Page 293 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

"I don't know." Melissa left the room, closing the door behind her.

I tapped my knee impatiently. What were they possibly talking about? It was a long time before Melissa came back into the room. She didn't say anything. She just walked to the mirror and began to finish doing her makeup.

"What was he calling about?"

"We talked about a lot of things."

"Why are you torturing me? We both know that you're going to tell me. Just spit it out."

"We actually had a very nice talk. He's starting to wear me down."

"So he just called you to chat?"

"Kind of. He told me he punched your professor in the face. Several times."

"I'm not thrilled that he did that."

"It's kind of sweet though. He was defending you. He's like your knight in shining armor. With a violent side."

"He just wanted to talk to you about my creepy professor?"

"No, not really." Melissa frowned and then turned to me. "I think you're right. Maybe a fresh start would be good. I think James really does love you. Moving seems fast and crazy, but your whole relationship has been fast and crazy."

"So you're okay with me moving?"

"I mean, I'm upset that you're abandoning me. But I want you to be happy. And after my conversation with James, I think that maybe I've been too hard on him."

"You think?"

Melissa laughed. "I've just been looking out for you. You know that. You tend to like guys that are terrible for you."

"Just Austin."

"James counts in that list too. Dating a professor wasn't exactly in your best interest. Especially when there was a super nice guy who clearly adored you. With nice abs and a great personality."

"How is Tyler doing?"

"He wanders around the frat house like a sad puppy."

I looked down at my lap.

"I'm kidding, he's fine. I've even seen him make out with that Natalie girl he hangs out with. Like I told you before, he's a big boy, he'll be okay. Besides, he definitely needs to move on now since you're fleeing to New York with James."

"But I still don't get it. Seriously, why did James call you?"

"Because we're friends. Geez, not everything is about you. Stop being conceited. I thought you wanted us to get along."

"I do." She was definitely hiding something from me. "Do you know where he was?"

"He didn't say. You said he was with Rob and Brendan though, right?" Melissa suddenly looked worried. And it worried me that she looked worried.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know." She turned away from me.

"Melissa, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"I don't know. It was kind of weird. At first we were having a really nice conversation. But after a few minutes it didn't really seem like he had a reason for calling. He didn't really have anything to say in particular. And I was trying to avoid the subject because I didn't want to worry you. But he didn't sound like himself, Penny. It seemed like maybe he had too much to drink or something? He seemed off. Like maybe he had just drunk dialed me or something?"