Jennifer Hillier - Creep

CREEP

Gallery Books
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New York, NY 10020
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by Jennifer Hillier

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition July 2011

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Designed by Helene Berinsky

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hillier, Jennifer.

Creep / Jennifer Hillier.1st Gallery Books hardcover ed.

p. cm.

1. Women college teachersFiction. 2. ExtortionFiction.

3. Psychological fiction. I. Title.

PS3608.I446C74 2011

813.6dc22 2010047864

ISBN 978-1-4516-2584-4
ISBN 978-1-4516-2689-6 (ebook)

For Steve Hillier,
for so many reasons .

So many people helped make my first novel a reality, and Im very grateful for all the love and support Ive received.

Id like to thank my agent, Victoria Skurnick, for taking a chance on me, and for being relentless in helping me whip the manuscript into shape.

Id also like to thank my editor, Kathy Sagan, and her assistant, Jessica Webb, for making the publishing process such a wonderful experience. Huge thanks to my copy editor, Steve Boldt, for all his hard work. And to Louise Burke, Jennifer Bergstrom, and everyone else at Gallery Books, thank you. Im lucky to be part of such a great team.

Im deeply grateful to my mother, Nida Allan, who always believes in everything I do, and to my father, Roberto Pestao, for his gift of storytelling. And much love goes to my big brother, John Perez, who always has my back.

Big thanks to my best friends, Annabella Wong, Dawn May Robertson, and Winston Charles Jr., who dont write, but love that I do. You guys always said this would happen, and you were right (but please dont let it go to your heads).

Special thanks to my very first writing buddy, Gregory G. Griffin, for tearing apart my earliest chapters (rather obnoxiously, I might add), and then cheering me on as I put them back together again. May your inner dwarf always shine, my friend.

Numerous other writing pals also offered their feedback on this book long before I ever got an agent, and Im so grateful for all your constructive criticism and encouragement.

Lastly, Id like to thank my guardian angel, Helena Rosts, who was my first real fan and who blessed me early on with the confidence to chase my dreams.

CREEP

T hree months. Thats how long Dr. Sheila Tao had been sleeping with Ethan Wolfe. Three months, four days, and approximately six hours.

The problem wasnt the sixteen-year age difference. It wasnt even that she was his professor and he was her teaching assistant. The problem was that Sheila was engaged to Morris, and now the affair with Ethan had to stop. No more weekly meetings at the Ivy, the motel just off campus that rented rooms by the hour. No more sneaking around. No more lying. No more falling into that chasm of depression that consumed her for days after each of their trysts.

It had to end. All of it. Sheila and her therapist had been working hard on this. Yes, even psychologists had psychologists.

It wouldnt be easy. Ethan was good-looking and prone to getting his way. Hell, he had seduced her, though Sheila suspected not even her therapist believed that.

They were in her bright corner office on the fourth floor of the psychology building at Puget Sound State University. He was relaxed, casual, his jean-clad legs spread open in that cocky way he liked to sit. The desk between them was strewn with papers, an organized clutter that served as a makeshift barrier.

Observing him, she watched his full lips form words she only half-heard. There was nothing vague about Ethans attractiveness, but he downplayed it by wearing ratty vintage T-shirts, worn jeans, tennis shoes. His hard, flat stomach wasnt evident through the loose-fitting shirt, but Sheila could damn well picture it.

She had no idea how he was going react to her news. Shed known him long enough to understand his propensity for structure, and she was about to upset the routine theyd established over the past three months.

Of her five teaching assistants, Ethan was the brightest and most ambitious. His intelligence and drive had been a big part of his appeal. They were discussing grades for her popular summer-session undergraduate social psychology class, and so far neither of them had commented as to why they were meeting here this morning, in her office, instead of room sixteen at the Ivy Motel. She knew he had to be thinking about it, because she was thinking about it, too.

She forced herself to focus on what he was saying.

Danny Ambrose doesnt deserve a B, he said, fingers resting lightly on the arms of his chair. He never talked with his hands, even when he was passionate about something. The similarities he drew between Milgrams experiment and the Nazis? Too obvious.

His brows were furrowed. Sheila was about to overrule the grade Ethan had assigned to one of her undergraduate students, and he didnt like it. He wasnt used to it. They didnt disagree often.

He loses points for originality, but dont you think his argument is solid? Sheila smiled to soften her words. This is only a sophomore class. He did what was asked of him and it was better than average. I spoke to Danny personally the other day. He risks losing his scholarship if we give him that C. Hes a good kid. Id really hate to see that happen.

She could almost hear the wheels in Ethans mind turning as he thought of a counterargument. Most of the time she encouraged healthy debate, but she wasnt in the mood this morning. There was a conversation they needed to have, and she was having a hard time steering them in that direction.

She waited, saying nothing. If she didnt push it, hed come around. The key was to let him work through it on his own.

Okay, Ethan said finally. You win, Sheila. Danny gets a B. Lucky bastard. God, I hate it when you assert your authority over me. Lowering his voice, he glanced over his shoulder at the open door behind him. Youll have to make it up to me later. He leaned forward and ran a finger down the back of her left hand, lips curled into the half-smile she liked so much.

His finger brushed over the band of her new diamond ring, turned inside out so the stone was tucked into her palm. His gaze dropped down to her hand.

She was surprised it had taken him this long to notice. Here we go .

Her first instinct was to yank her hand away, but that would only make things worse. Willing herself to appear relaxed, she twisted the platinum band around. Ethans eyes widened at the sight of the four-carat diamond.