I chew my bottom lip. “I don’t know. He seemed pretty angry.”

“It’s your word against his. He has no proof. He has no solid leg to stand on. If he lost something, that’s on him.”

“She’s right, Rae.” Kerry stands and pushes in her chair. “Let’s go set up our rooms and forget about him. We’ve got work to do.”

“Keep your doors open, ladies,” Andrea says. “If Principal Fuckwad comes down this hallway, we’ll hear him.”

I walk next door to my classroom in a daze. There’s so much to do to set up for the upcoming school year, but I can’t concentrate on anything.

Here I thought all I’d have to worry about was explaining my maiden name to my co-workers. But my divorce pales in comparison to this.

My boss thinks I stole something from his apartment.

My boss who saw me naked.

My boss who went down on me.

Things just went from bad to worse.

Principal Fuckwad stayed away from me for the remainder of the day.

I set up half of my classroom, but the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. I’m exhausted and just want to go home.

The girls and I are about to leave when we pass the main office, and my conscience tugs me back. “I think I’m going to try to talk to Jaxon one more time.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sammi says.

“I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight with this weighing on my mind. Maybe he’s had some time to calm down.”

“Or maybe he’s waiting for you to leave so he can shove you into the trunk of his car.”

Our heads whip around to look at Kerry.

“What?” she asks. “It happens.”

“Girl, you need to stop watching all those Netflix documentaries,” Mary says, shaking her head.

“We’ll wait here for you.” Andrea places her hand on my shoulder. “If anything happens, we’ll be right outside this door.”

I salute them before walking into the main office. Jaxon’s door is closed, so I rap three times on the wood.

“Come in,” his deep voice calls.

I peek my head inside Jaxon’s office. He’s sitting behind stacks of papers piled high on his desk. His hair is mussed, like he ran his fingers through it countless times. His tie is loosened, top button of his shirt undone. He seems stressed. Being the principal is a job I’d never want. The politics, the responsibility, the endless workload. I’ll take the classroom over the office any day.

As soon as Jaxon sees me, his expression hardens.

I fiddle with the hem of my dress. “Do you have a minute?”

He leans back in his chair and folds his hands in his lap. “Come to confess?”