Page 132 of The Rebel Billionaire

Option two wins. Do nothing.

Because option three… therein lies the problem. I don’t want to date anyone else.

CHAPTER 37

HARPER

Iwalk down the corridor. A few people smile, but the majority are too busy checking room numbers to pay attention to those around them.

I let out a sigh of relief when I finally reach my destination. A printed A4 sheet is taped to the window.

Fashion.

My heart rate picks up as I hoist my bag onto my shoulder, gripping the handle.

Here goes.

The door opens inwards. A few faces look up from where they’re seated, scattered around the room. Only one group of women is sitting together, but they’re clearly friends, or soon will be if the conversation they’re engrossed in is anything to go by.

“Come in, come in. Don’t be shy,” a woman calls from the front. “I’m Debra. I’m your main instructor for this semester.”

I smile and step into the room. “Hi, I’m Brooke.”

“Lovely to meet you, Brooke. Take a seat.”

A young woman not much older than me moves her bag from the table beside her, smiling up at me.

“Do you mind?” I ask.

“Of course not,” she says, her accent marking her as a New Yorker. “I’m Andie,” she says.

“Hi, Andie, I’m Brooke.”

“Pleased to meet you. You here long term?” she asks.

When I frown, she grins. “Your accent, clearly not from this side of the pond.”

I return her smile. “Unsure,” I tell her truthfully. “I have a job, so who knows.”

“I have two kids at home. My parents have agreed to have them so I can complete my education,” she says.

“How old are they?”

“Seven and five,” she says. “Pregnant straight out of high school. Should have known better but wouldn’t change them for anything. Just tough, you know, without an education. Their dad’s a deadbeat. Left a couple of years ago, so it’s just us.”

“I’m sorry,” I say.

She laughs. “I’m not. Best thing that could have happened.”

I smile back. “Fair enough.”

“You done much fashion before?”

“A little bit, but I had to drop out. I saw the course and decided to pick it up again.”

“That’s cool. Life has a tendency to get in the way sometimes,” she says.

“You’re telling me,” I say with an eye roll, deciding immediately I’m going to like Andie.