Danisha looked at me with narrowed eyes as though she knew what I was doing.
“I spoke with the Dean again,” she finally said.
“And?” I prompted her.
“They’ve given me a sort of extension.”
“What does that mean?” I asked her.
“I convinced the Dean to give me until Winter Break to prove that the EyeRead is my invention. The deal was that if I proved I was the inventor, I could stay. Plus, they were going to allow me to finish out the rest of the semester anyway, so I guess the Dean didn’t see any harm in giving me the extra time,” Danisha explained excitedly. “I know it’s a long shot, but I have to try.”
Before I knew what I was doing, my hands reached out to grasp Danisha’s face. I brought my lips crashing down on hers, my fingers sliding into the thick mass of her hair. My palms felt the familiar smoothness of her dark, brown skin, the curve of her shoulder blade, the arch of her spine.
My heart ached for her resilient spirit. I was supposed to be the strong one, but it was Danisha who shined in the face of adversity. Even after I won the lawsuit against my life’s work, my hands had trembled for several hours. I had been terrified of losing everything I had accomplished. Danisha, on the other hand, was more than eager for round two.
My lips left hers and traveled down her jawline to her throat. I could feel desire pounding through her veins.
Suddenly, she stilled. Realization slammed into me like a Mack truck.
Sally. I hung my head ashamedly.
What had I done?
Chapter Eight
I shut the front door behind Adrian, letting out a huge sigh. I put my face in my hands. Hands that had been fists ten minutes ago, gripping Adrian’s shirt tightly as he had kissed my neck.
The image of Sally swooped in while Adrian had caressed me, knocking me out of my sensual bliss. It caused a chain reaction in Adrian and he made a fast exit, asking me to tell Jackson to meet him at the airport tomorrow morning.
I heard giggling coming from Marisol’s room and rolled my eyes. “I’m glad one of us is having fun,” I muttered.
I felt so…unsatisfied. Working with Adrian the past few weeks had given me a new insight into the kind of person he was. Unsurprisingly, he was a person worthy of my deep respect.
Adrian and I hadn’t done anything more than hug since I had lived with him in Colorado… To embrace him like that and not be with him… I ached to be with him now more than ever. He was so close, but he was with Sally. I couldn’t change that, no matter how much I wanted to.
Despite, or perhaps in light of, what had just happened between Adrian and I, deep down, I began to wonder if MIT was right to suggest my relationship with him was inappropriate. If nothing else, Adrian had given me no reason to believe that he and I had a future together. A rational person would say it was time for me to move on.
I needed to focus on school and the EyeRead, right now —not an unrealistic relationship. I went to bed that night alone, once again.
Adrian and I spoke occasionally over the following week. I was attempting to develop a prototype of the EyeRead to prove my intimate knowledge of the design. Adrian was assisting me as best he could, but if he provided any financial assistance, it might be poorly perceived by the Admissions Board. Lack of financial resources put an extreme damper on my work.
I enjoyed speaking with Adrian, but I made sure to keep the conversations short. The more time I spent on the phone was less time spent working. I had barely a month left before winter break started. If I didn’t have proof that the EyeRead was mine by then, I could kiss my future goodbye.
The less time I spent talking with Adrian, the easier time I would have moving on, as well. Adrian was no doubt the great love of my life, but did that necessarily mean I should spend the rest of my life with him?
I was young, and despite the current difficulties I was having with my career, I could still see myself at the top one day. I didn’t want anything holding me back.
Adrian was over twice my age— what if he wanted me to settle down with him when he finally decided to retire? These pointless thoughts bounced around in my head, distracting me from my work.
I stretched, relishing the cracking noise that rippled down my spine as I twisted in my desk chair. A twisted pile of fiber-optic cables sat in front of me. I was struggling to get them to interlock in a way that created a seamless screen design. It was the major obstacle preventing me from filing my own patent.
My phone rang and I picked it up, mentally thanking whoever was calling me right now. I was due for a break.
“Hey, Bess. Good timing.” It was Professor Besberte, my optics class teacher.
“Are you near a TV?” she demanded.
“Well, hello to you too, Bess,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Danisha, you need to get to a TV, now.”
“Okay, geez,” I said, getting up from my chair and walking over to the small TV positioned on top of my dresser. “I’m at the TV. Now what?”
“Turn it on to the BNN, hurry,” Bess told me urgently.
It took me a minute to hunt down the remote and change the station to the Business News Network. There appeared to be some sort of press conference going on. A podium with a dozen microphones stood in the middle of the room, but no one was behind it yet.
“Alright, I have it on. Now will you tell me what’s going on?” I asked her exasperatedly.
“Just watch,” was all Bess said.
I watched the screen, waiting. Suddenly the room onscreen erupted in applause. A woman was walking up to the podium from behind the stage. It was Iraja Puri. I was instantly glued to the screen.
“No, no…” I whispered. “Please, no.”
