And the tantrum began. As the loud screeching reverberated in the suddenly small confines of the Hummer, Jordan winced.
“What is a Merida?” he asked over the racket.
Tessa lowered her voice. “You can’t promise to buy her something every time she is upset.”
Jordan’s lips went flat. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he stiffly told her, “I can buy her whatever I want, but until I know her better, I’ll be more cautious.”
Tessa wasn’t thrilled with his answer, but she knew it was as good as it would get.
“Merida is her favorite Disney princess. It’s the doll she wants.”
“And she can’t have it because?”
Tessa felt the pang of guilt that she couldn’t run out and get the doll Jordis wanted, but she pushed it away. She was also irrationally irritated that she had to explain herself.
“Because her room is bursting with toys that she never plays with. We have a limited amount of space in the apartment. And she needs to give something to some other little girl through a charity before she gets more.”
The expressions on Jordan’s face as he turned his attention back to driving were a mixed bag. At first, it was surprise, then guilt, and last, determination. When he opened his mouth, Tessa braced herself for a dressing down. But when his deep, commanding voice boomed, he directed it at Jordis.
“Jordis. Stop crying.”
To Tessa’s utter astonishment, Jordis blinked at him, and the wailing stopped. There were still hiccupping sounds, but her wide eyes were focused on Jordan.
“Your mom is right.”
Tessa’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
“You can only play with one toy at a time. If you really want Merida, then you should be able to give up one of your other toys.”
“Then get Merida?” Jordis’s small, hesitant voice asked.
Jordan looked at Tessa, and she dumbly nodded.
“Yes.”
She turned back to the front and stared out the side window, willing her tears to dry up. No one had ever backed her up. Her mom and Sophia were nanas, so they gave Jordis whatever she wanted. It was always up to Tessa to be the bad guy. Until this moment, she didn’t realize how much it had weighed her down.
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That night, Tessa pushed her cleaning cart to an office, took out the window cleaner, and walked in. On automatic pilot, she absentmindedly sprayed the cleaner and raised her squeegee. The day had been an emotional roller coaster, and all she really wanted to do was escape into her bed with a horror movie and some popcorn.
Jordis had bounced back from her tantrum and squealed with delight as soon as Jordan had turned into the zoo parking lot. He had parked and swung a chattering Jordis into his arms. They’d been joined at the hip for the rest of the day.
When Jordis wasn’t running in front of them, she demanded that Jordan pick her up. Then she would point her short, chubby finger to tell him where they should go. It reminded her so much of Jordan. He had always been so sure of where he wanted to go and the path to take to achieve his goal.
After Jordis’s initial wariness, Tessa was a third wheel. For most of the day, she trailed behind the duo with a conflicted heart. She was happy that they had bonded, but as the day progressed Jordis didn’t seem to care if she was there or not, and Tessa’s heart became heavy. She was the worst mom on the planet for feeling upset that her daughter had bonded with her father.
It would’ve been nice if Jordis had looked back and wondered where her mom was. Tessa had always been proud that she wasn’t clingy and asserted her independence. In this particular instance, though, it made her feel like she was replaceable and not needed.
The only hiccup of the day was when some older school-aged boys came up to Jordan with stars in their eyes.
“Can we take a selfie with you, Jordan?”
He responded easily, “Sure. How old are you?”
The two boys stared only at him. Their parents looked curiously at Jordis and then swung their heads to look at her. Tessa found it difficult to stay put and not rush to Jordis.
Trying to be casual and not snatch her away, Tessa reached down and grabbed her hand while murmuring to Jordan, “We’ll meet you at the giraffes.”
She walked away without looking back while Jordis protested, “Me in picture.”
Tessa forced herself to not snap at her. Instead, she smiled and prayed that she could distract her.
“You can take a picture with Jordan, but the giraffes want to be in it. Is that okay?”
Tessa exhaled with relief when Jordis clapped her hands excitedly. “Yes!”
