With that one word spoken, tension tightened the muscles of his neck.
“Even if I did, my interest in you would’ve had no impact on me doing my job.”
He was trying to keep his cool, but her insinuating he’d had some ulterior motive in getting to know her was really beginning to piss him off.
“I’m sorry, Adam.” He watched her open her eyes and look directly at him. Part of being an adult was admitting when you were wrong, and if she was taking the high road, so could he. “I was out of line for accusing you of something like that.”
His anger began to slowly drip from his face one steadied breath at a time, drawing the tension from the air. “Thank you for your apology. Please.” He pointed toward a small sofa in the corner, taking the seat next to her once she sat down.
“I’m sorry you’re so upset about this, including the program cut. I have to make budget cuts, get the district lean and efficient.”
“And it can’t be lean and efficient with an arts program?”
“At the moment? No. It’s costing us money, Janae.”
“You have no idea how many kids you’ll be displacing. Kids who need that after school structure because their parents are working late, kids who find freedom of expression in their creativity, kids who find themselves because of the joy creating something gives them. You can’t tell me that’s not important.”
“Of course it’s important,” he answered gently. “I’m not insinuating it’s not. I’m saying my job is to prioritize what’s most important. Extracurriculars are great. But if it comes down to providing their fundamental education versus programs that are there simply for their enjoyment, I have to choose their education. That’s my job, Janae.”
She stood up, as if she needed to put some distance between them so she could think.
She turned to him, tilting her head to the side as she watched him watching her.
“Janae, I didn’t ask you to meet me here for us to fight. I meant it when I said I wanted us to work together to try to figure this out.”
She smiled at him playfully. “Well, you were the second smartest person in our graduating class. I expect you should be able to come up with something.”
He regarded her carefully, trying to track where she was going with this. “The second smartest? Second to whom?”
“Me, of course. I was valedictorian?”
“By half a point, Janae.”
“Doesn’t matter, I still won.”
Her deep brown eyes lit up like an autumn paradise filled with her signature confidence that was fast becoming addictive.
“What’s your schedule looking like this weekend?”
She pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, and then said, “This is my weekend off. Why do you ask?”
He stood and stepped around his desk, stopping when he was in front of her.
“Spend the weekend with me so we can figure this thing out.”
She cocked her head to the side, opening her mouth to speak, and he held up his hand, interrupting her.
“For work, Janae. For work.”
“Sure.” She nodded, and they both allowed their mutual laughter to fill the air. “Where?” The lightness passing so easily between them felt good considering how angry she was when she first stepped inside his office.
“At my parents’ cabin.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up that way.”
“I’m surprised you still remember it. You only stayed as long as the tutoring sessions lasted, and you had no interest in any conversation that wasn’t about teaching Michael math. The minute we were done working, you were out.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. Back then, she couldn’t bear to be in his presence when she thought the only thing he’d seen her as was the smart girl who had no interest in having fun.
