Page 94 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“The chick you had me asking around about. Raya. You sure she’s a teacher?”

My shoulders tense. “…Yeah.”

“Well, I can’t find shit.”

I sit back in my chair, my heart pounding in my chest. “What do you mean you can’t find shit?”

“I mean, I’ve checked the state certification databases. No license. No records. Nothing under her name or any variation of it.”

My grip on the phone tightens.

It’s possible I misunderstood her. Or maybe I assumed she’d already gotten licensed. You have to do that to even find a job.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I mutter. “Are you sure you looked for the right person? She graduated from Spelman.”

Javon lets out a low whistle. “Yeah. About that. Man, I hate to break it to you, but there’s no record of that, either.”

My blood runs cold, rushing through my head like a raging river.

“That can’t be right.”

“I triple checked. Unless she’s using a different name, she never got certified, never taught in a school, and she didn’t graduate from Spelman. No record of her at all in the alumni directory.” He pauses. “Sorry, bruh.”

I run a hand down my face, breathing slow, measured. Trying not to let my temper flare.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but you might wanna ask her directly. I know you like her, but…” he trails off, exhaling loudly. “She’s lying to you. Straight up.”

I close my eyes as it sinks in.

“I gotta go,” I mumble.

“Yeah. Hit me later.”

Here I am, once again.

She lied.

She didn’t just omit shit. She didn’t just keep secrets.

She straight up lied.

It shouldn’t even be a surprise at this point, but it fucking feels like one.

I sit there staring at the whiteboard, my eyes dropping to the half-smudged EXCUSES written at the bottom. That’s all I’ve been doing for her ass. Making excuses.

But I don’t think I can get past it this time.

And I don’t think I want to.

26

Ace

My mother invited me over for dinner.

I should have known it was a setup the moment she called me for a same-day affair.

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