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Late that evening, her cell chimed, indicating a text message. She picked it up and pushed a button.
Damian: Something came up. Won’t make it over tonight.
Karen: No prob. C u at school. Everything ok?
Damian: Fine.
She tossed the phone on the bed, and another wave of disappointment washed over her. With nothing left to do, she packed her school tote, showered and went to bed.
* * *
The next morning, Nikki met Karen in the office.
“I heard you applied for Priscilla’s job.”
Karen glanced up from the memo she was reading but didn’t respond.
“I don’t think you’re the right fit for this school, so I threw my name in the hat. Unfortunately for you, I’ve been teaching longer, which gives me the upper hand. And you know what they always say—it’s not what you know, but who you know.”
Karen mentally counted to ten. What she wouldn’t give to be able to slap that smug smile off Nikki’s face. “Is there a point to this conversation, Nikki?”
“I’m just trying to keep you from being disappointed when I get the job,” she said nonchalantly.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Like you said, it’s all about who you know.” Karen refused to let this crazy woman intimidate her.
A look of uncertainty flashed briefly in Nikki’s face before she stiffened her shoulders. “We’ll see about that.” She snatched the papers from her mailbox and stormed out.
Karen chuckled and went to make copies. This was not the way she wanted to start her week after enduring a sleepless night thinking about Damian’s cryptic text.
She managed to make it through the day without encountering Nikki again and thought she was home free until Nikki barged into Melissa’s office in the middle of Karen and Melissa’s meeting that afternoon.
“May I help you, Nikki?” Melissa asked coolly. “Karen and I are discussing student concerns in our conflict management group.”
“I have students in that group and should be included in the meetings.”
“As there are no clear and present dangers involved, the information is deemed confidential. But I’ll be sure to let you know if something comes up,” Melissa added with an icy smile.
Karen glimpsed over her shoulder to see Nikki’s tight-lipped glare.
“Karen, I do hope you don’t have any more frivolous vacations planned for the rest of the school year,” Nikki tossed out bitterly. “I wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of you getting that principal position.”
Karen met the woman’s gaze unflinchingly. “If you’re referring to attending the beautiful wedding of my best friend aboard a luxury cruise ship, I don’t have anything planned. My students’ welfare is very important to me, so I’m rarely absent. However, if something comes up, I have more than enough leave time. I’m sure it won’t affect my chances, but thanks for your concern.”
Sending Karen and Melissa a scathing look, Nikki turned and stormed out, closing the door with more force than necessary.
Karen and Melissa smiled and shook their heads.
“She does not want to start messing with me,” Melissa said, rolling her eyes.
“I just hope this isn’t a sign of things to come with her. Let’s finish up so I can go home.”
They worked for another thirty minutes before calling it a day. Tomorrow morning would be the first meeting with Damian and Kyle, and Karen was anxious to see how things would play out with her and Damian working together. Thoughts of Damian and his text message had stayed in the back of her mind all day. He hadn’t sent her any other messages or called. By the end of the evening, she still hadn’t heard anything from him, which compounded her worry. She tried to rationalize that his silence might be due to him preparing for the safety overhaul, but in the back of her mind, she had a nagging suspicion that something wasn’t right.
Her suspicions were confirmed the moment she saw him the next morning. The spark in his hazel eyes was missing, and his demeanor had changed—still professional, but almost...sad.
“Morning, ladies. Not sure if you remember, but I’m Kyle Jamison, and this is Damian Bradshaw. We have a lot of ground to cover in the next several days, so let’s get started. Damian will start walking the perimeter, and I’ll take any questions before you have to get to class. Then we’ll meet again this afternoon.”
“See you this afternoon,” Damian said. His eyes held Karen’s for the briefest of moments before he slipped out the door.
