Page 5 of My Grumpy Billionaire Protector

She stumbles back in surprise, allowing me to slam the door shut in her face. I have no doubt we could’ve had a few more hours of fun, but I didn’t have time. Somewhere in the building, Cory is thinking the same thing, and the two of us have an hour before we were expected to make the biggest call of our career.

Isaiah Washington has summoned us.

My business partner, and the head of Sun Corp, does not like to be kept waiting.

EVIE

Ibend down in front of Patricia and place an arm around her shoulder. “Patricia, Tommy told me that you said his drawing is ugly. Is this true?”

Patricia doesn’t look up from her paper. Instead, she is scribbling furiously with her crayon. “Itisugly, Miss Coombes.”

I sigh. “Is that a nice thing to say, Pat?”

Patricia glances up and tucks her hair behind her ears. “No, but he called me a doody head.”

I glance over at Tommy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, sinking lower and lower into his seat. “Tommy, is this true?”

Tommy frowns and sits up straighter. “Yes, but she didn’t want to play with me.”

“It’s still not a nice thing to say, Tommy,” I tell him with a disapproving look. “You need to apologize to Patricia. Patricia, you need to apologize to Tommy.”

“Sorry,” they both chorus in low monotonous voices.

I stand, brush the pencil shavings off of my skirt, and pat the top of Patricia’s head. Then, I walk over to Tommy and do the same, offering the two of them a bright smile.

“I’m very proud of you for telling me the truth and for apologizing. Let’s try and be nicer to each other, okay? Remember that being kind is super important.”

“Yes, Miss Coombes.”

“Alright, class. You have a few more minutes to finish your worksheets, then it’s time for recess,” I announce before moving back to my desk. After pulling the chair out, I take a seat. I bring one leg up over the other and blow out a deep breath. Meanwhile, the rest of the kids are chattering quietly. They are all bent over their tables with fierce concentration etched onto their features.

It is a rare moment of quiet.

Being a first-grade English teacher means I don’t get a lot of those moments, and I savor them when I do. Lately, it is becoming harder and harder to enjoy anything about the hustle and grind of the real world. I have to deal with people who do not take me seriously and look down their noses at me to people who form opinions about me without having met me.

Most days, it is like I can’t win no matter what I do.

But in this classroom, my safe haven, I am nothing more nor less than Miss Evie Grace Coombes. I am an enthusiastic teacher with terrible coordination, an off-key voice, and art skills that make my students erupt into giggles. Within these four bright yellow walls, it feels like nothing bad could happen and everything is right with the world.

Even when I know it isn’t…

As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I sit up straighter and roll my shoulders back. When a familiar twinge forms on my lower back, I wince and press two fingers there, moving them in slow circular movements. Once the pain is gone, I relax and reach for my bottle of water. A low buzzing noise catches my attention, and I turn my gaze to my phone. It is on my desk, nestled in between sheets of paper and a book that is falling apart at the seams.

TJ is texting me… again.

Between him and Sienna, it is hard to find a good excuse to get out of hanging out. Having known the two of them since high school, I normally didn’t have to resort to such tactics. However, lately, the two of them have become persistent, almost desperate in their attempts to draw me away from my world.

Sure, being the granddaughter of the state’s governor has its perks and growing up in the spotlight definitely comes with a lot of benefits, but I’ve long since outgrown the role of the dutiful and silent granddaughter.

Since college, I’ve been doing my best to distance myself from the person I used to be, but my family doesn’t make it easy. My grandfather, Mitchel Coombes, is not a man who is used to hearing no. He was even less used to people following through on their decisions to walk away. As he likes to remind us, he’d come from nothing and built a reputation for himself, pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into a career that he was proud of.

In retrospect, I suppose it is something to admire and be proud of, but I want to succeed on my own terms. I have no interest in being Evie Coombes, another privileged white girl who can’t see past the end of her own nose. Instead, I want my life to matter, for it to mean something, which is why I found myself drawn to teaching and the idea of being able to mold young minds.

It is, as far as I am concerned, the only thing I have going for me. However, neither my mother nor my grandfather approve.

My grandfather thinks it draws unnecessary scrutiny and reflects badly on him as a governor, and my mother, the unbreakable Alba Coombes, agrees with him. She also doesn’t approve of her Ivy League daughter pursuing a career in education of all things. Still, I know they both mean well in their own ways. Although it is a point of contention, I can’t live the rest of my life in their shadow, waiting for scraps of affection from their table.

Given enough time and space, they will come around to my decisions. They have to…

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