I could hear Professor Besberte saying something into the phone, but I was hypnotized by Iraja’s presentation of my invention. Iraja motioned with her hand and brought out a small team of technical and optical engineers who proceeded to explain my theories that led to the designs.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t the injustice of it that made me the angriest. It was the fact that I knew they were delivering an imperfect product to the public. Half of the reason I had refrained from getting a patent was that I wanted to get the EyeRead right the first time. I hated when a company released a new product, knowing full well that it’s full of glitches and bugs that affect people’s lives.
Victor and Iraja didn’t care. They didn’t care about quality, about the pride that comes from accomplishing something difficult.
The press conference ended and I hung up the phone without saying goodbye to Bess.
Part of me wanted to go comatose like last time when the judge had denied my appeal. Now that Iraja had put a prototype with a fully legitimized patent on it, the situation seemed much more threatening. I had always believed that I would somehow manage to swoop in and fix everything at the last second, but I was rapidly coming to terms with the very real possibility I might never get the EyeRead back.
I took a deep breath. Panic would solve nothing at this point. I went over the discussion I’d had with Marisol about my plan to save my invention and Adrian’s business. I went over it again. And again. And about a dozen more times before I felt sure that the recent bad news didn’t change anything.
Let Iraja and Victor make their prototypes. Let them make a hundred prototypes, if they wanted.
I was coming for them. And I wasn’t going to hold back.
The Billionaire’s Dark Escape Book 8
Bella Rayne
Chapter One
My thumb hovered over the call button on my phone. Since kissing Danisha a week ago, I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable talking to her. Nonetheless, we had spoken a few times since then. Our work on reclaiming Danisha’s invention was time-sensitive; it was necessary for us to keep each other updated.
Thankfully, Danisha had not brought up my regrettable mistake. I certainly did not want to discuss what had transpired (or rather, what had almost transpired) that even
ing any more than she did, but the kiss hung between us. We kept our conversations short—strictly business—to avoid accidentally mentioning what had almost happened.
Then I heard about Iraja’s press release. The second I saw Iraja step onto the stage, I knew what was about to happen. I immediately grabbed the phone to call Danisha. We needed to set up a time to meet in Massachusetts and discuss our options.
Several weeks ago, Victor had stolen both the blueprints and files for Danisha’s invention, the EyeRead. Enlisting the help of his lawyer, Iraja, he had managed to get a provisional patent application on it before Danisha herself had the chance. Danisha and I had attempted to appeal the application, but with no proof as to how Victor had actually stolen the files, the judge denied our claim.
Danisha had gone practically comatose when she heard the judge’s decision. Now that Iraja had obtained a patent and begun releasing prototypes, there was no telling how Danisha would react.
I was agonizing over who I should be when I called to discuss the new break on the EyeRead: her lawyer or her…friend? Even there, I didn’t know what my role was. It was important for Danisha and I to act quickly and decide what her next course of action should be, but I knew she would also need someone to be there for her right now.
I couldn’t believe the effect one woman could have on me. I had never felt such a lack of control over my own life before meeting Danisha. Life had always been simple for me: there were clear answers to every problem. However, these days I was never sure what my next move was or how it would turn out.
I decided to go ahead and call her. Whatever discomfort I might be experiencing while talking to her was unimportant. Right now, urgency was key if I wanted to help Danisha save her invention. I was about to press the button, when there was a knock on my office door. Cursing the poor timing, I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“Yes?” I called out.
Sally poked her head into the room and slowly entered. “Hello, dear,” she said. She looked at me expectantly.
“Sally, I’m glad you’re here. I need to leave on business,” I told her.
Sally nodded, unsurprised. “Danisha?” she asked flatly.
“Yes, actually. There’s been a major break with her case, and not in our favor. Victor didn’t mention anything about it to you, did he?” I asked her.
She shook her head slowly. “Not that I can think of.”
“Well, if he does, let me know. It’s important. I have to leave soon. By tonight, if not sooner,” I said as I began packing my files into my bag.
“Do I get a say in this at all?” she asked bitterly.
I felt a sharp pang of guilt. I hadn’t given one thought as to how Sally might take this. She didn’t particularly enjoy me being away on business to begin with—much less to help a former lover. I hadn’t told Sally about kissing Danisha, but I knew Sally was suspicious about the amount of time I spent helping her.
And she's right to be suspicious, isn't she? I thought to myself, the guilt stabbing deeper.
“How many conversations have we had about you taking off last minute, Adrian? For her of all people? Did you even consider another solution, or was your first thought to run to her?” Sally accused.
“I know how it seems, Sally, but it’s urgent. If we don’t act now, Danisha will lose everything. You know that her education is on the line as well. I get that you don’t like her, and understandably so, but the Sally I know believes those who work hard should be the ones to reap the rewards.” I took Sally’s hand in my own. “Danisha has worked hard. She should be rewarded for it.”
Sally still didn’t seem convinced. I tried to hug her, but she felt stiff in my arms. “If you saw the design, you’d understand. It’s brilliant. It’ll make everything a hundred times easier. I’ll buy you one when they come out and you’ll see,” I joked, trying to inject some humor into the situation.
“I’ve seen the damn design, Adrian, and I couldn’t give two shits about it,” she growled, shoving me away from her. “If you’re gonna go, you'd better get going.”
I stumbled back as she pushed me, staring at her wide-eyed. “Yeah. I guess I had.”
