History and Hedonism: Book Three of the Principal of Pleasure: A Steamy Romantic Novella

by Aria Blue

  Presley lifted the lid of his laptop to check his email. “Sounds to me that this ridiculous thing you have going on with my old man is causing you an awful lot of problems. Are you sure that it’s worth it? It doesn’t seem like it to me.”

  Sara pursed her lips and he knew he was about to get it. “I know what you’re both trying to do. You’re trying to wear me down so that I either quit or break up with the dean. Well, guess what. Neither is going to happen and you’re both being petty stubborn children and I don’t appreciate it.”

  Presley opened his mouth to say something, but she wouldn’t let him get a word in.

  “And for your information, I’m very, very happy with your father. He treats me like a queen and he’s more of a man than you’ll ever be. It’s hard to believe that you were raised by him and still turned out the way you did.”

  Presley took a deep breath and exhaled before he said a lot of things he didn’t want to say. “How about you get the hell out of my office.”

  Sara made a face, but she left, leaving the door open this time. Presley knew just how to press her buttons and he had done it.

  Chapter 8

  A faculty meeting took place after school. Jones had asked if she could start the meeting off by having a discussion with the teachers and Presley had no problem with that. He was exhausted from a day full of talking and activity.

  He sat back at the front table next to Harrison as Jones called the meeting to order. She went over a few boring things on the agenda and then she got to the part about teacher evaluations. This was a sore subject, not just with Sara, but with Harrison and a few other teachers so everyone got quiet and gave Jones their undivided attention.

  Presley tuned her out as she paced back and forth across the front of the room as if she owned the place. He almost felt sorry for her. She lived for faculty meetings as if they were the most entertaining things in her world and she loved giving long-winded lectures.

  His interest was piqued however when she started talking specifically about certain teachers. She didn’t call names but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. “Math is a heavily tested subject,” she said, “It’s very important for our students to have excellent math teachers in order to bring those scores up. We cannot blame it on algebra being hard and just say it’s the student’s fault. That’s a cop out. If the kids are getting it, then we must find another way to present it and if that doesn’t work, then another way and another way.”

  Harrison bumped his leg against Presley’s. “Just relax, man.” Maybe the other teachers didn’t know that comment was directed at Harrison, but Harrison and Presley knew.

  Then came the doozy. “Teachers, if you receive an unsatisfactory evaluation, your best bet would be to improve your performance. Not to cry foul and run to the dean and Principal McGuire playing the victim and acting as if I’m picking on you. Trust me, I have better things to do than that.”

  News traveled quickly around McGuire Prep. If the office ladies knew something, everyone knew. Presley had often witnessed teachers coming in throughout the day to gather little tidbits of info. Everyone had to know about Sara’s problems with Jones by now and everyone knew that Jones had been talking about her.

  Presley glanced over his shoulder to get a peek of Sara from where she was sitting. Several teachers were looking at her while pretending not to look at her and Sara was the deepest shade of red he had only seen on her once. The other time was when they had gone to a water park and a large wave had caused her bikini top to become untied. She’d accidentally treated everyone to a show.

  He wanted to yell at them all and tell them to stop looking at her, but that would only make things worse. Guilt gnawed at his stomach as he wished he had simply put an end to all this a long time ago. Yes, he was upset about her dating his father, just like Jones, but Sara didn’t deserve this and he wasn’t going to watch it any longer. This was going to stop.

  That evening he sat on his sofa while Marcia lay stretched out, leaning into him as they watched House of Cards. She rubbed his knee. “I could get used to this. Can’t you?”

  He had to be straight with her. He liked Marcia and she deserved to know the truth. He could no longer lead her on. “I don’t think I can give you what you want.”

  She sat up, glaring at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “You want this to be a real exclusive relationship and I’m not ready to do that right now.”

  Marcia shook her head. “You’re not ready to do that right now? Pres, you’re fucking thirty-five years old. What the hell are you waiting for?”

