Wheatleigh's Golden Goose. Georgia St. Claire

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      About Georgia St. Claire

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      Blushing Books Newsletter

      About Blushing Books

      Chapter One

      Audrey stared out the window as she tuned out the speech being spouted by the man sitting across from her, behind the enormous mahogany desk with all the brass and marble accessories. Why was she here? She did not want to go through this again; so why was she starting down another path leading to another failure? The answer was simple, family. In an unprecedented display of concern, not for her but rather the family reputation, the family had united to prevent the possibility that a Worthington might be considered less than stellar at their chosen occupation. They had insisted that she accept this job, one that she hadn’t even applied for, and stay with it. When she had heard what had motivated the college to seek her out to make her a professor, without even knowing the details, she knew that there had been some serious money put on the table. Discreetly, anonymously, her family had bought her this job and made it clear that this time there had better be a different outcome from her previous teaching experiences.

      “Dr. Worthington, we seem to have lost your attention.”

      “Call me Audrey, please,” she murmured and brought her eyes up to meet the irritated glare of the college president, Cecil Boxford. She sighed and sat up straight. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t expected to be teaching this year. I’m just a bit overwhelmed with how fast everything has happened.” She made an effort to bring up her practiced smile, the one that she had worked on until it was second nature. “I am very honored to be joining the faculty here and I will do my best to give the students a first rate education in history.”

      Boxford’s eyes narrowed as he stared her down. “Failure is not an option, Dr. Worthington. This institution will receive a very sizable donation if you complete the full year teaching here and an endowment larger than the current top three endowments combined if you retain your position for five years. Someone wants you to have this job and has made sure that we are significantly motivated to keep you on. Dr. Hamilton has done some research into the reasons behind your dismissals at your previous positions and will see to it that history does not repeat itself.” He gave a humorless smirk at his wittiness. He shot his index finger out to emphasize his point; “Wheatleigh believes in giving our scholars value for their tuition and has a policy of giving immediate feedback on their progress. All work is returned, graded, within forty-eight hours of being submitted. That will continue; the History Department will not be exempted. ”

      Audrey gasped and shook her head in denial; this was the crux of her problem with her previous teaching positions. She seemed to be constitutionally unable to attach grades to her pupils’ efforts. She got lost trying to understand the hows and whys of their answers and tended to want to write comments to engage in discussions with them rather than assign a grade. When confronted with the avalanche of term papers and final exam essay questions at the end of a semester, she floundered; and her previous employers had been very disgruntled when grades were due and she had more than half of her work unfinished. Each time, once the mess was sorted out, she had not been invited to continue teaching for the second semester. This pattern had repeated at all three positions she had held since obtaining her doctorate.

      Boxford nodded at her reaction. “Yes, we know that this has been your problem. By all accounts you are an excellent lecturer; your students have enjoyed attending your classes. As head of the History Department, Dr. Hamilton has orders to do whatever he has to do to ensure that you comply with Wheatleigh’s policy of promptness. We have made sure that he has some significant motivation as well.”

      His voice took on a conciliatory tone as he changed tactics and tried to come across as a stern but loving fatherly figure. “Your academic career has been very impressive, Audrey. You have gathered so many honors and accolades at such a young age, a remarkable accumulation of degrees. It’s clear that you are just having some trouble making the transition from student to teacher. We at Wheatleigh will help you with this. Dr. Hamilton, Thornton, will mentor you every step of the way until you are settled into our little family routines. I’m sure that you will be happy here; along with a very respectable salary and benefits package, you have very few duties outside of your teaching schedule and something that almost no other private college can offer, we provide housing. I look forward to a long and successful collaboration of educating the next generation.”

      He stood up and came around his desk to take her hand and clasp it between his two, actually patting it. “It was a shock when Dr. Chambers departed so suddenly and we are very aware how difficult it is to step into a teaching position after the semester has already begun. We really appreciate that you were able to get here with such short notice. I’m sure it’s been an extremely tiring weekend for you, so I will let you get on your way so you can settle in and prepare for classes tomorrow. Thornton, make sure that she feels right at home. We want our newest faculty member to know just how happy we are to have her join us.” He turned towards the other man, “I expect to be kept well informed on how things are going.”

      “Yes, sir,” Thornton responded as he straightened up from where he had been leaning against the corner of a bookcase. In a typical show of power, Boxford had not invited him to sit during the meeting. He moved to open the door and stood aside to allow Audrey to pass through first. “I imagine Security has already put your things in your rooms. It’s a very comfortable and convenient set-up; I’m sure you’ll soon feel right at home.”