Trey's Dilemma
The Women in his Life #6

Excerpt

Trey Bennett sat at his desk grading the third economics test he'd given his students this semester--they all were doing well. He smiled to himself. Well, they all cheated or I didn't make the exam hard enough--or I'm a hell of a teacher. I'll go with the latter. Most of his students had scored As and Bs, with a few Cs, but one poor girl had gotten an F. He visualized her, the one who sat in the back of the room in his two o'clock class. Pretty little thing, no more than five or five foot one. She reminded him of Diane.

He still had deep feelings for Diane in his heart. Damn Chuck Hillman--but she didn't have to screw him. Chuck didn't force her. Damn Diane. I still feel for her, still want her as much as ever, but she keeps doing unforgiveable things. Trey threw his pencil at the cork board hanging beside the door frame.

"Oh my--something I said?"

Startled, Trey looked up, then smiled at the girl standing in the open doorway.

"Sorry. No, it wasn't you. Please..." He motioned to the chair across from his desk.

He had a rule to leave his door open unless in a private meeting with a student. Students were his first priority and he wanted them to know he tried to be available to them.

"Come in, Miss Benson. What can I do for you?"

Gabrielle Benson had been one of his students in the first semester last year. A very good-looking, full-bodied blonde, about five feet six and one hundred thirty pounds. Trey thought she'd turned twenty-one. She had made a pass at him last year. Of course, he turned her down, but she'd been his student then, and now she wasn't.

Gabrielle sat down across from him. "I'm not sure you can help me, but I hope so. Do you still teach Creative Writing?"

Trey shook his head and chuckled. "That wasn't my finest hour. I taught last year as a favor to the Dean of the English Department--a night class for one credit hour."

"But you did teach the course?"

"Only because the dean thought I could give some useful pointers to the group, since I've had two books published."

"I didn't know that. What kind of books--economics?"

"No, they were fiction."

"I'll be damned. I am impressed. So you write fiction--I do, too." She leaned forward and laid a notebook on his desk. "I hoped you would help me with this."

"What is it?"

"A book I've written, a romance--Longing for Love."

Trey smiled and picked up the manuscript. "An auto-biography?"

"Oh heavens, no." Her face turned bright red.

"Just kidding, Gabrielle."

She smiled. "I really need someone to help me."

"I just don't have any spare time in my school schedule." Trey waved his hand over his desk covered with papers. The desk phone jangled loudly. "Excuse me." Trey picked up the receiver. "Yes?"

"Trey, Jim."

"Good morning, Jim. Kinda early for you, isn't it?"

"You know I run every morning. When I went by Diane's place this morning, I got involved in a problem I thought you'd want to know about."

"What kind of problem?"

"A man..."

"Hold on, Jim." Trey cupped the hand set. "Tell you what, Gabrielle, I need to take this call. Why don't you leave this with me to look over? Take my card. It has my home number, so call me tonight, and I'll go over your manuscript with you."

"Do you still live where we had the cookout?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll come over around six, if that's all right. I really want your opinion."

"Okay, that'll be fine. See you then." Trey smiled and waited for her to leave before speaking again.

"Sorry, Jim, I needed to finish up with a student. Now where were we?"

"Can you have lunch with me today? I promised Diane I wouldn't tell you, but I'm worried about her."

"What happened?"

"Too much for the phone."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the cafeteria at twelve-thirty."

"See you then." Jim hung up.

Damn, what has she gotten herself into now?