The Retreat

The next morning, the rumor mill was faster than the internet.

*Did you hear? The Dean and the Art student? Trapped all night?*

Arthur walked into his office to find a memo from the Board of Trustees on his desk.

*Subject: Dean Appointment Review.*

*Body: ...concerns regarding decorum... unseemly rumors... the reputation of the department must remain impeccable...*

Arthur stared at the paper. This was it. The job he had worked twenty years for. The legacy.

If he pursued this... whatever *this* was with Lily... he lost everything. And she would be painted as the student who slept her way to a degree. The academic world was cruel to women like her.

He had to protect her. He had to be the gentleman.

There was a knock on the door. Lily walked in. She was wearing a bright yellow raincoat. She looked hopeful.

"Hey," she said. "About last night..."

"Miss Chen," Arthur said. He didn't stand up. He kept his eyes on his paperwork. His voice was ice.

Lily froze. "Miss Chen?"

"I have reviewed your hours," Arthur said. "You have completed forty-eight. I am waiving the last two. Your service is concluded."

"Arthur, what is this?"

"This is a place of business," Arthur said, looking up. His eyes were cold, dead walls. "And our arrangement has become... distracting. Rumors are circulating. It is undignified."

"Undignified?" Lily recoiled. "Is that what I am to you? A stain on your reputation?"

"You are a student," Arthur said violently. "And I am a Dean. We are not... we cannot be anything else."

"But last night—"

"Last night was a result of stress and confinement," Arthur lied. "It was a mistake. One I do not intend to repeat."

Lily stared at him. She saw the walls. She saw the tweed suit armor.

"I thought you were brave," Lily whispered. "I thought you were real. But you're just a book, Arthur. Dusty and closed."

She turned and ran out of the office.

Arthur waited until her footsteps faded. Then he put his head in his hands and let out a shuddering breath.

He was safe. He was dignified. And he was utterly alone.

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