Mr. Principal Read online

  “Hey, you,” I said, and she gave me a little smile. Normally, Lucy was a chatterbox. Immediately, I knew something was up.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She sighed. “Our new boss is being an ass.”

  With a sigh of resignation, I said, “What’s going on? What did he do?”

  She shook her head. “He’s just being nitpicky about everything. He’s making us clock out just to use the bathroom. And if we even go a minute over our lunch break he issues a formal write up. He said something about a point system and every violation is one point. And like after three violations you’re on probation and then most likely fired.”

  “What?” I hissed. My head was whirling. “Point system. That’s crazy. What is he even talking about? And what’s this about clocking out for bathroom breaks? Patrick has a bladder issue and uses the bathroom every five minutes.”

  “I know. I know. It’s so ridiculous. I’m a nervous wreck now. That’s why I’m out here smoking. And he threatened to take away our smoke breaks. And of course, we have to clock out to take one.”

  I shook my head. “He’s worse than I thought he would be.”

  She nodded. “Yep.” And then took a long draw on her cigarette. She quickly looked at her watch, said, “Oh crap,” and tossed the half-finished cigarette on the ground and stomped it out.

  “I’m already a minute over,” She hurried past me and I followed her inside. As soon as we turned the corner, Mr. Baxter was there waiting. He had a smug look on his face.

  “Your break ended two minutes ago,” he said to Lucy.

  She gulped visibly and said, “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “It was my fault,” I piped in. “I was talking to Lucy about some company policies and she took time out of her break to answer my questions. So, it’s my fault she’s late.”

  “Lucy’s an adult. She’s a big girl. She can tell the time. Late is late. No excuses. I have to write you up.”

  I could see that Lucy was about to tear up, and I instantly felt terrible.

  “Again, I just want to mention that it was NOT her fault,” I growled. “If you want to write anyone up, then it should be me since it wasn’t her fault.”

  “I don’t like your tone,” Mr. Baxter said with a snarl. “And don’t worry. I’m going to write you both up. How’s that sound?”

  Before I could say a word he turned and strolled away, heading towards his office.

  Lucy looked ready to cry. “I really need this job,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

  “It’s just one violation, right? It’ll be fine.” I tried to sound reassuring, but I understood her plight. We were both single mothers just trying to live our lives.

  She teared up then and said with half a sob, “I can barely afford to take care of my bills now. If he fires me, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  I instantly reached out to her and gave her a reassuring hug briefly before letting her go, “It’ll be okay. Don’t cry.”

  I kept an arm around her shoulder as I led her back to our station in customer service. She quickly reached for a tissue and patted at her eyes while I accessed the sign-in system and signed us both in.

  She sniffled a little but was no longer crying. “Thanks for being so nice.”

  “You don't have to thank me for being a decent human being.”

  “Yeah, I do, because apparently, this world is full of horrible people. My ex and our current boss to name a few.”

  “Gosh, don’t you wish there was a way to divorce your boss?”

  “There is... it’s called quitting.” We both laughed and then a customer appeared.

  For the next four hours, I didn't see Mr. Baxter so work wasn’t that bad. I was still tense the whole time because I thought at any moment that he would pop up to accuse us of doing something wrong.

  Mo wasn’t in which was strange. He never missed a day of work.

  “Hey, Lucy, do you know where Mo is today?”

  “I think his wife is sick. Or maybe she has relatives coming into town. I can’t remember which, but he had to leave almost as soon as he arrived today.”

  “Hmmm, I hope everything’s okay.”

  “Hello, ladies,” Mr. Baxter said, suddenly appearing from the hallway that our customer service was near. “Ms... oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Duran, can I see you in my office, please?”

  I looked at Lucy and then back at him. “Why? I didn’t do anything wrong.” I was immediately on the defensive.

  “That remains to be seen. My office now, Mrs. Duran.”

  He turned away then and I looked back at Lucy who looked at me. “What’s going on?” I mouthed to her, she just shrugged and frowned deeply.

  I turned around and followed him into his office. He motioned for me to sit down.

  “So what is this all about?”

  “Mo has been let go.”

  “What?”

  “He was no longer needed.” He cleared his throat and slid an envelope towards me. I took it and looked at him questioningly.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go, as well.”

  “What? You can’t do this.”

  He seemed to be enjoying himself. “I can. And I am. We’re downsizing your department and no longer have room for you here. You have until the end of the day.”

  My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. “But but but I need this job. I have a daughter who relies on me—”

  “Save the sob story. You should have thought of that before your insubordination the other day.”

  I went from feeling blindsided to feeling furious. I narrowed my eyes. “My insubordination? You mean standing up to you? Well, you know what, since I’m being fired anyway, I’ll show you insubordination.”

  I stood up and he stood up too.

  I didn’t know what I planned to do. Hit him in the head with the stapler on his desk and run? Take off my shoe and throw it at him? Punch him in the face? I figured assault wouldn’t look good on my next resume, so I forced myself to not hit him, but boy was I tempted.

  He must have realized that because he stepped back slightly.

