The Billionaire Boys Club (Billionaire Romance Series Book 1) (15 page)

“Locke and his beliefs are critically important to your understanding about property,” Professor Weber continued. “Without understanding Locke, it’s difficult to get a grasp on why courts rule the way that they do in property cases.”

Kelsey, as she stood, glanced nervously around the room. She realized by the shocked looks on her classmates faces and the numerous students flipping through the casebook, that no one had bothered to read about John Locke. Kelsey glanced at Professor Weber. It was about to be a very long two hours.

“Well done,” one of Kelsey’s classmates said as they walked out of the classroom. She looked up. It was Ryan.
 

“Thanks.”
 

“You had no clue what Professor Weber was talking about,” Tyler commented as he walked up.
 

Ryan glanced at him. “Neither did anyone else. At least she tried,” he said.

“I suppose,” Tyler said.
 

Kelsey frowned. “And you could have done better?” she asked him.
 

“I certainly hope so,” Tyler replied.

“I guess we’ll see on Thursday,” Kelsey said.
 

“Yeah, Tyler. Kelsey’s expecting you to be brilliant,” Ryan quipped.
 

Tyler smiled. “I will be,” he replied, and left the classroom. Kelsey stared after him. Gosh, he was arrogant.
 

“So,” Ryan was saying, and Kelsey pulled her eyes back to him. His blue eyes sparkled in the classroom light. “…should we go to the beach on Friday?”
 

“Beach?” Kelsey asked. “Isn’t it too cold?”

“I’ll build you a fire,” Ryan replied.

“But we have Legal Writing,” Kelsey said. “It’s the first day.”
 

“Really?” Ryan said. “Oh, you’re right. So much for Friday. Saturday then?”
 

“I don’t think the movie has changed,” Kelsey said.

“Let’s go downtown. We can do something there,” Ryan replied.

“Sounds like fun,” Kelsey said.
 

“Excellent. Let’s say six. Give us some time to drive downtown.”
 

Kelsey nodded. “Okay.”
 

Ryan smiled at her and, to her shock, gave her a kiss on her forehead.
 

“See you,” he said, walking off.
 

“Bye,” Kelsey replied, smiling.

On Thursday, Kelsey got to Property class early and sat in her usual seat. She was looking forward to the arrogant Mr. Olsen’s performance. To her annoyance, she had spent more than a few minutes thinking of the proper response to what she expected would be a total fail. After his comments on Tuesday, she wasn’t on Team Tyler.

Per usual, he walked in minutes before Professor Weber, this time with Ryan. He seemed completely unconcerned about his fate. Presentations weren’t graded, and exams were anonymous, but no one wanted to look stupid in front of the class. Tyler, Zach, and Ryan sat down, and Ryan gave her a wave as Professor Weber walked in.

“Mr. Olsen, today is your day to present, I believe,” Professor Weber said.
 

Tyler stood. “That’s correct, Professor,” he replied.
 

Kelsey was looking forward to his smile fading as soon as Professor Weber stated what today’s topic was going to be.

“And you’ve done the reading?” Professor Weber asked.

“No,” Tyler replied. A soft gasp echoed through the room.
 

Professor Weber looked surprised. “Why not, Mr. Olsen?”

“Because you never ask about it,” Tyler replied.
 

Professor Weber smiled. “Well, that’s true. But aren’t you concerned about not being prepared?”

“No,” Tyler said confidently. Kelsey sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. She had been looking forward to this for two days.
 

“Let’s see, then,” Professor Weber said, unconcernedly. “Today I’d like you to discuss the creation of intellectual property and the balance between rewarding creativity against the concern of creating unnecessary monopolies and stifling ideas.”

To Kelsey’s surprise, Tyler smiled.

“I’d be happy to,” Tyler replied.

At the end of two hours, the class broke into applause. Except for Kelsey, and to her surprise, Ryan, who had been frowning through most of the class.
 

“Good job, Mr. Olsen. But Mr. Payne?” Professor Weber said.
 

“Yes, Professor?” Zachary said.

“I suggest
you
do the reading.” Professor Weber smiled, nodded at Tyler, and left the room.
 

