Page 14 of Forbidden Professor

“I don’t wanna talk about it. Let’s just drink.”

Alcohol had never been my thing, but with the announcement, the betrayal I felt for losing the chance to use my skills to help people like grandma, it seemed fitting to get so drunk I couldn’t remember. I was a failure. Why would Isla even want to be with someone like me? My dream was crushed.

“Who the hell was that consultant, anyway? What gave her the right to come in and cut your project? You spent so much damn time on it and then just like that it’s gone,” Luca said, taking his shot and asking for two more.

“Let’s not talk about her, okay. Anything else.”

His eyebrows raised. “Wait, you know her? You do, don’t you?”

“It’s not a big deal, okay. Leave it alone.”

He patted my shoulder. “Wow, that makes it even worse. Looks like I’ll be buying you drinks for a while, bud.”

I closed my eyes and took the second shot. Eventually I would forget about this. Right?

Isla

The announcement should have come out today. I kept pulling up our message chain to see if maybe I missed a notification, but nothing. It was eight o’clock now, and he would be home from work.

Me: Sorry, been busy. You didn’t do anything wrong. Rolando’s sounds great.

There. I opened up the communication and now it was up to him. Maybe he was pissed at me right now. He might just need some space to take in that he just lost the biggest project of his career. It wasn’t just about work for him. It had a significant tie to his life and past.

I needed to keep my mind off this for at least one night. So I went to my contact list and pulled up my friend Ava.

Me: Want to grab a drink tonight?

I went to my closet to try to find something nice enough to wear to a bar.

Ava: Sounds great. I’ll come pick you up in fifteen.

I slipped on the black dress and some heels. This would be fine. All I needed was to take my mind off of Easton. At least for a couple of hours and Ava was good at showing me a good time. She was much more lively than I was, and still went to bars looking for her perfect match.

A night with her was just what I needed right now.

15

Easton

The music was way too loud and the women were flaunting themselves. I’ve had to tell at least three women I wasn’t interested in buying them a drink. Luca was enjoying my misery.

“You are a cheap drunk. I’m not even buzzed yet. Maybe it’s time to cut you off.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not a child. I can handle myself, you know.”

Luca laughed and switched us to beer. The bar kept getting crowded.

“Can I have two martinis, please?” a woman asked, leaning on the bar and then I heard my name.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Isla’s eyes were red like she had been crying. Was it because of me? What was she doing here?

“Are you drunk?”

“This is a bar. Kind of expected, right?”

Her hands went to her hips. “This is what you do when you get bad news? You don’t even drink.”

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