The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor)

"I'll help in any way I can," Charlie offered. "I'll drop by the College of Engineering now and then."

"You don't have to," Taylor said. "I don't want to burden-"

"It's not a burden. I can even join Tristan's therapy sessions so I can better understand," Charlie offered.

Taylor stared at her with an intense gaze. His lips curved up approvingly as he asked, "Is this your way of saying you want to become Tristan's sister-in-law?"

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. She was so amused that she cried while laughing. "We are having a serious conversation here, Taylor."

"And I was serious about it," Taylor said softly, never looking away.

For seconds, Charlie stayed silent, just looking back at him. After a while, she asked, “Wait. So, you should have trust issues, right? It's why you haven't been in a relationship since."

When Taylor nodded, Charlie asked, “How am I different? Why are you suddenly breaking your walls for me when you don't know me that well yet?"

"Well, for starters, you were Luke's girlfriend. You did not just come out of nowhere," With hand gestures, he suggested, "There has to be a certain amount of filtering there."

He fixed his gaze on Charlie, saying, "And I don't know. For me, you were different. With Amber, she tried to get my attention before I pursued her, but it was subtle. In your case, you didn't want anything to do with me at first. You even ignored me at school."

"Okay." Charlie's eyes wandered around before admitting, "But honestly, Luke and his parents didn't necessarily look me up. I mean, they asked about me, but they didn't check my background."

A hiss left Taylor's lips. He cleared his throat and admitted, "Okay, I asked about you from the dean."

"What?" Charlie asked.

"A day after the general assembly, I went to see the dean of the College of Business and asked about you," Taylor revealed, shocking Charlie.

"You asked about me?" Charlie repeated. "And then, what did you find out?"

### TAYLOR'S FLASHBACK###

"Good morning, Dean," Taylor greeted Dr. Vanessa Caldwell, the dean of the College of Business. He sat right in front of her desk, beaming.

"What are you doing here, West? You're not my student," the dean said, already recognizing him.

"Doctor, I came to ask for some information," Taylor suggested.

"What?" Dr. Caldwell asked. "What can I give you that your own dean can't?"

"Charlie Rae King," Taylor gave the name. "I want to know if she's a good person —maybe a little about her background."noveldrama

"Charlie King is our top student for Business Administration. She always has been. She's diligent, studious, and beautiful," the dean said.

"That's it?" Taylor asked. "I already know that. I was there at the assembly."

"Mr. West, you're not going to power trip me into giving private student information," the dean said. "If you like her, just get to know her."

"But you know how it is in our family," Taylor said.

All the university deans knew who Taylor was, but they never spoke about him. For one, Dr. Vanessa

Vel

Carrington's college professort

Caldwell had been Savannah

the dean understood what he meant.

When Dr. Caldwell remained silent, Taylor leaned in and said, "This girl, Charlie

Rae King, is stalking me."

"Charlie Rae King comes from a

respectable family!" the dean

snapped. "She is a nice girl, Taylor,

and I don't believe that for one second. Charlie stalking you? It might just be the other way around."

"Look, all I can say is this-if you want to be friends with her, she is safe. But if you get her in trouble, Taylor, you are the one who is going to be in trouble. Now, go!" the dean said. "Leave. If you have concerns, go to your dean at the College of Engineering."

### END OF FLASHBACK ###

Back to the present.

"So, that's why I was even more certain that you're someone I can trust," Taylor

said. Of course, he didn't tell Charlie about the stalking part.

"Really? Our dean said that about me?" Charlie asked, looking perplexed.

"What?" Taylor asked.

"It's just that I never thought the dean knew me that well. I mean, we had talked, but—” Charlie paused in deep thought. "Could Dad have—"

"Your father?" Taylor asked.

Just before they could continue discussing it, Charlie's stomach grumbled. Her cute face frowned as she revealed, "Taylor, I'm hungry!"