“I cannot believe that you got that as your topic!” Ryan scowled. Kelsey looked over at them.

Tyler shrugged and picked up his bag. “Just lucky, Mr. Perkins,” he said. “Better study this weekend.”
 

Ryan threw his pen at Tyler and it bounced off Tyler’s navy sweater as he left. Ryan got up to retrieve it.

“Why were you upset?” Kelsey asked. Ryan smiled.

“Tyler’s mom was an intellectual property lawyer before she and my dad founded their company. He knows everything about IP law.”
 

“Oh,” Kelsey said.
 

Ryan smiled at her. “I’ll study tonight, so we can have a nice weekend,” he said.
 

Kelsey smiled. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

“Me too,” Ryan replied. Kelsey smiled again, and left the room.

The next day, Kelsey and her small group headed to the Legal Writing class. She had seen Keith walking around campus a few times since classes had begun. Today he was in the classroom on time, and writing on the whiteboard. Kelsey sat down and opened her computer. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but since Darrow Law School had been full of surprises, she was prepared for anything. Tyler sat in his usual Property seat. Kelsey was still in awe of his performance yesterday, although she would never tell him so. Ryan walked into the room, pulled on Kelsey’s ponytail, and sat next to her. He glanced at her with a smile.
 

“Do you mind if I join you?”
 

Kelsey smiled back. “Not at all,” she replied.
 

“All right,” Keith said to the class, which quieted down instantly. “Is everyone here?” He glanced around the room as he stood in front of the board.
 

“Today I’ll be assigning you your partner for Legal Writing for the rest of the year. I’d like you to introduce yourself and sit next to them. You’ll be working closely with each other on every assignment as well as for the the moot court project next year, so you’ll want to get to know them and their work style well.” Keith moved to the side of the room.
 

“If you look at the whiteboard, you’ll see the name of your partner. Please take the next five minutes to introduce yourselves and get settled.” And with that, Keith started taking a look at the papers in his hands. Kelsey looked at the board to find her name. She read:

Kelsey North/Tyler Olsen

And her mouth dropped open. Ryan looked at the board, then Kelsey saw a look of annoyance on his face.

Ryan said and winked at her as he got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
 

“Sure,” Kelsey said. Ryan walked over to his partner, a tall boy with glasses and a flannel shirt. She sighed mentally, looked up, and saw that Tyler was walking over to her. He sat in the seat vacated by Ryan.
 

“Hi, Tyler,” Kelsey said automatically.
 

“Hi, Princess,” he replied. He pulled out his smartphone and began typing. Kelsey didn’t mind. She thought they knew each other well enough. Around them, their classmates were introducing themselves and settling into new seats. A few moments later, Keith clapped his hands.

“Okay, you can talk more later. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time together.” Kelsey groaned inwardly.
 

“Poor you,” Jessica said as she climbed into bed. Kelsey was already lying in hers. “Thank goodness I didn’t get Matthew for my partner.”

“I spend more time with Tyler Olsen than I spend with anyone here,” Kelsey sighed.

“At least he’s not a jerk.”
 

“He’s an arrogant know-it-all,” Kelsey retorted.
 

“He’s smart. We’re all supposed to be,” Jessica replied.

“Why are you standing up for him?”
 

“I guess I’m just wondering why you hate him so much,” Jessica said.
 

“He just rubs me the wrong way,” Kelsey replied. “Anyway, at least I don’t have to deal with him until next week. I can just enjoy my date with Ryan.”

“Where is he taking you?”

“He didn’t say,” Kelsey replied.
 

“I’m sure you’ll have fun,” Jessica said, turning over. “Good night, Kels.”
 

“Night, Jess,” Kelsey said, turning out the light.
 

The next afternoon, Kelsey put on jeans and a pretty sweater.
 

“No dress?” Jessica asked, looking up from her homework.
 

“He’s seen the only one I own,” Kelsey laughed.
 

“Well, you look cute,” Jessica said. Kelsey looked in the mirror and wiped a tiny bit of lip gloss from the corner of her mouth.
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey said. There was a knock on the door. Kelsey opened it to Ryan. He was wearing jeans as well.
 

