Addiction - Chapter 24 #2
"Yes, I was Penny's communications professor. And I realize that I crossed the line. I completely understand why you're upset. But my marriage really has nothing to do with this."
"I was the one that crossed the line," I cut in. "You shouldn't be mad at him, you should be mad at me." My phone started to buzz in my pocket, but I ignored it.
"We are mad at you," my dad said. "But we will deal with you later."
This was ridiculous, I wasn't a kid anymore.
They couldn't just ground me. Could they?
This whole situation was so bizarre. "It was my fault.
I fell in love with my professor and he told me to stay away from him.
I didn't listen. You two met and fell in love in college.
This isn't any different than that. You were my age when you met.
You should understand better than anyone. "
"Those were completely different circumstances," my dad said.
"Were they that different? Yes, you were the same age, but you were both as young as me. You have to at least accept the fact that I'm in love with him. And he resigned for me. So that we could be together."
"Did he get divorced for you too? Was he cheating on his wife with..."
"It wasn't like that," James said. "I would never cheat on someone."
"You have a very strange sense of morals, James," my dad said.
I could tell that James was trying to remain calm, but that statement clearly angered him. I could see it brewing behind his eyes. I continued to ignore my phone buzzing in my pocket.
"I would never do anything to hurt Penny," James said, as calmly as he could.
"You already have. What's going to happen when other professors find out? And students? Can't she be expelled for this?" my dad asked.
"We talked to the dean this morning when I resigned.
Penny got two strikes on her record, but other than that, nothing.
The news is circulating fast and I assume most of the college already knows.
That's why we're here. We wanted to tell you before you found out from someone else.
Despite my loose morals, I respected you both enough to want to tell you the truth in person. "
My dad didn't seem at all consoled by James' speech. "And what now? You just quit your job. You're divorced. You probably have alimony to pay. And you're dating a college student. What kind of future could you possibly have? You're just going to drag her down with you."
James eyebrows lowered slightly. "I'm starting a tech company."
"A tech company?" my dad laughed. "And where are you going to get the startup money for such a venture? I was wrong about you. You're not an adult. You're just as immature as any college student."
"Dad!" My father was a nice person. I had never heard him make snap judgments about anyone in my life. What was he doing?
"He's probably here to ask us for money," my dad huffed.
More anger was brewing behind James' eyes. "I have the necessary funds to start the company," he said calmly.
The house phone started ringing. When no one answered, it automatically switched onto the voicemail recorder.
"Hi, I'm trying to reach Penny Taylor or the parents of Penny Taylor. This is Ellen Fitzgerald with..."
I immediately stood up. Shit! Why now?
James grabbed my arm. "Penny, don't. It could be the media."
"It's not." Before I could walk over to the phone, my dad picked it up.
Crap!
"Hello, Ellen. This is Penny's father speaking."
"Who is it?" James whispered to me.
"She works for the First State scholarship committee." There was only one reason for her to be calling. I was going to lose my scholarship. My dad was already upset. This was going to make it so much worse.
"Allegations?" my father said. "There are no allegations..." he went silent and looked over at James and me. "The Delaware Post? I don't even know what you're referring to."
Silence.
"Penny has successfully maintained the 3.5 average."
Silence.
"I don't see how this is a behavioral issue. Her professor clearly..."
Silence.
"Ellen, I really don't see why..."
Silence
"How dare you insult my daughter?!"
Silence.
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer." My dad slammed down the phone. His face was visibly red.
"Peter?" my mom said. "Peter, take a deep breath."
"Get out of my house!" my dad yelled at James.
James quickly stood up. "Mr. Taylor, I don't know what you just heard on the phone, but..."
"There's an article in the Delaware Post about this mess? Why didn't you two start with that?!"
I had never heard my dad yell like that. "Dad, what did Mrs. Fitzgerald say?" I wasn't sure why I even asked. It was pretty clear.
"She said you lost your scholarship because you're sleeping with your professor." He pointed at James. "Didn't you think about that, Penny? Did either of you think of any of the consequences?!"
