In Name Only (Pine Falls #2) - Jennifer Peel Page 0,87
high school or here. What technologies do you know? Are you good with your hands?”
“I know I am,” Manuel said way too suggestively. The males in the class snickered.
“Inappropriate,” I reprimanded him gently. Children to Love was a place for people to feel safe. It was also a place where we taught appropriate boundaries, especially knowing that so many of the students were victims of sexual abuse.
Everyone quieted.
Manuel hung his head. “Sorry, Dani.”
“Thank you, Manuel.” I moved on. “The first thing I want you all to do is to come up with a mission statement. Who are you? What kind of position are you looking for, and what can you offer your employer? This should be three sentences or less.”
Erin popped in. “Hey, Dani, I’m sorry to interrupt; your father-in-law is here to see you. He says it’s important.”
I grabbed on to the table and swallowed hard. I hadn’t seen John since the day before I’d lost Charlotte. I was sure this was no social call. “Please, tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Will do. I’ll have him wait in your office.”
I nodded, almost forgetting what I was doing. Mission statements. Right. I pointed to the whiteboard behind me. “Here are some sample mission statements. Feel free to work with a partner or in a group. I’ll be right back.” At least I hoped. You never knew what John had in store. Last time he’d come here, he’d forced me into marrying Brock. I would not be bullied by him today or ever again.
My heels clicked down the narrow hall leading to the back offices. I flexed my hands as I went and blew out several deep breaths. For days on end, Sheridan and I had been on pins and needles, wondering how our lives were going to play out. Wondering how we would cut the strings that Edward was craftily manipulating. Brant had to be careful what he said since Jill had become his constant companion. It was like somehow she knew their days were numbered. Or she loved the limelight. Probably some of both. Evilly, I had to say I’d taken some pleasure in the negative press she’d gotten after she’d crashed Brant’s interview. The media dubbed her as out of touch and unfashionable. They questioned whether they were a good match. I knew the answer—no.
I knew I shouldn’t take pleasure in it. I hated to see my life played out on tiny and large screens. And it was entirely possible that hell could come raining down on me if my secret ever got out. Or if John’s did. Still, wasn’t that better than being controlled by someone? I’d been controlled by enough people in my life to know that I would rather live with the uncertainty of freedom than the confinement of helplessness. I wasn’t helpless. I’d had to remind myself of that many times over the last several months. I was strong too—something I needed to tell myself before I walked into my office.
I grabbed the door handle and steeled myself before turning it. I wasn’t going to let John push me around ever again. I opened the door to find him pacing around my office, holding a tiny kraft paper gift bag with gold tissue paper popping out of it. Odd. I shut the door and leaned against it, giving him a cold stare. He didn’t look well, even though he was dressed to kill in his designer black suit. He had bags under his eyes, and his thick gray hair looked rumpled, as if he’d run his hand through it dozens of times. And his normally domineering presence seemed diminished somehow. Sheridan and he had both not fared well during their separation. Something was missing from her too.
I’d warred with myself about the possibility of them reconciling. Part of me wanted to tell Sheridan to run away and never look back, but I loved her, and she loved John. She saw him differently than I did, and I knew it wasn’t out of blind loyalty. She saw the man who had taught her how to dance and rocked babies back to sleep at night. The man who treated her as his queen. Where I saw a monster, she saw a man misguided. So, I’d kept my opinions to myself.
“Dani,” John sighed.
“John. What are you doing here?”
He held up the bag. “I wanted to give this to you.”
I eyed the bag suspiciously. “What is this? A bribe?”