Not happening.
She strode into the office, aware of him behind her. She thought she felt his stare, but when she turned to look at him, his gaze was on his phone. Unaffected. Uninterested.
Well, what did she expect? It wasn’t his problem.
The receptionist looked up at her with a sneer. Yeah, she got it. Everyone there considered her trash, blah, blah, blah. She wasn’t really in the mood for any of it.
“I’m here to see Ms. Mackerly,” she said abruptly. “Thea Garrison.”
As though the bitch behind the desk didn’t know exactly who she was.
“Take a seat.” The receptionist’s gaze moved over to Jardin. “Can I help you, sir?” Her voice became far more deferential.
Thea clenched her jaw against her reply as she slammed down into one of the hard seats.
“No, you can’t,” Jardin replied, taking a seat next to her.
“Well,” the receptionist huffed.
They sat there. Thea tapped her fingers against her thigh, wondering what the hold-up was. Jardin sat beside her, busy working on his phone, seemingly unconcerned about the fact they were wasting time. She knew what this was. A powerplay by the principal. But the thing was, she was using her brothers to piss Thea off. To make her feel small. And she wasn’t going to put up with that.
She jumped to her feet. “This is ridiculous. I was called in. Why am I having to wait?”
The receptionist frowned at her. “Ms. Mackerly does have other things to do than just meet with you. Please sit down.”
The door to the principal’s office opened just as Thea opened her mouth to blast the receptionist and Ms. Mackerly stepped out. The older woman had pale blonde hair that was twisted back off her face. Her slim body was encased in a long skirt, white shirt, and a jacket. Her entire outfit probably cost more than Thea made in a month. But she didn’t give a shit.
“Where are my brothers?” Thea demanded.
The principal looked her up and down. “Your father is absent again?”
“Where are my brothers?” she repeated.
“Come in.”
Thea stepped forward and Jardin stood up to follow. She was kind of surprised. She’d thought he’d wait out there and finish whatever he was doing on his phone.
“Sir, if you’d like to wait out here, I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” Ms. Mackerly looked Jardin up and down, and a predatory sort of hunger filled her gaze.
Bitch.
Thea felt the ridiculous urge to tell her to get her eyes off her man. But he was her boss. He wasn’t hers. Besides, the principal was probably his type.
“I’m not here for you,” Jardin replied coldly. “I’m here with Thea.”
The principal’s eyes turned frosty and her mouth turned down. “Thea, as this is a family matter, perhaps you’d like to request that your friend wait outside.”
“We’re not friends,” Jardin said before Thea could reply. Probably just as well considering what she would have said. “And I’m not waiting out here.”
The principal was fuming, but she nodded stiffly. Thea stepped inside and her stomach instantly knotted as she saw Ace and Keir. Both of them looked a bit roughed up. Ace had a bleeding knee and Keir’s shirt was ripped and he had a black eye. They were both covered in dirt and leaves. And they looked scared. But they were okay.
She rushed forward and got to her knees in front of them, wrapping her arms around them both. Normally, they’d push her off. Even at seven, Ace thought any affection from his older sister was gross. But this time, they both clung to her.
She forced herself to move back, ignoring the glare from the other woman who sat across the room.
Rosemary Pincher could kiss her ass. She was the same bitch she’d had a run-in with this morning, and it didn’t surprise Thea to see her there with her son, Arthur.
“Are you all right?” She looked them both over, wincing. Fury bubbled under the surface. Why hadn’t their injuries been seen to? Why were they sitting there, scared and in pain?
“If you don’t mind, I’ve been made to wait long enough,” Rosemary said in that nasally voice of hers. “Some of us do have things to do and now I need to take Arthur to his pediatrician and have him examined. That bill will be coming to you, Miss Garrison.”
Oh, hell no.
Thea ignored the bitch behind her and looked at each boy in turn, waiting for their reply.
“We’re okay, Thea,” Ace whispered while Keir glared at Rosemary and Arthur.
She gave them both a small smile. “I’ll take care of this, okay?”
“Unfortunately, there is little you can do, Miss Garrison,” the principal said smugly. “Keir and Ace were fighting on school grounds. Two against one. We have a no-bullying, no-violence rule. One strike and you’re gone. I have no choice but to expel them both.”
Oh, and didn’t that just make the bitch happy? She’d been waiting for her chance to get rid of the boys. To get one up on Thea.
“Is that so? Where was that rule when Arthur was bullying Ace every day?” she asked, standing and turning around so she stood in front of the boys, protecting them.
“My Arthur would never,” Rosemary said, holding her hand to her chest.
“Your Arthur would, and did constantly.”
“And where’s your proof?” the principal asked.
“Where’s yours?” Thea asked, glaring at the principal before turning her gaze to Arthur and his mother. “Jesus, he doesn’t even have a scratch on him. And you’re accusing my boys of attacking him?”
“We didn’t, Thea,” Keir told her. “He and his friends were picking on Ace. I stuck up for him and they attacked us.”
“See. Keir has told you what happened.” Thea knew the principal wasn’t going to take their side, but she wasn’t letting it go without a fight. The boys deserved to see someone sticking up for them.
“Well, it’s his word against Arthur’s,” the principal said.
“So, Arthur is lying. Guess it’s one strike and you’re out,” she said with false sympathy to Rosemary.
Oh, she knew it wasn’t going to work that way. She wasn’t stupid. Rosemary Pincher’s husband was wealthy. She spent her days doing yoga and drinking almond decaf lattes. Keir and Ace were going to be thrown under the bus. But she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Well, there are witnesses,” the principal said. “They all agree Keir and Ace started the fight.”
“That’s not true!” Ace said. “It was Arthur! He’s always saying things about Thea being white trash and a whore!”
Rosemary sucked in a horrified breath, slamming her hands over Arthur’s ears. Like her ten-year-old son wasn’t the one to speak the filthy words in the first place.
And Thea knew just where he would have gotten them too.
“Wonder where he heard that from, huh?” Thea asked.
“That’s enough!” the principal said. “Miss Garrison, I have no choice but to expel Keir and Ace.”
“You do have a choice.”
Thea startled. She’d actually forgotten Jardin was there. Which was weird. She’d never thought that was possible. He was sitting in a chair at the back of the room, still tapping on his phone.