Then for the rest of the day Tessa had been relieved that Jordis had eyes only for Jordan. It allowed her to observe their surroundings. She wanted to be ready to whisk Jordis away from prying eyes if anyone else approached him.
It had always made her uncomfortable to be around Jordan and his adoring fans. With Jordis in the picture, she discovered she would always need to be in protective mode.
The air conditioning buzzing to life returned Tessa to the office she was cleaning. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she sighed. It was eleven p.m. Tessa was almost half an hour behind her usual pace, and she wasn’t paid by the hour. She was paid a set amount to clean this floor of lawyers’ offices.
The daydreaming needed to stop. She still had to stop by the grocery store tonight. Usually she would have done that during the day, but she’d been at the zoo. At least it shouldn’t take the usual hour since the store would be deserted.
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Chapter 16
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Tessa struggled to keep her eyes open while she attempted to work at SEC. After another drink of coffee, she tried to focus on the lesson plans in front of her. She had gotten home at one in the morning, collapsed into bed at one-thirty, and then Jordis had woken up at six. Normally she loved the quiet time with her, but this morning she’d desperately wanted to go back to sleep.
After her head drifted down to the desk and startled her awake, Tessa forced herself to get up and move. Pushing her heavy, lethargic body to stand, she decided to take a walk. A wall of heat hit Tessa as soon as she stepped out of the front door, and she soaked it up like a sponge. The sudden change in temperature did the trick, and her body lost some of its weariness. It was energizing to absorb the sun’s rays.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket as she strolled and was excited to see a text from Lindy.
L: Talk time! Wednesday. 9:00 eastern. 6:00 pacific
She would make it work. After replying with a thumbs-up emoji, she looked at her other text.
Unknown: Picking you and Jordis up for dinner at 7:00 tonight
Thanks for asking, Unknown. Tessa snorted and made her fingers stop the automatic can’t reply. She forced herself to think through her schedule. Tessa felt a spurt of satisfaction knowing that the time Jordan had demanded for dinner wouldn’t work. Jordis’s shining face while they were at the zoo reminded her that it wasn’t about her. She took a breath and forced herself to think if she could make a different time work, but it wasn’t possible tonight.
T: Can’t tonight. Tomorrow from 6:00-7:30 work?
Tessa had just put the phone back into her pocket when it buzzed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Unknown hadn’t liked her response. Her hands sweated as she answered, “Hello, Jordan.”
“Why won’t tonight work?” His suspicious tone made her grind her teeth. It wasn’t like she had said no, not coming.
“I have to work, Jordan.” She tried to maintain an even tone, but some of her frustration leaked through.
“You work all night? You don’t eat dinner? I’m not stupid, Tessa. I can still get the lawyer.”
She was done holding back. “Yeah, that’s what I’m doing, making sure you don’t get to see Jordis. Oh wait, I suggested an alternative time tomorrow night. But if that doesn’t work for you, the
n by all means, call your million-dollar lawyer and sue me!”
There was a long, tension-filled silence. Tessa’s heavy, erratic breathing was the only thing that could be heard. She was just about to scream say something! when he did.
“What time do you get off work? I can come to see her then.”
Tessa pulled the phone away from her ear and stared open-mouthed at it. Seriously? That was all he had to say after being an unreasonable ass? She didn’t even get a regretful tone? Well, screw him. She jabbed the red disconnect button.
It was strangely satisfying to shut him down. When her phone buzzed in her hand again, she happily sent the call directly to voicemail. She stuck it into her pocket and strode back into SEC. The waves of anger rolling through her gave her the burst of energy she’d needed.
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Please come see me. -Laura
The neon pink sticky note was front and center on her computer monitor when Tessa got back from her first tutoring session. Between the note and the strange looks she had gotten while walking to her cubicle, her stomach tightened.
