My Grumpy Billionaire

“I don’t see why I should. It’s too bad about his jaw, but…” Honestly, the peace and quiet has been nice since New Orleans. He hasn’t been bothering me with annoying calls. Before, I constantly had to block his numbers—he’s got a lot of numbers—and now I’m getting more work done.

“Because he got hurt for you!”

Is Todd venturing into creative writing? “That’s not the way it happened. Actually, he got hurt trying to hurt me. He also ruined a brand-new dress—”

“Which I can invoice him for,” Heather puts in.

“—and I’ve overlooked the damage. So I think I’ve done plenty.”

Linda’s chest puffs as she inhales. It’s a sign she’s doing her best to control her temper. In a calmer and slightly beseeching tone, she says, “Sierra, he just wants another chance.”

This is becoming a waste of time. “He blew his chance, Linda. In fact, he blew several chances, and I can’t spend the rest of my life hoping he’ll start doing better. I need to move on.”

“I see. Well.” She sniffs. “I’ll let Todd know you need more time to get over your snit.”

Divorce isn’t a “snit,” but if thinking of it that way makes her leave, I’m not going to correct her.

“Anyway, your father and I have decided to do something amazing with Wollstonecraft.” Linda gives me a you-didn’t-expect-that-did-you look.

Heather clears her throat. “Your meeting…”

I raise a finger—the family’s ties to the college are important. It’s something that started while Grandma was still alive. She wanted the fortune we were building by giving better orgasms to everyone around the world to have a lasting impact, and decided to focus on funding the local liberal arts college.

Linda shoots Heather a childishly triumphant smile. “One of their classes is going to be doing a case study here.”

My mind freezes for a second. “I’m sorry, what?”

“A case study. They’re going to learn about what we do and come up with some interesting new ideas help make us grow better.”

Uh-oh.Linda never uses “we” to discuss the company unless she has an ulterior motive. Or she needs money.

Heather’s rolling her eyes so hard, they look like they belong in a Vegas casino.

“We already have a team in charge of that,” I say.

Linda shrugs. “It’s a fresh new perspective.”

“They’re college kids.”

“Exactly. Our future customers.”

True, but we don’t let our customers advise on how to grow our business. Not like this.

“Who’s in charge of the program at Wollstonecraft?” I’m going to cancel this “case study” before the college wastes any real time and resources on it.

“Charles Phillips.” She pauses like the name should mean something.

When I keep staring, Linda adds, “The head of the English department.”

“And why do we need input on our products from English majors?” I ask, bewildered.

Linda isn’t listening. “He’s sending a class today.”

“What?”

Heather starts tapping her tablet furiously.

“Did you just say today?” I fight to keep my voice level despite surging irritation. She can’t just drop students on Silicone Dream without any warning! The company isn’t her plaything.

Linda nods. “Yes. And not just any class, but one that specializes in poetry. Humanities majors have such a fascinating perspective on things. Please don’t try to send them back because it would make the company look bad.”

“We’ll see.” I don’t want to spend more time arguing. Linda isn’t changing her mind and the students are apparently on their way here with their professor. I’m going to have to tell them there’s been a mistake and there’s no case study, so they’ll need to go back to campus and read poems by important but dead people in class.

“Good.” She nods.

“When exactly are they coming?” I ask, wondering if I can reach the professor in charge before the class gets here, so we can avoid wasting everyone’s time.

Linda checks her watch, then gives me a toothy smile that never fails to send shivers down my back. “They should be in the lobby about now.”