Page 2 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Wednesday

Penny had been so positive last night. I’d been spiraling and she’d pulled me out of it. But it had been a lot easier when she was wrapped in my arms in the comfort of my bed.

This morning I was a professor.

But in a few hours, I probably wouldn’t be.

My pestering thoughts didn’t stop the incessant beeping of the alarm though.

I turned it off and rolled over to look at Penny.

Part of me was surprised she was still here.

It would have been a hell of a lot easier for her to come away from this unscathed if she changed her story.

She could tell the dean I forced the situation.

That I pressured her. That I was a fucking pervert.

Disgusting. Violent. That I used my title to take advantage of her.

She could throw me under the bus. But she wasn’t Isabella.

Still. She could have saved herself. And I wouldn’t have blamed her one bit. "You're still here."

Penny smiled. "Of course I'm still here." She propped her head up on her hand.

All I wanted to do was sink my fingers into her hair.

"I need you to promise me something," she said.

"Name it."

She pressed her lips together as she stared at me.

That was more like how I’d been expecting her to look last night. Unsure. I just wanted to pull her into my arms and ignore the world. When we’d gone to New York for the day, I’d wanted to be out of our bubble. But now I just wanted to stay in it forever.

She took a deep breath. "No matter what happens…please don't resent me."

How could she think that? "Penny..."

"Promise me."

"I don't resent you. Please don't think that I'm mad at you about any of this. This is everything I ever wanted. Actually, it is tempting to just run away with you. For you, I'd leave it all. I need you to know that." And I was prepared to. I’d already written my resignation letter. I’d go anywhere with her. As long as we were together, I didn’t care where we were.

"I'd leave it all for you too. But I'd be uneducated."

I laughed. "You're very intelligent. A diploma doesn't change that."

"I forgot that you just want me to be a housewife anyway."

Was there really something so wrong with that? I smiled and ran my fingers through her hair like I’d wanted to. "Well today can't go all that poorly because you just told me you want to be my wife. I'm certainly in a good mood."

"I..." her voice trailed off and her cheeks flushed.

God I loved when she blushed. But she had no reason to be embarrassed.

"Don't be flustered." I moved my hand to her cheek.

"I'm 27 years old. You're the love of my life.

I know you feel the same way. You risked everything to be with me.

So you must realize that I have every intention of marrying you, Penny Taylor. "

Her throat made that adorable squeaking noise. "But we..."

"Are you going to fight me on this too?" I flashed her a smile.

"No."

I smiled and climbed out of bed. I knew this conversation was a lot. She was only 20. I was her first real boyfriend. But…everything felt right. And I knew she felt it too. This was how love was supposed to feel. And as long as we had that, how bad could today really be?

I quickly pulled on a pair of navy blue dress pants and buttoned up a grey dress shirt. I rolled the sleeves up my forearms as I walked out of the closet.

Penny was standing there in just one of my t-shirts.

I smiled and glanced at my watch as I finished rolling up my sleeves. "Ellen's already here. So unfortunately you'll need to get dressed."

Penny nodded and disappeared into the closet.

I finished getting ready while she was changing.

And then I walked over to the window in my bedroom.

There were more news trucks outside my apartment building and there were dozens of people standing outside.

A combination of reporters and paparazzi.

Probably a few nosey students too. My chest felt tight as I stared at the chaos.

Fuck. I raked my fingers through my hair.

"Do you think this is okay?" Penny asked.

I turned around. The tightness in my chest immediately eased. It was hard to be stressed out when she was smiling up at me. She’d changed into a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a cardigan. She looked like a student that wouldn’t fuck her professor.

"I'm not sure if he's going to be paying attention to what you're wearing,” I said. “But you look beautiful."

She looked so nervous despite my words.

I gave her a quick kiss. It’s going to be okay. We just had to take today one step at a time. I grabbed her hand and led her out to the kitchen to meet Ellen.

Ellen was standing at the stove. As soon as she heard the door open, she turned toward us. She had a huge smile on her face. I knew she’d been looking forward to this.

