Page 71 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4
Daphne smiled. "You're probably right." She slid into the seat that I had been in before and watched me sit down next to James.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
James rubbed his forehead. "Hungry."
I laughed. "Drink this, okay?" I placed the glass of water down in front of him.
"I already drank all of Daphne's water. I'm not really thirsty. Just hot." He had unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt.
"I know you haven't done any drugs since you left the shrew."
James laughed. He loved when I called his ex wife that.
God, what was Matt thinking? What if he gets addicted to this? I looked at James' face. He looked a mess. He didn't look like he was enjoying himself. "It's possible that you've taken a small amount of acid." Or a large amount. Matt was rather vague.
He laughed. "No. I didn't. I haven't touched anything like that since I started teaching. I miss that sometimes. Not the drugs." He laughed again. "Teaching. I felt like I was actually making a difference, you know? It's stupid."
"Yeah, I know. And it's not stupid." But I hadn't known. James never opened up to me about his problems. He always held everything in. He was never vulnerable like this. Or at least, he hadn't been in a long time.
"It is stupid. I'd give up anything to be with Penny. I don't need to teach, but I do need her."
"You can have both, you know."
He shook his head. "And who would hire me? I'm just the guy who seduced one of his students."
"No. You're the guy who's made billions with technological innovations, James. You're a marketing genius. Everyone loves you. Why are you beating yourself up about this?"
"I just don't feel good tonight." He ran the back of his hand across his forehead.
I hadn't realized how sweaty he was.
"I need to talk to her. I just want to make sure she's okay."
"Penny's okay. Mason talked to her a few hours ago. She's fine."
He nodded. "But why won't you let me talk to her?"
"You just can't tonight, okay? You can talk to her in the morning."
He wiped the sweat off his forehead again. "Please?" His hands shook slightly as he lifted up the glass of water.
Jesus Christ.I looked over at Matt. How much shit did he give him? "Not tonight, James. You can't talk to her when you're high."
"I told you I didn't take anything. I wouldn't take anything. I have something to lose now."
"I know. Someone slipped you something." I didn't want to throw Matt under the bus.
"I knew it." James suddenly seemed full of energy. "Shedrugged me." He pointed to Kristen.
Kristen laughed awkwardly and looked around the table. "No?"
James laughed. "Oh my God, she drugged me."
"I really didn't."
"I'm not going to sleep with you, Kristen Dwyer. You can give me all the drugs in the world. I will. Never. Cheat. On. Penny."
"I didn't drug you," Kristen said defensively.
