"Nothing, I just wanted to check in and see how your first day with the tutor went," I smiled as I reached out and smoothed her wild hair. She reached up and playfully ruffled it up again.
"It was really awesome, Leah!" she said excitedly. "She taught me all kinds of things that we haven't learned in school, and she gave me a bunch of homework to get done for tomorrow."
"So, you like it?" I asked.
"It's so much better than just sitting around waiting to go back to school," she nodded. "I wish I didn't have to, though."
"You'd rather study with a tutor than go to school with all of your friends?" I asked surprised.
"I don't have any friends, Leah," she said dropping her head and biting her lip. "No one likes me, and I don't like anyone at school. Well, except for Becky, but she's not in my grade."
"I'm sorry about that, Riley," I said r
eaching out and rubbing her arm. "We'll see if we can't do something about that once we get our own place. Maybe you need to go to a different school."
"Can't I stay here and study with the tutor?" she asked.
"I'm not sure that's possible, sweetie," I said, trying to think of a way to break it to her that I couldn't afford the services of a tutor like the one Betty had employed. "I don't know if your tutor will travel to our new place."
"Oh, nonsense," Betty said as she stepped into the room smiling. "We'll find a way to get her to you when you move to your new home. Either that or you can come here once a week and study with her, if need be."
"Seriously?" Riley asked as she jumped off the bed and ran over to hug Betty.
"Seriously," Betty said as she hugged the girl tightly. "Leah and I will figure it out. Don't you worry. Now, don't you have homework to complete for tomorrow, young lady?"
"I do! I'm working on it," Riley said as she ran back to the bed and threw herself across it. I stood up and turned to go, but before I could, Riley pushed herself up and threw her arms around my waist saying, "Thank you, Leah. I'm glad you decided to let us stay here."
"You're welcome, kiddo," I smiled as I hugged her back. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry."
Betty and I exited the room and quietly closed the door behind us before heading down to the sitting room where she had had the kitchen staff lay out tea and dessert.
"I hope you don't think I'm interfering," she said as she poured us both a cup of tea. "I don't mean to, but Riley is such a smart girl. She loved working with Bree."
"I don't mind at all," I admitted. "But I worry that I'm setting her up for disappointment once we return to our regular existence."
"I know we live a rather extravagant lifestyle," Betty said as she sipped from her cup. "But having you and Riley around makes me realize how much I miss having people in the house. Since Bernard died, it's been so quiet around here and I've felt lonely. The two of you, and Jack of course, make the house much livelier."
"Well, it's been wonderful for us, too," I said. "I can't thank you enough for inviting us to stay with you."
"What are your plans for your next move?" Betty asked.
"I've been looking for an apartment near Riley's school, but she just told me she doesn't want to go back to it. So now I'm not sure where to look," I said, feeling overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. "I guess I'll have to scout out schools."
"I know some excellent ones," Betty offered. "I can give you a list of them, if you like."
"That would be great," I nodded, knowing that the schools she'd recommend were likely to be in neighborhoods where my salary wouldn't make it possible to rent.
"Meanwhile, we'll figure out a way to keep Bree coming to visit Riley once you two are settled again," she said.
"Thank you, Betty. I know Riley would love that," I said. I stood up and excused myself, saying that I was exhausted and needed a hot bath before bed. Betty wished me a good night, and I climbed the stairs, feeling more tired than I had in a very long time.
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE VOLUME IV
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Jack
By the time I got home that night, I was exhausted, but also revved up about the plan to thwart Lincoln and Sloan. We'd put most of the pieces in place, and now all we had to do was wait for the two traitors to out themselves on their own. I knew we'd have to be careful about how we proceeded, but since Leah, Norma, and I were the only ones who knew what the plan was, I felt confident that no one would let the cat out of the bag.