Chapter 6

I didn't have any clothes, I realized three hours later when I woke up in Harry's bed, somewhat more rested than earlier. I had left my silk robe downstairs in the pool area, so I found myself quite naked, wandering around his bedroom as I tiptoed towards his closet.

It seemed I was going to be a cliché and borrow a pair of his boxer briefs and a shirt until I could make it upstairs to my own room.

I mean, technically I didn't have a problem wandering around barely clothed (as Harry had pointed out himself), but out of consideration to his house staff, it seemed more appropriate to borrow a few items and return them later once properly dressed.

Slipping on his shirt and boxers, I still felt the soreness from earlier as I moved around and looked at all of his things. I didn't dare touch anything, but looking never hurt nobody.

His room really was extraordinary, much like the owner himself. I couldn't imagine feeling this passionate about something... not even my education could measure up to this, although that was probably what I felt most passionate about in life.

Well, that and getting shower right about now.

Leaving his room and closing it up as promised, I came out into his office, but found it deserted. I guess his phone conference had ended and perhaps he was eating breakfast or explaining to his maid staff why there were two piles of clothes in the downstairs pool area.

Whatever he was doing, he wasn't around, and again I found myself compelled to look around at his things.

To have such a gift... to be able to look at numbers and see sense and not nonsense, and create something beautiful with it, it was truly awe-inspiring.

I wished I had been born with a gift like that.

Maybe then I wouldn't have had such a hard life or have had to fight so much for what I wanted. But we all got our lots in life, and mine was working nine-to-five for every penny I ever had, just to get into college.

"You have a habit of lingering, Ms. Berry."

"Jesus!" I wheeled around and pressed a hand over my heart when the damn thing nearly jumped out of my mouth.

"Would you stop doing that?! Sneaking up on me and scaring the living shit out of me," I said and glared at Harry as he came into his study, holding a briefcase.

"Don't these types of houses usually have creaky floorboards to alarm you or some shit?"

His lips twitched a little, but he then lowered his gaze and set his briefcase down on his desk before taking a seat.

"My brother had the whole house redone after buying the property ten years ago. I believe that included creaky floorboards."

"Ass," I muttered, before looking down at his briefcase.

"Did you just come home from somewhere?"

"I had to pick up a few notes I leant out to a friend."

"The Dyer-what's-his-face who's doing that thesis?" I asked He merely smiled back.

"Are you seeing anything you understand?"

When he nodded towards his desk and all of his papers, my eyes fell to it as well. It wasn't that his scribbles were unreadable, I just didn't understand a single thing he had written.

"Not really, no."

"Can you identify what type of math you're looking at?"

I looked up and saw him raise a slow brow. I narrowed my eyes, but then slowly leaned in over the papers and studied them closer. They looked like equations... but for what, I wasn't sure. If I could find a symbol I could recognize..

It was right then I spotted a symbol I believed I had seen before. When studying to become a nurse, it was important you learned measurements and what that measured according to the unit you were applying it to.

And right there, hidden amongst his scribbles, I found the symbol for a unit vector.

"It's a unit-something...?" I tried, lifting my eyes to see his lips twitch.

Then, sitting up straighter, he gave a nod.

"Correct. Now, can you tell me what unit I'm calculating?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

It was too damn early for this, I hadn't even had my morning coffee or breakfast yet. Unless dick counted. But in that case, a midnight snack was a more appropriate name.

"No. I suck at math, hence my reason for needing help."

He watched me for a moment, rubbing his bottom lip thoughtfully. Then, folding his arms, he leaned back again.

"Do you know the difference between Leibniz's, Lagrange's and Newton's notation?"

"I really don't," I said, pursing my lips.

"And whatever next question you're about to ask me, if it's about math, the answer is most likely also no. So if you're done, I'll go take a shower now."

I stood back up, but just as I did, I heard a drawer being opened I looked back to see Harry pulling out a little black leather notebook that was kept closed by an elastic band, and after wiping off a bit of collective dust, he handed it to me.

