The Mentor's Favor Chapter 2

The next day, I made a call.

Then I headed to the university, a box of freshly baked pastries in hand.

The department’s break room was buzzing with activity.

"Nina, please, for the love of God, don't mess up again. Look at these dark circles!"

"Yeah, my girlfriend is starting to think I'm ghosting her."

"I'm so sorry, everyone. It was my fault. The professor already chewed me out for it. I promise it will never happen again."

"Alright, you guys, lay off," Lexi chimed in, defending her. "Give Nina a break. She feels terrible. Let's just focus on getting this done together."

As she finished, she turned and her eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Mrs. Partridge! You're here! Did you bring the professor another treat?"

I smiled and nodded. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

Nina mumbled a quiet "Hello, Mrs. Partridge" along with the others before slipping out of the room.

A moment later, she returned, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Troy.

"Let me guess," Troy said, taking my hand. "Pastries today?"

One of the male students, mouth full, let out a dramatic groan. "Hey! I just started eating, how am I already full from all this sweetness?"

"Oh, shut up and eat. Not even this much sugar can shut your mouth."

Amid the playful banter of the students, Nina stood silently to the side, not touching a thing. She seemed out of place.

"Why aren't you having any?" I asked her gently.

Her eyes flickered toward Troy for a split second.

"Oh, she has a sensitive stomach," Troy answered for her, almost reflexively. "She can't handle things that are too sweet."

I paused, taken aback.

"Nina, you can't eat sweets? Well, in that case, I'll just have to take yours!" Lexi chirped, already reaching for the pastry. She seemed to be enjoying them immensely.

A week later, the call I'd been waiting for came.

"Elara, we found something..."

There was a little dessert shop on the cafe strip near the university. Lexi was a frequent customer.

And the trash can in Troy’s office often contained packaging from that very shop.

The dates almost always lined up with Lexi's purchases.

I pictured her smiling face, the one that called me Mrs. Partridge without a hint of shame.

Was she that good of an actress? To face me without a single crack in her facade?

Before bed, I was scrolling through my social feed.

A new post from Lexi’s boyfriend: One more year of grinding. Two diplomas, one finish line.

The picture was of their intertwined hands.

"I heard," I said casually to Troy, "that you've been telling your students not to date?"

He let out a soft laugh.

"I don't have that much time on my hands. I just advised the two women in my lab to try and focus on their studies. This field is already tougher for them, and a relationship is bound to be a distraction. I'm just looking out for them."

"A little sexist, don't you think?" I teased.

"Not at all. Women are forces of nature. Look at you, a queen in the boardroom, while I'm just stuck staring at tedious experiments and endless lines of code."

After undergrad, we'd chosen completely different paths. Troy stayed in academia, climbing the ladder from masters to PhD. I went out and started my own company. Those early days of supporting each other, while not exactly impoverished, were a defining chapter of our lives. During Troy’s toughest stretch, my company had just started to find its footing. For two years, I covered all of his living and academic expenses.

Now, we were both successful in our own right, our love supposedly as strong as ever.

If only Nina hadn't planted that seed of doubt.

The dean of the department fell ill, and I went to the hospital to visit him. As I rounded a corner in the hallway, I heard familiar voices.

"Professor Partridge really babies Lexi and Nina, doesn't he? Hours-long tutoring sessions, giving them second and third author credits on the last paper... How come we don't get that kind of treatment?"

"I think he favors Lexi more."

"Well, yeah. She knows how to talk, how to suck up. She's always bringing him those fancy desserts."

"Honestly, I think the professor is pretty calculating. Nina's from a nobody town, so when she makes a tiny mistake, he lectures her for hours. Last time, she was in his office for two solid hours. When she came out, her eyes were all red and puffy."

"It wasn't a tiny mistake, though, was it? She messes up all the time. I was actually surprised she got second author credit."

Listening to their gossip, a thought flashed through my mind, too quick to grasp.

After a brief chat with the dean, I drove straight to the university.

Just as I reached the lab, Lexi came out to throw something away.

"Mrs. Partridge... are you here to see the professor?"

Her usual bubbly energy was gone, replaced by a disconnected, hollow look.