The Changeup (Men of the Show) (17 page)

He took a step forward and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I promise, Maddie. I won’t hurt her. I’m here for her.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to her temple.

She nodded and let her head rest against his chest as she tried to stop the tears from falling. There were so many emotions running through her that she wasn’t sure exactly why she was crying. She was fearful and ecstatic for Bree and, as much as she was afraid to admit it, she was head over heels for Chase in such a short amount of time that the extent of her feelings for him was overwhelming. She couldn’t remember what life was like before him and she wasn’t sure she could ever go back to the way it was.

“Hey,” Chase said quietly. She looked up at him and the love that he had for Bree shimmered in his eyes. “I love you too, you know.”

She straightened and gasped a breath. She was speechless.

He smiled at her reaction. “You can’t tell me you’re surprised.”

Maddie shook her head and was finally able to find her voice. “I had no idea.”

“Come on, Maddie. You’re not that naive. Everyone can tell that I’m crazy about you. They keep telling me how whipped I am.” He chuckled quietly.

“Well, I knew that you liked me, but I had no idea...” She couldn’t even finish the thought.

“Just be glad I’m not making you tell me how you feel.”

“No, I want to tell you. I need to tell you.” Maddie took a deep breath. “Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be here today, standing here with you and feeling the way I do. I was cynical for such a long time that I never believed I would ever find someone who could make me want to even try again, but you do, Chase. You make me want to believe that happiness is possible. I really want to thank you for that, for opening my eyes.”

“I didn’t do anything. You did it yourself.”

“No, you did. You wouldn’t back down when I wanted you to. You pushed when you needed to push and I’m thankful for that. If you’d backed off when I first told you to, I’d be missing something wonderful. I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

Chase smiled and gave her a hard, long kiss. When he broke away, he let out a breath in relief. “I have to admit I was worried there for a second. I said that I wasn’t going to make you tell me, but I really wanted to make you tell me.”

She laughed and threw her arms around his neck. “You knew you could make me crazy about you.”

His mouth sought hers and he kissed her passionately, putting everything he had into the kiss. He fell back onto the couch, pulling her down into his lap as he nipped and kissed his way down her neck. His hands fastened on her hips, grinding her against him as he groaned in her ear. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation now when we can do nothing about it.”

Maddie nibbled at his earlobe. “I guess you’ll just have to go back to your room frustrated.”

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch, enjoying the feel of her lips on his neck and her hands kneading his shoulders. When her breasts rubbed against his chest, his eyes flew back open. “Fuck that. You’re just going to have to be quiet.”

Standing up with her in his arms, he wrapped her legs around his waist and headed into the bathroom. He shut the door behind them, silencing her giggles.

Chapter Seventeen

Back home from Chicago, Maddie couldn’t stop smiling. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy—if ever—and she knew it was annoying. Even if Karen didn’t tell her so every day, she knew she was being one of those irritating women who glowed and radiated happiness when they were in love. She usually hated women like that, was jealous of them, but now that she was one of them, she could relate.

Meeting Chase’s parents had gone better than she could have predicted. Granted, she and his father were still not totally on the same page, but at least there was an unstated truce between them. He no longer believed she was only with Chase to take advantage of his status and monetary situation and she didn’t fear a third degree every time he looked at her. He wasn’t willing to accept her completely yet, as his wife had, but he didn’t appear to be so adamantly against their relationship either. Only time would help with that.

The trip had also proven to her that Chase wanted the responsibility of Bree. He’d accepted her with open arms and hadn’t bolted for the door when Bree had revealed her true feelings for him. He’d responded in a truthful and mature manner, and it was more than she could have asked for. Chase was more than she could have ever wished for.

Stepping out of her bedroom as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, she tripped over one of Bree’s tennis shoes by the front door.

“Ugh! Bree, please pick up your shoes!” she yelled as she steadied herself against the wall. “I know I’ve told you a thousand times...” she muttered under her breath as she headed into the kitchen.

The phone rang as she stepped in. Picking up the handset, she read the caller ID display and frowned. It was her boss, Mark Weasly, which was very unusual and instantly had her worried. There were rumors of cuts and reductions in her school district and she prayed that wasn’t why he was calling.

“Hi, Mark. What’s up?”

“Hey there, Maddie. How are things going?”

“I’m okay. Uh, you?”

“Going good, going good.” He hesitated awkwardly. “Well, hey, I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I was calling.”

“You could say that,” she said with a tense giggle.

“Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about, but I was wondering if you could swing by my office tomorrow morning. Let’s say around 10:30?”

“Sure, I can do that. Is there...” She cleared her throat and tried to figure out how to ask exactly what was going on. “Is there something I need to prepare for?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that, nothing like that. I’d just like to chat, that’s all. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said quickly before hanging up his end of the line.

