Page 107 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Monday

Penny Taylor was my girlfriend. That term made me feel young.

The last time I’d officially had a girlfriend was high school.

It felt like a lifetime ago. I smiled to myself as I made my way out of her dorm to my car.

Hell, she made me feel young. I lowered my head to try to prevent anyone from recognizing me.

Although, it would probably be hard to recognize me with a smile on my face.

I climbed into my car, closed the door, and pulled out my phone.

I had a million things I needed to do. For a few days there, I’d experienced what life was like without Penny in my life.

I didn’t want to feel that distance ever again.

And now that Penny and I were official, there were some things I needed to take care of. I shot off texts to Ellen and Ian.

Everything was good. I slid my phone back into my pocket.

The whole campus didn’t know I was dating a student.

Just one kid I didn’t care about in the slightest. Freaking Tyler.

And I doubted he’d tell anyone. He clearly hated me, sure.

But he liked Penny, and the truth would hurt her more than it would hurt me.

Hopefully he was smart enough to realize that.

I took a deep breath. Everything wasn’t just good.

It was great. I put my car into drive and drove back to my place.

I was suddenly full of energy. Sleeping for the first time in days had definitely helped with that.

I needed to go for a run and clear my head.

Maybe I could even get some work done tonight.

***

I stepped back from my whiteboard with a smile. Fuck, this was good. There was a knock on my door. “Come in.”

Ian walked in. “We’re all set.”

Dr. Clark would not be pleased, because I’d just done the opposite of what he’d recommended.

Instead of taking the cameras down, I’d installed more.

Talking about how crazy Isabella used to be in therapy the other day had me taking a few extra precautions.

Just in case. I didn’t think Isabella would show up here.

Or act insane. But…I needed to keep Penny safe.

I’d just have peace of mind knowing that she was safe at all times.

I’d tell her about it soon enough. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it would make her mad.

But I had a few other things to bring up next time we talked.

Adding “I’ve been watching you” probably wasn’t the best thing to slide in just yet.

“Thanks, Ian. And the tickets?” Penny’s birthday was coming up, and based on our conversations…I knew what she wanted.

“The tickets will arrive in about a week. Anything else you need?”

I turned away from the whiteboard. “So…Penny knows about what I used to do. But I don’t think she has any idea that I need a security detail when I’m in New York. I just wanted to remind you to…”

“Keep a low profile. I remember. Those were the rules about the apartment you rented me. Say no more, boss. I’ve got this. She’ll never even know I’m here.”

It had been really nice having him around. I just didn’t want to overwhelm Penny. “I’m not saying you have to disappear or anything. But you’re welcome to go back to New York if you want. I’m still paying you either way.”

He shrugged. “I’ll stick around. You never know when something might come up. Besides…I like my new place. Delaware is growing on me.”

“Me too.” Well, not really Delaware. But Penny. I was pretty sure I could be anywhere with her and be happy.

“Important question though. Am I still allowed to steal food and watch some of the games with you?”

I laughed. “Of course. Speaking of which…I’m starving.”

“I was waiting for you to say something. Ellen made tacos.”

My stomach growled. “That sounds perfect.” I followed Ian out of my office and down the hall to the kitchen.

Ellen was just putting a plate at the kitchen counter for me.

“This looks great, Ellen.” I picked up the plate filled with the most delicious smelling tacos. “But how about you both grab plates and we can all eat together in the dining room.”

Ellen raised her eyebrows. “Are you letting us go?”

“What? No!”

“Phew.” She put her hand on her chest. “You scared me for a moment, dear. Why do you want us to eat with you? Has someone died?” She grabbed Ian’s arm. “Is Robert okay?”

“No, I…” I shook my head. “I mean, yes, Rob’s fine, it’s not that. He’s safely out of prison.” Wow, I was a terrible boss. Whenever I was nice my staff thought they were being fired or that someone had died. Geez.

“He was in prison?! What happened?”

“He’s fine. It was nothing. We’re getting way off track here. I just thought eating together would be…nice. And we can all catch up. It’ll be fun.”

Ellen looked at Ian.

Ian shrugged. “Don’t look at me. He’s clearly lost his mind because he’s in love.”

Ellen put her hand to her chest again. I was getting concerned that she might faint. “Oh. This has to do with why I was buying women’s clothing all afternoon? I assumed it was for Jen’s birthday.”

“Why would I have you unpack a bunch of clothing for Jen in my closet?”

“I don’t know, I like when Jen visits.”

“Me too,” Ian said.

