Page 23 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

Me: "I feel like you aren't sorry."

Tyler: "Yeah, not even a little. Actually I think I can make you feel better. I wanted to cordially invite you to dinner...any night of your choosing."

I looked down at my phone. Professor Hunter hadn't responded.

Tyler: "And I won't take no for an answer."

Me: "How about lunch one day?"As friends.

Tyler: "Let's do it Wednesday. And then we can make fun of all the speeches."

Me: "Haha, okay, Tyler."

Tyler: "I'm going to go before you change your mind. Night!"

I smiled to myself and shut down my computer.

Temptation - Chapter 16

Wednesday

As soon as my alarm sounded Wednesday morning, I was out of bed and getting ready. I needed to look super casual for lunch with Tyler so that he wouldn't get the wrong idea. I took off the baggy t-shirt that I had slept in and replaced it with a tank top and an off the shoulder, lightweight sweater. I pulled on a pair of old skinny jeans with holes in the knees and slipped on my favorite Keds.

I put a little frizz control lotion in my hands and scrunched my wavy hair to give it some added texture. When I looked in the mirror I felt a tiny bit of hope. Professor Hunter had never returned my message. But maybe he just didn't like the flirtatious version of myself. This was the real me. I felt uncomfortable wearing short skirts and revealing dresses. So I'd try and see if he liked this side of me better.

After eating a bowl of cereal, brushing my teeth, and applying minimal makeup, I locked the door behind me. I went into Professor Hunter's class and sat at my usual spot in the corner. Tyler walked in with a huge smile on his face.

"So where do you want to go for lunch?"

"Can I meet you at Russell Dining Hall at 12:30?"

"We don't have to go to the dining hall, Penny. I'll take you somewhere, my treat."

"But it's steak sandwich day."

Tyler laughed. "Okay, I guess I can't pass that up."

I smiled. Professor Hunter walked into the room. He was his usual handsome self, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. This morning he didn't even glance at me. He had told me to stop thinking about him, but I couldn't. Clearly he had stopped thinking about me, though. It stung.

"It's presentation day!" He pumped his fist into the air.

Most of the class groaned.

"It's not going to be that bad. Okay, first up is Raymond Asher. Let me just fix this." He grabbed a podium from the corner and placed it in the middle of the room. "And I'll get out of your way." He made his way to the back of the classroom, and I watched his every step. The only empty seat was the one right in front of Tyler. He sat down and placed his satchel on the floor, still not glancing at me at all. I hadn't realized that I had been holding my breath.

Raymond walked confidently to the podium. He placed both hands on either side of the top of it and leaned in a bit. It looked like he had done this hundreds of times. Was I unaware of a prerequisite to this class? I was getting nervous and I wasn't even presenting until Friday.

Raymond gave a funny presentation about his grandfather who was "clearly better than any of Professor Hunter's grandparents" and deserved a proper shout-out.

Tyler leaned over a little to me. "Crap, he stole my idea."

I laughed quietly. It looked like Professor Hunter's back stiffened.

Without commenting on Raymond's speech, Professor Hunter called out the next name. He never spoke after any of the speeches, just finished writing his notes and called the nextname on his list. I heard a wide array of stories about friends, siblings, parents, and significant others. They started to all blur together.

At the end of the last speech, Professor Hunter said, "Great job today. Class dismissed." He was still scribbling notes.

"I'll see you at lunch, Penny," Tyler said and stood up.