Page 84 of Wrong Room, Right Billionaire

“I beg to differ,” I mutter, but Morgan is in a hurry. As we trudge through the sand, over the dunes and around the rocks, I am confused as all get out.

“If you wanted to get some sunrise beach photos for the media, that’s fine and dandy,” I say, trying not to fall as we climb over more rocks. “But you could have picked a more pedestrian-friendly beach.”

“Nope,” he says again. “It has to be this beach.”

“Why?” I ask, staring at him when we finally come to a stop. But then I see it.

I see the people gathered around the nests. I see the cameras and the trucks and SEE Turtles jackets.

“Wait,” I say, stomping through the sand closer to the action. “Shut up. Are you for real right now? Are they really doing what I think they are?”

“Releasing baby turtles that are hatching as we speak into the ocean?” Morgan asks with a smile. Meanwhile, the salty morning breeze is tugging his linen shirt open, revealing sneak peeks of his perfectly toned and recently tanned chest. And yet even that does not distract me from the reality of what I’m seeing.

I think this would be a good time to mention just how much I love animals. Turtles specifically. I owned one as a kid. His name was Sheldon McLettuceChomper, and I had him for years until he got lost in the backyard. Nostalgic story aside, I have always wanted to be a part of tiny turtle liberation and never knew if or when it would happen. It was even on my bucket list.

But what ices the cake is when one of the guys from the conservation team looks up at me and asks if I want to help.

“Can I?” I ask, and I literally have no shame at how excited I am. I am practically shaking.

“Of course,” he says. Meanwhile, Morgan pulls out his phone to capture all of it. “So usually we would do this at night. Cooler temperatures and fewer predators equal a higher survival rate. However, these little guys decided to come a day earlier than we projected.”

“Yeah they did,” I coo as I squat down to watch their little heads break through the shells. “So, what do we need to do?”

“It’s all about getting them to the water with minimal human intervention but maximum safety,” he explains.

“Basically, we have to make sure nothing tries to eat them,” one of the other guys says, and everyone chuckles.

“We will help any that aren’t hatching properly on their own,” the first guy says while softly handling one of them. “And then kind of just direct them towards the water.”

“Why don’t you just move the nest closer to the water?” Morgan asks.

“Their journey, unsafe as it may be, is important. All these little guys are going to imprint the sand. The females will sense it and return to this beach to lay their own eggs.”

“That and it helps their little muscles prepare for their swim,” the second guy says.

“Are you getting all this?” I gush back at Morgan.

“Every bit of it,” he says. “In fact, MooreToExplore is live,” he says and I smile at that.

“This, my lovelies, is a veteran of my long-lost bucket list,” I say in my influencer voice. But it’s no secret as we watch the turtles make their way to the water that I am crying. And I don’t even try to hide it. Not from the camera, or the crew, or even Morgan. Because why would I?

After we get back in the car, I relax into the seat with a contented sigh. I’m so happy, in fact, that I don’t even care if my coffee is cold. It was worth it.

“Well,” Morgan says after scrolling his phone a bit, as I sit in the romance of everything I just experienced. “The fans are loving it.”

“I don’t even care,” I tell him, and he looks over at me. “For once, I don’t care if the attention is good or bad or in between. Because that was…one of the most special moments of my life.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Morgan says, putting his phone down and turning to face me as Seb starts to drive. “But you should also know, it’s going to destroy everything Conrad tried to say about us. And it’s doing SEE Turtles a huge favor too,”

“How so?” I ask.

“Because I made a nice little donation to the foundation and included a link in the post as well, so your followers can get involved. Which they seem happy to do.”

With that, my eyes fill with tears. And I take his hand in mine as we drive back to the hotel, the beach fading behind us but the memory remaining vivid in our minds.

Chapter 31

Scarlett