I just stared at both of them.

“I didn’t realize Ellen didn’t know yet,” Ian said. He whistled and started to fill up his plate.

“I was going to tell her during dinner.”

“Well, that’s wonderful. But it’s not that much of a surprise,” Ellen said. “It’s clear that you’re dating someone. I prepped that cooler for your beach date. And I just filled the closet with clothes that wouldn’t fit you even if you were a cross dresser.”

I wasn’t sure whether or not I should be offended by that statement. “But you just said you thought the clothes were for Jen.”

She waved her hand through the air. “I was busy all day running errands for you. I just needed a second to put it all together. Especially since you were in such a foul mood after that beach date. I thought it might be over.” She shook her head.

“I’m getting sidetracked. So you’re dating again?

That’s wonderful, James. But hardly a reason to almost give me a heart attack. ”

Ian laughed as he handed Ellen a plate and made himself another. “He’s definitely dating someone. But it’s a little juicier than that.”

“Oh, is it a colleague?” Ellen asked as we all sat down.

Ian laughed again.

“Not exactly,” I said and glared at him. I honestly didn’t know how Ellen was going to react to this. I knew her husband had been older than her but I doubted they met under these circumstances. But she’d find out eventually. “Penny’s my student.”

Ellen took a big bite of her taco. “That’s nice.”

What now? “I’m dating my student. I’m going to ask her to move in with me.”

“Well I figured that with all the stuff I bought for her today. I hope she likes blue, it’s Jen’s favorite color.”

Ian and I stared at each other for a moment before I looked back at Ellen. “That was not the reaction I was expecting, Ellen.”

“Does she make you happy?”

“Yeah, she does.”

“Well that’s wonderful. Isn’t that all that matters? What, did you want me to reprimand you for dating a student? How could I possibly? My husband is ten years older than me and I…” She cleared her throat. “ Was ten years older.” She gave me a weak smile and then looked down at her plate.

I knew slip ups like that were the hardest for her.

She’d lost her husband a few months before I decided to move here.

I reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Ellen really was the best. I wasn’t sure why I’d been worried about telling her in the first place.

She was the kindest person I knew. She’d never judge me.

“I’m fine, James.” She patted my hand on top of hers and then pulled away. “Now eat before it gets cold.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ian said.

Ellen glared at him.

He knew she hated being called ma’am, and just like that the tension in the air was gone.

“So tell us all about her,” Ellen said.

“I can do you one better,” Ian said and pulled out his phone. “I have pictures. And I can give you her background check. Hold on a sec, I’ll email it to you.”

She shook her head. “Men. I meant what is she like.”

“Well, her name is Penny. We ran into each other at the coffee shop on Main Street on the first day of classes.” I told Ellen a very PG version of the story.

“One last question,” Ellen said. “On a scale of one to ten, how much is she like Isabella? Ten being the most like her.”

I laughed. Ellen had always hated Isabella. Ian too. It was something the three of us had in common. “Penny’s definitely a one on that scale.”

“I like her already,” Ellen said.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket. I looked down to see that Penny was calling me. “Excuse me for a minute.” I walked over to the windows overlooking Main Street. “Hey, Penny.”

“Hi.”

This was the first time we’d spoken on the phone. Her voice sounded so small and far away. “Is everything alright?” I wasn’t opposed to going back to her dorm and reminding her why we should be together.

“Yes, everything’s fine. I told Melissa about us.”

“How did she take the news?”

“She wants to meet you.”

“Well, that’s good, right?”

“I guess so.” There was a long pause. “She thinks you’re a bad boy.”

I laughed. That was probably more accurate than either of them realized. “And what do you think?”

“You know I think you’re a terrible influence.”

She sounded happy now. Maybe she’s been worried about calling me for the first time. But this just felt so natural. I could talk to her like this all night. “And I think you like that I’m a terrible influence.”

She laughed. “I do.”

“I have an idea. How about I take the two of you to my country club tomorrow night so I can get to know Melissa?”

“Um. I think maybe giving it an extra day to let the idea settle in might be better.”

“So, Wednesday?”

“Yeah and maybe you could just come here? In case she makes a scene or something. I’m not saying she’s going to. I just…she’s very outspoken.”

I laughed. “You think she hates me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I’ll win her over, I promise.”

“I believe you. She’s coming back from her shower now. She probably has more questions for me. I gotta go.”

“Good night, Penny.”

“Good night, Professor Hunter.”

It was like she knew those words would tease me, making me think of nothing but her for the rest of the night. But that was already going to happen.