  “Get out of my office. Forget the end of the day. I want you out of here now.”

  “You’re nothing but a pissant, no-balls, bully.” Okay, so when I said I wouldn’t assault him, I meant physically assault him. Verbal assault wouldn’t get me arrested.

  “That’s it. I’m calling security.”

  Okay. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe verbal assault could potentially get me arrested. But I wasn’t going to back down. I spent my whole life backing down and doing what was expected of me. I hadn’t even asked for anything in my divorce because I’d fostered hopes that if I ‘played nice’, Tom would regret divorcing me and would come back to me. And look where that had gotten me...

  “Call security. I don’t care. I’m fired anyway, so I hope you don’t mind if I do this,” I said kicking my chair which knocked his cup of coffee off his desk and straight onto his shoe.

  “Are you crazy? That was fresh coffee.” He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  That felt good, so I started knocking other things off his desk. By the time security showed up, I was in full rampage mode and was kicking, shouting, and tearing his office apart.

  “Get her out of here,” he yelled as security grabbed me by my arm.

  I knocked their hands off and said, “Let go of me. He’s the one you should be dragging out of here.”

  “Come on, Dana,” said one of the guards who I’d known since I started working at Primrose. “I don’t want to have to call the cops,” he whispered.

  I sighed and let him escort me out. Lucy and Patrick looked on. Lucy looked despondent and Patrick looked highly amused.

  “See you, Pat,” I called as I left.

  He gave me a big smile and a thumbs up. Clearly, I’d made Patrick proud. I huffily got into my car and then all my bravado disappeared as the enormity of the situation weighed on me. Great. Just great. Now I was an unemployed single mom again. I felt that no matter how hard I tried, I just kept failing Meredith in every way that mattered. Not knowing what to do, I wiped at the tears falling down my cheeks and began to drive.

  Chapter Five

  I didn’t feel like being alone. But I was grateful Meredith wasn’t home to see me in such a disaster state. For once, I was actually glad that she was at her father’s house.

  On a whim, I decided to head over to Piper’s place. She worked from home so I figured she would be around to lend a sympathetic ear.

  I knocked on her door and sniffled a little, trying not to cry. As the door open, I arranged my face into a sad smile.

  My face went from smiling to surprise. Instead of Piper, Carter was standing there. He had on no shoes and no shirt. He was just wearing a pair of low-slung shorts. I’d been right. He had filled out a lot since college. His body was chiseled, all wiry muscle in all the right places.

  “What are you doing here?” I said as he stood back and gestured for me to come in.

  “Well, I was working out...”

  “You know what I mean. Where’s Piper?”

  “New York. She said something about meeting up with her translation partner. She’s going to be gone all weekend. She asked me to housesit.”

  I pouted. “Why did she ask you and not me?”

  He shrugged. It was a simple movement, but a sexy one... one that emphasized his beautiful shoulders. He crossed his arms across his chest, “I don’t know... maybe because you have a kid and you work weekends.”

  I plopped down on the couch and sighed deeply. “It’s Tom’s weekend and I’m no longer employed. Not that Piper knows that since I was just fired like ten minutes ago.”

  “Fired?” he asked, sitting down next to me.

  I nodded, and the tears started to flow freely then. Carter pulled me into his arms and just let me cry. I wasn’t good with change and I felt overwhelmed by all the topsy-turvy ups and downs I was enduring lately. Life was being so cruel. Just when I thought I’d my footing, I would slip up and fail again. I was sick of it.

  “I feel like such a failure,” I mumbled into his shoulder.

  “You’re not a failure. Tell me what happened.”

  I told him everything. He listened while I kept my head pressed against his chest.

  “Your boss, sorry former boss, is just a terrible person. That wasn’t something you could control.”

  I pulled my head up and sniffled. “I know. But still, I feel like I’m failing Meredith. I want so much more for her than just this—” I gestured aimlessly. “You know?”

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t know what you mean. She’s happy. One of the happiest kids I’ve ever met.”

  “She’s resilient that’s all.”

  “Stop underestimating your parenting skills. Yeah, some people are just naturally resilient, but you played a pretty important role in making her feel loved and secure. And you shouldn’t underestimate that.”

  I shook my head, unconvinced.

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Really?” his reply was sharp, and I wanted to bite my tongue. Carter had also been a child of divorced parents.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

  He shrugged. “It’s okay. Divorce sucks, no matter how old you are, but trust me when I say Meredith is fine. She’s thriving.”

  “Thanks for that,” I said, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable being so close to Carter. I could smell him. He smelled so nice.

  He reached out and slowly touched my face. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

  I nodded. “I know. I just feel all this pressure to get everything right. I just don’t want to think that I’m ruining her life.”

  He shook his head again. “Not a chance. Anyone who knows you is blessed to have you in their lives. You’re easy to love.”

  Carter was so sincere. I knew he meant every word he said. When he looked at me I saw how his eyes were full of emotion. In college, he’d always kept things friendly, but his look today was different. Underneath it was a layer of desire and tenderness I couldn’t ignore.