"Is this your little black book?" I teased, taking it and flipping it over to see if anything was written on the back. I obviously knew it wasn't that, but I couldn't see what I was supposed to do with this.

"Go through it and read the notes on the loose papers folded in there," He stood up as he spoke and reached for his briefcase, unclasping it and taking out a few stacks of paper within.

"Come back to me once you're done and tell me what you've concluded."

I tilted my head a little to the side and watched as he started leafing through his papers, selecting a few and taking them out to join the rest on his desk. He didn't meet my gaze, but I still couldn't help but slowly smirk.

Did what I think just happened, really just happen?

"I thought you didn't tutor," I remarked, but then stood up and headed for the door.

I didn't feel his eyes on me, but I knew I had his fullest attention as I stepped out, clutching his little book.

I guess I was going to be the exception of the rule.

I read his little black book.

Actually, make that I tried to read it, but most of it was simply too comprehensive for my mind to grasp. However, there were some bits that I, even with my brain, actually understood.

And there was only one reason why.

To my surprise, the book turned out to be his own personal notations and explanations of different areas within mathematics. Everything from simple calculus, analysis and geometry to applied mathematics, number theories and mathematical physics.

There was a lot I didn't understand, but the parts I did understand.…

I only understood because he had rewritten the rules of how to learn them.

The loose notes that seemed to be crammed into the book at odd places held dates, formulas and examples of how he had managed to find alternative ways to make advanced math easier to understand.

In other words, he had simplified hard math with sometimes just a single equation or piece of text so that it became easier to consume. I remember my eyes had widened as I'd read it and understood it, but not as much as when my eyes fell on the date to which he had made these discoveries.

High School Harry had been doing advanced mathematics ever since he was a teenager and simplifying it so even a moron like me could understand it. It was absolutely incredible.

It took me just about two hours to go through the little book, most of which time had been used to reread and try and remember his new, simpler rules. They applied to a lot of things, including things I hadn't learnt yet, but after reading this, it suddenly seemed like it wasn't going to be impossible for me to learn anymore.

Harry Devon had simplified the entire language of math and nobody knew. No wonder he was a fucking mathematical genius.

And why he was so notoriously private.

If anyone found these equations and learned how to apply them, the world of math and schools all around the world would basically have to reinvent their whole understanding of how math worked. To me, this was just a little black book, but to the world, this was revolutionary.

Even someone as math-dumb as me could see this.

After a long shower, a face mask and a ten minute yoga stretch, I finally came out of my room, after spending the last few hours consuming all that he had written. The book, now firm in my hand, had to go back to its owner, whom not to anyone's surprise was to be found in his study, bent over a big book.

"Fuck Newton," I voiced, standing in the doorway to his office.

I crossed my arms as Harry's head lifted and watched as his eyes landed on me.

"That's basically what you're saying in this book, aren't you?"

I lifted the book and came in, shutting the door behind me as Harry leaned back and took off his glasses. He smiled calmly as I whacked the book down on his desk and took a seat on the edge.

"Did you understand anything?" He finally questioned.

"Did I? Why don't you tell me," I said, pursing my lips.

He fucking knew I did. A monkey could've understood what he had written.

It was absolutely incredible. It was like a secret math weapon that anyone could understand.

"I know your ego is already sufficiently big, so I'm not going to sit here and tell you if I learnt anything, but if you're going to hand me a book like this, it better

come with an offer."

"It does," Was his reply.

He looked down at the book on his desk and slowly closed it.

"I've decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself and earn your keep."

"Earn my keep?" I crossed my legs and narrowed my eyes.

"Meaning...?"

"You've been staying here for weeks now, Ms. Berry, and although to some people this is considered a vacation, I fully intended to start making you work for your place here in my house."

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow and slightly leaned back.

"Are you saying you're going to make me study as payment for staying here?"

"You wanted help; This is help."

I slowly pursed my lips again and uncrossed my arms. There was subtext to all of this, and I think was reading it correctly.

