Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 78

*Shelby*

I woke up Friday morning stiff and uncomfortable. I’d tossed and turned in my bed all night, worrying about what I was going to say to Michael. I wasn’t sure I was ready to see him again, but I was done feeling like I had to watch over my shoulder everywhere I went, waiting for Blaine to be there following me in his black hoodie.

Around midnight, as I was staring at the ceiling, I decided to get up and watch a movie, hoping to take my mind off of Michael. I fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the movie, my head propped on the armrest as a pillow.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Lin called from the kitchen.

I heard the coffee pot beep, and it was my only motivation to get off of the couch. I would need something extra to get me through the day today. I padded my way into the kitchen with the blanket I slept in wrapped around my shoulders.

“Will you grab me one of the big mugs?” I asked Lin, who poured me a cup of coffee.

“Rough night? I saw you were sleeping on the couch,” Lin said.

“Yeah, I stayed up late thinking about seeing Michael today. I’m still so angry with him,” I admitted.

“You have every right to be angry with him. I’m sure that text you received from Blaine doesn’t help either.”

“We don’t know for sure that Blaine is the one that sent it,” I said, taking a sip of coffee.

Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. Blaine was the only person who would send me a threatening text like that. Truthfully, I wanted to hide from him, but I had classes to attend and a life to live; I refused to let him scare me into hiding again. I had to hide too much while I was in a relationship with Michael.

Anger flared up inside of me at the thought of Michael and being blackmailed by Blaine. Throughout our relationship, Michael had promised me that everything would be okay, and I was a fool to believe him.

Now Blaine had escalated from threatening to leak our pictures to threatening actual harm. I was done being involved in this stupid game. Michael had more than enough money to pay off Blaine, and yet he was just letting Blaine get worse and worse. I was the one getting hurt, but that still wasn’t enough for Michael to put an end to Blaine’s blackmail.

“I guess it could be Lauren; I could see that b***h trying to scare you out of Harvard. Maybe it’s her way of trying to get your internship position at Brunnings and Hawthorne,” Lin said with a shrug.

“I don’t think Lauren would go as far as to blackmail me,” I said, staring into my coffee cup.

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Lin said.

Lin’s hatred for Lauren was growing stronger with each conversation we had with her. She loved to flaunt her family’s wealth and how her connections gave her a heads-up over the rest of the law students. I was doing my best to be civil to Lauren, knowing if she really did stick it out in law school, we had at least another year and a half of dealing with her.

“Well, I guess we’ll see what happens today. Did you get the professor’s email? I guess the results for internships came in early. We get to find out which law firm we will be interning at, after class,” I said, my stomach twisting in nervous anticipation.

“I saw it when I got up. Honestly, I wished he hadn’t even sent the email and just surprised us at the end of class. Now, I can barely eat because I’m so nervous,” Lin set the piece of buttered toast back on her plate; she had only taken a few bites from it.

“Well, I’m going to go get ready. It’s going to be a long day,” I said with a sigh, sliding off the barstool.

“Wear something that’ll knock his socks off. Remind him just how stupid he was to break up with a knockout like you,” Lin called down the hall after me.

“I’m going to make it hurt,” I called back to her, and heard her laugh in response.

I took Lin’s advice and took extra care while getting ready that morning. I lined my eyes into a subtle wing and accented my lips with a soft pink gloss. I picked out a tight black sweater that made me feel confident and slipped my feet into leather boots with a slight heel. I took the time to curl my hair, which Michael always said he loved. As I looked in the mirror before class, I knew I was going to make him hurt.

As soon as we stepped outside, I sighed at the weather; of course, it was snowing. Lin and I walked to class with an umbrella over our heads to protect our hair from the light snow. We talked very little, both anxious about our internship results. We got to class early to take our seats in the front row, and as soon as we sat down, my leg started bouncing in anticipation. This would feel like the longest class of my life.

Lauren strolled in just a few minutes before class started, and an irritated look crossed her face when she noticed all the good seats at the front were already occupied. However, the smile that’d faltered quickly returned to her face as she looked at Lin and me. Instead of trying to manipulate another student out of their seat, she surprised me by taking her seat in the back.

“I’m surprised she didn’t walk in making demands,” Lin said under her breath.

“Honestly, I am too. I wonder what got into her,” I said.

“More like I wonder if she already knows which internship her daddy bought for her,” Lin said with a roll of her eyes.

My stomach went sour at the thought. There could be multiple people offering to pay to get the Brunnings and Hawthorne spot. I had nothing to offer other than my good grades. All I could do was hope that was enough.

The professor walked in, said nothing, and turned his back to us to tape two pieces of yellow paper to the whiteboard at the front of the class. I could feel the room tense, everyone knowing exactly what the papers were, our future.

“Please take your seats,” he said loudly as a few students rose in an attempt to make their way to the whiteboard.

Once they took their seats again, our professor made his way to the front of the class.

“I’m happy to see that you’re reading your emails from me thoroughly. You’re correct in assuming that the signs I just put up are the listings for the internships. Enough of the law firms have made their selections early so we got the results before the deadline at the end of next week. However, I will ask you to be patient and check the postings at the end of class. I have a long lecture to get through today, so we don’t have time to waste.”

The professor lowered the projection screen and started in a drolling voice, discussing the different ways evidence may be thrown out of consideration in the courtroom.

Everyone reluctantly pulled out their laptops and began typing notes. The thrum of everyone’s keyboards played like background music to my building anxiety to know the results of the internship applications.

The lecture went excruciatingly slow as I watched the hands on the clock tick closer to the end of the class. I mindlessly took notes with my classmates and was startled as the professor turned to raise the projection screen back to the ceiling, marking the end of class.

I shoved my laptop haphazardly back into my bag and rushed to the front of the class. However, other students were faster than I was, so I had to wait in line as I watched others walk away with proud expressions or looks of disappointment on their faces. The boy in front of me pumped his fist in the air as he found his name. Then finally, it was my turn.

I put my finger on the paper and ran it down until I found Brunnings and Hawthorne. I slid my finger across, expecting to see Shelby Hatton printed in bold letters, but another name sat in my place.

Lauren Radcliff Astor.

My heart stopped in my chest. This couldn’t be right. Panic flooded my veins, and I ran my finger down the list, looking for my name next to any of the internships listed, but I came up empty. I should’ve known I wouldn’t find my name listed anywhere. I’d only applied for one internship. I was at the top of the class; I deserved that spot. But in the end, it didn’t matter; the only thing that did was money.

Anger and hurt thrummed through my body. I’d told Michael about the Brunnings and Hawthorne internship, and he told me that he could help me get it, but I refused, wanting to get it based on my own merit. Something that Michael told me he was impressed by, and yet he bought it for his daughter. Confirmation that Michael was not the man I thought he was filled my head.

Tears blurred my vision, and someone cleared their throat behind me. I was hogging the list, and others were waiting to discover their own fates. Reluctantly I stepped aside, unable to believe this was really happening to me.

I turned back to the class, and all the seats were empty except for one.

Lauren sat in the middle of the class, not moving from her seat. She already knew the results, and she’d stayed to watch my reaction to the news.

A gloating smile spread across her pretty mouth.

I couldn’t stand the sight of her, so I turned to go. Lin reached out to grab my wrist. She’d likely seen the results too, but I pulled my hand out of her grasp and dashed into the hallway.

As soon as I got into the hallway, I ran for cover; I didn’t want my classmates to see me like this.

I rounded the corner and hit something solid.

Strong arms wrapped around me, holding me against their chest.

“Shelby, what happened?” a familiar voice asked me.