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“Excuse me?”When I remain silent, his eyes narrow and his lips flatten into a grim line. “What did you just say?”
Swallowing past the thick lump that has wedged itself in the middle of my throat feels impossible.
Oh god. Am I really doing this?
“You’re having an affair with my mother,” I force myself to repeat.
“I don’t know where you got such a ludicrous idea,” he blusters, face growing splotchy.
“I saw you kissing in the copy room two weeks ago.”
He straightens to his full height, which is only a handful of inches taller than me. “I don’t know what you think you saw, young lady,” he growls, “but you’re mistaken.”
“I’m not. If word of your affair gets out, your career and reputation will be ruined. You’ll have to resign from Hawthorne Prep.” I let that sink in before adding, “If they don’t fire you first.”
He pales and asks stiffly, “What is it that you want?”
Even though it feels like my heart is on the verge of exploding, the constriction loosens just a bit.
“I don’t want Austin to be expelled. Whether you believe me or not, Jasper is the one who started the fight. He knew exactly what buttons to press to push Austin over the edge. But you’re right,” I say hastily, “Austin shouldn’t have hit him. That was a mistake.”
Sweat springs to my palms as he continues to glare. Unease grows in the pit of my belly, and I shift beneath the relentless intensity. It takes everything I have inside not to cower before him and apologize.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game,” he says softly.
“That was never my intention.”
“Then you should drop this immediately, and we’ll both forget you ever waltzed in here and threatened me.”
If only that were possible.
“I can’t. The Hawthornes have been through enough already.”
“They don’t belong here,” he snaps, voice rising. “They would be better served by the public school system.”
I shouldn’t be surprised by his candor or attitude. He would be singing a different tune if their family carried any clout in the community.
When I remain silent, he asks snidely, “Are there any other demands you’d like to make while you’re here?”
I shake my head.
His beady gaze stays pinned to mine as he rips open the door. “Then it’s high time you leave.”
I jerk my head into a nod and force my feet into movement. It’s only as I cross over the threshold that I realize he never gave me an answer. I have no idea if he’ll expel Austin. What I do know is that I’ve done everything possible to help the situation.
More than I probably should have.
The moment I step over the threshold, tension leaks from my muscles, leaving me to feel shaky from the confrontation. I’ve never so much as received a detention, and now I’m blackmailing Pembroke?
Nausea explodes in the pit of my gut. If I don’t get to the bathroom, I’m going to—
With my head bent, I hasten my pace and slam into a hard body. Strong hands lock around my upper arms to hold me in place when I stumble back a step. As I lift my chin and meet the gaze of my captor, I realize that I’ve crashed into the very person I’ve come to rescue.
The hatred that blazes from his narrowed eyes is enough to freeze the blood running through my veins. The anger that had radiated from him on Saturday night doesn’t hold a candle to this.
“Mr. Hawthorne,” our headmaster snaps, “remove your hands from Ms. Robinson at once. You’re in quite enough trouble as it is.”
Instead of following the demand, his fingers tighten, digging into my flesh beneath the thick wool blazer as he drags mecloser. My feet shuffle forward as pain shoots through me. Unable to look away, I wince as his warm breath drifts across my parted lips.