He was going to tutor me, as a way of making up for the fact that I had been staying here rent free, but also to put truth behind my words about being a hard worker; I had said I wanted to be one of those people who could earn that scholarship, and now he was giving me the chance to prove that I could be.

On my own, I knew I never would've stood a chance. But I wasn't on my own anymore.

"What changed your mind?" I slowly smirked and leaned forward when he folded his hands in his lap.

"And don't say me. I couldn't have been that good last night."

"I haven't changed my mind, Ms. Berry. I'm not going to tutor you."

"Then what-"

"I'm going to give you the materials so you can tutor yourself. The right way."

I closed my mouth.

Was he serious?

I think he might be splitting hairs here, but in any case, it still sounded an awful lot like he was helping me.

"Dang it. And here I thought I could sleep with my professor and earn better marks."

His lips twitched, but he then sat up. Slipping on his glasses, he stood up and grabbed his little black book and put it away on a shelf.

"Learning math is not about looking at the same problem for ages and trying to figure out how to solve and understand it. It's about finding new ways to solve it, instead of relying on other people's logic to understand it."

"Your logic would make sense to a lot of people," I answered.

He smiled a little. "All that matters is whether or not it makes sense to you. If by the end of the summer you've proved to me that you're a hard worker who takes studying seriously, I ‘Il make sure you receive your scholarship and get into the program you want."

"You can make all that happen?" I said impressed, and watched him walk around his study.

"You know admissions are over, right? The only way I was getting that grant was because of your brother-"

"My brother doesn't own the grant, I do. He finances it to look philanthropic, but I was the one who set it up. If I call the board and vouch for you, you're in."

I breathed out, kind of winded.

I hadn't seen that coming, but now actually thinking about it, it made more sense that he was the founder of the scholarship.

"You'd really vouch for me? Put yourself on the line for me like that?"

If by any chance at all I somehow proved to him by the end of the summer that I was worth his vote, that meant he was putting his reputation and good judgment out on a limb here by speaking my case. If I failed to meet the promises he preached about me, not only would I take a hit, but so would Harry. Why would he risk his stamp of approval on a woman who once tried to trick him?

"Prove to me what you said last night is true, and I will, Ms. Berry."

I cupped my mouth to hide my smile. I was so fucking ecstatic, but also nervous as hell. But in a good way. I had never had to prove myself to someone that actually mattered - I had always said fuck society when it came to doing things as what was expected of me, which was probably why I had never amounted to much, but fuck that.

What had society ever done for me?

My dad left before I had a chance to prove myself worthy of his love, and my mom had never really been capable of loving me the way a mother should've loved her child, but she did the best

she could. Still, I had always been missing a vital link in my life, someone to look up to, someone to prove myself to, other than myself.

And now I was sitting across from Harry Devon; A world renowned mathematical genius who actually had credit to his name. Maybe it was my daddy issues talking, or maybe it was just plain simple logic, but getting his approval would mean something.

To know a man like Harry Devon vouched for you.. now that was something I wanted to work for.

"I would really like to suck your dick right now," I confessed, biting my bottom lip.

He chuckled dryly in response and looked at the floor.

"I appreciate the candor, but I'd rather you put your head into your next assignment."

"Which is?"

He went up to a file cabinet next to one of his bookshelves and rummaged through it until he found a stack of papers folded into a half square.

Once again, they were held together by a rubber band.

"Read these and come to me when you're done."

When he held the papers out towards me, I got up from the table to grab them.

"And if I stumble across something I don't understand?"

He smiled tightly at me as I leaned towards him. Then, cupping my chin, he met my eyes. "Read it again."

He let go and stepped away, walking back to his desk where he took a seat once more and resumed reading whatever he was reading before I entered. I smirked to myself, then looked down at the papers in my hand with a hopeful feeling. Why did this feel so better than when I accepted his brother's money?

Because this was some honest fucking work and I was going to ace it.