“Hi, Kels. Are you ready?”
 

“Ready,” Kelsey said. She put her wallet, phone, and keys in her pocket and silently waved to Jessica.
 

Kelsey and Ryan walked downstairs, past Tyler, who was reading in the common room. They walked out and headed for the parking lot. They got into Ryan’s car, which to Kelsey’s surprise was a sleek silver Porsche. Ryan drove off, and they headed toward downtown.
 

“Did you study today?” Kelsey asked as they drove through Madison Park.
 

“A little. I don’t think I’ll be as lucky as Tyler next Thursday.”
 

“No, I don’t think so either,” Kelsey replied. ”Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise,” Ryan said.
 

They drove past Broadway and into downtown. Instead of heading to the malls and restaurants near Sixth Avenue, Ryan drove past them and into Belltown, a hip neighborhood north of Pike Place Market. He pulled into the parking lot of a tall condominium.
 

“What’s this?” Kelsey asked, as they got out of the car.
 

“My house,” Ryan replied. “I think you’ll like the view,” he said. He took her hand and they went up the elevator to one of the top floors. Ryan got out his keys and opened the door to one of them. Kelsey’s eyes widened as they walked in.

The condo was decorated in gray and silver, but what was incredible was the view. The entire living room was lined with windows, which overlooked Puget Sound.
 

“Wow. That is beautiful,” Kelsey said, walking over to the windows, as Ryan closed the door behind her. She gazed down on the sparkling lights on the waterfront, and watched as a ferry pulled up to the dock.
 

“Isn’t it,” Ryan said. He walked behind her, and wrapped his arms around her hips. Kelsey looked at him and he smiled. They both looked at the view, and Ryan nuzzled her hair.

“Gorgeous,” Kelsey said, taking in the picture. She had never seen a view of the waterfront before, particularly from someone’s private home. It was incredible. Ryan released her waist and walked over to the kitchen.
 

“Would you like a drink? Wine? Beer?”
 

“No thanks,” Kelsey said. She gazed out of the window for another moment, then joined Ryan.
 

“How about sparkling water, then?” he asked.
 

Kelsey smiled. “That would be nice,” she replied.

“Sit,” Ryan said. “I’ll bring it over.”
 

Kelsey sat on one of the sofas, and leaned back gently on a silver raw silk pillow.
 

“Your place is beautiful,” Kelsey said.
 

“Thanks,” Ryan replied, walking over with the drinks. “It was my graduation gift.” He sat next to her and put her drink on the long glass coffee table.

“Such an incredible view,” Kelsey said. “I’ve never seen the waterfront from this height.”

“No?” Ryan asked in surprise. “Every other office building in town has a great view.”
 

“I’ve never been to an office in downtown Seattle,” Kelsey replied, taking a sip of her drink. The bubbles tickled her nose.
 

“Oh,” Ryan said. He put his glass down and his arm around her. Then he kissed her. And Kelsey kissed back.
 

A moment later, Kelsey felt Ryan’s hand under her sweater, then touching her bra. She pulled away, startling him.
 

“What are you doing?” she asked.
 

Ryan kissed her neck and placed his hand on her waist. “I want to sleep with you,” he replied. “Now.”
 

Kelsey backed away slightly.
 

“Ryan, I’m not ready for this,” she said softly.

“No?” Ryan said, running his fingers through her hair. “I am,” he said, kissing her neck again.

“Really, Ryan. Stop.”
 

Ryan looked at her. “Seriously?”
 

“Yeah,” Kelsey said. “I like you, and I like spending time with you, but I’m not going to sleep with you tonight.”
 

“Why?’ Ryan asked, picking up his drink. He looked at her with interest.
 

“I’m not ready for that,” Kelsey said, simply.
 

“But I am,” Ryan replied.
 

“Not tonight, Ryan.”
 

Ryan sighed. “Fine. You can go then.”
 

“What?” Kelsey asked in surprise.

“You can go. I’m staying here tonight, and you’re free to stay with me if you’d like, but if you don’t want to, you can go.”
 

Kelsey looked at him in surprise.

“You aren’t going to drive me back?” she asked.