“Thank you, sir, we appreciate it—”
“But why is that Ramsey woman here?” I interrupted.
Tina closed her mouth and let a long, excruciating breath out of her nose. “I am so sorry, sir, but due to our policies here at the academy, we simply cannot reveal any information about the nature of Mrs. Ramsey’s visits.”
“Only that she’s a cocktail waitress,” I said. Which wasn’t true, but I wasn’t going to correct Tina. She was bright red again at the acknowledgment of her slip up. “And that she’s married.”
“My apologies, sir. I should have said, Ms. Ramsey.”
A few seconds passed while Tina rambled on about the greatness of the academy and why it was worthy of a donation. I half-heartedly listened. I could make a donation. But that was simply a consequence of the reason I was there.
“May I have a tour of the grounds?” I asked.
“Certainly, sir.”
After signing out of the front desk and marking it closed, Tina escorted me to the center of the buildings. A fountain was to the side of the grass area, and a few park benches were spread throughout.
I nodded, keeping a watchful gaze before me. A dark-haired woman caught my eye, sitting with a teenager on a bench. As we were about to enter the social sciences and economics building, I stopped Tina. “Perhaps I can schedule a visit when the classes are in session,” I said.
The clothing that had once been stuffed in Haley’s bag was now in a heap on the bench. The two women were close to us, enough so that I could hear wisps of their conversation.
“Really, Nora? Past curfew?”
“It was just ice cream.”
“Ice creamwith a boy.”
Tina followed my enraptured gaze. “You know her, then, sir?”
Did I know Haley? The entire focus of her position at the Dahlia District was to convince me that I should spend more time on her entertainment. She was supposed to lie, to make herself seem like an unattainable goddess. There wasn’t a truthful ounce in any of our interactions.
But seeing her outside of the club only increased my curiosity. Why the girl? They didn’t look alike; the teenager had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. Haley, on the other hand, had dark hair and green eyes.
I opened my mouth to ask if Haley was a tutor, but I knew Tina would never tell.
“I don’t,” I said.
What lie would Haley tell when I confronted her about this? Even innocent lies could turn into something more destructive. I knew that first hand with Isa. Was Haley dealing drugs to the students? Perhaps she had an arrangement with one of the other members at the club. He would provide the material and she would move it. Perhaps she had once attended the school herself once and had her own connections. Perhaps she was fucking the headmaster.
The thought alone made me grind my teeth. Another man’s hands on her body. A body I would soon claim as mine. I wouldn’t let another man touch her. Not until I was done with her.
“Ice cream leads to trouble,” Haley said.
“Sharing an ice cream won’t get me pregnant,” the girl said.
“I can show you to the main office,” Tina said. She took my arm and led me back. After making a substantial donation and making a note to call the head of the economics department about collaboration, I waited at the car. Her car.
What was so troublesome about ice cream? I had to side with the girl on this one. It was only ice cream. The more I thought about it, the more community outreach seemed like a likely reason that Haley was there. That, or the drugs. Perhaps the volunteer position was a coverforthe drugs.
Or to cover her affair with the headmaster.
Haley emerged from the front doors, sweeping the loose hairs out of her face. She turned towards the car but was completely focused on her walk and didn’t see me leaning against the hood. A few feet away, after she found her keys in the canvas bag, now empty of the overflowing clothing, she looked up. Her gaze met mine.
She took a step back and her eyes widened.
“It’s you,” she said. Her eyelids fluttered, and her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink, matching the sunrise melting into the daylight behind her. I licked my lips. “What are you doing here?” Her jaw slackened. “Wait. Did you follow me here?”
“You could say that.” That line seemed less harsh than admitting the straight truth.
