“I dare you to fucking say that again!”
“Go on, James, hit me. Seal your fate.” His eyes dart between mine, his breaths quickening. A flicker of panic crosses his face. “Do it, James, see what happens! I’ll finish you!” His words come out sharp and short, daring me to punch that sneer off his face.
Jen’s hand lands on my chest, and with a hard shove, I let go of his shirt as she wedges herself between us.
“Ah, the lesbo saves the day, eh, James? Do you always need women to fight your battles?”
Yes, Miss
“Oh, fuck you!” Amy shouts, kicking his legs out from under him. Daniel’s sneer twists into shock and pain as his arms flail, trying to stop his fall, his hands desperately trying to grip the edge of the bar. She crouches over his slumped body, getting right in his face. “Get me fired, fucker! I own my business! Any police complaint, and I’ll file it as a hate crime. See how you fare then!”
Daniel’s friends go dead silent, averting their eyes as Jen drags me backward and out of the pub into the cool night as I gasp the cold air in. I’m not taking this lying down now. This fucker started his own downfall, and I want to watch every second of it.
Alexandra Ravensbrook
Chapter 37
Isabelle
I take a deep breath. I know what I have to do.
Daniel’s going down, whether he’s guilty of lodging the complaint or not, and I need to gather enough complaints for him to be suspended. I just need to know where he worked before. James has said he has a history, and I’ve seen enough of his shit to know he’s a lifelong member of the asshole club.
I knock and wait for a response.
“Come in,” Rebecca’s sharp tone replies. My stomach flops over on itself with nerves.
I open her office door and walk slowly toward her desk, anxiety continuing to build in my stomach. Rebecca shouldn’t give me this information, but I know she’s on our side. Once I tell her what happened with James in the pub last night, I hope she leans more toward helping us.
Yes, Miss
Amy called last night, her voice clearly letting slip that something had happened. When she finally passed the phone to James, and he told me what Daniel had done, I felt sick.
This shit has to stop. And it stops now.
The light from her office window streams in over her desk, highlighting the framed photo of her late husband. They’re on holiday somewhere sunny, with the beach in the background and a floppy sunhat on her head, while they look with relaxed, happy gazes at the camera.
“Isabelle, how can I help? Are you both coping okay?” Her voice has softened, and she gestures to the seat in front of her.
I take my seat and steady my breathing. I have to go softly with this despite my anger buzzing away inside me like a hornet’s nest.
“He’s coping. Devastated, as you can imagine,” I offer. “Especially after his run-in last night…” I leave it hanging, hoping she’ll take the bait.
“Last night? What happened?” Her brows crease in concern as she leans forward, elbows on her desk.
“Ah, well…” I clear my throat. “He had a run-in with Daniel at the pub. Daniel started verbally abusing him. Jen had to step in to stop him. It was… it was devastating,” I trail off, hoping to have the impact I’m aiming for.
Alexandra Ravensbrook
“Oh, Isabelle, I’m so sorry. That’s despicable behaviour.”
“Surely there’s something that can be done, Rebecca. He shouldn’t be allowed to harass James like that. It’s unprofessional,” I plead.
Rebecca sits back and sighs. “Unless a police complaint is filed or it happens at work, my hands are tied.” She looks out the window, a thoughtful look passing her face. “You know, Isabelle, I’ve known James since I took the head teacher position just after you left. If he had been with you, which I know he wasn’t,” she says pointedly, “he would have been much happier since his divorce. He’s been in limbo, floating along, existing, until you waltzed in on your first day, like the force majeure that you are.”
I shuffle in my seat, questioning where this is going.
“I don’t want to see him knocked down because of this, and quite frankly, if I could get Daniel off my staff, I would. But I have no grounds to. He’s been successfully moved on from school to school, leaving a trail of very unhappy people in his wake.” She taps her pen against her lips and smiles. “No one’s put in formal complaints about him that would warrant investigation…” She side-eyes me and smirks.
