Sebastian
"Let me get this straight," Leslie Holland, the Vice President of the School Board, says, staring at me like I've grown a second head. With her gray hair up in a bun and her glasses perched on her nose, she looks more like the prim school librarian I knew as a kid than the savvy politician and humanitarian she's become in the two decades since. "You're asking for permission to pursue a teacher at Commodore?"
"No," I growl, pacing around her impressively decorated office. Her antique desk probably cost more than the building it sits in. Like me, Leslie came from money. Like me, she gives most of it away. Unlike me, she likes to look the part. I dress the way I do because it helps remind people who is in charge. For her, it's vanity. She's the first to admit it. "I'm not asking for permission. I'm asking if us dating is going to be a problem for her."
She gapes at me.
I find my patience quickly fraying. Leslie is a damn good friend and ally, but she does not like surprises. Most politicians don't, but there's no helping it this time. I will be dating Rowan Lassiter, just as soon as I make it possible. Leslie is going to help me do that. I'm not asking for permission. Hell, I'm not even asking for her understanding or acceptance. I'm just asking what I need to do to make sure Rowan is protected from any potential fallout.
Rowan is magic. Not sword and sorcery magic but honest to goodness, spreads-happiness-wherever-she-goes magic. She's a Nymph. A Naiad. There's no other word to describe her. She's a tiny fairy princess who barely reaches my chest. She reminds me of an adorable baby owl, all wide-eyed wonder, natural intelligence, and sharp wit. She has a big heart, and curves sweet enough to make me ache. I was hard two seconds after catching sight of her walking down the hall, those wide hips of hers swaying and her tits jiggling in her blouse.
I was so caught up in staring at her, I didn't realize she didn't notice me standing there until she crashed right into me. She might as well have been a meteor, because I was done for the second I felt those sweet curves pressed up against my body.
And then she opened her mouth.
I've spent my whole life trying to be a decent man. I don't fuck with drugs. I don't drink to excess. I don't sleep around. I return the shopping cart to the corral and mow my elderly neighbor's yard. I do my part to empty my family's coffers by pouring money into organizations that help the people who need it most. I'm not sure if Heaven exists or not, but until today, I figured I had a fair shot getting in if it did. I'm not so sure now. The shit I want to do to Rowan Lassiter is far from decent. When I get my hands on her, Jesus and all the saints will be properly horrified.
I'm going to eat her tiny pink holes until she's shouting my name to the heavens. I already know she'll sound as sweet screaming as she does rambling like her life depends on it. She's beautiful, with gorgeous tawny skin and big doe eyes. A smile that lights up the entire fucking city and matching dimples. More than that, she's genuinely kind and caring. She's also adorable as hell, innocent in a way that makes me want to keep her all to myself.
So Leslie needs to help me make that possible. There are thirty-seven teachers at Commodore. At least ten of them are men, and that doesn't include the service workers. This is an emergency.
"I'd have to review a few things to be sure," she says slowly, clearly hesitant to make promises. "But I don't believe there are any rules strictly forbidding it. Relationships between School Board members are teachers are heavily frowned upon, though. You wouldn't be permitted to have any say over her contract or any disciplinary action involving her."
That should probably settle me, but it doesn't. I don't want Richard Johnson having a say in her contract either. He's a dick, exactly like I told her. I saw the way she looked at him today. Cadence Grayson looked at him the same way. Like they dreaded dealing with him. I don't fucking like it.
"Since she's been with the school for more than a year, the conflict of interest rules don't apply. She would be eligible for promotion or to change positions as normal." Leslie blows out a breath. "But as for how everyone will take it? That I can't tell you. The imbalance of power might be concerning to some, but if you remove yourself from having any sway over her career, the other Board members may be more…forgiving."
"So you're saying it's possible."
"I'm saying proceed with caution," she says, pursing her lips. "Any potential consequences will be a lot harsher for you than they will be for her. You're new here, Sebastian. And you're the one in the power position. I can't promise the rest of the board won't react poorly to you entering into a relationship with a teacher."
I'm less concerned about myself than about Rowan. The board chose me for a reason. I'm good at what I do and have solved a hell of a lot of problems for them since I started. I'm more the capable of taking care of myself. I've been doing it most of my life.
Growing up, my twin brother and I were mostly on our own. Our father was too busy growing the family fortune to spare us any attention. Before she died, our mother was too busy playing the socialite to bother with us. Our father remarried when we were teenagers and gave us two sisters, Caroline and Kennedy. He tried to make amends for the years of neglect, but by then it was too little, too late.
Killian and I joined the Marines right out of high school, seeking something different for our lives than the poison that money brings with it. Killian loved the stability and routine that came with the Marines. I didn't. I knew early that I wanted to go into education. Teachers were some of the only solid role models I had growing up. They cared when our parents didn't. So when my time was up, I went to school. I finished my doctorate in education early and have spent the years since trying to make a difference for the teachers and students in our schools.
I can handle whatever the board throws at me. But I don't want any fallout to touch Rowan, especially with Johnson already on her case. She's the kind of teacher we need in this city. I'd never met her before today, but I've heard about her. Everyone adores her. She's a big part of the reason Commodore is one of our better performing schools.
"We may have a problem at Commodore," I tell Leslie, forfeiting my pacing to drop into a chair across from her desk. "Richard Johnson."
She grimaces.
"You knew?"
"We've heard rumors."