Page 56 of The Guardian

Alex glances at me, giving us all a nod before ducking out of the kitchen. I’m about to tell Blaire how I feel about him joining us for dinner when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing the administrator’s name from Chloe’s school on the screen.

“Mrs. Taylor?” I’m a little confused as to why she’s calling at this hour.

“Hello, Juliette. Apologies for calling so late. I hope I didn’t interrupt dinner?”

“No, not yet. What can I do for you?”

She lets out a sigh before she speaks. “I wanted to discuss the incident on the playground with Chloe and the stranger.”

“Oh, yes,” I say, a bit confused. “I didn’t realize you were aware it happened. I had planned on calling you earlier today to fill you in, but time got away from me.”

“Your employee did that for you.” Her tone sounds passive-aggressive.

“My employee?”

“Alex Rockwell. He came by and we had a . . . pleasant chat.”

“Alex? He came by the school?”

“Yes, you didn’t know?”

“No,” I say bluntly, my frustration skyrocketing. “Actually, I asked himnotto. I told him I would handle it.”

“Well, he came by and demanded to see the security footage under threat of legal action if we denied him.” I clench my jaw as she goes on. “Considering you didn’t send him here, I guess my point in calling is moot. I’d just wanted to express that I thought it was unnecessary to send him with his threats and demands, and that I hoped we could discuss it as adults between the two of us.”

“Now wait a damn minute, Mrs. Taylor.” I had planned on being cordial, but now I’m pissed. “I understand that Alex can be blunt, and while I wouldn’t have come in with threats, it’s awfully rude of you to come at me like this when you and your administration are the ones in the wrong here. You should be apologetic considering my child was approached by a complete stranger—a dangerous one, I might add—and given illicit material used for blackmail.” My voice continues to rise, my face probably beet-red as I gesture wildly with my hand.

“Miss Pierce, I only mea—”

“No,” I cut her off, “you have yet to apologize to me, and Alex is right, you are very lucky I’m not pursuing legal action against your school. Get better security practices, Mrs. Taylor. Until you do, my daughter will have her own private security parked on school property while on campus. If you have a problem with it, call your attorney and tell them to get in contact with me.”

I hit END CALL before she can respond—all the week’s issues and incidents culminating in this moment. I march through the kitchen, toward the back door, to find Alex.

“Everything okay?” Brett asks, sipping his wine.

“It’s fine.” I jerk open the back door, looking outside, when I see Alex with his flashlight. “I told you to let me handle it!” I shout, marching up to him with zero context.

“So that’s what has you pissed off,” he half-mutters, not even bothering to look over at me.

“Yeah, I’m pissed off because Mrs. Taylor just called givingmeattitude for your behavior.”

“Did she now?” he chuckles, shining his light up toward the cameras mounted on the corners of the house.

“Yes, she said you were rude and you threatened her.”

“Yeah, I fucking did, and I meant every word of it.” He spins around toward me. “She has zero right to cop an attitude with you regardless of if she thought I was rude. She’s lucky she isn’t getting fired and sued for her school’s negligence.”

“I agree with you, and I even told her as much.”

“Then what’s with the attitude?” He slides his flashlight into his back pocket as he slowly walks toward me.

“I’m not having an attitude,” I say, taking a few steps backward.

“Oh, yes, you are.”

“The point is you should have let me handle it. I’m her mother. IsaidI would handle it.”

“No.” He smiles, his toes practically touching mine when my back hits the rough brick of my house. “And you should certainly know by now that I’ll do whatever I think is best for you and Chloe when it comes to your safety.”

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