After swinging her laptop bag onto her chair, she walked the few steps to Laura’s office. She felt everyone’s eyes on her the entire way. Laura’s door was open, but she was involved with some paperwork. Tessa rapped her knuckles against the frame. When Laura looked up, her face clouded.
“Come in, Tessa. Close the door.” She gave her a small percentage of her usual welcoming smile, and her serious tone threw Tessa into a panic.
“Jordan came in looking for you,” Laura said succinctly as soon as Tessa sat down.
“Oh.” She clasped her hands together so Laura couldn’t see them shaking.
“He seemed,” her fingers tapped her desk, searching for the right word, “agitated. Not his usual friendly self.”
Laura’s head tilted. “When I told him you weren’t here, he asked when you would return.”
Tessa sat there, unsure what to say.
“Normally I wouldn’t ask this question, but since he came here, I feel as if I need to.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
“Is there something going on between you and Jordan? I know he mentioned that you two knew each other, but it seemed friendly. Today he seemed annoyed.”
Laura had become more than her boss. They were also friends. Every time she needed time off because of her mom or Jordis, Laura had been sympathetic and allowed her the time off. Tessa knew it wouldn’t be that way with most jobs.
As badly as she wanted to keep this between her and Jordan, she couldn’t. She owed Laura an explanation. Tessa took a deep breath and looking her directly in the eye admitted,
“He’s Jordis’s father.”
She gave her announcement a minute to soak in. From the stunned expression on Laura’s face, it looked like she needed it.
“The first day he was at SEC, he saw her picture on my desk and figured it out. We’ve agreed that he will get to know Jordis before we tell her he’s her father. He wanted to get together for dinner to see Jordis. It upset him that I couldn’t tonight. It didn’t end the best.”
“Wow, okay.” Laura still looked dazed, but she shook her head. “I’m in a bad position here, Tessa. I can’t tell SEC’s famous spokesperson who is volunteering his time not to bring his personal issues into our office. But I also can’t have drama here. Our kids think of this as a safe zone. I can’t have them exposed to your tension or fighting.”
Tears stung Tessa’s eyes, but she willed them away. Every emotion she’d had lately seemed to result in leaking from her eyes. She hated it, and it wasn’t professional.
Tessa sat up straighter and said with sincerity, “You’re absolutely right, Laura. I apologize for putting you in this position. I’ll talk with him.”
She saw Laura relax into her chair.
“Thank you, Tessa.”
She was uncomfortable receiving gratitude. “You don’t need to thank me,” she said as she stood up. “If you don’t need anything else, I should go get ready for my 5:30 with Malakai.”
Laura grinned. “Good luck.”
Tessa needed all of her wits to deal with twelve-year-old Malakai. He was crazy intelligent but used that intelligence to get out of doing any schoolwork. Malakai was also a smooth talker, and gangs had already approached him. So far his single mom had been able to guide him away from them, but Malakai wasn’t making it easy.
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Chapter 17
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“It’s six-thirty, Ms. Parker. Time to go.”
Without waiting for her reply, Malakai jumped up and gathered all of his stuff. Tessa smiled inwardly but kept her teacher’s face in place.
“Malakai, you took five minutes to greet everyone when you came in, so we’re not done until 6:35.”
He dropped back into his seat dramatically. “Come on, Ms. Parker, it’s five minutes. Not a big deal. We can’t do anything in five minutes!”
Tessa stared at her student. “What is earth science?”
Malakai flung his hands into the air and then crossed them in front of him, narrowing his eyes.
“My next student isn’t until 7:15, so I can wait.”
Tessa looked away from Malakai and gave him a chance to process what she’d said without further confrontation. When she looked out the study room window, her breath caught.
Jordan strode down the aisle toward the room, his gaze locked on hers. The closer he got, the harder her heart hammered. She scrambled to get outside the room before he stormed in and aired their private business.
Unfortunately, her abrupt movement drew Malakai’s curiosity, and he widened his eyes when he saw who was coming toward the room. Jumping up, he threw open the door before Tessa could reach it. It was all over now. Malakai was a huge basketball fan.
