Page 5 of Business Temptations

“I’m here,” he replied with a chuckle. “How about if you read to me tonight?”

As he watched, he realized that his guess was correct. If the crestfallen expression on her adorable face was any indication, she didn’t know how to read. “Would you like me to teach you?” he offered.

Her eyes lit up with a mixture of hope and uncertainty, her childish innocence shining through. "Maybe," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She nibbled on her lip, a nervous habit that tugged at Matteo's heartstrings. "If I learn how to read, will you still...talk to me?"

“Of course,” Matteo agreed, nodding for emphasis. “It would be an honor to teach you how to read as repayment for your generosity in bringing me food.”

She grinned and he could see the charmer that she would grow to become. “Are you going to teach me just because I brought you food? Or because I’m fun?”

Matteo chuckled, the weight of his troubles momentarily forgotten as he basked in the innocent joy of their budding friendship. "Both," he admitted with a playful wink, his heart swelling with a newfound sense of purpose. "But mostly because you're fun."

She turned and planted her bottom right next to him, plunking the heavy book down on his lap. “I’m Bailey Larkin and my mother is the cafeteria cook here. She also works at night to earn more money, typing up stuff for doctors. I don’t really understand what she does, but she says that it pays the rent, so I try not to bother her.”

“Where did we leave off last night?” he asked.

She pointed a dirty finger at one of the pictures. “This is the fairy princess,” Bailey explained, then lifted chocolate-colored eyes up to Matteo.

He looked at her, at the hope in her pretty, brown eyes, and smiled faintly. Together, they read. He would read one paragraph, and then guide her as she awkwardly sounded out the words in the next. It was painful listening to her read, sounding out the words slowly, stumbling over some of the more complicated combinations of vowels and consonants, but eventually, she got the hang of it.

Every night after that, she showed up at their spot behind the abbey. Matteo learned several things during their evening conversations. The first was that Bailey was intelligent. Extremely so! She picked up words and sounded them out, then never forgot them. Also, when she heard something, she could repeat those words almost verbatim. Her mind was agile and sharp, and he wondered why she hadn’t learned to read until now.

The second thing was that Bailey was almost as painfully lonely as he was. There were several moments over the course of the next few months that he saw her across the school, just sitting by herself while the male students hurried to or from classes. She never had any other friends and he never saw her with another family member. None of the Colby teachers spoke to her and she tended to keep to herself. Except around him. Whenever she appeared, Bailey talked about anything and everything. She asked intelligent questions, but still had the soul of a child.

She was adorable and, as they read more books together and he helped her with her math homework, a strong friendship formed. They were an odd couple, a fourteen year old bastard and an elfin, blond-haired six year old. But by the end of that first year, their friendship had become one of the most profound connections in his life. Only Matteo’s mother had as special of a place in his heart.

He eventually made a few friends of the other male students. And there were nights when Bailey spent time at other girls’ houses. But she always ran to him when she came back, eagerly telling him all about her latest adventure.

Three and a half years later…

"What do you mean?" Bailey demanded, her voice tinged with confusion as she froze in her tracks, her gaze locked on Matteo. "You have to walk for your graduation ceremony!" Bailey exclaimed, a sense of urgency evident in her tone as Matteo quickened his pace, his longer strides forcing Bailey to hurry to keep up. Bailey jumped to action, her heart pounding with a mixture of anxiety and determination. "And would you please slow down?" she pleaded, her voice betraying the hint of panic bubbling beneath the surface.

But as they walked side by side, their footsteps echoing in sync, Matteo couldn't help but feel a sense of connection blossoming between them. Despite their differences, despite the obstacles they faced, they were united in this moment, bound together by a shared goal and a common purpose. And as they navigated the uncertain path ahead, Matteo found solace in the knowledge that they were in this together, a testament to the power of friendship and camaraderie in the face of adversity.

Matteo slowed slightly, but didn’t stop. “No es necessario,” he mumbled in Spanish. Then reverted to English as he continued, “I don’t have time to participate in a stupid ceremony, Bailey.”

Normally, Bailey would drop a subject when Matteo got all prickly like this. But his high school years had been absolutely miserable. Headmaster Daniels had eased off after the first few months, especially when several of the other teachers at the school began to defend Matteo. But that didn’t alter the fact that nearly all of the students at the school had shunned him.

“But…you’re the class valedictorian! You get to give a speech! You get to…!” She came to an abrupt stop when Matteo turned.

At eighteen, he literally towered over Bailey who, at ten, was still waiting for a growth spurt. Matteo teased her about her height and Bailey was sensitive about her lack of breasts. Matteo didn’t say anything about her non-existent feminine curves, but she’d seen the women he dated and they were all gorgeous and incredibly curvy.

“Por que?”

Bailey blinked up at him. “Why what?”

“Why do I need to give a speech? What’s the value that would be added to my life if I attend the graduation ceremony versus if I simply move on with the next phase of my life?”

Bailey hated the reminder that Matteo would be going to college soon. He’d gotten a full scholarship to several big universities, none of which were nearby.

“Because you earned the best marks of your class, Matteo,” she explained with what she considered to be a very calm tone. “And because this is your opportunity to prove to all of those jerks who ignored you that you beat them,” she said, poking his chest with her finger. “You won! Despite all of the obstacles they put in your way, you came out on top!”

Matteo chuckled and moved her finger, tickling her behind her ear in the process.

“Giving a speech isn’t the best way to show the world that you beat them, Short-Stuff.” And he turned, releasing her hand as he headed towards his car. It was just a beat up old jalopy that only ran because of Matteo’s determination and brilliance at anything mechanical.

“What would be the best way?” she demanded, irritated now. Or maybe she was just panicking because her best friend in the entire world was leaving her behind.

He shrugged and kept walking, but his stride was shorter now. Less angry.

---