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“Are you really a student at Berkley?”
Ignore it.
“Were you coerced into being with Jackson?”
What? What does that even mean?
“Are you monogamous or is your relationship open?”
Jeez, these people are nosey.
I butted my way through them, finally reaching the door of the building. I pulled the handle and slipped inside, breathing a sigh of relief. They never followed me inside of the school. I let my shoulders slump as I walked toward the classroom, hoping that the crowd outside would find something else to do for the day.
But I knew there’d still be people out there when I got off work.
There always was.
I brushed my hair out of my face as soon as I made it to my classroom. However, I froze when I realized the light was already on.
Who’s here?
I reached for the door handle, not surprised that it was unlocked. As soon as it swung open, my eyes fell on my boss Melissa, and her boss—Lewis. Oh no. Please don’t tell me this is going to cost me my job.
“Good morning,” Melissa greeted me with a placid smile. “How are you, Lena? You look a little frazzled.”
“Um, I’m okay, thanks…” I stepped into the room, setting my things down on the desk. “Is something wrong?” I was doing my best to maintain a professional stance, but honestly, my nerves were rattled from everything. My ring caught my eye, and I tried to ignore it.
But Melissa was staring right at it.
Shit.
“So, I’m here this morning to discuss some things with you, Miss Harris,” Lewis began, his deep voice startling me. His chocolate eyes followed me as I sat down in my desk chair, clasping my hands on my lap. “In light of recent events, the school has become a centerpiece for the media, and while that’s not all bad, the crowd outside in the front needs to be addressed.”
“I’m really very sorry about that…” My voice trailed off as I fought to keep my emotions in check. Unlike Jackson, I didn’t have anyone to represent me. I had to take care of my problems myself—and in the moment, I was jealous. “I don’t know why they’re there.”
“Well, I do.” Melissa’s voice was matter-of-fact. “You’re engaged to Jackson Whiss, which I find to be a strange happening, if I do say so myself.”
“Things moved very quickly.” I squeezed my hands together a little tighter, hoping they couldn’t see through the lie.
“They clearly did,” Lewis grunted. “And to be frank, it’s none of my business what my employees’ love lives look like. But this—this is affecting my ability to run my school safely. This might just be a summer program, but parents are not happy to see paparazzi hanging around outside of the building. It’s concerning.”
“I’m…I’m not sure what to do.”
“Well, before we do anything, we need to know if you plan to stay working here as a teacher full-time. We offered you the position, but you’ve yet to give us an answer.” Melissa gave me a pained look, and I couldn’t tell if she was irritated—or if she felt sorry for me.
Maybe both.
“I’m planning on finishing my degree now that I’ve been able to come up with the money for it.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes at me. “I see.”
Oh my god. Did I just say the wrong thing? Does she think that Jackson is paying for it? Would it matter? I mean, he is my fiancé, right? That wouldn’t be weird.
“Just take a deep breath, Miss Harris,” Lewis said, his tone softening. “We’re not here to get you in trouble.” He studied my face, his worry lines only deepening. “We just want to make sure you’re okay. Melissa says that you’ve been a little all over the place, and we value you, Lena. We want to make sure you’re all right.”
I swallowed, pushing my hair out of my face. “To be honest, the paparazzi are following me around everywhere, and it’s very unnerving. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to get rid of them. They make me uncomfortable.”
“So maybe you should talk to Jackson about getting a bodyguard. It’s not out of sorts to ask for something like that. We’ve already decided to bring in the LAPD to move them off our property.”
