Page 16 of Bad Teacher

He drummed his fingers on the wood desk, studying her without a word.

Tension crackled in the air, and cold sweat slicked her forehead. Maybe she’d made a mistake, but now it was way too late to go back and undo it. Her stomach knotted, the possibility of being fired lurking in the background. If she got fired, then he’d for sure kick Marcelle out of the school, and Theo would be pissed at her. She’d lose her job and the hook-up they agreed to on the prior evening. She’d also miss out on the chance of helping Marcelle. No, she had to stand her ground.

“You did that without checking with me?” He tilted his head, thinning his lips. “That’s the exact opposite of what I’d asked you to do.”

“I understand, but after talking to her father, I concluded she lost her mother and is still grieving.”

“That doesn’t give her the right to disrupt classes,” he said. “Besides, she’s failing.”

“There haven’t been any disruptions this week. I’ve taken her under my wing and am tutoring her to help her.”

He furrowed his brows. “Why would you go through all this trouble? She wasn’t even your student.”

Violet raised her hand to play with her necklace pendant, but stopped in her tracks and squared her shoulders. Show strength. “I felt really bad for her. I believe she needs some one-on-one attention, and I have the free time.”

“You should have checked with me. Now I will have to talk to her teachers and explain she’ll be staying and why.”

“I see. She’s been learning, and she has potential. I guarantee you I have the best intentions,” she said, keeping her original motivations close to her vest. If he found out she had fender bent Theo’s car and agreed to tutor Marcelle because of a blackmail situation and also in exchange of cold hard cash, Clark would can her ass. “Besides, it’ll be a good look for our school to have compassion and give this child one last change.”

“Okay. I’ll give her this current quarter to see how she behaves and if she can improve her grades. But I’ll have magnifying lenses on her, Violet. If Marcelle screws up, she’s out. And if you don’t follow my orders again, so are you. Are we clear?”

* * *

Theo clenchedthe bottle of wine in his hand. He’d debated on bringing flowers, but that seemed too cheesy and unnecessary given the occasion. It’d taken them three days to get together—he’d secured a sitter for Marcelle, and Violet had taken her kids to her ex-husband.

Sighing, he stared at the door of her house one more time before knocking. Anticipation thrummed in his veins, keeping him on edge. When she finally opened the door, his heart skipped a beat. In fact, his entire body came to a halt, for one second, to resume working with much more fervor.

“Hi,” she said, opening the door wider. Wearing a casual white dress, she couldn’t have looked lovelier if she’d tried. With minimum makeup, her hair framing her face in sultry waves and a special sparkle in her eyes, Violet didn’t need to try to improve her appearance. She’d already won that game.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Brought you something.”

She glanced at the two-hundred dollar bottle of wine he’d grabbed from his cellar. A small smile formed on her lips. “Are you trying to impress me?”

He popped his knuckles. Merde. He should have known she’d recognized a good bottle of wine. She’d been married to a surgeon, and something about her mannerisms hinted she came from old money. “Am I so obvious?”

She chuckled. “You’ve actually come a long way from the wild beast who almost attacked me in the principal’s office ten days ago.”

An odd wave of warmth stung his cheeks. Holy fuck. Did he just blush? “I like to keep people on their toes.”

“An easy task. Please have a seat,” she said, gesturing at the sofa.

The lights had been dimmed, and a red scarf covered the floor lamp giving it a soft pink glow. A couple of lit candles sat on the coffee table, spreading the scent of jasmine through the living area. Hmmm… so she’d been trying to impress him too. Pure male pride crackled through his blood. He sat on the couch, remembering the delicious memories from the last time he’d been here.

“Who’s watching Marcelle?” she asked, bringing him back to present.

“Miss Anthony, a sitter we’ve used for the last three years. The only constant in her life except for me.” Miss Anthony was a retired woman who had a great way with kids and availability to watch Marcelle whenever he worked.

She ran her fingers along the wine bottle. “That’s great. I better go open this,” she disappeared into the kitchen.

He surged to his feet and followed her, adamant on helping her with whatever she needed. Also, he didn’t want to pass up a chance to learn more about her. “You must not have that type of issue, sharing custody,” he said casually.

She rummaged one of the drawers, searching for the wine opener.

“No. We get along well. Wanna hear something funny? Damian, my ex, is marrying one of my best friends.”

“Let me,” he said, taking the wine opener from her hand and grabbing the bottle of wine from the counter.

He’d definitely need some alcohol—the mention of her ex brought a wave of heat to his bloodstream. Of course he shouldn’t be jealous of the man—he was in the past. But he’d had her before. The bastard had offered Violet what Theo himself could never. He opened the bottle and poured wine in both glasses, pretending to focus on the task. Inside, agitation settled, like a giant bee stung his entire body. “How did that happen?”

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