Page 123 of Promises We Meant to Keep

“The concern the board has is for reducing conflicts and conflicts of interest, and what ideas you had moving forward.”

“Understandable. Right now, Dr. Marshall Dean is in charge of all supervision concerning Elia. And that’s worked well for us. Though it’s only been in place a few months at this point.” Kamryn stilled, trying to ease herself into this conversation. “Wewould propose that the current processes in place continue, but also add in that Dr. Dean’s reports will be shared with the board, and that he will be mediator should any conflicts arise about my influence in Elia’s position.”

“And should your relationship end?” Simone asked.

Kamryn nodded. “I don’t anticipate that happening, but should it happen, both Elia and I have the experience and maturity to keep it away from the school. Marshall will continue to be her supervisor in that case. I wouldn’t want there to be any question of ethics or confidence in my position where it concerns Elia. I do think that what we have in place is sufficient for now, but I also believe that we can do better with our policies. Marshall and I have been working with other schools in the area to improve our policies surrounding these potential conflicts as they come up and prior to them arising. The policies at Windermere are seriously outdated, and they all need to be updated and brought into the twenty-first century.”

That was as much as Abagail had told them to give. Kamryn settled her hands into her lap, and Simone easily navigated the conversation back to more normal interview questions. Kamryn spent half of the day with the board, unlike the outside candidates who would spend the entire day with them.

As soon as Kamryn got back to her office, she sat down and stood right back up. Her nerves were on fire, and she just wished she had the answers now. Though it did feel like it had gone well. She wanted to call Elia, but she was in the middle of class. Which meant that she was stuck pacing her office with the lingering energy coursing through her veins.

Picking up her phone, Kamryn video-called Greer and held her breath that she’d be able to answer and not be busy.

“Hey!” Greer’s smiling face filled the screen. “Just so you know, I’m with some of the kids right now, so it might get chaotic.”

“Sure. Just hang up if you need to. I understand.” Kamryn held the phone away from her face so she could see her best friend. “How is the new job going?”

Greer pulled a face before she rolled her eyes. “Chaoticis probably a very good word for it, honestly. I’m working on pulling together some kind of schedule that works for everyone, but it’s just not happening. There’s one particular holdout.”

Kamryn knew who that was already. She and Greer had spent time on the phone brainstorming how Greer could handle Nathalie Coeur. With three families sharing a nanny, Greer was overwhelmed. But Nathalie? She was an ice-cold queen who didn’t give an inch. She was Abagail’s pain in the ass, as well, so they could at least complain together.

“I don’t envy you on that one. I much prefer the school system. Structure is already built into my job.” Kamryn laughed lightly and set her phone against her computer so she could talk to Greer hands-free.

“And…?” Greer asked, getting more excited than Kamryn had at the very end of her interview.

“And what?”

“How did it go?”

“I think it went well.” Kamryn paused, glancing toward the main office where her new temporary office administrator was working. “I think it went really well, actually. I’m still concerned about the whole Elia-and-me thing, but overall, I feel really good about this.”

“Eek!” Greer waved her hand in the air excitedly. “I mean, I do wish you’d move closer to Boston so that we could spend more time together, but if you get the job of your dreams, I guess I’ll survive.”

“I only wish you could have the job of yours,” Kamryn countered, frowning slightly. She was worried with how much stress this was putting on Greer. The situation was way out of theordinary for her, but the three families sharing one nanny did offer a safety net that Greer never had before. And it helped that all three of them were going to have to agree in order for her to be fired.

“Yeah. We’ll see. You never know where this job might lead me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You never know.” Though Kamryn would definitely take closer together as the best option. She was about to say something when there was a loud crash that echoed through the phone. “What was that?”

“Shit,” Greer mumbled under her breath. She stood up, leaving the phone where she was and walked away.

Kamryn stayed on the phone, watching from a distance as Greer started to clean something up. She was just about to hang up to give Greer the time she needed when the phone suddenly moved. She was greeted with a curious face of a little blond boy who was missing his two front teeth.

“Hi,” Kamryn said, trying in vain to remember his name or which kid he was and which parent he belonged to. But there were a lot of kids there, and since she hadn’t met them yet, it was a struggle to remember. “Tell me your name again.”

“Alaric!” He giggled wildly as he held the phone so Kamryn was basically looking up his nose. Then he must have started running because it was like watching an episode of theBlair Witch Projectwith a shaky cam that was liable to make Kamryn want to throw up if she watched for too long.

“Hey bud! Slow down!” Kamryn said, trying to get him to calm down a little. “Where are you running off to?”

“I’m hiding from the babies.” He seemed to be crawling under something now, but Kamryn couldn’t quite be sure.

“Are they loud?”

“They spilled their cereal.”

“Ah.” So that must have been what Greer had gone to clean up. “You don’t want to help?”

“No! I’m not their brother.”

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