Her Billionaire Professor

Chapter Three: A Past That Refuses To Go Away

“How're you?” His gaze locked onto hers, sharp enough to pin her in place. Not a twitch betrayed his calm, and yet the lazy confidence in the way his shoulders filled his shirt made her pulse betray her.

How could she still be attracted to this guy, even after what he'd just done in class?

“You ask me that, after being an absolute jerk throughout class? You made things needlessly uncomfortable for me. You'd have to be an exceedingly efficient asshole to make me feel like that.”

“I’m sorry, Helen. I really am. But don't blame me too much. I was not expecting to see the girl I hooked up with last night, in class the very next day.”

“Yeah, still doesn't excuse you acting like a total jerk.”

“No, no it doesn't. And for that I've said sorry.”

Helen's face was still folded into a firm frown. Her brows knit so tightly they nearly touched,. Her lips pressed into a pale, thin line. She stared at him like his apology was a stone tossed into the ocean, making no real splash. But at least, she didn't fire back with words immediately in her usual manner.

After a brief silence, Helen spoke up again. “Why did you ask me to stay back? I've got things to be doing at home.”

“Yeah? Me too.” Liam replied. “I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page.”

“The same page? The same page about what?”

“About what happened last night.”

“Okay?”

“‘Okay?’ Really, that's all you're going to say?”

“Well, I'm listening. You're the one who said you wanted to talk.”

“What happened last night.. the whole.. you know what I'm trying to say. It was a calamitous mistake. What happened cannot happen again. It should never repeat itself, under any circumstances.”

“Why?” Helen just blandly asked.

“What do you mean ‘why?’ Is it lost on you that I am your lecturer, in a university?”

“Temporarily.”

“Why does that matter? Same difference. There are ethics that govern society. If you haven't done so yet, you should learn to respect professional boundaries.”

“Ethics? Boundaries? You didn't seem to remember any of this last night when you were f*****g me to moonlight with your wedding ring in your pocket.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You think I didn't see it? It fell out, you know. It was right there on the toilet floor when you left, original gold and all. You must have been so preoccupied with your ‘ethical’ activity that you didn't notice when you lost it.”

Liam’s shoulders edged back, his eyes darting anywhere but hers. A faint flush crept up his neck, betraying the cool mask he tried to wear.

“And you didn't call me back to give it to me?” Liam asked, trying to mask his embarrassment.

“Why would I have done that? Seeing that ring hurt me. I felt incredibly betrayed.”

“It was just a one night stand, nothing emotional. It's not that deep.”

A short, hollow laugh slipped from Helen’s lips: sharp and humorless, like glass breaking in a quiet room. “Don't flatter yourself, Mr Rivers. You're too much of a jerk for me to feel anything other than repulse for you.”

A flicker of surprise ghosted across Liam's face, just enough to betray a c***k in his usual composure. The corky look on his face when he spoke about Helen's emotions had vanished. “Ouch.” He commented.

“You love being blunt with people, don't you? This is me being blunt with you, sir. The reason I felt hurt, wasn't because there was another woman in your life. It was because you intentionally hid that fact from me, right before powering through my legs. And to be honest, the ring's made of pure gold. I figured I could sell it and make good money from it. Besides, I need money right now.”

“The ring wasn't in my pocket because I was trying to hide it from you, Helen.”

Helen’s eyes went wide, her mouth forming a perfect “O.” The kind of overplayed astonishment usually reserved for sarcasm. “Really?” She exclaimed.

“Come on, Helen. I was trying to hide it from myself, not from you.”

“Wow,” Helen responded. Now folding her arms, the sarcastic astonishment on her face, still visible.

“I mean it, Helen!” Liam's jaw flexed, and his words spilled faster. The calm cadence from earlier cracked at the edges. He now looked frustrated trying to send across his message. However, his voice immediately became softer for his next line. “I uhh, I lost everything recently. My family, close friends, and my fiance too. Sooo.. yeah.”

“My God, I'm sorry about that. Wha.. Was it an earthquake or something?” Helen's voice was softer too now. Laced with empathy.

“Oh, no, no,” Liam chuckled. Most of them are still very much alive. But people don't need to die for you to lose them.”

“Yeah, they don't. So your fiance, she's still alive?”

“She's not my fiance anymore, Helen. But still, I'll need to get that ring back.”

“You'll have to buy it from me, fine sir.”

“How much? Name your price.”

“Oooohhhhh, look who's corky with money now.” Helen chuckled in amusement.

“I'm not joking about this, Helen.” Liam kept a straight face.

“Fine. Three hundred bucks.”

“Three hundred bucks! For a ring that isn't yours?”

“Yeah, it's still pure gold though, and I'm charging you extra for its emotional significance. You buying or not?”

“Fine. I'll pay. Just mail it to me. I'll send you my address.”

“Wow, he's a fill-in lecturer, and yet he's got three hundred dollars to spend on one whim?”

****

He was so tired. The room sat in perfect stillness, the kind of quiet that pressed in on his ears. It mirrored the strange, flat calm his life had now settled into.

If teaching young, eccentric students the uninteresting course of geography as a fill-in lecturer was going to be the most stressful feature of his life, he had absolutely no problems with that.

It was better than the chaos of living with his family and having to deal with the constant troubles of his ex; Rebecca.

He walked to the only mirror in his room, hung to the wall. He pulled out his phone and placed it on the desk beneath the mirror. He loosened the tie around his neck and started to unbutton his shirt.

Then his phone made a single, loud beep.

“You have one new voicemail,” the phone's AI assistant said.

“Play it.”

“Hey Liam, what's up?” Liam immediately recognized the voice. His features froze mid-breath, and a sudden, cold weight twisted deep in his gut. “It's Becca by the way, I should make that clear just in case you say I never reached out. I've been trying to call you, love. Everyone has, you've really got us on our toes. Way to go, what you've done is smart. But don't worry, Liam, I'll always be there for you, that was a promise I made, and don't intend on breaking. I know where you are, and I'll be there soon.”