Page 95 of Reckless Desire

“Of course I do,” she says casually, and it would have made me stop in my tracks if I didn’t have a more important mission.

I make it to the school in decent time. I text Melissa to find out more information and pray she’s willing to disclose something.

Melissa: Mr. Stuart has a meeting with the chair of the board and the principal in ten minutes. He’s been summoned.

I dash to the teacher’s bathroom and pace for a moment. Should I just crash the meeting? Should I confront Dan before it? They wouldn’t have summoned Hunter and invited the chair if they didn’t plan something drastic.

I wash my face and lean against the sink, breathing. The door opens and Lara enters.

“Are you okay?” She rubs my arm.

“Yeah. I should join that meeting. What the hell is going on?”

“I think he’s going to use Hunter’s reputation to—”

“What do you mean, his reputation?” My heart is trying to escape my ribcage.

“Well, the coverage about him…” Her eyes dart around. “His past job.”

I pull my phone from my back pocket and type in the search bar. The list of results is staggering. My knees buckle. Poor Hunter. Poor Caro. They have been dealing with this. Jesus.

“You didn’t know?” The worry in Lara’s eyes doubles.

“I didn’t know it was out. Never mind, that’s not important. I need to get to that meeting and help Caroline.”

“Let me know if I can do anything. I already went to HR about his sneaking around and unofficial performance questions.”

I squeeze her hand and run out.

Melissa stands up as soon as she sees me. For a moment, I worry she might try to stop me, but she opens the door to the small boardroom instead.

Three heads turn my way. But it’s only one face that registers. Dark circles accentuate Hunter’s beautiful eyes. His face is pale, his jaw clenched, and he looks exhausted. And so handsome it hurts.

We stare at each other for a moment before Dan clears his throat. “Sydney?”

“Yeah.” I try to refocus. The whole time I was rushing to get here, I considered everything but the fact I’d have to face Hunter.

Seeing him after two weeks of agony is harder than I imagined. What was I thinking, believing I could get over him? What was I thinking, leaving him without giving him a chance?

A wave of emotions knocks me off-balance, but as the other two people in the room shift with impatience, I force my eyes away from him and look at the chair of the board.

“I understand this meeting is about Caroline Stuart, who is in my class, so I believe I should be here.”

“That won’t be necessary. You’re on sick leave,” Dan says.

“I think Mrs. Lowe’s presence is important,” the chair interrupts. “Thank you for coming. I hope you feel better.”

Dan straightens the paperwork in the folder in front of him and clears his throat. “As I was saying, we’re concerned Caroline’s academic performance is not up to the standards of our school. In addition, your reputation… we feel that you’re not the right match for this institution.”

“You can’t—” Hunter starts.

“What are you trying to achieve here, Dan?” I challenge, sitting down and glaring at him. “Because you’ve never discussed Caroline’s academic results with me. In fact, she started in September practically illiterate and with major learning challenges, the result of the school system failing her. In a few short months, she’s improved significantly. So, correct me if I’m wrong, but if her academic shortcomings were not a concern at the time of her admission, I find it hard to believe we would want her to leave the school now, when she’s advancing in the right direction.”

I turn to the chair. “Isn’t inclusion and fairness a point of pride for this institution? Children like Caroline who need different teaching approaches should be at the forefront of that mission.”

The chair assesses me with narrowed eyes and moves her attention to Dan. “Would you like to explain your concerns?”

Dan’s face pales as he tries to flip through his papers.

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