Page 110 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Wednesday

“Those are the brownies?” I asked Ellen. I was kind of thinking she’d make them look a little…fancier. Something flashy that could help win Melissa over. They looked so basic. “I thought there’d be like icing, or nuts, or something.”

“You’re trying to make a good first impression, right?”

I nodded.

“All you need is chocolate. Women love chocolate. You can’t go wrong. Trust me.” She placed some foil over the pan.

I didn’t exactly have anyone else to go to for advice here.

So I’d take Ellen’s word for it. It wasn’t like I was about to call Jen and ask her to corroborate Ellen’s hunch about chocolate.

Besides, I knew Penny loved chocolate. So she’d at least like them.

And Ellen did make the absolute best brownies. “Thanks for this,” I said.

“Anything else you need before I head out for the night?”

“Nope, that’s it.”

“Good luck.” She patted my arm, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

A nervous pit of energy had landed in my gut. What if Melissa absolutely hated me? How important was her opinion to Penny? I tried to shake the thought away. I’ve got this. I pulled on my jacket and grabbed the brownies. Ellen’s cooking would easily win her over if I couldn’t.

The drive over to Penny’s dorm was quick at this time of night.

I pulled into an empty spot and stepped out of my car.

I was meeting Penny’s best friend. It was important that she liked me.

And unfortunately, she probably already had a bad view of me, just like Tyler did. I needed to sway her opinion.

I texted Penny to let her know I was outside.

It was raining yet again, steam coming off the pavement that would make it hard for anyone to recognize me.

For just a second it reminded me of the daze I’d lived in during high school and college.

Always surrounded by smoke. It was like I could hear Rob, Mason, and Matt’s laughter around me.

God, Penny really did make me feel young if I could remember us all laughing.

I shook away the thought. I needed to call Rob to see how he was doing.

It was always easier to talk to him when I was in a good mood. Since he was perpetually in one.

Penny opened the door. She looked like an angel, standing at the top of the steps, surrounded by the steam off the pavement. My angel. My second chance.

There was no one around, so I stepped inside and kissed her. It had only been a few hours since we’d been together, but all I wanted was more. "Penny," I whispered.

"James.”

She sounded out of breath. I just wasn’t sure if it was because of me or because she was nervous about me meeting Melissa. "Is she excited to meet me?"

"I think so."

"You don't seem very confident." I gave her a smile, hoping it would make her less nervous too.

"It's just that she can be kind of intense. Please just remember how much I like you."

Intense. Good to know. That’s why I was here.

In case Melissa made a scene. But now that I was thinking about it…

she could do a lot more damage for me in a dorm than she could in a restaurant.

I hadn’t thought this through very well.

Everything would be fine though. I was good at winning people over.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad. I brought brownies.

" I held up the pan of brownies that Ellen had sent with me.

"I'd rather have you."

Penny was full of surprises tonight. But the last thing I wanted was an erection when I walked into her dorm room. "Maybe later. Right now, I promised to meet your friend." I put my hand out for her and guided her up the stairs to her room. Penny slowly opened the door.

"So you're the elusive Professor Hunter?" Melissa asked a little too loudly without even introducing herself. Was she trying to get us in trouble? This was not a great start. It was like Melissa was looking for a fight. I should have insisted on a restaurant…

Penny quickly closed the door behind us so no one could hear.

I took a deep breath and then flashed Melissa a smile. "Please, call me James. And you must be Melissa." I put my hand out for her to shake.

She hesitated for a long moment before shaking my hand.

That was telling, if her tone hadn’t already been.

She’d already made up her mind. She didn’t approve of me.

Again I found myself wondering how important Melissa’s opinion was to Penny.

Surely it couldn’t be that important or Penny would have told Melissa about us sooner.

But I was here now. So that meant something.

Time for a peace offering. "I brought brownies." I lifted the pan in the air. Dessert would help, right? Ellen’s cooking always left me in a good mood.