  He didn’t know how to answer that and no matter what he said, it wasn’t going to be the answer she wanted to hear. It didn’t matter if he were forty-five or fifty-five. He knew in his heart that Marcia wasn’t the one. “I like what we’re doing. I do. But I know you want more. You want me to be your boyfriend. You want to keep things over here and you want me to have things over at your place. You want us to be all our nights and weekends together. You gave me a key to your place and I should have said something then, but I’m not ready for that.” He stopped talking because her eyes were watering and the last thing he wanted to do was make her cry.

  “All we’re doing now is hanging out and fucking. We’re friends with benefits. Is that all you want out of this?”

  He took a deep breath because he had to choose his words very carefully. “I don’t want you doing things just because you think they will make me keep you or you think I need them to stay interested. I mean that stuff is nice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to change anything.”

  She stood up and grabbed her purse. “So in other words you like banging me, but nothing else. Is that what you’re telling me?”

  Was it? “I’m just saying, I don’t see the feelings I have for you going any deeper than they are now and I know you want more than that. You deserve more than that.”

  Marcia headed toward the door. “I broke up with a great guy for you. Do you know that he was going to propose to me?”

  “I didn’t tell you to break up with him,” Presley reminded her. “I actually told you not to because I knew you would throw it right back in my face if this happened.”

  Marcia smirked. “So you were planning on this happening. You were planning on leading me on and then dumping me. Nice.”

  “Marcia, it’s not like that—”

  “Save it asshole.” She ran her hands over her hips. “And if you think you’re ever getting your hand on this again, you can keep dreaming. You will be jerking off to memories of me for the rest of your life.” She slammed the door behind her.

  Although Marcia had said some hateful things, and he had possibly broken her heart—Presley felt relieved. At least he had told her the truth.

  Chapter 9

  The following day Sara didn’t come in until later because she had a doctor’s appointment. Presley needed to speak to her. He wanted to apologize and let her know that he would be putting an end to what Jones had been doing to her.

  After school he found her and Marcia in the hallway speaking to each other in hushed voices. The last time the two had spoken they had been screaming bloody murder and swearing at each other so he wondered what they were talking about. They didn’t look angry.

  Presley couldn’t help but pass them as he made his way to his office. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me ladies. Ms. Snow, when you’re done, can I see you in my office please.”

  “Sure, Principal McGuire.” She had a strange expression on her face that Presley couldn’t quite read.

  Marcia rolled her eyes when he made eye contact with her but he hadn’t expected anything different. He hoped that she would soon get over things and they would be able to at least be friends. After all, they did have to work together.

  Presley left the women to continue talking and almost fifteen minutes later Sara stood in his office with her arms folded across her chest.

  “Hey, have a seat,” Pr
esley offered.

  “No thanks. I won’t be staying long.”

  “Okay. Sara, I owe you an apology. Aside from all the stuff we’ve been through in our personal lives, I’m your principal and It’s my responsibility to give you a safe place to work and to listen to your concerns. I haven’t been doing that. I let my personal feelings about you and my father dating affect that and I shouldn’t have. I apologize.”

  Sara nodded. “Thanks, Presley. I appreciate that. I know admitting you’re wrong and apologizing isn’t really your thing.”

  Presley swallowed that comment because he didn’t feel like it was true but he didn’t want to fight with her. “Anyways, I’m going to sit Jones down and have a talk with her this afternoon. She won’t be giving you any more problems and it she does, come to me immediately.”

  Sara was silent. Presley had expected her to be happy and appreciative but it seemed as if something else was on her mind. “What?” Presley asked.

  “I heard that you and Marcia broke things off—whatever you call what the two of you are doing.”

  Presley didn’t want to discuss Marcia with Sara and he didn’t know why Marcia had been talking to her about their relationship.

  Sara leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. “I hope you didn’t break up with her in hopes of us getting back together and I hope this apology wasn’t an attempt to win me back.”

  Presley shot up from his seat. He couldn’t believe her audacity. “Are you kidding me? I’m just trying to do the right thing and what’s happening here has nothing to do with Marcia so I don’t know why you’re even bringing her up.”

  Sara gave him a small smile that annoyed him for some reason. “Okay,” she said opening the door a crack.

