Page 58 of Finding You

They calmed almost instantly, and it allowed him to recenter himself before the final bell. Flora had given him a sad, doe-eyed look before she filed out with the rest of the class to meet Dani, and like a coward, Dallas hid in his classroom and let the playground monitor walk them out.

He watched the clock and waited for the text from Kylen to let him know he was in the staff parking lot waiting. Mostly, Dallas wanted to wait it out and not be seen by any of his colleagues because he didn’t want to answer questions about where he was going and why he was getting into a strange man’s car.

But his luck had run out, apparently.

He was steps from the side doors that led to the parking lot when he heard the AP’s voice. He wanted to pretend like he hadn’t, but Greg was his boss. Or, well, he was the assistant principal, which made him assistant boss? Whatever the case, Dallas had to play nice.

He was still new and probably first on the list if they ever made cuts.

“Sorry. I have an appointment in a few minutes,” he said, turning.

Greg’s smile was very big and plastic-looking from his veneers. He was the kind of guy Dallas figured he’d seen on TV in a dozen years running for office. “No problem. But I wanted to catch you before you left. We received an evaluation request for one of your students.”

Dallas’s brows rose. “Oh?”

“Flora Harrell?”

That hit him almost like a physical blow. It was true, he’d suggested to Kylen that he make the call and schedule the evaluation, but he was surprised Kylen hadn’t said anything to him. He had no right to be hurt, and he wasn’t really. But it made him feel strange.

“Right. Okay. So her dad?—”

“Her aunt, it seems,” Greg said.

Dallas froze, then cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, what? Her aunt isn’t her guardian.”

“We know. We informed her that we couldn’t share any information about your student, but she said you authorized her to make the call.”

Dallas slapped a hand over his face. “That bi—hmmm.” His jaw snapped shut before he made a giant mistake. “I most certainly did not. She was present when I was speaking to Flora’s father about my suspicions. I suggested to him that if he was concerned about her progress, he could call the school and set up an evaluation.”

Greg’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay. That wasn’t the story I was given, but it’s a relief to hear. We’ll have to confirm with Mr. Harrell, of course, just to be sure. It would be a huge violation if you spoke to this woman and gave out private information about your student.”

Dallas’s cheeks heated. “I know I’m new at this, but I’ve always been professional.”

Except the fact that he’d fucked his student’s father and that he was madly in love with him. But sue him, he was also only human, desperately single, and Kylen was one of the best men he’d ever met. But Greg didn’t need to know all of that.

He’d done all of that well outside of being on the clock.

“Is that all?” Dallas asked. He knew he sounded like a dick now, especially from the way Greg’s face fell, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t need this added stress. And he definitely didn’t need Greg following him out to see that he was getting into Kylen’s car.

“That’s all. We’ll be speaking soon.”

Okay. That sounded like a threat. But he had no energy for it.

He waited for Greg to turn and walk down the hall before he bolted out the door, and he let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw Kylen’s car waiting for him. His windows were tinted too, which meant it would be harder to see who was behind the wheel.

“Babe, are you okay?” Kylen asked the moment Dallas shut the car door. “You look really pale.”

Dallas covered his face with his hands. “Your sister called the school and requested an evaluation for Flora.”

Kylen was deadly silent, and when he did speak, his voice sounded dangerous. “I’m sorry, what?”

Dallas licked his lips. “Yeah. She also said that I told her she was allowed to circumvent you to schedule it.”

Kylen cleared his throat. “Did she?”

“I’m sorry,” Dallas said quickly. “I’m so fucking sorry if she took what I said as permission. I swear I didn’t?—”

“Oh. I don’t think this is on you,” Kylen said. He paused for a long beat, then rolled his shoulders back. “I’ll deal with it later. You don’t need this right now.”

---