Maddie scowled at the phone before placing it back in its cradle. Mark never asked her to come to his office so they could “chat,” especially over the summer when they were out of school. There was something going on and she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. She prayed she wasn’t losing her job or having to take a pay cut. She needed the job and the money, and she couldn’t afford to make any cutbacks. Her budget was already tight enough and she didn’t know what she would do if it came down to that.

Whatever it was, she was going to have to see what Mark said tomorrow. She would do whatever she had to do after that.

* * *

Walking through the school hallway toward the main offices, Maddie rushed ahead, fueled by nerves, as Bree dallied behind, unaware of the urgency in the matter. As she turned down the hallway that led directly into the offices, she noticed Bree had fallen behind.

“Come on, Bree,” she said as she waved her arm impatiently urging her to hurry up. “Let’s go.”

Bree sighed and trotted over to her mom, but as soon as she’d reached her side, Maddie was off again in a rush.

“Mom, slow down,” she whined as she struggled to keep up.

“I’m sorry, Bree, I can’t. I’m nervous, and when I’m nervous I move quickly.”

“Why are you nervous?”

“I just am.” She held the door open to the office and pointed to the molded plastic chair that sat against the wall outside Mark’s office. “Sit there and be quiet,” she said in a sharp whisper. “Do not touch anything!”

Maddie took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself and tugged down on her shirt. Brushing her hair off her shoulder, she plastered on a smile and knocked gently on the opened door to Mark’s office. Having heard them come in, he was already rising to his feet and removing his reading glasses.

“Hey, Maddie. Come in, come in.”

“Thanks,” she said as she lowered herself onto one of the chairs that faced his desk and waited for him to sit. She noticed as she glanced down at his desk that he was reading the sports section of the newspaper. “Catching up on sports, huh?”

“Huh?” he asked. When she pointed at the paper on his desk, he nodded. “Oh! Oh, yes. I was reading about the Rockets’s game last night.” He gave her a knowing look.

She froze and felt her breath catch. She immediately realized why he wanted to meet with her. He was going to talk to her about Chase. While she’d definitely anticipated a confrontation from Lenore and Sandy, as well as some pushback from Chase’s parents and some snickering from strangers, she’d never expected to hear anything about it from her boss. New cold dread flowed through her veins. She remained motionless in her seat, waiting for Mark to tip his hand.

Clearing his throat, Mark stood up and he tugged up on his snug khaki pants. He walked over to a small cabinet and picked up another newspaper, folded and starting to color with age, and carried it with him back to his desk. His chair creaked under his weight when he sat back down. “Well, Maddie. I need to talk to you about something that has come to my attention.”

If he asks if I can bring Chase to the school to parade him around
,
I
swear I’m going to scream
, she thought as she maintained her bright, false grin and waited for him to get the point.

Mark continued. “You see, for the most part, it isn’t my place, or the school’s for the matter, to get involved in the faculty’s personal lives. Except in the obvious situations, of course, and I think this might be one of those times.”

She frowned. This wasn’t good. “Because?”

“Well, Maddie, you see, the age group that we work with is very sensitive and very impressionable. You can agree with that, can’t you?”

“Yes, but I—”

“And you would agree,” he interrupted as he pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose, “that because we work in such an environment that we need to be sensitive to the parents’ concerns and opinions.”

“Yes, but I—”

Mark opened up the old newspaper and laid it on his desk, cutting her off. The infamous picture of her and Chase kissing looked back at her. She looked up at him and tried to swallow past the tightness in her throat. She felt a cold sweat break out at the back of her neck and along her hairline. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”

He sat back in his chair and folded his hands across his bulging stomach. “What exactly is your relationship with Chase Patton?”

Maddie paused a moment, feeling a fresh surge of irritation and resentment breaking through her fear. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re dating.”

He grimaced as if her words pained him and sat forward with his elbows on his desk. “You see, that’s the sticky part here, Maddie. It is my business.”

“How is it your business?”

“Chase is, um, quite a bit younger than you, is he not?”

She felt the hairs on her neck rise. She didn’t like where this appeared to be going, but she was determined to fight past it even if her mind was muddled. “He is younger than me, yes.”

Mark looked at her expectantly, hoping she could figure it all out on her own, but when she was still confused, he sighed and shook his balding head. “Maddie, you have to realize what kind of position this puts us in. People are going to talk and people are going to wonder.”

“Wonder?” she asked, even more confused. “Wonder about what?”

“How young is too young for you.”

Maddie looked at him as if he was speaking a different language. “I don’t...” When it clicked in her head, she jumped up with a cry. “What? Are you kidding me? That’s disgusting, Mark!”

He held up his hands, trying to calm her down. “Let’s sit down, Maddie. No need to overreact. Let’s discuss this calmly.”

