A/N: Welcome to Office Hours! Now that LMDE is finished, it's time to start on the newest conquest. I hope you guys have been enjoying A Safe Place and The Tear.

-Haley

Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina

Liliana pulled a sigh through her pursed lips. The third time in the miserable four weeks she'd been in college, she'd been in this man's office. Doctor Locy. He was a miserable old man who looked a lot like the Riddler from DC Comics. He must not like Russian girls, or he thinks I'm too pretty, or he doesn't like that Karen and I have long since done all the reading on his list. He only ever picked on them, mostly her, though. Her grades were mediocre even though she knew her papers were better than those around her. The man just plain did not like her, not that she'd ever given him a reason. Sure, she and Karen talked in class, but so did everyone else. She sat there, seething. Disruptive? Absolutely not. She was bringing up a valid point about the reading and he didn't like it. He only taught the class to hear himself speak, and Liliana hated teachers like that. She guessed that it must have been obvious, hence why she was sitting here. Again.

A few doors away, the man that Liliana was mentally berating and complaining about showed his true colors. Not that he hadn't been to her, already. He'd always been a nasty sort of man, he talked down to his secretary and his understudy. The latter of those two, Jace Beleren, sat in his own office, looking over the papers that Locy himself had already graded; rather harshly, Jace thought to himself. His mind was just finishing up the thought when his superior walked in.

"You're taking this section of 101. IT's time you started teaching," he said, condescendingly.

Jace had spent most of the summer begging to take one or two sections of the freshman level course, all to no avail. He tried to fake a smile and look happy, but he knew there had to be more to it than what he was giving away. With him, there always was.

"I don't like this section," he continued. "They're all dumb. And there's a girl in my office. Take her to yours. She's disruptive and disrespectful, and smart-aleck. Deal with her. She's your problem now." He finished.

Jace was taken aback. All of those weeks of begging that that came to naught- only to give him one day to prepare for the course and he only let Jace have it because he thought that they were below him, and now the kids were Jace's problem? Jace fought the urge to roll his eyes and anger in his throat. What kind of educator was this man, anyways? He had taught elementary school? Woe betide those children.

"Yes sir," Jace said, pursing his lips, grabbing his bag, and walking out.

Jace walked into Locy's office and nodded at the girl who was sitting there. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he got. She was pale, had bright green eyes and get black hair that curled all the way down her back. She was wearing dark wash skinny jeans and a black crop-top that had silver, glitter sugar skulls and black Converse. Jace's first thought wasn't one he'd had about the hundreds of college girls that had crossed his desk in the five years he'd been here, studying for his Master's and now his Doctoral degree.

She's fucking hot, Jace thought to himself. But he shook the thought.

"Come with me," he said, trying to sound stern.

His voice, Liliana thought. It was deep and he just sounded intelligent. She turned the end of her hair and twirled it in her fingers and met her eyes with his, he cleared his throat.

"Are you the dean of discipline, or something," Liliana said, adding the just a hint of temptation to her voice. "Seeing as how it's my third time in hear in the past month," she said, her voice breathy.

Jace cleared his throat again and pulled a breath though his teeth. He didn't know if she knew what she was doing to him, but she couldn't figure it out; she just seemed like the type that would exploit that to get as much as she could out of him. If he was taking this section, he had to push the thoughts of the freshman girl to the back of his head. Besides, he was ten years her senior anyways.

"No, sadly, I'm just Locy's lackey, and I've been sent to deal with you," Jace said.

"Deal with me," she chuckled and bit into her bottom lip. "I might like that," she said again, breathy and giggly.

"Just follow me," Jace said, still trying to sound stern. He had to prove to Locy and the administration that he could take a course load and still work on his dissertation. He needed this job more than he liked to admit, if he could pick up a few classes along with his job as Residence Director over one of the dorms- then he could easily do whatever he wanted without much worry.

The walk back to his office was silent; not much to write home about, unless you count the fact that- he didn't even know her name, dropped her books after tripping famously over her shoelaces. They made it to the office and Liliana promptly plopped down on the cushy chair across from him. She then continued to prop her feet right onto Jace's desk.

"You should totally do this for me," she laughed. "I'm bad at it."

"Get your feet off of my desk," Jace said, again trying to sound authoritative. But he just thought she was cute.

'Pleaseeeeeeeee?" she continued, "What's your name, anyways?"

"Professor Beleren," Jace said, putting his fingers on his chin and motioning for her to move her feet.

"No, what's your name," Liliana said. She was enjoying playing with him. "Your first name," she said.

"Professor," Jace said, again, fighting back a laugh.

"Okay, professor, just how exactly do you intend to deal with me?"

"He says you're disruptive and disrespectful and a smart aleck," Jace says. "I want to hear your side of the story."

"He doesn't like me- or anyone in the section particularly. But especially me. I guess bringing up valid points about the reading is considered disruptive and disrespectful," Liliana said, twirling her hair around her finger. "And I can be a bit of a smart ass when I want to be, I guess," she said, her voice still exhibiting that breathy quality. Jace pulled a long drag of air through his nose again.

"What's your name?" Jace asked. He hadn't had time to even look at the roster.

"Miss Vess," Liliana laughed, matching Jace tit for tat.

"Your first name," Jace said, exasperated.

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." She was really interested into what his name was. She hadn't found a single member of faculty she liked or really any students besides Karen, and she didn't even count. But him.. he was intriguing.

"Jace. My name is Jace. What's your first name?"

"Liliana," she said. "Liliana Vess."

"Well, Miss Vess, you need this course," and as he calmly pulled her file "A lot more English courses, because that's your major, and he's the dean. So as you said, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. You need this course. And I'm your advisor. So don't make an enemy out of me. I've read your thesis paper on Hamlet. It was good and it did have a lot of valid points. You have to be smart to even get in here! So let your attitude reflect your capabilities! You're a bright and beautiful girl. Don't stay in trouble," Jace finished.

Fuck, he thought. Had he said too much? He probably had. He was mentally kicking himself for that second adjective, but it had just jumped out of his mouth before he could say anything else. However, Liliana's mouth curled into a smile and her green eyes lit up.

"I guess you could scratch my back anytime, cutie," she winked, and without another word, Liliana Vess got up and left his office, hips swaying, the sun hitting the dimples on her back through his window pane.

Fuck, he thought again. This is going to be a long semester.

"KARENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" Liliana exclaimed as she walked through the door of her dorm, flopping dramatically onto her roommate's lap.