I blinked rapidly, trying to refocus as I stared at the paper on the desk in front of me. “What are you saying?”
Nina let out a sigh like I was a middle school child refusing to pay attention in class. “There was nothing we could do about it, Mr. Middleton. I’m very sorry.”
I tried to swallow, but it got stuck in my throat. “Canceled? All of them?”
“It’s not uncommon. We don’t have a high enrollment for the classics program. Right now, it’s one of the departments they’re thinking about cutting.”
“Okay.” Okay, so it wasn’t because of what I’d just asked her. Only…only I wasn’t sure I believed that.This was the exact thing I’d feared before—them using it as an excuse to terminate my job without admitting to the real reason they didn’t want me here.
“We have an eleven-student minimum here for all of our online courses, and unfortunately, we couldn’t meet that for session B.”
I bit my lip. “So, for session C…”
“We will be in contact should we need additional staff, but going forward, I’m afraid we won’t be offering those classes.”
Oh, I knew a kiss-off when I heard one. I’d come in expecting to beg for scraps when it came to accommodating my needs for the upcoming semester—something I didn’t want to do because I was the new guy and no one liked it when the new guy came in with a list of demands.
I’d been anticipating being offered at least a part-time position for the fall semester.
Not…not this.
I blinked and saw a flash of my medical bills. I blinked again and saw myself lying in bed, unable to move because I couldn’t afford any of my treatments. I blinked and saw my brother’s face, worried because I couldn’t take care of myself.
I blinked and saw Nash staring at me with unending amounts of pity.
I tried to swallow again, but there was still a lump there, preventing my throat from functioning.
“Is there anything else you?—”
“There’s nothing else I can do for you.I’m sorry,” she said before I could finish.
“—need from me,” I went on, my heart in my throat.
Nina had the grace to look ashamed. “No. But I will take your accommodation list and add it to your file, so if we do have a need during an upcoming semester, we won’t have to meet regarding this again.”
Oh. I knew what that meant. That was the unofficial-official way of telling me I was on a list of professors they would never actually hire. And God only knew how many out-of-work professors in my field were waiting to take my place.
I managed to stand and leave her office without incident, though my messenger bag felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I made it through the lobby and outside onto the balcony, sagging against the railing before my legs gave out on me.
Fuck. Fuck!
I didn’t swear that often, even in my own head, but this moment called for a few choice words. Becausefuck! I was so screwed. I’d been worried enough that I wouldn’t be able to deal with taking on an entire course load while also trying to manage my brand-new disorder, but now I couldn’t even afford to do the latter because my savings were almost out, and now I definitely had no insurance to cover the treatments I needed.
I felt sick to my stomach.
My hands shook as I reached into my pocket for my phone, and I stared down at the time. I’d been on campus for a grand total of thirty-two minutes. God only knew where Nash was, but it was likely he was still on the road, thinking he wouldn’t need to be back for several hours.
“Oh my god. Forest?”
I jumped and spun, almost losing my footing when I heard a familiar voice. My gaze locked on a tall, muscular form with shaggy blond hair tied in a bun at the nape of his neck. Heath smiled at me, though he looked confused.
“What are you doing here?”
He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Picking up some info sheets and forms for some of my kids. They do a dual-enrollment thing that… Actually, never mind. You don’t care.”
“Of course I care.”
He burst into laughter. “Dude, no you don’t. It’s just a school thing. But shit, I forgot you worked here.”
