The Billionaire Falls (Billionaire Bachelors - Book Three) by Melody Anne Page B

too much and didn’t want to be indebted to him any further.
    Mark was prepared for her argument. He’d already discovered she wasn’t a greedy person. As a matter of fact, she was the complete opposite. It was downright frustrating trying to give her or her son anything.
    “Just let me explain myself before you start getting all defensive and completely close the idea off,” he began.
    “Fine. Go ahead and explain yourself but I’m telling you the answer will still be no. You’re wasting your time,” she said, while crossing her arms.
    “You are the most infuriating woman. I also said not to get all defensive,” he almost shouted.
    They both stared, neither willing to back down. Emily finally folded and shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead,” she mumbled.
    “Thank you. As I was saying, the school is top of the line and if Trevor went there he would be provided far more opportunities than a public school could give him. The public school system has had far too many budget cuts. Heck, he wouldn’t even be able to learn another language or participate in any good clubs. Those are things he really needs to secure his future.”
    “But the money…” she began.
    Mark held his hand up. “You can talk to many different employees of mine personally and of the company’s. We have added benefits where we pay for college tuitions and extended leaves. We believe in taking care of our own. I paid for Edward’s kids to go to college and they didn’t fight me on it, so please put Trevor above your pride and allow him to take this opportunity,” he said. He knew that last bit was a low blow but he also knew she was willing to make just about any sacrifice for her son, even if that sacrifice was accepting something from another person.
    Emily sat, fighting with herself. She knew what Mark was saying was right. She knew she really could be hurting her son’s future success by not letting him go to the better school but she really didn’t want to be in any more debt to Mark.
    “I can understand your points and you are right,” she finally conceded.
    Mark looked a little bit smug at her words. She held her hand up to let him know she wasn’t finished speaking. The smile dropped away.
    “I said I can understand your point, however if you expect me to compromise, you need to be willing to, also,” she said, staring him in the eye, to make sure she was getting her point across.
    “What kind of compromise?” he asked suspiciously.
    “If Trevor is going to go to a fancy school, then I insist on contributing to it. We already have no expense here and I receive a generous salary. I’m sure the tuition is a lot, so you’ll cut my salary in half.” She thought that would make an acceptable solution for them both.
    “No way,” Mark told her, with no room for compromise on his part.
    “Then it’s no deal,” Emily added, just as unbending.
    They both stared again at one another, trying to break the other person. When Emily refused to back down, Mark finally held up his hands in defeat.
    “Okay how about your salary gets cut by one hundred a week, not half,” he said. When she started to shake her head he cut her off.
    “Listen, if he’s going to a private school there are extra things you are going to need. You’ll need your salary,” he tried to reason with her.
    Emily hadn’t even thought about an added expense. Mark wasn’t going to tell her about the extra fees for field trips and such. He would just make sure the school contacted him directly, because if she knew any of that she would insist on breaking herself to pay them. He didn’t understand her; the money wouldn’t even be missed by him. He was frustrated with her and at the same time impressed with her independence.
    “I guess we could try it out,” she reluctantly conceded. “But Mark, if the kids there make him feel bad about himself because he’s not rich like they are, he’s not staying. I would rather he have a public school education than