Page 90 of Fight For Us
Caleb was at the grill, so I made sure to give him their order verbatim. On my way back out, I popped into Wes’s office to check my phone. Wes was sitting at his desk, getting together our weekly produce order.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, looking up from his paperwork.
“Hey, I got a call. Do you mind if I check in here?”
“Go ahead. Oh, and if you’re interested, the woman who supplies our desserts took a leave for a few weeks. I was thinking maybe you could give it a try? I know you love to bake and what I’ve had has been incredible.”
“Oh, wow.” I thought for a moment. I’d always loved baking and people said I had a knack for it. But was I ready to bake for a restaurant? “Can I think about it?”
“Of course. And hey, even if we only serve rum cake for a few weeks, that’ll be enough.” He adjusted his hair and went back to his paper, not realizing how much he’d melted my heart.
I pulled out my phone and my stomach dropped. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” I met his gaze with a face that surely looked mortified.
“The school called. Hold on, they left a message.” I scrolled to my voicemail and hit play, turning the speaker on so Wes could hear too. My stomach tied itself in knots waiting for the caller to start speaking.
“Ms. Murphy, this is Principal Adams over at Sunset Elementary. Unfortunately there’s been an incident and Alex ishere in my office. He’s unharmed, but I do need a parent to pick him up. Call the office back at your earliest convenience.”
I hit end and stuffed the phone back in my pocket, holding back tears. “What the hell? I can’t do this anymore, Wes.”
His eyebrows pinched in. “What does he mean by an incident? I swear if it’s those asshole kids again, I’ll lose it.”
I stepped closer, planting a hand on his shoulder. “If it is, we’ll deal with it. I might just have to push for them to start private school earlier than later if this school isn’t going to do anything.”
Wes sighed and rubbed his temples. “I’ll be ready to go in a minute. See if Kelly can cover your tables.”
“You don’t have to come. You’re busy,” I argued.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
We found Alex sitting outside the principal’s office. At first glance, he looked fine, but his sagging shoulders told me that wasn’t the case. The office administrator let us through while she knocked on the principal’s door.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked Alex quietly. From this angle, I could see another boy seated in a chair a few feet away from us.
“Another fight,” he said. “I didn’t start it, Mom. And the teacher broke it up right away.”
Wes put a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, we’ll get this figured out.”
Chapter 35
Wes
“I can’t believe hesuspended him,” Olivia said for the tenth time since we got home with Alex. “How is missing school going to help? And it’s a load of crap that the other kid got the same punishment and nothing worse.”
“It’s dumb as fuck, but I get that the principal has to go by the book. Not that I agree. Let’s call the private schools and set up some meetings. Maybe if we explain our situation they'll fit the kids in.”
She sighed and curled her legs underneath her on the couch. “Okay. I guess we don’t have other options. I should have done that sooner but I was being optimistic. It seemed like the issue was over after their break.”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll get it figured out.”
Staring out the window at the waves crashing in the distance, I let my mind clear. It wouldn’t help to stress about the situation any more than I needed to. I had to be calm for Olivia, she needed me. But damn, it felt like everything was coming to a head. And to top it off, the anniversary of the accident was next week, the day after Regina was showing up. Because of course, the universe would screw me like that.
“I think I’m going to throw on a cheesy show and relax. Want to join me?”
I turned to see her pulling a throw blanket over her lap. “Nah, I’m gonna go to the gym for a bit. Do you mind keeping an eye on Lilly?”
“Not at all. Have fun.” I leaned in and kissed her forehead before grabbing what I needed for the gym and heading out.