  He wanted me. But what would be our excuse this time? We didn’t have a reason to ‘fake’ a relationship. This time there would be no excuses, no pretenses. His kiss, his touch, had stirred a desire in me that I’d ignored all too long. I’d convince myself that being desired hadn’t been important in my marriage, that being held and kissed were for newlyweds and young people… as if I were sooooo old. But I’d been making excuses so that I wouldn’t feel bad about feeling inadequate.

  I wasn’t feeling inadequate now. In fact, I didn’t feel insecure at all. I felt bold. What did I have to lose? If Carter had proved anything to me almost eight years ago, it was that he could be trusted with more than just my deepest secrets, but with my body as well.

  I’m not sure which one of us reached out first, but we were a tangle of limbs soon enough.

  I couldn’t even think clearly as his hands made their way to my breasts, freeing them from my bra as he shoved my shirt out of the way. I remembered the feel of those hands. It had been a long time. And I reacted the same way as I did back then. I arched my back as his palms were replaced by his lips.

  He sucked one nipple at a time, making them hard and firm. I moaned and squirmed a little bit as I felt myself becoming wet between the legs. I was already ready for him and he had only just started.

  I’d forgotten what it felt like to feel desirable. And as he pulled me into his lap, I shifted my hips so that I could rub my crotch against his own. I could feel him hardening beneath me. I wiggled a little more and he groaned. We made eye contact and then he said softly, “Stand up.”

  I did as I was told, and he unzipped and rid me of my jeans. He then hooked his fingers in the waistband of my panties and slowly pulled them down my legs.

  I reached up as he undressed me below and took off my shirt and unhooked my bra, until I stood there nude in front of him.

  “You’re still so beautiful,” he said reaching for me.

  I let him take my hand and I expected him to tug me towards him, but he didn’t. He took my hand and placed a kiss on my palm. A gentle, loving kiss that made me shudder. And then he did pull me closer, lowering me into his lap and kissing my lips, my cheeks.

  When he reached my collarbone, I gasped. The light kisses he trailed there made me shudder and for the first time, I realized this wasn’t just sex for Carter. No. This was making love.

  My body stiffened. I could do sex, but I wasn’t ready for emotions. And of course, he noticed. And pulled away.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I just—”

  “What?”

  “This is a one-time event… no strings attached, okay?”

  He looked away from me then and slid his hands lovingly down my hips and then settled them around my waist before bringing his eyes up to mine. It was as if he was considering something and wanted to take his time over it.

  “Whatever you want, Dana,” he finally said.

  I leaned over and kissed him then and he played with my nipples, taking a breast in each hand. I gasped when he roughly pinched them. I liked it and found myself asking him to do it again.

  He complied, but apparently, he had other things in mind, as he pulled me out of his lap, sat me on the edge of the couch and then kneeled in front of me.

  I didn’t understand what he was doing, until he parted my thighs, pulled my hips forward and placed his face between my parted legs.

  “Carter,” I gasped as his warm mouth settled on my sex.

  He slowly licked between my folds, making me scream, before he began to lick my clit. His tongue felt rough and he applied just enough pressure to make me gush in pleasure. I gripped his head and laid my back against the couch, spreading my legs wider to grant him more access.

  I was really wet now, and he lapped at me, licking at my wetness. And as he played with my clit with his tongue, he brought up one hand and began to finger me. I squirmed.

  “Carter, oh god, Carter—”

  “Do you like that?”

  I couldn’t even answer as he slid another finger into me and then buried his head back between my legs.

  I came, arching my back. “Carter!”

  He pulled my hips forward even more and pushed my thighs apart. I came again as he kissed and licked, making me shiver and my thighs ache.

  Silently, he stood up. And with heavy lids, I looked up at him as he pushed his shorts down. I felt myself growing wetter as a memory I’d forbidden myself from recalling for years surfaced.

  After all these years, I would have Carter inside me again.

  But the circumstances were different now. I was free to enjoy this moment and so without a smidgen of guilt, I reached out and grabbed his member. I stroked his cock and pulled him towards me. I pulled him into my mouth, greedily sucking the tip while my hand moved up and down his shaft. I took more and more of him inside my mouth and licked and sucked him, feeling him harden even more at the feel of my warm mouth around his thick, long cock.

  And then abruptly, he pulled my head away.

  I lay down on the couch and wantonly opened my legs as wide as I could, inviting him to take what I happily offered.

  He didn’t hesitate as he settled on top of me, engulfing me in the warmth of his body. I adjusted under his weight and wrapped my legs around his hips.

  I could feel his cock against my opening. It was pushing against my folds, when he stopped abruptly and raised his eyes to mine.

  “I don’t have a condom.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m on birth control.” It was habitual now and I continued to take it even after my divorce.

  He didn’t need any more reassuring as he pulled my hips closer and gently sheathed his entire sex into mine.

  “Mmmmmm,” I moaned as we stayed like that, connected, but not moving and then slowly he did just that.

  He moved his hips just a little, pulling himself out of my wetness. And then he pushed slowly back in, making me shake as I tightened my thighs around his hips, and dug my heels in his behind.

  -->