Taught by the Billionaire Professor

Chapter 6: A Knight in Shining Armor

I stepped behind Mal, hoping that the quick movement wasn't too eye-catching.

Panic was causing my heart rate to spike. I stared in absolute disbelief as Professor Bennett casually made his way toward a seat in the back of the small theater.

Why was he here? Just to watch a show? But he was completely alone. How many people would go watch a show by themselves? Well, I took it back. Riverstone Theater wasn't very far away from Edenbrook. We had students watch shows all the time, but most of the students came to get extra credit from their professors.

“That is him, isn't it?" Mal asked with shock, although it was clear from her tone that she knew the answer. “Speaking of the devil!"

“This is some cruel trick of fate," I hissed at her. We watched Professor Bennett for a moment. He pulled a clipboard from seemingly out of nowhere and jotted something down.

“Maybe, Ellie," Mal said in a bemused voice. She giggled and nudged me lightly in the ribs. “Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your place? Look at him. The rumors about him being hot were definitely true as well. Did you take my advice and charge your phone before his class?"

I couldn't even roll my eyes at the jest, too nervous about the professor noticing me. If we ran into each other, I doubted that I would be able to act normal.

I swallowed thickly. “Maybe I should try to leave early," I mused out loud. I might be able to duck out before the show ended, that way it would be unlikely for us to bump into each other.

“You can't leave early tonight," Mal hissed at me. “We're supposed to be helping out at the VIP event afterward, remember?"

I cursed under my breath. Mal was right, I forgot about that. It was for donors of our tiny theater and it was extremely important for us to make a good impression.

I would just have to hope and pray that Professor Bennett never noticed me.

I groaned suddenly as another thought hit me. “He's probably a donor. He's most likely going to be at the event."

Mal patted me on the shoulder consolingly. “It's going to be fine," she said. “You shouldn't run away from this anyway. Professors like him feed off fear. You need to show him that you aren't afraid of him. He'll respect you a lot more after that."

I couldn't really blame Mal for her optimism. She couldn't know the real reason why I wanted to avoid Professor Bennett. It was difficult to imagine how she would react if she knew the truth.

The show was about to start so Mal gestured for me to help guests toward the front of the theater so that I would be further away from Professor Bennett. I did my best to hide behind the taller patrons so that I was completely covered as I moved through the rows.

I was relieved when the lights dimmed. There was no way Professor Bennett would notice me now.

Until the VIP event after the show that was.

Luckily, my attention was soon drawn by the actors and actresses onstage. The women wore poofy dresses and feathers in their hats, but they were still somehow able to jump and dance wildly onstage. Despite my anxiety about the upcoming event, I was momentarily mesmerized by the talent of the stars.

It was shows like this that made me want to major in theater. For a long time, I was planning on majoring in something like business, finance, or computer science. Those were more realistic choices since I needed to be able to help support my family after graduation. If I hadn't discovered Edenbrook Academy and its programs that essentially guarantee jobs for their graduating students, I probably would have.

Luckily, Edenbrook gave me the chance to study something I was truly passionate about.

One day, I would make it to Broadway. I would love to be an actor, but being a playwright would be great as well. I just wanted to be a part of the theater community in some way. I adored storytelling in this form. I loved the bright costumes and the dancing, as well as the ability for each show to differ wildly from the previous one, despite the story being the same.

All too soon, the show came to an end. I clapped along with the audience as the actors and actresses rushed to the front of the stage for the curtain call. They took turns bowing and curtseying while the crowd roared with applause.

Once we cleared the theater of audience members, Mal and I headed to the VIP event, which was taking place on the second floor of the theater in the event room. We took food and drink orders from each donor before going down to the theater's small kitchen to collect them for the chefs who were hired for the night.

The kitchen and event room were obviously new additions to the theater. They were much more modern with higher ceilings and sleek white furniture. The rumor was that the guy who bought the theater a few years ago was pretty rich and was looking for ways to redo the entire thing.

“I'll host whichever table Professor Bennett is at so that you can avoid him," Mal said as we climbed the steps back to the event room.

I thanked her but wasn't optimistic that we could pull this off. The venue wasn't very large. He was definitely going to see me, but at least I wouldn't be forced to interact with him. I would just have to spend the evening pretending that I didn't see him.

But as fate would have it, as soon as we got to the top of the steps, I bumped into a firm, male chest.

“Sorry," I squeaked, looking up at the man.

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as Professor Bennett stared down at me, his green eyes glinting as he instantly recognized me.

I choked on my gasp and took a step back, realizing a second too late that I was on the top of the velvet-lined stairway.

Mal shrieked my name as I fell backward. I squeaked when a warm and firm hand wrapped around my wrist, yanking me back up before I could tumble down the steps.

