The TROUBLE With BILLIONAIRES: Book 1 by Kristina Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

us.”
                  “You said you couldn’t resist,” I reminded him. “You didn’t need much convincing.”
                  “And neither will Dr. Giordano.”
                  In the barn, a man with fuzzy gray hair, glasses, and skin that looked like it had never left the sun was at a wooden table. He was bent over a long, cylindrical object—the telescope—fidgeting with a small box near the lens. Hundreds of gadgets surrounded him, but I did not know if it was junk like that out in the yard or if these were pieces of his inventions. Artifacts of an invaluable knowledge.
                  “Hello,” I said, knocking on the giant door of the barn that loomed far above me. “ Ciao .” It was the only Italian I knew.
                  When the scientist didn’t budge, Rawn bellowed, “Dr. Francesco Giordano?”
                  The man looked up. He wasn’t startled, but he was suspicious. “You here about the telescope?” he asked, his English heavily accented.
                  Sharp indeed.
                  “For your benefit,” I said, taking the lead. “And ours. I’m Madison Miller, a recent graduate from Portland State University from the Physics Department. I studied astronomy.”
                  “Finally, someone who knows the stars better than they do their bank account,” he mumbled, returning to his work. “The dress you wear is nice, but the material isn’t of the same expense as the man who stands next to you.”
                  I glanced down at my button-up navy dress with its loose skirt and short sleeves. Dr. Giordano was right. Even the silver jeweled belt I wore around the dress was made of plastic and rhinestones, not even diamante. It was a synthetic of a synthetic. I’d bought it from an online store that shipped from China, the type where it was necessary to order two sizes larger than you actually were because the clothes were measured for far more petit Asian models.
                  “I assume you’re Signor Jackman?” Dr. Giordano continued, his focus on his telescope. “I got your messages. There was a reason I didn’t call back.”
                  “May I ask what that reason was?” Rawn asked, stepping closer to the table.
                  “Your company primarily manufactures for other companies. I didn’t spend all my time perfecting the 3D telescope so that it could remain a prized jewel amongst the more privileged. Knowledge should be free. If I could give my telescope away, I would. I want it to be accessible to everyone. If it can’t be free, I at least want it to be affordable.” The more he spoke, the more frustrated he became, evident by the way he screwed a piece onto the telescope with much more vigor than was probably necessary.
                  “But the Germans won’t be releasing it to the mass market,” Rawn disputed. “So why are you inclined to license the telescope to them?”
                  “The company you speak of has agreed to market it to universities and other learning establishments at a discounted rate. They’re the only ones to do so. Therefore, they win.”
                  Rawn leaned against a large beam of wood. Decayed, it was impossible to tell if it had fallen down from the rafters or if it supported the structure of the barn. “What would I have to offer to get you to sign with Cepheus Scientific instead?”
                  “It doesn’t take a mastermind to figure it out, Signor Jackman. Give me what I ask. Manufacture it for the mass market at an affordable price.”
                  Rawn sighed. “You know that’s impossible.”
                  “I know it’s not. That’s the point. A British university just built a printed 3D telescope for around one hundred pounds. And that was without