Page 114 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

Tears spill before I can stop them, hot and humiliating and familiar. I hate that part the most, how fast my body remembers the feeling of destruction.

“No,” I say, shaking my head hard. “No. Wayne, I would never⁠—”

“I’m not accusing you,” he says quickly. “I just need to understand.”

Oh, God!

“Yes, I was fired,” I admit. “But not for that. Not really.”

His jaw tightens. “Then tell me what happened.”

Suddenly, I’m back there in the conference room with Mrs. Kline and Mr. Harris and the buff folder on the table.

“I honestly don’t know,” I say, my voice cracking at the edges. “That’s the problem. The HR manager said they’d had complaints about me, that some of the parents were uncomfortable with me being around their children.” A sob broke out, almost choking me as I finished, “She said I-I’d crossed boundaries.”

Wayne’s expression darkens.

“They wouldn’t tell me who made the complaints. Or when. Or what I was supposed to have done. She said that even if they were lies, it didn’t matter—it was about perception.”

The word tastes bitter on my tongue.

“Go on,” Wayne says, his eyes pinning me in place.

“I-I asked why they didn’t talk to me first and try find out the truth behind the complaints, but they said it wasn’t about truth. It was about risk.” I give a brittle laugh. “Apparently, I’m risky. She said that even if I’m innocent—which I am—the school couldn’t afford to keep me on because employing me could be bad for its reputation.”

Praying for him to believe me, I look into his eyes, tears blurring my vision and running hot down my cheeks.

“But I didn’t do anything, Wayne,” I burst out, a wave of pain washing over me. “I was never anything but professional.”

His frown deepens. “So, are you saying you think someone set you up?”

I nod. “I think it was Max.” It comes out in a whisper.

His eyes sharpen. “Your ex?”

I nod. “At the time, he was cheating on me, and honestly, looking back, I think it was his way of getting rid of me. Although, now I’m gone, it seems strange…”

I pull my phone out with shaking hands and show him the multiple texts.

You’re being stupid.

Come back and we’ll talk.

I can get your job back.

You have nowhere else to go.

Wayne goes very still as he scrolls through them.

“I didn’t realize it at first,” I say. “I thought he was bluffing. But the timing… it doesn’t feel like a coincidence. I think he told the school I was acting inappropriately with some of the fathers… or whatever... to have some kind of control over me.”

Wayne takes this in, but then says quietly, “June, Evan’s been around you for weeks, alone.”

The words slice into my chest, and I step back instinctively.

“Do you think I would ever hurt him?”

“No,” he says instantly. “No.”