I gasped in shock and looked up at Professor Bennet, who had a tight grasp on my arm. He pulled me upright. His bright green eyes were narrowed.

“You need to be more careful," he scolded me, his hand still around my arm. He gestured with his free hand down the stairs. “You could have been seriously injured if I hadn't been able to grab you in time."

I nodded meekly, but my cheeks burned with annoyance at his tone. I wanted to snap that he shouldn't be standing at the top of the stairs anyway. I hadn't been moving all that fast. He could have stepped to the side to avoid me colliding with him.

Finally, he seemed to notice that he was still holding my arm so he quickly dropped his hand and stepped away from me. He cleared his throat. “Thank you for taking the extra time to help out at the event tonight."

Mal and I glanced at each other in surprise before nodding. Why was he thanking us?

Without another word, Professor Bennett turned on his heel and disappeared through the doors leading into the event room.

Mal looked after him in wonder. “What the heck was that?" she wondered aloud.

I just shrugged, still recovering from the shock that went through my body when Professor Bennett touched me. “I have no idea…"

Regardless of the unexpected encounter, Mal and I went with the plan anyway. Professor Bennett was sitting with a couple of other donors. Mal went to his table and I busied myself with the tables furthest away from Professor Bennett's. I was probably overreacting. He ran into one of his students, so what?

There was no reason I should be this nervous.

However, I couldn't help but feel self-conscious. It was probably my imagination, I practically felt a heated gaze burning a hole in the back of my head. However, whenever I turned around to steal a peek of Professor Bennett, he wasn't paying attention to me.

I scoffed at myself inwardly. My stupid brain!

“Another glass of wine please, young lady," a middle-aged man in a tan-colored suit requested. He was sitting at the bar, all by himself. People started to socialize and mingle, and the music was getting loud.

I smiled pleasantly at him and nodded, jotting that down before turning to go.

“Not so fast, dear," the man said.

I turned back around, confusion spreading out across my face. The man had dark brown hair with streaks of gray in it. His cheeks were also tinted pink from the alcohol. His dark, almost black eyes were half-opened as he leered openly at me.

I grimaced but kept my smile, reminding myself that he was one of the donors. “Yes, sir? Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I shivered when he grinned at me and leaned toward me. He patted his thigh. “Come sit on my lap."

I couldn't keep the disgust out of my tone.

“No, thank you." I turned to go again, but my wrist was snatched from behind. I gritted my teeth and tugged at my arm. “Let go."

It was an actual order. I made my voice low, hoping to intimidate him, or at least shock him into letting go of me.

Unfortunately, while I was strong and confident, I was still just barely over five feet tall and likely much weaker than this middle-aged man. The music was loud and they had dimmed the lights, so people wouldn't notice what was happening between the two of us.

I wasn't shocked at all when the guy laughed, tightening his hold on my wrist and pulling me toward him. I looked around at the other patrons, but they were too engrossed in their own conversions. I wondered briefly if I should scream, but then decided against it. I could handle myself just fine.

“Please let go of me," I said again, tugging away more firmly. “I really need to get back to work." I didn't want to cause a scene so I kept my voice low, speaking through my teeth.

“Let her go!"

We both looked up to see Mal stalking toward us angrily. She got right between me and the guy, putting her arm between us, causing the guy to finally let go of me.

“Mal, it's fine," I said, putting my hands up toward her in a soothing gesture. Quite a few people were staring now.

“Stupid little b***h," the guy snapped standing and pushing Mal away.

Thankfully, my friend didn't fall. She stayed upright and glared hatefully at the guy.

I saw red and stepped in front of Mal, shielding her with my body. “Leave her alone," I snapped, puffing my chest out slightly.

The guy looked pissed, his nostrils flaring. He stood up to his full height, which was much taller than I thought. His large hand shot out, his fingers outstretched as if he was going to grab me.

I watched as a blur of gray appeared in front of me.

“Greg, that's quite enough," Professor Bennett snapped. His back was to us, but I could easily imagine the way his green eyes would darken as he spoke.

“I wasn't going to do anything, Mr. Bennett," the man, Greg, said in a too-innocent tone.

It was clear that Professor Bennett didn't believe him. He stepped back so that he could put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me behind him. I looked up at his face to see that he was livid. Another shock went through me at the physical contact.

“Go home, Greg," Professor Bennett said in a hard voice that caused a chill to go through me.

Greg narrowed his dark eyes and looked briefly at me before actually obeying and leaving the room.

It was silent for a couple more moments after Greg left. I just looked up at Professor Bennett in awe. A light seemed to glow around him as if he was a knight in shining armor.

I blushed. He was mine at that moment.