Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Gathering myself, I hissed out, “I’m not a stripper, you arrogant fuck. I’m short and I wear heels to come even close to looking people in the eye. I’m Jacob’s tutor! Not his ‘baby mama’ or a whore, thank you very much.”
His snort of derision made me see red. “Right, tutor? With those tits? Get back in your car, trailer park Barbie, and drive away, before I make you leave. You’re not the first gold digging stripper to show up claiming he’s the baby’s daddy.”
“I am not a stripper!”
He took out his wallet with a sigh, pulled out a few one hundred dollar bills, then tossed them at me. They fluttered to the ground between our feet. “There, that should cover his lap dances. Now, get the fuck out.”
As I stared at the money laying on the glowing wood floor between our shoes, something inside of me snapped.
I don’t think I’ve been so mad in my entire life. He actually took a step back when I moved into his personal space then grabbed the front of his shirt to keep him from backing up further as I stared up—way up—at him. “I don’t know what kind of messed up, misogynistic world you live in, but a woman’s breast size has nothing to do with the size of her brain. I am not a fucking stripper! I am Jacob’s tutor at ASU, an honor student working on eventually getting my PHD in education. Jacob hasn’t been showing up to his appointments for the last three weeks! He promised me he would be there, and he broke his word. Now, I need to speak to Jacob, and I need to do it right fucking now, or so help me…” I trailed off for a moment, not sure what his name was, then went with my initial pet name, “You arrogant dick, I will make you regret the day you were born.”
“Too late,” he said in a bitter voice, but something in his eyes sparked to life. The sneer curving his rather nice lips softened. Hell, his entire face warmed in a way that made me distinctly uncomfortable. “Do I know you?”
I wanted to look around to see if I was on one of those prank shows with the hidden cameras.
“What?”
His pupils widened as he slowly examined my face, that disconcerting warmth turning to full on heat. “Do I know you? You seem…familiar.”
“Are you high?”
“Excuse me.” A woman’s husky voice came from my left. “I’m Mrs. Roja, and who might you be? And why are you roughing up my nephew?”
I turned to see an older Hispanic woman with long black and grey streaked hair standing at the base of the stairs. Her cheeks were nicely rounded, which should have given her a kind old woman look, but her gaze was pure ice. A flush burned my cheeks as I realized I was still holding onto the arrogant asshole’s shirt, which I quickly released and then smoothed into place. As I did that, I realized the man’s heart was thundering beneath my palm, and that his skin was warm, so warm. Mrs. Roja cleared her throat, and I snatched my hand away from his chest, feeling guilty like I was caught groping him instead of trying to fix the damage I’d done to his pristine look.
“Ah…uh, I’m sorry. My name is Joy Holtz, and I’m Jacob’s math tutor at ASU.” I cleared my throat then licked my lips, trying to gather myself after my temper tantrum. “He hasn’t shown up to his tutoring appointments for the last two weeks, despite his promises to do so. Normally I wouldn’t bother you with this, but I don’t get paid if he doesn’t show up and…well, I need the money for tuition next semester. He’s missed three sessions. I could have used that time to tutor other clients, but each time Jacob swears he’ll be there, then he isn’t. I’ve tried to hold him accountable for this, but he’s avoided me at every turn, which left me no alternative but to come here. I’m so sorry for interrupting your day, but this is important. Not just for me, but for Jacob. He’s going to fail out of school, and I’d hate to see that happen to anyone, but he’s going to leave me no choice but to report him to the school.”
Her lips thinned, and I swallowed hard at the anger filling her deep brown eyes. “No, I completely understand. I’m so embarrassed you’ve had to take time from your no doubt busy schedule to come here. I know who you are, Ms. Holtz. You were highly recommended by the Dean of the Education Department. I was hoping you could perform a miracle with Jacob and get his academic affairs in order.”
I couldn’t help but glow a bit about the words of praise from my usually prickly boss. “Thank you, but I’m afraid it’s going to take a miracle for Jacob to pass at this point, unless he really applies himself.”