Off Limits by Delilah Wilde Read Free Book Online

his own website with a list when he would be appearing and where. Paris, Seoul, Dubai. This guy obviously lived a jet setting life. Weirdly enough though, his next appearance was a talk that he would be giving next week at the community college he had attended. I knew the place, it was only a few blocks away from where I lived. The talk was on entrepreneurship. As a professional, it might be helpful to me. Nate might actually have some good ideas about how I could make my career really talk off.
    No. I took another sip of my hot chocolate and promised myself that I wouldn't go. No matter how valuable this guy's advice might be, I couldn't risk seeing him again. It was totally out of the question.
     
    "Hey Lucy," I said to my kitten, who miaowed in response, "I'm not going to the talk, OK? I'm never gonna see Nate Watson again."
    She purred and rubbed against my feet. It was good that she liked me so much. If I was going to grow old and become a cat lady, I might as well get a good start.
     
     
    Nate
     
    People always ask me why I bother to speak at my old community college. It's a good question, really. I could be in any other city in the world, speaking to men and women who have achieved extraordinary things and drinking alcohol that costs more than most people's wedding china. I always make the time to speak at Lincoln community because that's where I had my start. I was a kid who hated school, drank way too much and was rude to everyone I encountered, but somehow that college made something of me. Now, I don't have to worry about money or not having a bed to sleep in at night. The least I can do is visit every once and a while and share my so called wisdom with the kids. The idea that I could inspire someone to achieve their dream is always pretty cool.
     
    The kids and the teachers all listened eagerly as I told them about myself. They all knew who I was, of course. Many of them seemed impressed that I'd gotten this far in life while being completely covered in tattoos. More of them seem impressed by my humble upbringing and how I turned a small loan into a fortune. At the end of my talk, the floor was opened up to questions. A girl asked me what my favorite subject in school was. I told her math. A guy asked me what advice I could give to someone who wants to enter the restaurant business. I gave a long spiel that sounded good, though I know a lot of my success was down to luck and being in the right place at the right time. One girl asked me if I was single and the auditorium dissolved into laughter.
     
    "Please keep questions on relevant! Mr. Watson doesn't want to answer silly personal questions!" warned one of the teachers.
     
    "It's OK, really. I am single, actually. I'm young and I still want to see the world and experience everything, so I'm not tying myself down right now."
     
    It's my standard answer, but as soon as I finished saying it I saw her. She was standing at the back of the room, her auburn hair in two braids and wearing a soft pink sweater. It was Ruby, and she was listening to every word I said. She must have been here for the whole talk. I suddenly felt embarrassed, wondering if she thought all my advice is cheesy. She must have realized that I was looking at her because she imminently blushed and pushed her way out of the big double doors at the back of the auditorium.
     
    "Mr Watson, thank you so much for being here," said the same teacher who had scolded the students a minute ago, "I just hope that our students will take something from this. Perhaps some of them will be standing here with you in a few years time."
     
    I thanked the school for having me and made my way as quickly as I could to the back of the auditorium. This was no easy task, as I kept being stopped. Students wanted to ask me more questions. My old teachers wanted to congratulate me. The auditorium was so packed that it took forever to get through those double doors, and by the time I did I was sure that Ruby would be