She’d more or less begged him to pick her, and he hadn’t even bothered to respond. A sour taste filled Violet’s mouth as she stared at the picture, and she slammed the photo album shut and tossed it across the room.
Fairy tales were bullshit. Prince Charming had ignored her letter. She’d gone home, cried for two weeks, and lost the baby a month later. Which made her cry harder.
And then she’d picked herself up, returned to college, and vowed that her happiness would never be contingent on anyone else’s plans ever again.
In her mind’s eye, she kept picturing Jonathan’s look of pleasure earlier that day. You called off the wedding? You’re not married?
Violet thumped her fist into her pillow angrily, then flopped down on the bed, determined to sleep at some point that night. Jonathan had been shocked to hear that she wasn’t married. So the saintly Dr. DeWitt had lied to his favorite protégé? Gee, there was a shock. Her father would have sold the shirt off his dead mother’s back if it meant getting funding for a project. Violet had known that all her life. How could Jonathan not have realized that?
Briefly, she wondered if he’d ever gotten her letter.
It didn’t matter in the end. Playing the baby card had been the only chip she’d had, and she’d lost that bargaining chip a month later. Jonathan wouldn’t have stayed at her side regardless. Not when he had other plans.
She supposed things worked out for the best, after all. If Jonathan hadn’t turned her down, she might have ended up in a miserable marriage to the bastard, and he would have been trapped in a marriage because of a baby he didn’t want. She’d seen his true selfishness.
Yep, life always worked out the way it was supposed to, she told herself as she settled down into bed again.
But she still had trouble sleeping that night.
TWO
The next morning, Violet woke up five minutes before her alarm was scheduled to go off, bleary-eyed and miserable. She stared at her phone, buzzing on her bedside with a text, and picked it up.
Staff mtg @ 7 am in cafeteria. MANDATORY. Be there!
Groaning, Violet fell back in the pillows. Who the hell scheduled an impromptu staff meeting at seven in the morning? It was going to be an especially miserable day considering she’d only gotten about two hours of sleep. Ugh. Hauling herself out of bed, Violet took a quick shower and began to get ready for work.
Forty minutes later, she pulled into the school parking lot with an extra-large coffee in hand and a throbbing headache. The parking lot was already full, which meant all of the staff was in for this early meeting. Oh, goody. Hurrying inside the school, she noticed there was a Lyons convertible parked in the fire lane in the front.
Surely that was coincidence, wasn’t it? Lots of rich guys drove Lyons. Owning one of the flashy roadsters had turned into a status symbol a few years ago when they’d been featured in one of those high-octane car movies. After that, Lyons Motors had turned from joke to success. Not that she followed how his company was doing. At any rate, there were Lyons cars all over the roads. It didn’t mean that ass**le was still here, did it?
Eyes narrowed, Violet clenched her coffee in hand and headed to the cafeteria for the staff meeting.
Despite the early hour, the tables had been unfolded and teachers filled the seats. Esparza’s portable little podium was at the front of the room, and behind her, a row of seats was filled.
Jonathan sat in one of the seats.
Violet’s hand clenched violently, and her coffee spewed out of the paper cup, slopping all over her hand, her white sleeve, and the floor.
With a hiss, she dropped the cup and shook her hand to expel the stinging hot coffee, even as her friend Kirsten raced up with a stack of paper towels. “You okay?”
“Just peachy,” Violet told her, squatting in her heels and skirt to clean up her mess. “What’s going on? What’s with the meeting?”
“Something about funding,” Kirsten murmured, helping Violet mop up the coffee. “You know the school district’s been in the red for a while.”
Oh, no. If it wasn’t for the presence of that swanky car at the curb, Violet would have thought this was a layoff of some kind or an announcement of more programs being cut. But the fact that Jonathan—Daddy Warbucks himself—was sitting at the front of the room in one of his expensive suits?
It gave her a bad feeling. A real bad feeling.
She sat down at the back of the room, noticing that Jonathan’s intense blue-eyed gaze was fixed in her direction. Goddamn it. He’d probably seen her spill her coffee everywhere. She wanted to seem cool and unaffected by his presence. Too late for that. Fine then. He wanted to eyeball her from afar? Violet leaned in close to the coach seated next to her. “Know what this is about?”
Coach Trammel shook his head. He was good looking, but he already had a boyfriend, and was a longtime friend of Violet’s. “Not a clue. You?”
“Nothing,” she said, making sure to smile and laugh in his direction. When she looked back over at Jonathan, his face was stark with anger and possessiveness. Good. Let me know how it feels, Johnny-boy. You gave up your claim ten years ago.
“Is everyone here?” Esparza called into the microphone, then beamed at the assembled teachers. “This won’t take long, but I wanted to get all the teachers together to go over the good news.”
Oh, no. Oh, no no no.