I cursed at Jackson for being in Massachusetts visiting Marisol right now. The whole point of having my own pilot was so I didn’t have to pay thousands of dollars for last minute airfare. I called my driver and asked him to book me a seat on the next commercial flight to Boston. I packed as I waited for him to call me back. The only flight left was a redeye and wouldn’t leave for seven hours, but I asked my driver to pick me up immediately. I did not want to be home right now.
I tried to sleep in both the airport lounge and on the plane, but something Sally said kept prodding at the back of my mind, keeping me awake. Her words echoed through my brain all the way to Massachusetts, where I landed just after dawn the next day. It was far too early to head straight to Danisha’s apartment, so I went to my hotel and attempted to sleep once more.
Just as I finally began to feel my mind relax, it burst into my thoughts. When had Sally seen Danisha’s design?
Chapter Two
I tossed fitfully in bed. It was three in the morning and despite my complete and utter exhaustion, I couldn’t sleep.
Ever since Adrian had kissed me, I had been unable to sleep through the night. If I managed to fall asleep at all, I dreamt of his lips trailing down my neck, across my collarbone, dipping lower and lower… I would wake up, too wired to fall back asleep.
I couldn’t figure out his intentions behind his actions. Did he expect to see me on the side while he was with Sally? Did he want to leave Sally for me?
Even if he did leave Sally, where did that leave Adrian and me? Clearly, Sally was not the kind of woman to give up and move on. Did I want all of the drama and struggle that would be attached to dating Adrian again? Wouldn’t it be better to start fresh with someone my own age? Someone who hadn’t lived an entire life before I came along? Someone I could live my life and grow old with?
I wasn’t even sure I should be in any sort of relationship right now. The difficulties surrounding getting the EyeRead back were stressful enough. I barely even had time for myself these days, let alone someone else.
Iraja had made an announcement on Business News Network earlier that day in regards to the EyeRead. The patent had been approved and they had begun developing prototypes to send out to various service providers.
I knew the prototypes had to be terrible, and it infuriated me beyond belief. Right now, the technology had not yet been perfected for the EyeRead to work as it was designed. I was finalizing the design before I attempted to partner with anyone to rectify that situation. Any prototype Victor was having Iraja send out had to be full of glitches and would tarnish the name of the EyeRead.
I sighed, frustrated. It was obvious I wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight. I threw off the covers and went out into the kitchen to make myself a snack. I was spreading some peanut butter across a piece of toast when I heard Marisol’s door open.
“Hey, Mari—” I looked up to see Jackson standing in his boxers and a t-shirt. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here,” I apologized.
Jackson and Marisol had spent an increasing amount of time together lately. He flew in to visit her every couple of days, but I still wasn’t quite used to him being around yet.
“Yeah, I just got in a couple of hours ago,” he said. “Up late working?” Jackson asked.
I shrugged half-heartedly. “Sort of. I couldn’t sleep,” I admitted.
“You have a lot on your plate from what I hear,” he said.
“You have no idea,” I scoffed.
Jack took a beer out of the fridge and cracked it open. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked as he sat on the futon.
I hadn’t told anyone about the kiss, not even Marisol. I swallowed hard against my tears and shook my head, “No.” There was nothing to talk about.
Jack shrugged and turned to the TV, flipping it on with the remote. “Wel
l, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
I turned to go back to my room. I paused with my hand on the doorknob.
“Actually, I have been meaning to talk to you about something,” I said, pulling a 180˚ to sit in an armchair across from him.
Jack immediately muted the TV. “Shoot,” he said.
“So, I’m sure between Adrian and Marisol you know everything that’s going down with my EyeRead, Adrian’s business, and Victor.”
“Yeah, Victor’s been fucking up a lot of everybody’s shit lately, that’s for sure,” Jack said emphatically. He took a swig of his beer.
“Right. Well, I asked Marisol not to say anything because I was going to wait until, well, Adrian was here, but, um, he’s not, so, I guess I’ll just ask you now,” I twisted my hands awkwardly as I stammered over my words.
I had committed a felony when I broke into Iraja Puri’s computer to see the IP address she'd received the EyeRead files from, and I hadn’t batted an eye. But how do you ask someone to risk going to jail for you?
Chapter Three
“I need your help. It’s not just for me, though. It’s for Adrian, too,” I began.
Jackson was instantly alert. He set his beer aside and sat up. “What do you need?” he asked.
“I need a pilot,” I said simply. “But more than that I need to know you’re okay with what I’m asking Marisol to do.”
“You’re being pretty cryptic regarding the people that I care about, Danisha. Now, you’re a friend of mine too, so I’m going to ask you nicely to stop beating around the bush and explain to me what you’re talking about,” Jackson said, clearly exasperated with me.
I took a deep breath. “We need hard evidence, preferably a confession, that Victor stole the EyeRead from me. Everything ties back to that. Once we do that and I regain the full rights to my invention, Adrian’s former clients will realize Victor is the one who has been lying to them this whole time. I’ll be back in school, and as an MIT graduate, our relationship will seem more…professional,” I explained.
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 82