"Yum! Did you bake them yourself?" Melissa asked.

Shit. "No. I doubt they'd be edible if I had."

"You don't cook?"

"Not very often." I scratched the back of my neck. What had Penny told her about me? It didn’t seem like she knew very much at all.

Penny wound her arm around mine. "He has a personal chef.”

"Very fancy," Melissa said. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's strange, I never pictured a professor in our dorm room."

Yeah, this was not going well at all. "I never pictured myself in a student's room either. It just happened."

Melissa smiled, but it looked very forced. "So, tell me about yourself."

I forgot that this would involve answering questions about my personal life.

I took a deep breath. It was better just to get this over with.

"Well, I grew up in New York. I lived there my whole life until I moved here last year.

I'm sorry, what is it that you want to know exactly?

Something specific?" Breathe. I could already feel myself closing off. I could do this. Just a normal conversation. Melissa wasn’t a reporter. Just a nuisance of a human.

"Where did you go to school?"

"Can I sit down?" I gave Penny a smile. She looked so nervous, but she had no reason to be. No, this night wasn’t off to a great start. But seeing Penny’s worried face was all the encouragement I needed.

She wanted Melissa to like me. I’d make this right.

I could be very charming when I needed to be.

"Yes," Penny said. She pulled out her desk chair for me.

I took off my jacket, draped it over the back of the chair, and sat down. Penny jumped onto her bed and sat Indian style. I wished she was closer. I wanted to be able to reach out and touch her. She had this way of calming me down. I took a deep breath instead. "I went to Harvard,” I said.

"Your parents are wealthy then?" Melissa asked.

Wow. Okay. I took another deep breath. "My parents are wealthy, but I had a scholarship to Harvard."

"Impressive."

That didn’t sound sincere. "Thank you,” I said anyway.

"But even so, you're very handsome and your parents are wealthy. Most things in your life must have been handed to you."

What the fuck? Breathe. She didn’t know me.

That’s why I was here. She wasn’t even giving me a fair shot.

I could be judging her too. I’d helped Penny out of a lot of perilous situations since meeting her.

Where had her supposed best friend been then?

Breathe. "In some regards, yes. Many things that were handed to me I didn't want though.

I owe my success to myself, not my family. Do you have another question for me?"

"Well there's one main one. Why is it that you want to date students?"

God, she was terrible. "I don't want to date students." I emphasized the plural. "You seem to have gotten the wrong idea about me. I just want to date Penny."

"So you have never dated any students besides Penny?"

"No, I have not."

"Can you really even date someone if you're married?"

I glanced at Penny. So she had told Melissa some things. I was kind of hoping she’d just talked about my good qualities, even if they were few and far between. I turned back to Melissa. "I'm getting divorced."

"But you're technically still married."

"Melissa, my soon to be ex-wife has been cheating on me for almost as long as we were together.

As far as I'm concerned, we are no longer married.

" Penny knew that I was uncomfortable talking about my personal life.

It felt like she set me up, trying to get even more answers out of me.

What else could she possibly want to know?

Melissa was finally quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry about your wife. But you are still married. How much longer will your divorce take?" She finally didn’t sound accusatory.

"I honestly don't know. I thought she would have signed the papers by now. I've given her everything she wants."

"It seems wrong to pursue a relationship in that situation."

"I have to disagree. There hasn't been anything that's felt so right in my life." That was the truth. And if Melissa didn’t see that, I wasn’t sure what else I could do or say to change her mind.

"It may feel right, but there are consequences. Won't you get fired if someone finds out about you and Penny?"

"Not necessarily."

"But aren't you thinking about Penny too?

If this gets out, no one will believe the grades you've given her.

No one will see her as just another student.

Even other professors will question her grades.

I know that she's just with you, but people may think she's been with other professors too.

Her whole college career will be in jeopardy.

You may be fine with getting fired, but she still has to go to school here. "