Professor Bryant's Second Chance

Dylan  Two months have passed, and every day seems to get more complicated. I f****d up so bad and didn't know how to make things better. Riley has completely ignored me every chance that she could. I couldn't say that I blamed her because it looked bad, really bad. My work has been affected tremendously. The scandal of my love life with Riley was posted everywhere for anyone and everyone to see. Reporters didn't have any boundaries when it came to getting their next story. It just so happened that my story was still the highlight. My rum business sales have doubled because of all the media attention, but I've had to put in countless hours. Most of the time, I was just breezing by with Riley constantly on my mind. My team was counting on me to be there for them, but all I was doing was letting them down. Without having my teaching job, I was lost more than ever. When I had Riley, losing my teaching career didn't seem as massive as it does right now because she was there to fill that void. Since everything happened, she has blocked me and moved to an unknown location with Nora. Even Nora has told me to f**k off anytime that I would call her. Even though it's only been two months, and I would like to think that Riley was thinking about me as much as I was her, I also couldn't help but think that she was with Justin. He was the obvious choice for her. They clearly had a physical attraction to each other that could be noticed a mile away. What if they were dating now? I was too afraid to look at any media reports that mentioned Riley being seen with anyone at all. All of this was too much, turning me into a shell of a broken man. Knock. Knock. Carly, my assistant, opened the door, peeking her head through. "You have a visitor, sir." I snapped my head toward her, tightening my jaw. The aggravation in my voice didn't go unnoticed by her as Carly sunk back a little from the doorway. "And why the hell didn't you call me to inform me this instead of letting yourself into my office?" "Um. I'm sorry, sir, but I tried calling you three times. You weren't responding, so I was unsure of what to do." I was being a real d**k to her for no good reason at all. Instead of lashing out at her again, I forced a smile and nodded. Carly took that as an okay to send in my guest, though I had no interest in who it was. No one other than Veronica walked through my door. She was in a pencil tight gray skirt with a white blouse that showed off her impressive breasts. It was obvious why I was attracted to her in the beginning. Veronica was stunning, but the minute she opened her mouth, it all went to hell. "Dylan, you haven't been answering any of my calls." "Clearly. Why are you here, Veronica? Don't you think you have done enough to ruin my life?" She threw her head back and laughed before taking a seat in front of my desk. "Trouble in paradise? Good. A girl doesn't deserve someone like you anyway. You need a woman in your life who can handle every inch of you." I couldn't help but notice the lick of her lips on that last bit. "Riley could handle me and then some." I wasn't even sure why I made that comment. It wouldn't help my case and could potentially make it worse, but I was sick and tired of pretending that Riley wasn't the woman I was madly in love with for the sake of my career. Veronica rolled her eyes. She chose to ignore the comment altogether. "I have been invited to an exclusive gala tonight and would like for you to accompany me. It would be beneficial for both of us to be seen together in the light of everything that has happened in the last several months. Of course, we would make it known that we are talking through things, making you look better than you deserve." Making me look better than I deserve? It was her that was flipping this entire thing completely out of proportion! We hadn't been together months before Riley had come into my life. How could she sit here and pretend like something more had happened than that? "You have some nerve stepping into my business, demanding that I come to some stupid ass gala with you tonight so that you can look better. I've seen where some are pointing the finger at you, and you hate that s**t. You've never been able to take responsibility for anything. All you have done is make me look bad to everyone, including my family and friends who won't so much as speak to me thanks to what you did!" "Ha!" She cackled like the evil witch she was. "Don't flatter yourself, baby. All this attention was caused by you and your little slut. If you want someone to blame, look in the mirror. We are official still married. You would do well to remember that because though I might not like being vindictive to you, I will if I must. I'll take every goddamn thing away from you, including this rum empire you have built. Are you willing to chance it, Dylan? Go ahead and be my guest! Put everything on the line for some girl that only gave you the time of day because you were someone that she would never have thought that she could have. Here is a little womanly advice, women like what we can't have, Dylan. Once we do have it, it's boring. We give up and move on to the next best thing." She was right about at least the first half of that. Veronica didn't know Riley like I did. She may think that she could use this as some sort of tactic to get under my skin so that I question everything I