Page 1 of Marrying the Underboss

Chapter One

JENNIFER PERRELLI

“Ms. P?Ms. P, I really, really need to go to the bathroom,” Holly says, tugging at the bottom of my shirt.

I look down at my student, who is clearly in distress. “Sorry about that, Holly. Hurry, go to the bathroom,” I tell her.

Holly nods and rushes to the bathroom in our classroom while I shake my head out of my daze. Poor kid.

Sweet Jesus! There isn’t enough coffee to get me through this day. I look around my classroom, realizing I’ve zoned out while teaching. It's a good thing my third graders are all working with their partners in a reading center while I’m supposed to be teaching a reading group.

“Are you okay, Ms. P?” Ben asks. He and four of his classmates are sitting at my kidney table with a book in their hands, looking at me concerned.

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Your eyes are red.”

“Yeah, are you sick?” Kailynn chimes in.

I yawn, cover my mouth, and shake my head. “Ms. P is just a little tired this morning.” I grab my coffee and take a long sip before putting it down, readying myself to get back on track.“Now, what paragraph are we on again?” I jump back into my lesson like I hadn’t just been reliving the night before in every painful detail.

All five hands shoot up into the air, and I manage a laugh. I love how excited they still are. “Amanda.”

“We’ve already read the whole page.”

“Wow! Very good. Who can tell me what part of the story we’re in, beginning, middle, or end?”

I call on one of my quieter students, Mikey, happy he raised his hand to participate.

Ten minutes later, reading groups are over and it’s time for me to take them to the library. After dropping them off, a sense of relief washes over me. I'm thankful I don’t have to fake a good mood when I’m in anything but. I love my class, but today is not it. It’s hard to care about eighteen kids when I can barely function in my own life.

Walking back into my classroom, my watch vibrates with a notification. I look down to find another message from Jacob. Ugh!

At the sight of his name, I flashback to the scene that played out last night when I knocked on his door with dinner.

Laughingat myself for still knocking, I shove my key into the lock but pause when I hear something thud against a wall. “Shit, go wait in the bedroom,” Jacob urges someone.

My heart stalls in my chest for half a second before it starts beating a mile a minute. Red flags go off immediately. Who is he talking to? He wouldn’t tell them to wait in our room if one of his friends were over.

“Why, who is it?” A woman asks.

“Get in the fucking bedroom, Lori. I don’t have time for your shit right now!”

Lori? Like the Lori, he talks about from work? Dear God, this can’t be happening. Not to us. Jacob and I have been together for years. We’re supposed to be getting married in a few weeks.

It’s Tuesday, and I usually stay late for meetings and get work done every Tuesday and Thursday. That’s where I should be right now, but it was a long day, and I just couldn’t do it. Instead, all I wanted to do was get junk food, watch brainless television, and relax in Jacob’s arms, but now I’m frozen.

What am I supposed to do? Forcing myself to move, I turn the key and open the door. Jacob is picking up a red lacy bra and a black dress as I walk in. When he turns to face me, I see that he’s partially undressed, standing in his white undershirt and a pair of slacks with an undone belt.

My eyes fixate on his zipper, which is still unzipped.

“God damn it, Jenny, I didn’t know you were coming over tonight!” He shouts.

“No?” I snap. Is he seriously mad at me? “If you had, then what? You would have asked Lori to come over another time?” I ask, staring at the woman in a pair of red lace panties and Jacob’s open button-up work shirt, barely covering her breasts. She’s leaning against his bedroom door frame with a shit-eating grin on her face.

“Jakey, I thought you broke up with her already?” She whines, turning to face my fiancé with a pout on her face.

Jacob walks over and hands her the clothes. “Get dressed, and don’t come out until I tell you.” He warns before closing the door in front of her.

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