Page 16 of The Billionaire's Virgin

“You want to be a teacher?”

“That was always the plan.” Taylor nodded. “I really wanted to work with younger kids… around Jenna’s age. I don’t know… I guess I thought, or at least I always hoped that I’d be the kind of teacher who could make a difference in a child’s life.”

I thought about how Taylor was with Jenna, and I realized that she was one of the genuine ones. She was the kind of teacher who went all in with the sole intention of doing the best for the kids she taught. It reassured me further that hiring her had been the right decision.

“There are lots of schools in the district; did you try public and private?”

“I did… several times,” Taylor told me. “The public schools are currently going through a hiring freeze and the private schools… well, they don’t hire easily. I was rejected from two different schools because I didn’t have a master’s.”

“That seems unfair.”

“Everyone has an undergrad these days,” Taylor said, with a shrug. “There are so many men and women who are more qualified than I am.”

I nodded. “You could always go back to school and get your master’s,” I pointed out.

Taylor smiled. “I wish I had the money to be able to do that. The only reason I was able to get my undergrad in the first place was because I got a scholarship to a community college in Pennsylvania.”

“Is that where you’re from?” I asked. “Pennsylvania?”

“Born and raised.” Taylor nodded.

“Why did you decide to leave?”

“Honestly… it’s because I didn’t want to spend my whole life in just one place,” Taylor told me. “And granted New York wasn’t a huge move or anything, but it made me feel like I was doing something. And my college friend lives here, and she’s always loved it, so I figured… why not?”

I nodded, unsure why I was so fascinated by this woman. There was something raw and open about her. She seemed vulnerable in some ways, but there was an invisible strength about her that reminded me of my mother.

“So I take it you’re not planning on being a nanny forever?” I asked.

“I hope that ten years from now I’ll be a teacher,” Taylor admitted. “But for right now, this is good.”

We fell into silence, and I realized that the awkwardness that had existed between us when we had sat down with our coffee no longer existed. I wasn’t sure how Taylor read it, but that was how I felt. She was easier to talk to than I had expected and I realized that that might be one of the reasons Jenna had taken to her so fast. She had a way with kids, and apparently, she had a way with people too.

“I noticed the books on your mantel,” Taylor said, after a moment.

“All books that I’ve published over the years.”

“I’ve read a couple of them.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Which ones?”

“The Marx Project and Copenhagen.”

“Ah, so you’re a murder mystery kind of girl, huh?”

Taylor smiled. “I definitely am.”

“Well, now you know to look out for Free Bird Publishers,” I said.

“I will.” Taylor nodded. “When did you start the company?”

“Almost ten years ago now,” I told her. “It was awhile before I actually managed to make any money though. It was only after I launched my first author that I managed to get things off the ground. That was six, almost seven years ago now. The novel didn’t make a huge amount of money but at least it put us on the map.”

“When did you earn your first bestseller?” Taylor asked.

“Five years ago,” I admitted. “I went to Las Vegas to celebrate.”

Taylor smiled, and I felt my memories pull me back to that moment. I remembered how amazing I had felt at the time. I had just turned thirty-one and I finally had some money to my name. Not only did I have money, but I also had enough money that I could blow a little on a fancy trip and a little light gambling without feeling the burn later on when I sobered up.