The Devil's Secretary Ch. 01

"Ok amado, keep your secrets then, but the Natalie I know is never early to class. Usually you're sneaking in the back late smelling like sex and looking all tired... Oh no! Did you have a fight with the lover?"

Her heavy accent, especially the way the extended the word lover, made the last of Natalie's frustration vanish into thin air. She laughed aloud and with a sigh, relented at last. There was no denying Noa.

"No, we didn't have a fight. We just didn't exactly have time to uh... corrida. Well, I didn't anyway."

Noa looked horrified.

"Oh you poor thing."

She threw her arm around Nat's shoulder, squeezing gently to comfort her.

"I have a man like this once in Madrid, very egoísta. You need to put the feet down."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"He's not selfish, and it's put your foot down, not put the feet down. I told him I didn't have time, and that I couldn't be late again."

She pouted, secure in the knowledge that her woes were her own doing. Noa's expression turned from horror to saddened wisdom as she patted Nat's back gently.

"We all make mistakes amada, this too shall pass."

The young women headed inside to one of the lecture halls. Noa was a former political science major turned bio-med student, but she dabbled in a number of high-level sociology classes. Natalie suspected it was out of boredom, her friend's attention span was notoriously short. On the flip side, it was fun to share the occasional course with her companion.

They were laughing as they entered the small, upward sloping auditorium. An energetic wave caught their attention from the other side of the room, near the back.

Natalie waved back, smiling and nudging Noa.

"Ai Presley, he's always so entusiasmado."

The pair began climbing the narrow stairs on the way to their friend.

"So how are things with Marienne?"

Noa sighed listlessly.

"Oh we broke it off about a week ago now."

Natalie was surprised, not that she'd broken it off but rather that she was only now hearing about it. They were roommates after all.

"Really? Why? And how am I just finding out about this?"

"Because you have been knocking the boots instead of coming home since last Tuesday, amada."

That couldn't be right though, could it? Noa and Natalie had shared a dorm since their first semester, but neither really slept there very frequently. She counted in her head, preparing to disagree.

"Well hello there ladies, both of you are on time? To what do we all owe the pleasure?"

Noa hissed playfully at Presley as Natalie leaned in to give the man a hug.

"Hi Presley, it's good to see you."

Presley was the picture of American youth - Dirty blonde hair and sunburned skin over a summer body, a bright shining smile and a pair of startling blue eyes with an uncanny depth.

"I thought you were still interning at the governor's office?"

Presley smiled.

"I am, kinda. I asked to adjust my schedule so I could come back and wrap up that sociology degree I never finished."

Nao rolled her eyes loudly, eliciting another, bigger smile.

"Presley, you already have degree in communication and international relations. Why in God's name are you still here?"

"Glutton for punishment, I suppose."

Their chatter was interrupted by an electronically enhanced cough from down at the podium.

Professor Aldrich, an ancient man with wispy gray curls and the thickest glasses Natalie had ever seen, was tapping gently on the microphone clipped to his shirt collar.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, let's settle down. I'm going to turn the floor over to a dear friend and colleague of mine, he'd like to explain a rare opportunity to you all. Please give him the same respect you've always given me."

The room quieted, a little, and a handsome man in his mid to late thirties stepped forward. He didn't look like any professor Nat had ever seen, save some of her Equine Studies instructors. His dark black hair was a mess, but matched his deep tan, work boots, dirty jeans, and button-down flannel shirt.

"Right, so, I'm Professor Conor McCabe, Department of Archaeology."

Noa gave a low purr and elbowed Nat in the ribs, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Nat rolled her eyes, but had to admit the soft Irish accent lent the already attractive man a deliciously exotic appeal.

"Our class size dropped this year, so I've got five openings for an upcoming field assignment to the Petraglyphs in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It'll be six weeks in the desert. You'll be hot, sweaty, tired, and sore, and it'll be the most valuable experience of your collegiate career if you're ever thinking of doing field work after you graduate."

Natalie's ears perked up and she sat a little straighter. Field work was her dream, the thought of studying ancient cultures first hand was exhilarating.

"The application is online at the archaeology page. It's on a first-come basis, but graduate students are getting priority. Thanks for your time, I look forward to seeing some of you there."

The man gave a sort of half-wave and stepped lightly off stage, heading out the door.

"Noa. You're drooling."

She stuck her tongue out at Presley's teasing, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I can't help it, he's so viril, so... delicioso! Amado, tell this man that professor sexy is, well, sexy."

Natalie cracked a wry smile. It was true, he was very attractive, but she trended monogamous unless she was in an explicitly open relationship.