shared with Riley, but it wasn't going to happen. "You can leave now," I said so carelessly with the purpose of pissing her off. Veronica thought she would storm in here and begin demanding things, and I would accept it because of how lost I was. The thing was that I was lost but not desperate. Inaudible words flew out of her mouth as she stormed out of my office. To drown out her screaming at my assistant, I flipped on the television in my office. Who appeared on the screen had me standing to my feet and rushing over toward the television as if it would allow me to somehow be closer to her. "This story is only beginning. Riley Bell, who was accused of sleeping with her then professor at the time, Dylan Bryant, a multibillionaire in the rum business, has found herself in yet another scandal. Riley Bell was arrested just a few moments ago for supposedly getting into an altercation with a media reporter. No more details have been released as of yet. We will continue to follow this story to see if charges will be filed against the young woman after this horrible incident." I found myself shouting at my television like some lunatic. The media reporter was in the wrong, and I wasn't even there to know it was true. Riley wasn't a violent woman, but the media was sure making her out to be the villain in every story. After it was leaked that we split, the media attacked her daily. I did everything in my power to try and stop them, but even someone like me didn't have the strong connections needed to do that. The media outlets mostly blamed Riley for this entire thing. They said horrible and untrue things about her, which was why I had to eventually stop listening. It's been a whole two months since I've seen her, even a flash on a television screen. As beautiful as she looked, even in handcuffs, I could tell that she was lost. A lost soul can easily spot another. I quickly picked up the phone, dialing the front to my assistant. "Carly, I need you to cancel everything I have penciled in for the rest of the day. There is somewhere that I need to be." "Yes, sir." After gathering my things, I quickly fled my office. I rushed into the heavy traffic to get to the damn police station as fast as possible. I wouldn't see her. I couldn't. I would simply do this for her, and she didn't have to have any idea who was generous enough to help her out. What nearly took almost an hour to get through traffic, I finally arrived at the police station. They immediately noticed who I was the second I came through these doors. Still, some were reluctant to help me, especially the women. Finally, after too many minutes had passed by, an officer greeted me. "What can I do for you, Mr. Bryant?" "I'm here to get her out of here. Riley Bell doesn't belong in a damn police station, let alone a jail cell being held on a ridiculous charge." The officer gave me a passive look and nodded. "Do you have any idea what her charges even are?" "I don't need to know," I barked back at him. "Just release her. I'll pay anything that needs to be paid to make it happen. Make sure this doesn't stay on her record either." The young officer typed away on his computer, and not a second later, the chief was poking his head through his office and ushering me to come inside. Mark laughed and slapped me on the back once we had some privacy now. "My god, boy. Look at you. You've never looked shittier. What is going on with you these days?" "Don't act dumb on me now, Mark. You know damn well why I'm here." He nodded then took a seat in his office chair. "The thing is, Dylan, I'm not sure you being here is in her best interest. According to what we see on the news, you guys aren't even on speaking terms. She could sue us for even letting you in here on her behalf. Come on, Dylan. You aren't new to the game. You know how this works." I did know what being here meant. "Listen, I f****d up with her. This isn't about our relationship or my feelings for her. This is about me trying to do the right thing, which is something I would do for you too, old friend." Mark sighed, digging into his drawer for a pen and a form for me to sign. "I'll make it happen, but don't make me regret this. I will always be team Dylan on this whole matter. Between you and me, the dumb prick that she got into it with deserved what he got from her. He tried to fill her up, accusing her of what everyone else has for months now. I feel bad for the poor kid. Her entire life has been ruined." What he really wanted to say was that I ruined her. I know that I did, but I'm going to fix it even if she doesn't want me back. However, I wasn't going to let this woman suffer for my mistakes. Whatever I had to do, I would for her, hoping that she could get back to somewhat of a normal life again. "Sign this. I'll make sure her record is clean, and I will get her out of here without all the attention. You owe me for this, you know?" I nodded and tried to smile. "Sure thing, Mark. Steak or Lobster?" He licked his lips and smiled peacefully. "Both. Make it tomorrow's lunch, and we have a deal." A way to Mark's heart was always through food. I have no idea how his wife put up with him and his excessive eating. Scratch that. I did know why. Mark was a great guy, and I couldn't think him enough for doing me a solid today. The only problem now was keeping this a secret from the vultures lingering outside, waiting to snap more pictures of Riley.