The Teacher's Billionaire

explain again. She hadn’t answered. He left a short message. She hadn’t called back, and he hadn’t tried again.
    Let it go.
Even if she did forgive me then what?
How much longer would our relationship have lasted anyway?
It wasn’t as if he planned on getting married. So things would end anyway. Did it really matter if they ended now or later?
    Deep down he suspected there was another question lurking. What if their relationship didn’t end at all? Disgusted with himself, Dylan switched off the television and opted for some classic Metallica music. He’d never been the type to sit and mull over his emotions. And he didn’t plan on starting now.
    The lyrics to his favorite Metallica song filled his media room, but they did nothing to distract him from his thoughts. Instead they reminded him of the night he and Callie ate ice cream while listening to music in her apartment. Surprisingly they liked much of the same music. Not many women he knew enjoyed classic and hard rock.
    Then again they had a lot in common despite their different backgrounds. It was just another reason why he enjoyed spending time with her. Not that it mattered now.
    “Damn it,” he swore aloud. “I need to get over this.” Whatever had been between them was over. Finished.
    Turning the music off he headed to his bedroom to change. Perhaps an hour or so in his home gym would help. If nothing else maybe it would tire him out enough that he would sleep tonight. He’d had trouble doing that every night since the fundraiser. Every time he tried, visions of Callie that night in her kitchen came back to haunt him. The hurt and betrayal on her face were permanently burned into his memory.
    She was the one that refused to listen. I tried to explain things to her.
He tore off the polo shirt he was wearing. Anger toward Callie burst through him. It was the first time he’d felt that emotion toward her.
If she really cared wouldn’t she have let me explain?
    Almost as quickly as the emotion came on it disappeared. Who was he kidding? She had every right to respond the way she did.
I wouldn’t have even opened the door that night. Probably would’ve called the police instead and had them escort me away.
    ***
    Had it really only been a few days since Warren’s announcement? It felt like a lifetime ago. Both her cell phone and house phone seemed to be constantly ringing. People at the summer camp were continually asking her questions. Even television and newspaper reporters were camped out across from her apartment. And Neil, her bodyguard, constantly followed her. It seemed like the guy never slept. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Already she’d reconsidered Warren’s offer to come stay in Newport until things died down a bit. At first she’d thought he was exaggerating about how crazy things might get so she’d turned down the offer. Now though she was seriously thinking about going for a little while.
    A knock at the door sent Lucky barking through the tiny kitchen.
    “It’s me,” Lauren called from the other side.
    A friendly face.
Callie unlocked the door. Lauren was one of the few people who wasn’t treating her differently these days.
    She immediately handed Callie a copy of Star Magazine. “Have you seen this yet?”
    Unlike the cover of People magazine that she’d seen in the grocery store, which had one picture of her and one of Warren on the cover, this one just had a picture of her the night of the fundraiser. The constant knot in her stomach tightened. “No, I haven’t seen this one,” Callie answered with a sigh.
    “Turn to page 12.”
    By the tone of her friend’s voice, Callie knew she wasn’t going to like what she saw. Flipping to page twelve she was greeted by a double page spread of pictures. All of them featured her and Dylan. There was even one of them standing outside her motel room in Newport the weekend she went down to meet Warren for the first time.
    Tears welled up in Callie’s eyes blurring her vision. Seeing her face on the cover of People was bad enough. But seeing her disastrous relationship or whatever her thing with Dylan had been, announced to the world was just too much.
    How?
They’d been alone when some of the photos were taken. Or at least she’d thought they were alone.
    Pushing the magazine away, Callie dropped her head into her hands. “What a mess,” she groaned. “I never should have gone along with this. What was I thinking? No one else ever needed to