Chapter 14
The whole meeting was a bit nerve-wracking for me. Aaron was acting like he didn’t know me, and his demeanor seemed different as well. The thin-framed glasses he was wearing gave the impression that he was a simple gentleman.
What surprised me more than his professional aesthetic was how quickly he grasped our team’s experimental model as Julian explained it. Aaron’s slender fingers traced the cellular diagram on the monitor while he matched our director’s vocabulary as they discussed.
To me, the thoughtful motions of his hands on the screen were sexier than when they were palming my chest. The clarity of his academic tone was more alluring than how he sounded in bed with me.
I’d never seen this side of him before-never imagined he had it in him. Sunlight spilled in through the window and landed gently on his face. The warm light made his sapphire eyes sparkle. This wasn’t the same lust-addled gaze I’d seen in the bedroom, and I found myself drawn to his focused intellect.
“So far, your project has been nothing but constructive. Everything is built on top of strong hypotheses.” Not only was he affirming our results up to this point, but he fully understood Julian’s line of reasoning. He truly had faith in our work.
“Yes! I know exactly which one of our experiments you’re referring to,” Julian nodded eagerly. “That division of our research was highlighted in a journal not too long ago. In fact, it was conducted primarily by Olive here, our only female researcher.” He pointed at me.
Aaron’s eyes swept up to my face and he gave a polite smile.
0004
“Then you’re working with an incredible woman.”
My face flushed. This was the first time I’d ever had a serious conversation with Aaron. The only other times he’d paid me compliments were when I was in bed with him.
“I actually made my decision before coming in today,” Aaron continued. “My secretary is already preparing the relevant materials, legalities and whatnot-for me to provide funds to your department on a regular basis. Of course, I’m not doing this just to be charitable. My sponsorship is entirely dependent on your results. If I see in one of your reports that I’m not seeing the progress I want, we’ll have to meet again to… renegotiate.” He said all of this with a smile and casual shrug of his shoulders.
Nick nudged my shoulder with his arm as Aaron and Julian shook hands in front of us. “Don’t start drooling now.”
I glared and moved to elbow him. He needed to watch it with the bullshit coming out of his mouth. Both Aaron and Julian were here, and I didn’t want to ruin their image of me with Nick’s unprofessionalism.
Nick immediately stepped forward, out of the way of my elbow, and respectfully raised his hand. “If the two of you don’t mind, I think it’d be a wonderful idea to celebrate this partnership. Over lunch maybe? There’s this amazing Mexican restaurant nearby.”
“I’m sorry, but I have an alumni lecture to give in about half an hour. I’m afraid I can’t make it.” Aaron declined politely.
“I’m also busy today,” I said quickly. “Sorry, Nick.”
That was a lie.
was actually free for the rest of the day after
campus activity feed on my phone and scrolled until I found Aaron’s name. It looked like the lecture was about the up-and-coming technological revolution. That was something related to my
I decided
twenty minutes to get inside, and during that time, I
dick must be. It made me wonder
of me was happy for him. All in all,
when I thought I was finally about to escape those two lovely young ladies, the auditorium’s management informed me that the
of the girls behind me piped up. “If you didn’t reserve
meet that stud inside.”
could these
“What’s got you so excited? I promise he’s not as sexy on the podium
to
insane to stand outside the lecture hall for
hours.
would’ve loved to know what Aaron was talking about inside, but from where I was, I could only make out the audience’s applause and
I opened up Google and searched
in both computer science and biotechnology. However, he never finished with
least I still had my
was 23 years old when he started his company, and he’d become a stable billionaire by the age of 30. That was pretty much all that Cinder told me. In fact, she told me even more: Aaron
mother was from a
lived as if
local elementary school and running off to the cemetery to read in peace. Wasn’t that just cheery for a
a celebrity news site. Paparazzi had published photos of him coming in and out of a ritzy hotel with
I was jealous, but… I just didn’t like the idea that I’d become another one of those women to
never went for longer than one round with the
Wait.
say he was
Because of me?
that couldn’t be right. That couldn’t even be possible. Funding our research was no small matter, even for someone as ridiculously wealthy as Aaron. He was more logical than this, right? He had to be. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to let his emotions get the better of him. Moreover, his attitude with Julian earlier indicated that he’d been following