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Rayna
In my office Monday morning, I found my attention drifting back to the unexpected getaway John had whisked me off to Austin three days ago. It wasn’t only about the luxurious mini vacation he had taken me on; it was also about me getting to know him.
It turned out our resident billionaire was not some cookie-cutter guy with a big company and money to flash around. He’d had a tough, gritty past that had forged him into the honorable man he was today. I’d also cracked the mystery of why he allowed his children to stay in a public school when he could have had them in any posh academy in the state.
John Maxwell was a decent fellow, well, more than decent. He was down-to-earth, straightforward, humble, smart, and hardworking. In a different life, he would be the sort of man I’d love to have married—based on those characteristics alone,nothis money. Those traits alone could make me happy, even if he were blue-collar or top management.
“Miss Everett?” Principal Morton came in. “Do you have a moment?”
My head snapped up. “Yes, sure. What do you need, Mrs. Morton?”
“Have you found out why Samantha had that tussle with Tyler?” the older woman asked. “Any admission, explanation, even a clue?”
I bit back a grimace. “Sadly, no. Neither party is talking. Why?”
“I’ve gotten a phone call from Mr. Hollins, Tyler’s father—” instantly, my stomach sunk to the bottom of my knock-off Jimmy Choo’s. “—and he is demanding an explanation and an apology from her and her father at the same time, he is willing to take legal action. And he is a lawyer, so he can do it, too.”
My jaw felt glued together. “Legal action? B-but no one was hurt that much. Isn’t that an extreme thing to do?”
“It is, but he says, and I quote,he doesn’t get why that hoyden of a girl is so free to use her fists.”
Head jerking back, I asked, “Hoyden? Haven’t heard that term in a while.”
“I know, well, not outside my regency binge reads.” Mrs. Morton sighed. “I wish this would all just go away.”
“I—” I considered my options. “—Let me talk to Tyler alone again. Maybe he’ll tell me what happened this time, and we can straighten this whole thing out. Can you send for him?”
“Sure,” she replied. “Whatever you need.”
As she left, I rubbed the back of my neck, my hand bypassing the still-tender hickey John had left three days ago. He could not have done a better job of reminding me that I was his if he had branded me with a cattle iron.
I needed to get to the bottom of this and not only spare John and Samantha some heartache and trouble but stop the media attention it would draw to John. I had a hunch he’d liked to stay under the radar.
When Tyler shuffled into my office, I gave him a comforting smile, but I don’t think he saw it because his head was down. “Please, sit, Tyler.”
At ten-and-a-half, Tyler was a handsome boy with a mixed heritage; his flyaway brown-blond hair and tan skin were already drawing eyes. By the time he touched sixteen, he would be a stunner.
I rounded my desk and drew up the chair next to him—me sitting behind a large table would be incredibly intimidating—and rested my hands on my lap. “Tyler, I’m sorry to pull you out of class, I know you like science a lot, but I have to get you help, okay.”
He looked up. “You want me to help you?”
“Yes,” I gave him another encouraging smile. “Tyler, what does your dad do for his job?”
He sat up, chest-puffing a little. “He’s a lawyer, and I want to be one, too.”
“Good,” I replied. “You know lawyers have a lot of power and can harm someone if they want to, and your dad may harm your friend Samantha and her dad if she won’t tell him why she punched you.”
“What?” he asked, eyes wide.
“I’m sorry, Tyler, but your dad may sue Samantha and her dad,” I said. “But he won’t do it unless he understands what happened, just like we all want to do. You can help me by telling me what happened that day so Samantha and her dad won’t have to go to court and get a lot of bad attention.”
He hung his head again and gripped the edge of his chair. I waited, “Tyler?”
“…It's my fault,” he said. “I don’t want Sam to get hurt. I-I said something that wasn’t nice, and I’m sorry.”
“What did you say, Tyler?” I reached over to touch his arm. “You won’t get in trouble, I promise.”
He sucked in a breath. “I said…I told her that she wasn’t a girl.”