"I can get a job, Dad. I can pay the difference. I'll figure it out. Please just calm down."
"You know how we feel about you working during school. It's out of the question. You need to focus on your grades. Something that you've clearly put on the back burner recently."
I swallowed hard. It felt like he had slapped me.
"Mr. Taylor, the scholarship isn't an issue," James said. "I can pay the difference. I'd like to pay the difference."
"So you're going to start a thriving tech company and pay for my daughter's education?
Do you have the necessary funds for all that?
What, do you have a wealthy family to fall back on?
Are you just some rich, entitled kid that never grew up?
That goes around screwing students because you think there are never any consequences?
Well, we don't want your money. We don't want anything from you.
Haven't you done enough?! Get the hell out of my house! "
"Dad!" I stood up beside James. How could he say that to him? He knew nothing about James.
I could see that James' couldn't keep his cool anymore. Mentioning his wealthy family was the last straw, even though my father didn't actually know he had a wealthy family. He had unintentionally hit a nerve. Something seemed to just snap.
"Mr. Taylor, you don't know anything about me.
And it does not appear that you want to.
Yes, I was your daughter's professor. Yes, I got divorced yesterday.
Yes, I am not ready to get married today or tomorrow.
But I have every intention of marrying your daughter.
And I will provide for her. I want to provide for her.
You don't have anything to worry about. Her future is secure. That is all you need to know."
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. This couldn't be the end of the conversation. James couldn't just walk out right now. My dad was fuming.
"How could it possibly be secure?" my dad pressed. "You just ruined her education. And you ruined your own career. This is a scandal. No one's ever going to want to hire you or her."
"I don't need anyone to hire me. I told you, I'm starting my own company."
"You have no tech background. You're a communications professor."
"Working at the University of New Castle was not my career. I wanted to give back. It was never a permanent situation. I just needed a break. I needed to start over. I was doing a good thing there."
"A good thing?" my dad scoffed.
"Yes, a good thing." James' voice was louder than usual.
"I founded my first tech company when I was 22 years old.
Right after I graduated with honors from Harvard University.
Blive Tech International. Maybe you've heard of it?
It's a publicly traded Fortune 500 company.
Well, I sold it last year for 2.8 billion dollars.
I don't need to work another day in my life.
Your daughter, our future children, and our grandchildren won't need to work a day in their lives if they don't want to. "
2.8 billion dollars? I couldn't even conceptualize that much money.
James pushed his chair back under the table and looked down at me.
I could see the hurt on his face. The snap judgments that my father had made had stung.
They had stung me too. I couldn't believe my dad had done that.
I knew that losing the scholarship was a big deal.
I wasn't naive. But I could work to make up the difference.
I didn't mind working during school. What I did mind was that it suddenly felt like I had to choose between my parents and James.
That was the hardest part of all. I didn't know how the afternoon would go.
But I had never expected this. I wasn't a kid anymore.
I had made the decision to be with James.
And I wouldn't let my parents belittle him like this.
He didn't deserve that. I took a deep breath and grabbed James' hand. "I think we should probably go."
I only saw it for a second. But it had definitely been there. A flash of relief. He hadn't expected me to choose him. I hated that he didn't believe in me. Or us. Hopefully this would be what he needed to finally understand that I wasn't just going to abandon him. He meant everything to me.
"Wait," my mom said, breaking her silence. "A break from what, James? Why did you need to start over?"
"I felt empty in New York. I needed a fresh start. Teaching helped with that. I wish that the circumstances had been different. But Penny is my fresh start. She made me feel whole again."
"I do understand," my mom said. She looked at my dad.
"Penny was right. We were her age when we fell in love.
I'd like to think that if the circumstances were different for us, we'd still be together.
Please don't go, Penny." She paused and looked over at my dad.
She gave him a pleading look. "Peter, say something. "
"So that means your last name is Hunter?" my dad asked.
"Yes."
My dad sighed and sat down. "James Hunter, the founder of Blive Tech International. I didn't realize you had taken a sudden career change into teaching."