I turned to Vivienne, handing her the small piece of paper I’d written my cell phone number on and a Ziploc bag with Jane’s asthma medication in it. “Thanks again for helping out. Here’s my number if you need to get in touch with me and, of course, her inhaler. I guess I'll see you around 10.”

“Not a problem. And I'll call you if there are any problems. Have a good meeting, Everett.”

“See ya later, Vivienne.”

I watched her as she led Jane inside the house. Jane was already comfortable with her, which was unusual. She typically took a lot longer to warm up to people she didn't know. I guess her experience working with the kids at her daycare probably didn't hurt things.

I got into my truck and was at the school a matter of minutes later. It was close enough for a walk, and I would have, as it was a nice night for a walk, but I preferred to have my vehicle with me just in case anything happened with Jane. Since she was asthmatic, I wanted to be able to get to her side as quickly as possible if she had an attack.

I walked into the school, surveying the grounds. I'd been here before, of course, but I'd been in a hurry and had been focused on getting my interview done, so I hadn't had much time to really look around. Now that I wasn't distracted with an interview, I could take in the surroundings.

It was a nice school, very modern looking, and the facilities were all high-tech and very new; so very, very different from the inner-city school I'd just come from working in. They had told me, though, that the drug situation was bad here. I couldn't imagine it being anything like the problems I'd encountered when working in the inner-city school, but hey, life was always full of surprises, and things could be very different to how they appeared on the surface.

I headed into my new office where the deputy principal, Ben Trower, and three of the senior teachers were waiting for me. They all stood up as I entered the room and took the time to shake each of their hands and briefly make introductions. Ben, however, I already knew, so I gave him a polite nod and then sat down at my desk.

It was hard not to feel like a bit of a kid here; at 32 I was 16 years younger than Ben, who was the next youngest in the room. Everyone else was in their 50s and 60s. Still, I wasn't intimidated by any means; I knew how to do this job, and I knew how to do it well.

“Alright people, let's get down to business. I think I know what's at the top of the agenda here. Rocket. Am I right?”

They all nodded, their expressions grave.

“It was spreading like wildfire through this school before summer break,” Ben spoke up. “Just before the end of the last school year, we had no less than 15 kids drop. Ten of them were pulled by their parents to go to rehab. Four, however, were actually arrested for possession and dealing of the drug, and two of them are currently serving sentences as they were 18 at the time of their arrest.”

“And what about the 15th kid?” I asked.

A look of severity passed between Ben and the teachers before they answered me.

“The 15th kid,” Ben said slowly. “Died of an overdose, Everett. He died.”

Chapter Three

Vivienne

“Did you enjoy the movie, Jane?” I asked as I turned the TV off.

“Yeah! Elsa is my favorite!”

“Mine, too!” I beamed back at her and then glanced at the clock on the wall.

“How much longer ‘til my daddy is here?” Jane asked.

“Shouldn’t be too much longer,” I told her. “You know, your daddy is very nice,” I said, switching the topic up a bit, not wanting her to get anxious.

“Yeah, he is. I love him very much,” Jane replied with a smile.

I wondered if I should ask her about her mother. She hadn't mentioned her so far, which was unusual for a child of her age. Part of me was curious about it, but another part cautioned not to pry too much. I figured maybe I could drop some indirect hints to see if I could glean any information that way.

 

; “Do you see your daddy every day?” I asked.

“Yeah, every day. Always with daddy,” she replied.

“And nobody else?”

“No, just daddy, and my bears.”

“You have bears?”

Tags: Claire Adams Billionaire Romance
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