Esparza clasped her hands together, practically dancing with excitement from behind the tiny podium. “As you all know, Neptune School District has had issues with funding over the last few years. You are all aware that the repairs on the gymnasium cost quite a pretty penny, and we’ve been worried that we’d have to cut back on student enrichment programs in order to keep everyone employed, and that also means outdated textbooks for another year or two.” Her smile grew brilliant. “But, I’m happy to announce that Mr. Jonathan Lyons of Lyons Motors has taken an interest in the Neptune School District and has made an extremely generous offer to pull us into the black and even allow us to purchase iPads for students in need.”
There were several gasps out of the audience, and some of the teachers clapped with excitement. Neptune was one of the poorer school districts in their area, with a lot of low-income families, and it was no secret that they were struggling. Heck, Violet’s own paycheck reflected that they were struggling. She hadn’t had a raise since she’d started there three years ago. But it was what it was.
“We’ll be meeting with the school board over the next few days to determine the best way to allocate funds, but I just wanted you all to know how very excited we are about this.” Esparza clapped so enthusiastically that for a moment, she looked like an eager seal waiting for a fish. “And in addition, we’re putting forth a motion to have the school renamed the Jonathan Lyons Middle School.”
Violet thought she might throw up in her mouth. The last thing she wanted was Jonathan’s name everywhere she turned for the rest of her career. God, she’d have to switch school districts just to get away from reminders of him.
She looked over at Jonathan.
Still staring at her. Violet’s eyes narrowed as the audience began to talk and excitedly clap again. Something wasn’t adding up. Why was Jonathan taking such an interest in her school?
Her school, the day after she turned him down and told him there was no way she could accompany him?
No no no no.
The meeting ended with that. Violet surged to her feet as the rest of the staff did, hoping to blend in with the crowd.
“Ms. DeWitt,” Principal Esparza called over the crackling microphone. “Could you please remain for a few minutes? I need to talk to you.”
Violet practically snarled with anger. She could just guess what this was about.
—
Jonathan watched as Violet more or less stomped to Principal Esparza’s side. Her arms were crossed over her br**sts and he noticed that one of the pale white sleeves of her blouse was now stained with coffee. Her br**sts were heaving magnificently over her arms, though, and he had to force himself not to stare at them like a schoolboy.
Instead, he thought of the way she’d leaned into the man she’d sat next to and smiled at him. Laughed at him. Was that her boyfriend? An ex-lover? A current lover? Jonathan’s hand clenched at his side and a surge of jealousy roared through him. He wanted to be the only one who got her damn smiles.
Not that she was smiling right now. She looked as if she wanted to shank him, actually. He grinned archly, knowing she was going to hate what came next. His Violet hated not being in control of things.
And she would be his again.
“Principal,” Violet said in a crisp, almost cold voice. She refused to look over at Jonathan. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, it’s a bit unorthodox,” Esparza said, her voice becoming a little overly soothing and motherly. “But I hope you’ll hear me out and listen without making judgment, of course.”
“Let me guess,” Violet said flatly. “He’s handing out money in exchange for me traveling with him for the next few weeks.”
Jonathan bit back a smile at Violet’s astute observation, and at the way Esparza spluttered, clearly surprised that Violet had already figured things out. But his Violet had always been sharp.
“I assure you, Ms. DeWitt, it’s all very aboveboard,” Esparza began. “It’s just that Mr. Lyons is looking for an expert on history, and what with the school being so tightly budgeted and all—”
He hated to see the poor woman get so flustered. Getting to his feet, Jonathan pushed his hands into his pockets and affected his “playboy billionaire pose,” all smiles and leaning elegance. “What the lovely principal is trying to say, Violet, is that I requested the company of an old friend for traveling. You told me you couldn’t possibly leave the school in a lurch and there was no money for substitutes. I ensured there was. It’s the least I can do to spend some of my money in a philanthropic gesture.”
Violet turned to him, her eyes practically stabbing daggers at him. “I presume if I don’t go with you, none of this windfall of magical philanthropic money will ever make it to the school district, right?”
Actually, it would, but she didn’t have to know that. “Nope,” he lied. “And I have it on good authority that a few people will be let go at the end of the semester to keep the budget running. And no iPads or musical instruments for the children. Poor, poor children.” He shook his head. “All deprived of a better education because of the self-centered needs of one teacher.”
Violet’s hands clenched at her sides. She looked ready to spit nails. Or attack him. He didn’t care which. Either was better than the cold indifference she’d served him yesterday. He could take a fiery, feisty Violet who hated him. He couldn’t do anything with a woman who pretended he didn’t exist. “So basically I’m being blackmailed to go with you and chirp historical facts in your ear?”
“Yep,” Jonathan said lazily. “You going to do it?”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Violet ground out.
“You do. But think of all the children who would suffer if you chose selfishly.”
“Mr. Lyons,” Principal Esparza cut in, a frown on her lined face. “I really don’t know that this is appropriate after all—”
“It’s all right, Betty,” Violet said, and her voice sounded tired. “I figured he was going to try something like this the moment I saw him this morning. I’ll go with him. It’s fine. Just be sure you get that money in writing, and make sure the contract’s ironclad.” She looked over at Jonathan, clearly seething. “When do we leave, oh, philanthropic one?”
He couldn’t quite hide his triumphant grin. “Tomorrow.”
—