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“Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say quickly as my hands settle in my lap and my heart stops trying to bust out of my chest.
“Yes, of course,” Priscilla says.
“Yes,” Gretchen replies.
“Good,” Trudy says and pushes back her chair.
“I’ll be dividing Miss Park’s six students into each of your classes.” She looks at each of us, then continues, “That’s all, ladies. I hope I never have to call for this type of meeting again.”
We all nod.
I stand and walk toward the door. Opening it, I wait as Gretchen and Priscilla walk out ahead of me. I turn back to Trudy and see she’s opened her laptop and is typing. I change my mind about talking with her and turn to leave her office and the campus.
In my car, I blow out several breaths. I lower the visor and flip open the cover to the mirror. My reflection stares back at me with a worried scowl. I now know I can never be with Jaden while he’s my student. The risk is not worth the reward.
Before driving to Rae’s, I open my phone and send her a text.
I’m on my way. It’s all good. The meeting wasn’t about me and J.
12
BLAIRE
Having my baby girl all week is exactly what I needed. I don’t know what I was thinking, getting involved with a man so much younger than me. He’s still a baby. We simply had fun fucking like crazy. At least that’s what I keep telling myself, especially after last Saturday’s meeting with Trudy.
On Sunday, I meet up with Preston for brunch, so I can take advantage of being with my baby a little bit longer.
I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant we agreed on. Lifting Britney from her car seat, I hold her on my hip and walk into the establishment.
Preston waves his arm wildly from the booth he’s standing beside. I smile at the host and point Preston’s way.
“I see my friend is here already.” I make my way into the dining area and join Preston.
“Good morning, sweet pea. How’s Daddy’s baby girl?” Preston gushes over Brit and takes her from me. I’ve never seen a man so in love with his child as Preston is. I’m lucky that he’s the perfect dad for our daughter.
I slide into the booth as Preston waves for the server. When he arrives at our table, Preston asks, “Would you please bring us a booster chair for my daughter?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back,” the young man says and hurries toward the back of the restaurant.
Preston sits on the end of the bench with Britney on his knee. She and I smack our hands on the table, and she giggles when I playfully grasp her tiny fingers. I’m so lucky. Brit is the perfect child. She’s only eighteen months old and has no idea her parents aren’t married.
When our server returns with the booster seat, Preston slides it on his side of the booth and straps Britney in. She continues to slap her hands like she’s playing drums on the table. I pull out a few toys to help occupy her while we decide what to order for brunch and spend time as a family.
“So, Blaire,” Preston says. “How was our girl this week? How was your week?”
“She was perfect, as always. And my week was just work.” I think about Jaden and his advances during class. I’m not about to talk with my ex-husband about a two-week fling with a younger man who turned into my student. My heart stings hard when a memory of Jaden and me together plays in my mind. I turn my head to look out of the window. Taking a deep breath, I sigh heavily.
“Blaire, what’s going on?” Preston asks as he reaches for my hand resting on the table.
“It’s nothing. Really, nothing.” I shake my head and squeeze his hand, then turn my attention to my daughter. I take her hands and play patty cake with her to avoid Preston’s questions.
“You know you can talk to me about anything. Just because we’re divorced doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You’re the mother of my child. I’ll always want you to be happy.” He takes both my hands in his and tugs them.
“Blaire, did something happen at the university?”
“Nothing you can fix, Preston. Please don’t ask again. I’m handling it.” I pull my hands free and place them in my lap. This was the biggest issue in our marriage. He always wanted to fix everything. Even if it was none of his concern. Preston doesn’t have many flaws, but being overprotective and wanting to constantly fix every little thing that went wrong caused many arguments the last six months of our married life. I’d remind him that I was his wife, not his child. That I could handle my career and any problems that came along with it.
