Page 75 of Beneficial Misfortune

“Alex,” I hiss, smacking his chest and darting my eyes back to Addison, who is thankfully still blissfully unaware.

“Trust me, she won’t hear a word I’m saying right now. Someone gave her an amazing day out, and it will be all she talks about all night,” he says with a laugh, dropping a kiss on my head. It’s such a sweet gesture, it’s almost worse than when he’s being overly touchy.

These men will be the death of me.

“All I did was take her to the mall,” I tell him with a huff. He’s acting as if I did something amazing.

“It was more than that to her.”

Before I can say anything, my phone rings, pulling my attention from him.

Nobody ever really calls me. I don’t give my number to many people, and most of the people who do have it live here and usually text.

Fishing my phone from my pocket, I see the school's number on the screen. Strange, I still have a few weeks of vacation before teachers have to report back, so what could they need?

I guess there’s only one way to find out.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Katherine, this is Barbara.” Funny enough, I’ve never spoken to Barbara on the phone before, but I somehow recognize her voice just fine. Maybe it’s the snotty, stuck-up tone, or maybe just the way she spit my name. “The headmaster wanted me to call and inform you that a few rooms had to be changed over the summer, one of which is yours.”

She sounds bored, as if she’d rather be doing anything but calling me, and I can’t say I don’t feel the same. Of all the people in the building, she had to be the one to call me. Most people have been standoffish with me since I’d been talking to Nathan, but I’m pretty sure she actually hates me.

“We’re going to need you to come in tomorrow and get everything sorted.”

I stand almost in shock, unsure of what to say to that.

Tomorrow? Really? They couldn’t give me more time than that?

“Um, I’ll have to see if I can…” I turn to look at Alex, unsure who I need to ask or what I should do. It’s my job to watch her. I could probably bring her with me.

“Well, if you can’t be here tomorrow, I can have the janitor handle it. This should be a priority over simple summer plans, Katherine.”

Bitch.

“I—I didn’t say it wasn’t a priority, but I have another job, and next day is very short notice,” I explain, trying very hard to keep my annoyance out of my voice despite her attitude.

She laughs, and it rings out loud enough that I have to pull the phone away from my ear with how loud it is.

“You’ll be there,” Alex growls, and I can’t help but smirk when Barbara all but chokes on her laugh.

“Yes,” she clears her throat, no longer sounding so amused. “Very good. Have a wonderful night.”

The line goes dead, and as much as I enjoyed hearing her get put in her place, I can’t help but worry about tomorrow.

“Alex…” I trail off, but I don't need to explain. Apparently, he’s a mind reader now.

“I don’t need to go in for a whole day tomorrow,” he says with a shrug. “I’d hoped to steal you away for a little while, but I’m okay with waiting until bedtime, if it means shutting that bitch up.”

He looks like he wants to say more, his brows pinched in a way I’m not used to seeing. For the most part, he seems pretty laid back, ready to go with the flow, but not right now. The only other time I can remember him looking like this was the first night I met him when he and Desmond handled the asshole at the bar.

I hate to admit it, but damn, is it attractive. I have to bite my tongue against asking what else he thinks about her.

“Oh, you like that, huh?” he asks, dropping a kiss to my cheek and chuckling.

“What? No!” I say, a bit too loudly, making him laugh harder.

“Mommy!” Addison exclaims, and I turn to find her with our matching dresses clutched in her little fist and a huge grin on her face.

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