She stayed on her feet. “Calmly? There’s no discussing this calmly, Mark. I can’t believe I’m even hearing this.” She paced around the front of his desk.

“Maddie, please sit down.”

Looking back at him, she hesitated a second before slumping back down with a sigh. “Mark, you can’t actually believe something like that. Chase is an adult, not a young, teenage boy. It’s not like I’m pulling a Mary Kay Letourneau here or something.”

“I know, I know.” He sat back heavily in his chair. “But I’m never surprised by what some parents will come up with.”

“I don’t understand why anyone would even think something like that.”

“I know, but the problem here is that with all of the issues right now, with the school district and budgets and cutbacks and everything, we can’t afford to put ourselves in a compromising position. We can’t give people anything to create a stir about.”

Maddie threw her hands up in exasperation. “Give them anything? Mark, we’re not
giving
them anything. It’s my personal life—it has nothing to do with my work.”

“You know that and I know that, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

“This is ridiculous.” She took in a deep breath and shook her head before looking back at him. “Okay, so what are you saying exactly?”

Mark was silent for a second before he leaned forward and rubbed at his eyes under his glasses. Heaving a deep breath, he looked back at her. “Well, unfortunately, it seems you have a choice to make. I could put you in a position that removes you from direct contact with the students, or I could approach the board with a request for removal, or you could...” he broke off, leaving the unstated third option hang in the air around them.

She stared blankly at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was bad enough that he was under the absurd impression that her dating Chase was going to cause a stir among the parents, but to hear that she had a choice to make—a choice between Chase and her job—she was speechless. Silence passed between them for a few seconds before she let out a sad laugh and looked up at the ceiling.

“I can’t believe this. I have to choose between my job and my boyfriend. This is unbelievable.”

“Maddie, believe me, you are tremendous with the students and I wish we weren’t in this position—”

“You put me in this position!” she interrupted.

“I don’t want to, believe me, but I need to put the school’s priorities over our own, unfortunately, and this is what’s best.”

Maddie gave him a sad look. “Best for who, Mark? Certainly not for me. I’m in a lose-lose situation here.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. Believe me, I am.”

She stood up and moved to the door. “I’m sorry it’s come down to this, Mark. You’ll understand if I need a few days to process this.”

He stood up. “Of course, Maddie. Take your time and talk to me when you’re ready.”

She nodded and started to leave when he called her back.

“I know you’ll make the right decision, Maddie. You’ll do what’s right for you
and
Bree.” Mark gave her a pointed look.

“How dare you,” she spat before storming out of his office.

She didn’t stop as she breezed past Bree. “Come on, Bree. Let’s go.”

* * *

Maddie was able to make it home without falling apart, but once she shut the door behind her and shoved Bree toward her room, she started coming undone.

“Please go play in your room, Bree.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but it cracked.

“Are you okay, Mommy?”

“No, honey, I’m not and I really need to talk to Aunt Karen. Please just go to your room,” she pleaded.

Rushing into the kitchen with the tears finally starting to fall, Maddie grabbed the phone and quickly dialed Karen’s number as she slouched down at the table. When voice mail picked up after four rings, she cursed.

“Karen, please, I desperately need to talk. You’ll never believe the bullshit I just went through. Call me back right away.”

Throwing the phone down on the table, Maddie put her head in her hands and tried to process what had just happened. She couldn’t believe the position she was in. First, she had to listen to insinuations that because she was dating a younger man that somehow meant she harbored feelings for her young male students. And because of that, she now had to choose between Chase and her job. It all made her stomach turn and she wanted to be sick.

She’d desperately wanted to tell Mark to take the job and shove it, but she knew deep down she couldn’t do that, at least not until she had another job lined up. Besides, who knew if she could even find a job at another school once they found out the reason behind her leaving. If her current job was worried about something as ridiculous as her love life, then maybe other school districts would as well. She couldn’t risk not being able to provide for Bree, even if she knew she could get help from Karen, but that was the last thing she wanted to do. Her dear friend would lend a hand without hesitation, but she had already done so much over the years that she couldn’t bear to ask for any more and this wasn’t exactly the time to go to Lenore for anything.

So that left sticking with this job until she could find something else, and apparently sticking with this job meant not sticking with Chase. That thought made her just as sick.

She had a fleeting thought to call Chase, but she quickly dismissed it. This wasn’t his issue and she didn’t want to bother him on his road trip. He had enough on his mind without her troubling him with things that were her concern. Besides, if she ran straight to him, it would only be confirming everyone’s assumption that she was with him for his money. This was something that she would have to figure out by herself.

The front door opened and closed, and she looked up as Karen hurried into the kitchen with a worried look. Spotting Maddie’s red, tear-splotched face, her concern deepened. “What happened? I just got your message.”