Page 217 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

"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."