Get a hold of yourself, Beckham.
Ripping my eyes away from the smartass alpha, I bring my focus to my class and what I’m supposed to be teaching.
Thankfully after that, everything seems to go more smoothly. I’m still grumpy, something I can’t seem to get a hold on, no matter how much I try.
I’m stressed, exhausted and Jamie’s little show before class just cemented my shitty mood.
But, I manage to keep to my lesson plan.
“So what you want to be thinking about is who your target audience is.” I jot something down on the board before turning to face the class.
“Raise your hand if you plan on running a business of your own once you graduate.”
A lot of hands go up and I can’t help but feel proud that a good amount of students aren’t just taking this class because they have to, or something to fill in their course load.
“Good.” I nod, placing my hands behind my back as I pace back and forth across the stage. “But, do you know the type of customers that will consume your products or goods?”
Jamie raises his hand and the good mood I managed to have for just a fraction of a second fades. He was doing so good, kept his mouth shut for the most part of this class. Why now? Why when this class is almost done, does he have to start up again.
“Anyone?” I ask, ignoring his hand as I look around the room. “Ah yes, you in the back.” I point to the girl in the far back corner.
I can feel Jamie’s glare on me, causing my skin to tingle. I hate it.
“I plan on taking over my mother’s bookstore. She wants to retire and move somewhere warm with my father.”
“I can’t say I blame her.” I chuckle. “A bookstore. As a fellow bookworm myself, I’d have to say I approve.” I give her a genuine smile, trying my best not to let my eyes wander to the alpha who won’t stop staring at me.
The young girl’s cheeks turn a slight shade of pink and I’m not sure if it’s because of embarrassment or something else. So I take my attention off her.
“That would mean your main consumers would be people who read. But not only read with their eyeballs, because there are other ways to consume a book. Like ebooks and audio books. So what might be something Miss Leeson could do to persuade readers to choose physical books over reading them online?”
Hands go up, as does Jamie’s.
Again, I ignore him, picking the young man right behind him.
“She could use social media to market her books. Use the covers to be aesthetically pleasing to catch their eye.”
“Yes.” I nod. “Good answer. Now, what might be something you would do to pull people into choosing your product?"
“Threaten them,” Tatum throws out there, not bothering to raise his hand.
“Raise your hand and wait to be called on like everyone else, Mr. Walsh.” I reply.
He’s not even paying attention to me, too busy doodling on his notebook. It’s all he ever does. I honestly don’t know why he’s even in this class. Still, somehow he always has his work in on time and seems to know what he’s doing.
His eyes flick up to meet mine and I suck in a small gasp at the intensity of his gaze.
“I would have.” Tatum’s lip twitches. “But you would have most likely just ignored me too.”
Grinding my teeth together, I take a few subtle deep breaths, biting my tongue.Don’t give them a reaction, it’s what they want.
“I think it's adorable that you’re coming to your packmates' defense. But I think Mr. Cross is a big enough boy to handle his own problems and doesn’t need someone to do it for him.”
Oh, I fucking love the pure anger that lights up in Tatum’s eyes. I shouldn’t antagonize him, I’m the professional here. But it’s almost like a high getting a reaction out of these men versus them getting a reaction out of me.
“Mr. Cross loves to talk. I thought it might be nice for someone else to get a word in, don’t you?” I ask, crossing my arms as I tilt my head to the side a little bit.
There’s a few titters that come from other students in the class.
