That son of a bitch! Emily couldn't believe her eyes. The angry words burst through the surface. "That son of a bitch!" A couple of students looked over at her, but she didn't care.

Emily was sitting in the university library, a psychology journal open on the table in front of her. A hot tear dropped on the title page of the article she had just read. She blinked, hoping that the words beneath the title would rearrange themselves. They wouldn't, but the tears stopped.

The author's name seared like a firebrand into her brain. Barry J. Austin. Assistant Professor of Psychology, Barry J. Austin. Emily's professor. Emily's mentor. What the hell was his name doing on this paper? The paper she had turned in to him last year. The one he'd urged her to submit but she refused because she didn't think it was good enough. Did that gave him the right to have it published under his name?

The second refrain started, bitter, remorseful: How could he? Every man Emily had gotten close to had cheated on her. And now this! She had trusted Professor Austin, and look what he had done to her. Men were all pigs! She'd tried to give them a chance, but now it was all-out war. She slammed her fist down on the journal. "Goddamn thief!" This time the students sitting nearby got up and left, shooting Emily dirty looks. She didn't care.

Her angry expression gave way to a small, wicked smile, as she began plotting payback. Big mistake, buster, 'cause your dutiful little research assistant is gonna make you pay! Pay big time!