“Are you Jordan Davis?”
Jordan’s stony face cleared, and he smiled at a star-struck Malakai.
“Yes.” Jordan extended his hand. “And you are?”
“Malakai White.” In slow motion, he extended his hand to shake Jordan’s.
“Nice to meet you, Malakai.”
Jordan smiled wider, and his dimples popped out. Tessa drew in a sharp breath. She had forgotten the devastating effect they had on her. Tessa forced her attention back to Malakai, who just stood there staring at Jordan.
Jordan took it in stride. “Are you a fan?”
Malakai nodded his head. Tessa had never seen him speechless. He had long ago mastered talking his way out of anything.
“Okay, back to work, Malakai.”
He didn’t respond, so she tried using her teacher’s voice. “Malakai!”
Finally, he blinked and turned toward her.
“Back to work.”
She stepped away from the door and waved him in. One reluctant step at a time, he moved his feet and then stopped when he was even with Tessa. Malakai looked up at her with his familiar mischievous face and then over to Jordan.
Tessa tensed and opened her mouth to deny his request before he even asked, but she was too late.
“Ms. Parker, can Jordan sit in with us?” he said slyly.
“No,” Tessa said definitively.
At the same time, smiling like he was the cat who ate the canary, Jordan said, “I would love to.”
Malakai looked at Tessa in triumph before striding to the table and taking his seat. Jordan walked past her with the same expression, and Tessa’s temper simmered.
The room had shrunk. Jordan’s substantial 6'3" frame seemed to take up the entire space. Tessa ignored the prickling of her skin and concentrated on the anger brewing inside her. She let the displeasure show on her face and in her voice.
“Are you ready to answer the question, Malakai?”
The smug look on his face melted away. It didn’t matter that a famous basketball player was in the room. He was still going to have to answer.
“What’s the question? Maybe I can help?”
Tessa whipped her head around to Jordan and narrowed her eyes in a deadly glare. “No, Mr. Davis, you may not help. He knows the question, and he knows he’s not leaving until he answers it.”
She turned back to Malakai. “Isn’t that right, Malakai?”
Finally he seemed to catch on that she was more than just a little irritated. Lowering his eyes, he picked up a pencil and randomly doodled on the paper in front of him. Tessa was just about to lose her temper when he mumbled, “The science of earth and its atmosphere.”
Some the tension left her, but it wouldn’t completely dissipate until Jordan was out of the little room.
“Yes,” she said, the relief obvious in her voice. Tessa kept her focus on Malakai’s bent head and asked softly, “Care to tell me why it took us ten minutes to get the answer?”
His pencil stopped moving, and he snuck a peek up at her. Tessa’s heart broke at how quickly he went from a macho man to a little boy. When he’d assessed that she wouldn’t forget this question either, he blew out a breath.
“Sorry, Ms. Parker.” He shrugged his shoulders and responded honestly, “It was six-thirty, and I wanted to go. Who cares about earth science? It’s not like I’m ever going to need it for anything.”
Tessa knew he was imagining himself running the streets and never leaving the inner city. She chose her words carefully. She knew he’d heard the usual you can get out of here if you work hard enough speech more than enough.
“Malakai, I grew up about six blocks from here.” His head jerked up. Now Tessa had his undivided attention.
“It sucked.” She snorted. “My mom only allowed me out of the apartment when I was with her. Even then, it was rare that I went out. My mom didn’t want to draw attention to us and put us on anyone’s radar.”
“At school, I tried my best to hide in the corner. I never raised my hand, but I always made sure I was respectful to the teachers. My mom said I was to sit and learn everything that came my way. That included learning what not to do from the other kids.”
“Too many times to count, I had someone offer me ways to help me study, let loose, or feel good.”
Jordan's Justice: A New Adult Sport Romance (Tessa and Jordan Book 2) Page 7