just shrugs again and leans against the wall next to the door, completely ignoring his primus’ order.

“This is not keeping her safe” von Graf clarifies.

“She seems fine to me” Albert replies.

“If you two don’t mind?! YOU…” I interrupt and point a finger at von Graf, “YOU are ruining my Ph.D.”

“I am keeping you safe” the arrogant asshole replies. I’m not a violent person, but I could punch his handsome smug face if he weren’t on the other side of the desk.

“I am watching her” Albert interjects.

“Shut up, Albert” von Graf replies.

I decide to reason with von Graf- surely he will understand, “Mr. von Graf, I have already worked on this for over a year. I spent countless hours reading papers, writing a research plan, and, and… If I have to give up this topic, I will have to start all over again, losing all of the progress I have made and delaying my Ph.D.”

He has to see reason right?

“And you will be alive,” he says unapologetically.

It is at that moment that I realize that I am going to lose. Lose the argument and lose all of my hard work. It’s a growing feeling from the pit of my stomach, an unsettling feeling, like bile slowly turning in my stomach. And I already know what is going to happen- I hate myself for it.

It is the most embarrassing thing; I am a grown woman- a grown independent woman who is nearer to thirty than twenty; who moved by herself to a foreign country; who lives on her own- well did until Albert showed up. I can adult with the best of them.

But that doesn’t seem to stop the tears from welling behind my eyes.

I try to fight them; blinking rapidly and tilting my head up slightly and cup my face with my hands. It would be just too humiliating to cry in front of them. Fuck, it’s too much, all of those hours of work lost, maybe my whole Ph.D. ruined. Will I be able to start all over again? I take a deep breath, willing the water in my eyes to disappear. I can’t cry in front of them, I can’t cry in front of them, I can’t cry in front of them…

I feel a presence move around me and in my shock, I move my hands to see who has invaded my personal space. The movement allows one traitorous tear to slip out of my right eye and down my cheek. And he is there, that bastard, just inches from my face looking down at me. He brushes my cheek taking my tear with his gentile fingers.

I look up into his golden eyes, how strange they are, how cold, but how calming. His face has morphed from its usual cool aloofness into something else, something kinder. His lips are parted slightly, as though he is amazed by his own actions. I am shocked into silence. His hand trails down my cheek, my neck, and down my shoulder to where it finally rests on my upper arm.

Then he steps closer, so close we are almost touching. What is he doing? I should move back, but I don’t. I am rooted in the ground, unmoving, unable to do anything but watch him and his too-perfect face.

I feel a pain in my arm, and I realize his hand is no longer gently resting there, but gripping me, harshly. Too harshly. I gasp as I try to pull back but his hold tightens and now he is gripping my other arm too.

“Why-?” I turn to look back up at his face. He stills for a brief moment before pushing me roughly away from him.

“Get her out of here, Albert!” He roars now several feet away from me. His hands are now gripping the back of a chair. He looks angry- furious really.

I am shaking, terrified. This is the second time von Graf has hurt me. But I am a deer in headlights, apparently too stupid to move when danger is right in front of me.

An arm wraps around me and I jump before I realize that it is just Albert. He leads me away from the desk and to the door.

“Miss Hemstock?” I hear von Graf call and I turn to see him now sitting calmly behind his desk as though nothing happened, “I will sort it out with your supervisor so you can continue your work, but you can never come back here, is that understood?”

I nod. I don’t want to come back here.

Albert opens the door and we leave shutting it behind us. As we walk down the hallway I hear a faint crash and roar, and I try to speed up my pace but Albert maintains his leisurely pace, holding me back.

“Oh man, Alexis, you’ve got him good” Albert laughs.

****

Warring Logics is up to chapter 25 on my patreon. Check out the link for more info: https://www.patreon.com/heatherjacobs

Happy reading!

Heather