Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“You can do that while you’re unemployed.”
My hands fist, as I’m backed into a corner. In the back of my mind, I try to remember what I even wrote in those fucking emails. They’re confidential, and I could sue the hell out of the firm. But that doesn’t fix shit. It doesn’t save my tenure, and it doesn’t save Brooklyn and the backlash that will pile on top of her while she’s so fragile as it is. Just more lawyers, more money being burned, and for what? For them to drag out her pain.
“Why are you doing this?” I narrow my eyes, barely containing my emotions.
“You’re not going to marry her and lose all that money to a gold digger.”
“She’s not a gold digger—”
“What’s the contract for, then?” he asks, and I don’t answer. I have no more lies on the tip of my tongue.
“With this fucking video being leaked, you should be thanking me. A prestigious professor shouldn’t be associated with … that,” he says the word as if she’s a thing. As if she’s disgusting.
“With that? She’s going to be my wife.” I grit my teeth, and I can’t help myself.
In a single movement, I’m up from my chair, my fist curled, and I smash it against his face. My body shakes with adrenaline, and every muscle stays coiled within me. The sudden impact lands right on his jaw. His chair flies back, and he ends up on his ass. At first, I don’t even realize what’s happened.
I stand, chest heaving as my vision blurs. As I steady somewhat, my hand still balled, my knuckle cracked with blood, he rises.
Wiping away a bit of blood from his lip, he takes his seat as if it didn’t affect him.
“Leave her alone. She has nothing to do with us.”
He huffs a laugh and flexes his jaw as he pulls his seat back into place.
“Then she better prepare for you to be unemployed, caught up in legal and spending hundreds of thousands on lawsuits, oh, and possibly in jail for fraud, given the shit you pulled when you cashed out and left Wall Street.”
“You don’t have proof of shit,” I sneer. “If you did, you would have already fucked me over.” Even as I respond, I doubt myself.
I wasn’t always on the up-and-up when it came to Wall Street. Thus the falling out with Brook’s father. One of many examples. There’s no way he could prove a damn thing, though. I’d already be in jail if he could. I know that much about my father.
“I have regrets, but I’ve done everything I can to make things right.”
“Is that an admission?” my father asks, and it’s then I wonder if he’s recording our whole damn conversation. Nothing is safe or sacred, and everything swarms in my head to get the hell out.
“If you don’t leave her, I won’t just stop at you. I’ll go after that little slut too.” Before I rip his fucking head off, I get the hell out. Storming from his office, I walk into a nightmare I didn’t know could exist.
And I’ll be taking Brooklyn right along with me. I know with certainty that it’s all my fault, and if she thought what happened before was bad, I don’t know how she’ll survive what’s ahead.
CHAPTER 23
Brooklyn
After last night, everything feels different. It feels real and raw and safe. For the first time in my life. I have to suppress a laugh as I realize I’m sitting in a freaking lecture and feeling grateful for being here. Astronomy class is interesting. I lean back in my seat, actually enjoying it. I know it goes against what the dean, my father, demands, but Ro told me to. He says it’s okay and no one can force me out of the university. He doesn’t want me to back down. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I believe him.
At this point, believing him is all I have left. I’m going to bury myself in schoolwork until I can bury my head in his chest.
The clock ticks on, and class is dismissed before I’m ready. I gather my things, realizing last night is the first time I’ve really slept in days. Maybe that’s why I’m so … different today.
As I’m walking out of the lecture hall, I hear someone from behind shout, “Aren’t you the student who’s banging that hot Professor Wolf?”
Heat and slight anger run through me. The fucking audacity.
I turn to face him and just look at them until they get the hint and keep walking. A death stare will go a long way. It’s been like this for days. Everywhere on campus, people look at me. It’s hard to comprehend that everyone on campus has seen me naked. And if that isn’t bad enough, they’ve seen me getting railed.
I hate that they probably think Professor Wolf might be looking like a fool for being engaged to me. He tells me not to worry about it, that he doesn’t care that they may think that. He doesn’t give a shit about what people say or think about him.