What am I doing? This isn’t me. I don’t put my hands on women. Even if she is a cunning little thief. I drop her wrist and take a step back.

Raegan bolts to the door and disappears into the hallway before I can say another word. She could go straight to Human Resources and I’d lose my job in a heartbeat. I need to be smart about this. I have no proof that she stole anything from me. It’s her word against mine.

But the universe practically put Raegan in my lap. I have a chance to get that ring back. Just need to figure out how to get her to confess that she stole it.

She thought she could get away with her little disappearing act. But this is my school. I’m her boss, and she’s going to have to play by my rules.

Raegan

“What the hell am I going to do?”

The girls are just as shocked as I am, watching me pace the floor in Becca’s classroom.

“Do you have any bruising?” Kerry asks.

I turn my wrist over and shake my head. “No. He didn’t squeeze me that hard.”

She shrugs. “We can help you with that.”

“What are you suggesting?” Mary asks.

“I’m just saying, the guy’s obviously a psychopath. If Rae shows up at the admin building with bruises on her arm, Jaxon will be fired so fast it’ll make his head spin.”

“It could also ruin his life.” Sammi turns to me. “What does he think you stole?”

I spread my arms out wide. “I have no idea! This is insane. How am I supposed to work with a guy that’s convinced I took something from him after our night of almost-sex together?”

Silence again.

Andrea stands. “Why don’t we go confront him together? We’ll be your witnesses. Maybe you two can have a civil conversation and clear up this obvious misunderstanding.” She pushes her knuckles against her palms until they crack. “And if he tries anything, we’ll kick his ass.”

“Simmer down, Black Widow.” Kerry nudges her with her elbow. “We need to be smart about this. He’s our principal now. He can make our lives miserable for the next one-hundred and eighty days.”

I groan, sinking into a kid-sized chair. “This school year is off to a horrible start and it hasn’t even begun.”

“This is the last thing you need to worry about.” Becca runs her fingers through her hair, and I can see the wheels spinning in her mind. “In two days, over 120 five-year olds are going to storm through those doors and our awesome summer lives will be over. I say you go in your room, pretend like this never happened, and prepare for the school year. You told Jax you didn’t steal anything. Maybe he’ll drop it.”