Jayden didn't believe in wasting time.
If he had a free hour, he was either making money, thinking about money, or positioning himself closer to money.
That was the difference between him and the rest of the campus.
Most of them were here for degrees.
Jayden was here for escape.
He left Roman's class without looking back this time. The tension still hummed under his skin, but he refused to obsess over it.
Obsessing was emotional.
Emotion didn't pay rent.
His next class was Marketing Psychology with Professor Hannah Keller.
She was already inside when Jayden walked in — mid-thirties, sharp bob haircut, heels that clicked like punctuation marks, fitted blazer in deep navy.
Unlike Roman, she smiled at students.
Not warm.
Strategic.
She looked like the kind of woman who built companies and destroyed men with contracts.
Jayden respected that.
He slid into a seat near the aisle.
Michael sat beside him again.
"You're unusually quiet today," Michael muttered.
"I'm thinking."
"Dangerous."
Jayden ignored that.
Professor Keller tapped her tablet and projected a slide:
Consumer Desire: Selling Aspiration
Jayden leaned forward slightly.
Now this was useful.
"People don't buy products," she began smoothly. "They buy status. They buy identity. They buy the life they wish they had."
Jayden's eyes sharpened.
Exactly.
That's why he bought fake designer belts.
That's why he wore clean shirts even if he skipped meals.
He wasn't dressing for now.
He was dressing for where he was going.
Professor Keller continued.
"You want to sell luxury? You don't talk about quality. You talk about exclusivity."
Jayden felt something click in his head.
Exclusivity.
Roman wasn't attractive because he was older.
He was attractive because he was established.
Stable.
Controlled.
Scarce.
That was what made him valuable.
Keller's gaze swept the room.
"You," she said suddenly, pointing directly at Jayden. "Define aspirational branding."
Jayden didn't hesitate.
"It's the projection of an idealized lifestyle attached to a product, creating emotional attachment beyond function."
The class went quiet.
Keller studied him.
"Name?"
"Jayden Cross."
She nodded once. "Good answer."
Not praise.
Approval.
He liked that.
Michael leaned closer. "You've been studying."
Jayden kept his eyes forward.
"I don't study. I understand."
That was true.
He didn't memorize things.
He absorbed patterns.
By the time class ended, Jayden had three pages of notes not because he cared about marketing theory, but because he cared about leverage.
He was building something in his head.
He just didn't know the full shape yet.
Lunch hour.
Marcus intercepted him outside the cafeteria.
"You've been avoiding me," Marcus said bluntly.
Jayden took a slow sip from a vending machine coffee.
"I've been busy."
"With what?"
Jayden's eyes flicked briefly toward the business building.
Marcus noticed.
"You're not seriously into that professor thing, are you?"
Jayden looked at him calmly.
"What professor thing?"
Marcus stepped closer.
"I saw the way he looks at you."
Jayden smirked faintly.
"You're imagining things."
Marcus didn't look convinced.
"Be careful," he said quietly. "That's not the kind of mess you walk away from."
Jayden didn't answer.
Because Marcus wasn't wrong.
But he wasn't fully right either.
Roman wasn't just risk.
He was opportunity.
And Jayden had never been afraid of calculated risk.
—
Afternoon class.
Business Law with Professor Daniel Hawthorne.
Early forties. Relaxed posture. Rolled sleeves. Wedding ring.
He gave off approachable energy the kind students confided in.
Jayden clocked it instantly.
Different from Roman.
Roman was sharp edges.
Hawthorne was smooth reassurance.
Jayden took a seat near the front this time.
Switching patterns.
Hawthorne noticed.
"You're new," he said as he handed out syllabi.
"Transfer," Jayden replied smoothly.
"Ambitious program."
"I like ambitious."
Hawthorne chuckled lightly.
"Good. You'll need to."
The lecture focused on corporate liability and internal misconduct.
Jayden listened carefully.
Law mattered.
Because people with money protected themselves legally.
People without money got buried.
He didn't intend to ever be buried.
Halfway through class, Hawthorne paused.
"Ethics and law often conflict," he said casually. "Sometimes following the law isn't enough."
Jayden's thoughts immediately flashed to Roman.
Ethics professor.
Divorced.
Controlled.
Men like Roman didn't make emotional mistakes.
If anything happened again, it would be because Roman chose it.
And that thought was… interesting.
After class, as students filtered out, Hawthorne stopped him.
"Mr. Cross."
Jayden turned.
"Yes, Professor?"
"You seem engaged."
"I am."
"Planning law school?"
Jayden hesitated.
He hadn't considered that seriously.
Law meant money.
Connections.
Power.
"Possibly," he replied carefully.
Hawthorne nodded. "Keep your record clean, then."
The words hung heavier than intended.
Jayden's mind flickered briefly to last night.
To Roman.
To risk.
He smiled lightly. "I intend to."
—
By the time Jayden left campus, his head was full.
Not of romance.
Not of attraction.
Of strategy.
Morning marketing aspiration.
Midday corporate ethics.
Afternoon business law.
All pieces of the same puzzle.
Money wasn't random.
It was structured.
And Roman operated inside that structure.
Michael caught up to him near the parking lot.
"Coffee?" Michael asked.
Jayden checked the time.
He had an hour before evening study session.
"Fine."
They walked to a nearby café.
Students filled the space.
Laptops open.
Future CEOs pretending to be poor for four years.
Michael stirred his drink.
"So what's your actual plan?" he asked suddenly.
Jayden didn't answer immediately.
"I'm not staying small," he said finally.
Michael rolled his eyes. "No one plans to."
"I'm serious."
"I know."
Jayden leaned back.
"I'm not graduating just to beg for a job."
"So?"
"So I'm building connections."
Michael looked at him carefully.
"You mean using people."
Jayden met his gaze evenly.
"I mean aligning interests."
Michael sighed. "You're cold sometimes."
Jayden shrugged.
"Cold doesn't starve."
Michael didn't argue after that.
—
That evening, Jayden returned to his apartment.
It felt smaller than usual.
The dream from the morning lingered faintly.
Ferraris.
Penthouse balconies.
Freedom.
He sat at his desk.
Opened his laptop.
Pulled up Roman's faculty profile.
Roman Ashford.
MBA from an elite institution.
Former corporate consultant.
Board advisor.
Published articles.
Guest speaker at conferences.
Jayden's pulse shifted slightly.
This wasn't just a professor.
This was access.
He leaned back in his chair slowly.
The attraction was still there.
He wasn't blind.
Roman's voice alone could rearrange thoughts.
But attraction was temporary.
Influence lasted longer.
Jayden closed the laptop.
Smiled faintly to himself.
He wouldn't chase Roman physically.
He would impress him academically.
Be indispensable.
Be memorable for the right reasons.
Because men like Roman respected competence more than flirtation.
And once respect entered the equation?
Doors opened.
—
That night, Jayden didn't dream about Ferraris.
He dreamed about boardrooms.
And this time