"You must be Penny,” she said. “Oh dear, aren't you pretty. James didn't exaggerate."

Penny blushed again.

"Penny, this is Ellen," I said. It was weird, but now I suddenly felt nervous. I wanted them to get along. Ellen was the closest thing I had to a loving mother. But she’d like Penny. Honestly, she’d probably love anyone who wasn’t Isabella.

Penny smiled. "It's so nice to meet you."

"I've heard so much about you, dear."

Why did she keep saying stuff like that? Stop it, Ellen. Be cool.

Penny smiled up at me.

Well…Ellen wasn’t lying. I talked about Penny all the time. I just never expected Ellen to talk about that fact so much. All I could do was shrug.

"And how do you prefer your eggs?" Ellen asked and turned back to the stove.

"Scrambled,” Penny said. “Do you need help with anything?"

Ellen laughed. "I like you already. But no. Sit, sit."

Penny and I both sat down at the kitchen island. There were two newspapers on the counter. The Wall Street Journal and the Delaware Post. I always got the Wall Street Journal, but I’d requested for Ian to grab me this shit local paper too because of the article it contained.

I put my elbow on the counter and rested my chin in my palm. And then I turned my attention to Penny. Because I’d much rather look at her than read those papers.

"You look sexy in glasses," she whispered to me.

"Is that why you're looking at me like that?" I whispered back.

"Like what?"

She knew exactly like what. I leaned forward until my lips were against her ear. "Like you want me right here, right now."

Her body tensed.

As much fun as the distraction would be…I knew Penny liked the idea of almost being caught. Not the idea of actually fucking in front of someone else.

I really did need to tell her about the security cameras. And Ian…

But that could wait. I turned back to the papers on the counter. "Have you read it?" I asked Ellen.

Ellen sighed. "The things people say. If they could see how happy you are, you'd think they'd leave well enough alone. My husband is ten years older than me and no one ever gave me a hard time for it. Love is love. Circumstances be damned."

What she’d said was really sweet. But my mind stuck on that one line. My husband is .

Ellen’s face fell, realizing her slip up too.

I knew she missed her husband. And I knew it was hardest when she slipped up and used the present tense. I forced a laugh, knowing she’d just want to move past it. "I'm guessing it's bad then?"

Ellen looked relieved. "It's not good." She turned back to the stove.

I picked up the paper and unfolded it. At the bottom of the first page there was an article titled, "University of New Castle Conceals Student, Professor Affair. See more page B9."

I mean…the university didn’t conceal it. They didn’t fucking know. I sighed and turned to B9. I put my hand on Penny’s knee and we both began reading.

Student-Professor Affair Uncovered at the University of New Castle

Bill Raffer, The Delaware Post 10:12 p.m. EST October 21, 2015

An investigation is underway involving adjunct professor, James Hunter, and a student from one of his classes at the University of New Castle.

Hunter, Blive Tech International founder and board member, started teaching at the university last semester.

Although Hunter does not have a PhD, he was given a teaching position due to his experience starting Blive Tech International.

His loose credentials have led him to a loose interpretation of the University of New Castle's code of ethics.

Two months ago he began engaging in a sexual relationship with Penny Taylor, a sophomore in his communications class.

Taylor, age 19, is an exemplary student on a First State scholarship.

Although there have been no sexual harassment complaints as of yet, Taylor is unavailable for comment.

Allegations of sexual harassment as well as other instances of sexual misconduct are imminent.

Hunter was fired from his last teaching position in New York City for physically threatening the dean of admissions, Jared Halloway.

All charges were dropped in the matter, but Halloway commented that, "Hunter attacked him, completely unprovoked.

" Dean of students at the University of New Castle, Joseph Vespelli, hired Hunter despite known allegations of violence and Hunter's lack of credentials.

Hunter has also engaged in misconduct during his own days in college at Harvard University. He was arrested for underage drinking as well as vandalism.

The University of New Castle has never needed explicit rules against student-professor relationships.

An unnamed source from the university says that their code of ethics skirts around the idea of something happening because it shouldn't have to state common morals, but that these events will make the university reevaluate the core values of the institution.