Isabelle keeps her calm focus as she reels off a litany of comments Daniel has made to Jennifer about her sexuality and her girlfriend, comments that make the fury burn hotter in my body.
Isabelle starts listing comments Daniel has made to her, comments that make me want to inflict ungodly pain on the fucker. How he has thought that it’s acceptable to make comments about her curves, her young age, her having ‘blow job lips’ is beyond me. Why hasn’t she mentioned any of this before? Did she feel she couldn’t tell me?
“Rebecca, I want to add something, and I want to be honest with you, because Daniel made comments in the staff room in front of the other staff, and I’d rather you heard it straight from us than from any rumours,” Isabelle adds.
Yes, Miss
My heart stops. Are we ready for this? Already? I look across at her, my eyes questioning. Her smile and a wink do very little to calm me at this point.
Rebecca smirks and looks at me. “I thought you had seemed a little happier recently,” she says and lets out a little laugh. “I assume it’s still very early days?”
“It is, Rebecca. My concern is that Daniel made assertions that Isabelle is with me to somehow further her career or something of that ilk,” I say, my anger starting to subside with Rebecca’s smile reassuring me.
Rebecca laughs. “Isabelle, I understand there was somewhat of a confrontation in the yard yesterday as you were leaving between yourselves and Daniel. Would you like me to add that to the complaint?”
My head spins to Isabelle. She seems as surprised as I am. How does Rebecca know about that? Rebecca laughs again. “I must say I was impressed by your suggested use of superglue and your ability to reduce Daniel to an angry little imp.” She laughs and sits back in her chair, her hands folding in her lap as she looks at us both in turn. “I was across the yard, and the acoustics from the surrounding buildings made it quite clear what was being said. I was hoping to catch you at lunch to talk to you about it and see if you were okay.”
Alexandra Ravensbrook
Isabelle lets out a surprised mix of a gasp and a laugh. “Erm, yeah, may as well add everything in. If I had known you were listening, I would have spoken louder!”
Rebecca turns and opens a drawer from the filing cabinet, giving us both a copy of a form to complete to inform the school of our relationship.
“Can you fill that in and return it to me as soon as possible, please? I’ll formally talk to Daniel today.”
As for the comments he made to Isabelle that she hadn’t told me about… we need to talk about that. I want to know about anything like that; I don’t want her to feel alone in dealing with him. I’m here. I wasn’t there for her in the past like she needed, but I can be now.
Yes, Miss
Chapter 30
Isabelle
The rest of the week passes without incident, with our evenings spent at each other's homes, eating dinner together and sleeping in each other's arms. Each night we try something on his list he has said yes to. Seeing his reactions to different stimuli, like edging and bondage, is fascinating. I have plans for this weekend that I haven’t talked to him about, preferring to catch him in the moment.
We have planned a weekend together; I will be staying at his place, avoiding my ever-present neighbour Edith, who has taken to coming out and saying hello to ‘my gentleman caller’ each time he’s been back to mine. Her constant nosey-ing has become annoying, and her off-the-cuff comments asking if he is my uncle or my dad’s friend are starting to grate on me. I can tell James is conscious of it too. Honestly, I know they say, ‘respect your elders’ and ‘love thy neighbour’, but this bitch is
Alexandra Ravensbrook
pushing it, and she knows damn well she is. I’m not beyond putting her back in her toxic little place.
We go to the after-school drinks, and thankfully Daniel is noticeably absent. The drinks flow, as does the laughter, and the group as a whole seems more relaxed. To see James laughing and joking with other teachers is a beautiful sight. He really seems to have no appreciation for how bloody gorgeous he is.
When he turns his attention to me, it’s like everyone disappears, and it's just the two of us. That smile and those eyes do unholy things to me, and I want to drag him back home with me.
A few looks pass between the other teachers. Jen leans over, placing a hand on my leg to get my attention. “Isabelle, I’m going to get the next round. Can you help me?”
We stand and make our way to the bar. Waiting to get served, Jen speaks up, “Rebecca asked me about Daniel today. She said you had raised a complaint against him and mentioned comments he had made to me. I wasn’t aware you’d heard them. I wanted to say thanks for that. It’s nice to know you’ve got my back. A few others heard it but just looked away.” She shrugs sadly at that.
Jen is so lovely, and her girlfriend has joined us this evening for drinks as she works nearby. They are such a sweet couple.
Yes, Miss
“Jen, Daniel is a dick, and he deserves what he gets. He can’t get away with that behaviour.”
“Speaking of his behaviour.” She looks at me, grinning. “I see he wasn’t far off the mark about you and James.”
“It’s early days still, so keep quiet!” I nudge her playfully.
