Page 1 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

Chapter one

Ava

"I just don't understand why somebody would agree to the date if they were going to be weirded out about what I do for a living?" Penny huffed, all the while furiously filling out paperwork.

Idly, I combed a miniature rake through a little box of sand on her desk, making patterns in the grains. I was the one who got it for her when she first started at the school, and I was quite sure that I was the only one who played with it. But judging from her tone, she could definitely use the relaxation technique.

"This is why I don't mess with any of those dating apps," I told her. "There's something to be said about sussing out a person's intentions when you meet them face to face. It's too difficult to do that through the Internet."

Penny eyed me speculatively, a small smile playing on her lips. "Says someone who never dates."

I made a face at that. "It's not that I don't date. I just don't really have that much time, you know."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Are you saying that I need to give you more vacation days? Because I'm well aware of how much time you have during Christmas break and Thanksgiving break and all of summer that you have to rectify your hermit status."

Sending her a mock glare, I had to bite back a laugh. "How rude of you to remind me that I'm a hermit." She just smiled broadly at me. Only Penny could get away with talking to me like that. But she was right, I didn't date. I hated the whole concept of it.

Why couldn't a young, creative woman have Prince Charming just appear before her like a fairytale? Was that really too much to ask for?

Still, Penny did make a point. I had a more desirable schedule than most as a sculpting teacher for the Ashbury Academy of the Arts. Seeing that my boss was also my best friend, I got away with more than maybe the average teacher.

I felt bad, though, after hearing about Penny’s disastrous evening since I had encouraged Penny to get out there and see if she could find somebody. She was always so busy running this place, not that she seemed to mind, but she deserved to have the relationship she yearned for. She was the one who spearheaded this whole academy. Sure, her rich brother bankrolled the place, but it was Penny who had made it all happen.

Unfortunately, when potential dates heard about her position and just how much responsibility she had, they backed off swiftly, like the little cockroaches they were. Dealing with insecure men was yet another reason I didn't really care to put myself out there. I just preferred to dream.

Penny's office phone rang, and she picked it up, answering in a clipped tone. When she spoke to whoever was on the other line, my eyes wandered to the pictures on her desk yet again, mulling over the familiar lines, trying to see if I had missed any details.

The one behind her head was particularly intriguing with the fine form of the tall, broad-shouldered male leaning against the lamp post. The arrogant ease with which the man leaned against the post was what caught my attention in the first place, but it was the clean lines of that square jaw and the danger banked in those green eyes that had me studying it now.

It was none other than Spencer Ashbury, Penny's much older brother. He was a looker, alright, but he was also one of the most difficult people I'd ever met. Granted, I'd only met him a couple of times.

Penny worshiped the ground he walked on, but I'd only ever found him to be surly, dismissive, and cold. I guess when someone had more money than God, they didn't have to worry about things like warmth and compassion. Oh, but how the world would be different if that wasn't the case?

Despite his surliness, his one weakness did seem to be his baby sister. She'd had this vision about starting this creative academy for at-risk youth, and he had helped her make it happen. I'm sure it didn't hurt that being the purse strings behind the academy meant a substantial tax write-off for the Ashbury Corporation, which had been in business for several decades, having been passed down to Spencer from his father.

As annoying as I found him, I couldn't deny just how handsome he was, and what irritated me even more was that it was a picture behind Penny's desk that had finally broken my month-long creative block.

Weeks before, when I came here for one of our daily chats during my break, I'd finally let my eyes feast on this picture, and those eyes had seeded themselves in my head.

By the time I got home that day, my fingers were itching to get into the clay, and before I even realized what I was doing, I had sculpted Spencer's strong jawline. I had several little sculptures now that I was working on all at once, trying to get just the right composition of all his angles. I was still trying to capture what I was hoping would come across as a complex man. Even if I knew that he was just some rich sourpuss, nobody else had to know that when they looked at the busts.

"Do you really think they would mess with the school over that? I mean, we're not a part of it. They can't be so cruel as to do something that would actually take this school away from the kids?" I overheard Penny saying, her voice getting louder with each word.

Normally, Penny remained calm and cool in most situations, but I could see the red staining her cheeks and the worry lining her forehead.

I felt my brow furrow as I waited for her to finish up the call before asking her anxiously, "What's going on? Are you okay?"

She was shaking her head. "I don't know yet, but we will be. Don't worry. It's some PR bullshit with Ashbury Corp. That was Ralph," she said, referring to the Ashbury family lawyer. "He was saying that I need to be prepared because this mess that's going on with a company right now could blow back on the academy and cause people to make inquiries about our accreditation."

"But that's silly, we're fully accredited."

"I know," she said, sighing. "Unfortunately, with how political the education system has gotten, it just takes one disgruntled voice to call that into question. The inspector could say anything they want to as long as their palms are greased properly."

"But they can't do that to the kids."

Penny nodded emphatically and put her hand up to calm me. "I know, I know, but let's not panic now. Ralph knows what he's doing, and Ashbury Corporation has a crap ton of lawyers, so it's about time they earn their keep. Plus, you know that Spencer would do everything in his power to ensure that nobody touches the school."

I nodded, hoping it was convincing. Sure, I was worried about the school, but I was mostly worried about Penny. Even though she claimed that she wasn’t worried, I could still hear the doubt in her voice.

---