of the city planning department. You are made aware that an old friend of yours, one who runs a planning consulting firm, has submitted a competitive proposal to work as a consultant for your department. She then calls you up on your work phone during office hours, inviting you to be her guest for dinner that same evening. Do you accept the invitation, or do you decline it until the contract has been awarded?”
“That all depends.” He shrugs noncommittally.
“On what, Mr. Turner? And please be precise.”
“If I’m fucking her or not.”
The class breaks out in a fit of giggles, flutters of laughter filling the room, but Emma Harper doesn’t seem amused in the least by his reply. She leans against her desk, crossing her legs at the ankle as she glowers at him, her blood-red nails repeatedly tapping on the desk’s edge.
“Enlighten me how that bears any weight in this ethical dilemma.”
“Well, if this friend is as good of a friend as you say, then I must be fucking her. And if I am, there is no way I’ll stop just because she wants a job. Besides, I can guarantee you if she’s calling me, she’s not thinking about her contract either. She just wants a good old-fashioned fuck. Getting a job is the last thing on her mind.”
The laughter in the auditorium only increases at Colt’s honest response.
Professor Harper crosses her arms over her ample chest and pushes herself off the desk’s edge to take two steps closer to Colt’s row.
“I’m sure this is a rude awakening for you, Mr. Turner, but there are plenty of people in this world who are motivated by their ambitions and obtain greater satisfaction in achieving their goals than any mere sexual encounter could possibly offer. To some, prestige and power can be highly seductive and more alluring than whatever you believe your sexual prowess can give them.”
Another howl of chuckles ensues, making it challenging to hear Colt’s retort. But lucky for me, I’m close enough to hear every word that falls from his smug lips.
“I have to be honest with you, professor. You talking about my sexual prowess is aphrodisiacal enough. Isn’t there some ethical dilemma in getting a student hard in class just so he can pay attention to your boring ass lecture?”
“The only dilemma I see here is whether I should report you to the dean’s office for sexual misconduct or just fail you for your lackluster academic response. I must admit I’m conflicted at which one would truly grab your attention, seeing as very little does.”
Colt leans back in his chair, his arms thrown back so his hands can cup the back of his head, as he stares the professor down.
“I prefer our sexual tension to your brand of intimidation any day of the week, to keep my attention. You were almost able to make me care about this class, professor. Don’t ruin it with unfounded threats. We both know whose signature signs your teacher’s salary.”
They stare into each other’s eyes with such loathing that my mind begins to wander at all the endless possibilities. I school my delighted features as best as I can, and the minute the rest of the class has quieted down, I chime in on their one on one battle.
“If I may, professor? I think the answer is quite obvious. It would be a blatant conflict of interest in accepting the dinner date, even if the invitation weren’t made with the intent of enhancing said friend’s chances of getting the job. You didn’t say if we had any influence on the decision to award the contract or not. However, it is still good optics that we postpone any contact with our friend for the time being since it would be hard for us to keep the same distance from the actual decision-makers of who gets the contract.”
Professor Harper doesn’t even look at me as she takes in my answer, her deadlock gaze still set on Colt.
“Correct. I’m glad to see some of my students aren’t as ethically challenged as Mr. Turner here.”
“So, in other words, just use your hand to get off,” I whisper over to Colt, throwing him a goading wink for good measure.
His nose flares, but he doesn’t say anything in return, his glower still focused on Professor Harper as she sashays back to her spot at the center of the room and continues with her lesson.
As I take their animosity toward each other, the light bulb in my head only brightens.