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Ron was the best listener she knew. He was the most level-headed person she knew. He was the fairest, most balanced person she knew.
She’d know
n all these facts when they were kids and he’d urged her not to run off with Jason. He’d warned her that it would ruin her life. It was the one and only time they’d argued outside of a class assignment. He’d made a level-headed assessment of the decision that she was making and called foul.
Kylee wished he had rescued her back then. She felt she was floundering now. Except for these past few days he’d been back in her life. She felt grounded around him, like her old self.
“Work that angle.”
Kyle blinked. Anthony’s blue gaze came back into focus. “Angle?”
What was this angle people were constantly bringing up? She knew she worked for an education company, but somehow, she didn’t think this had to do with math.
“The friendship angle,” Jason said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I’m not going to use my friend to get ahead in my job.”
“This is Washington, DC. It’s what this swamp of a town was built on.”
But Kylee only worked in D.C. She lived in St. Judith. People there helped each other because it was the right thing to do. There were no angles in the small town just on the other side of the river. There were only straight lines that got people to the points they wanted to go and circles of unity to include all of the community.
“Close the deal and you could get put on the high-level testing team.”
Kylee opened her mouth to protest louder but paused. There was that carrot again. The high-level testing team was where they worked on post-secondary materials. It was Kylee’s dream to work on college prep tests.
That team was now walking into one of the conference room doors down the hall. The door closed behind them, shutting her out. But what if it opened for her?
She didn’t need an angle to talk to Ron. She was already in his circle of trust. They hadn’t talked about Thrive last night because the whole door opening situation had distracted them both.
Kylee had seen the work of the other company, Here 2 Learn. Their lesson plans lacked detail. Their competencies were vague. And their test questions were confusing.
She knew her work was beyond what they did. On assessment alone, she ran laps around the other company. She didn’t doubt she was the best woman for the job.
There would be no angles necessary. This would be a straight shot. She’d show that to Ron later, the next time he came to her door. Just the thought of Ron showing up at her home made her feel warm and mushy.
Kylee shook herself out of it. She looked to tell Anthony her decision, but he was already walking away, his head back down in his device. Kylee flipped the sheet of paper over. The hearts and arrows stared back at her.
The hearts looked like the bubbles of multiple-choice answers. The arrows looked like blanks ready to be filled. But did Kylee dare ask the question? Did she want to fully open the door to the possibility of her and her best friend becoming more?
Chapter Twelve
“Hasta Luigi, baby.”
“No, it’s pasta la vista, baby.”
Ron chuckled as he filled the kids’ paper plates with refried beans, rice, and melted cheese. It was Taco Night at Buster and Eden’s diner. The owners had allowed the school to use their kitchen as a fundraiser to help restock the arts programs. The quesadillas were aimed to get new instruments for the band. The nachos would hopefully bring in enough to restock the paint and crayon supplies for the art class. And the rice and beans just might offer some leftover cash to go to the next class play for costumes and sets.
“The saying is hasta la vista, baby,” said Ron. “That means see you later, niño in Spanish.”
The two kids frowned at him. That was the one thing about trying to joke with the younger crowd. They didn’t always get a clever, multilingual, multi-generational joke.
“Bueno,” he said. “Go find a table and eat your tacos.”
The two kids moved through the packed restaurant and found their family and friends. Ron tightened the apron over his collared shirt, which was amazingly still spotless, and his dark slacks, which had narrowly escaped a queso splatter. He loved community events like this where teachers, kids, and the parents all came together for a common cause.
“You were always such a show off in Spanish class.”
Ron couldn’t hide his smile at the sound of her voice. “Buenas tardes, Señora Bauer.”