  “Sara, I don’t want to get back together with you and this apology had nothing to do with that. This is me just trying to be professional.”

  “Okay,” Sara said again. She opened the door wider and then shut it. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but Marcia told me about your little weekend escapade.”

  The color left Presley’s face. “What?”

  “She told me about the swinger’s club. Presley, I know you have a ferocious sex drive and everything, but a sex club? That isn’t you.”

  Presley felt ashamed for a moment, but then pushed the feeling away. Who was she to judge him? He was a grown man and he could do whatever he wanted. “That isn’t me? You don’t even know who I am anymore. It’s none of your business what I do, Sara, and there’s nothing wrong with it. We’re all consenting adults.”

  Sara bit her bottom lip. “You’re absolutely right, Presley. You’re an adult, but you’re not just any adult. You’re the principal of the esteemed McGuire Prep. Marcia is a teacher. You guys have to be extra careful. What if you saw someone you knew? How would this school ever live that down? What about your family’s legacy?”

  Presley had been ready to argue with her, but Sara was right. That was something he should have thought about before, but he hadn’t. “We wore masks,” he said weakly.

  Sara shook her head. “Presley, no matter what, I still care about you and I always will. I don’t want to see you out there being reckless. Just think before you do things.”

  Presley squared his shoulders. He hated when she talked to him like she was his mother even when she was telling him things he needed to hear. “Are you done?”

  Sara sighed and chuckled to herself. “Yes, Presley. I’m done.”

  Despite how poorly his meeting had gone with Sara, he went to see Jones just as he promised he would. She wasn’t in her office so he checked the cameras and saw her making the rounds. She always liked to check behind the custodians to make sure they had cleaned properly even though she didn’t need to. The crew always did a great job.

  He caught up with her in the auditorium. She was running her finger along the wood floor of the stage to make sure it was clean enough.

  “Hey, Jones,” Presley called as he approached. “Can we chat for a minute?”

  The two took a seat beside each other in the auditorium chairs. “Listen, Jones, I know we both have our issues with Sara, but this has gone far enough. From now on, I will evaluate her and if you have a problem with her, bring it to me or the dean first. Oh, and no more calling her or anyone else out in staff meetings. It’s humiliating and everyone knows who you’re talking about.”

  Jones looked appalled. “I should have known. You’re going to take her side. She’s going to continue to run around here and do whatever she wants and date your father right in your face and you’re okay with this.”

  “I’m not okay with this but that has nothing to do with our job and I should have never let it get this far. Jones, you’re going to have to leave her alone or Sara is going to have grounds for filing a complaint against you.”

  Jones sucked her teeth. “You have to be kidding me. This school has no union. Who the hell is she going to complain to?”

  “My father,” Presley replied, “and trust me when I tell you he’ll always take her side over yours so you might not want to risk it.”

  Jones’s face dropped at the thought of disappointing the dean and being on his bad side.

  She stood and adjusted the jacket of her navy blue pants suit with short abrupt motions. “Fine, Presley. Let this place go to hell. Let the staff do whatever they want to do. But you’d better understand one thing, I’m tired of losing and I’m tired of being ignored and silenced when I’m just trying to do what’s best for this school. Good evening, Principal McGuire. And just like that, Presley knew that their alliance was over and they were right back to where they used to be.

  Chapter 10

  For the next two weeks everything was quiet and normal around McGuire Prep. That was until one October day when there was a huge commotion in the front office. Presley left his office to see what was going on. In the middle of a crowd of teachers and clerical staff stood an incredibly hot woman.

  Her brown hair was highlighted with golden streaks, curled and layered. She wore a tight fitted jacket with a peach silk blouse underneath. The silk blouse had to low-drooping neckline that stopped right at the crease between her small perky breasts. Her tight skirt stopped a foot above the knee revealing slim, well-toned legs. Her eyebrows had been perfectly arched bringing out her features and her makeup looked like it had been done professionally.

  “Jones?” Presley croaked. He tried not to look as surprised as he actually was but he couldn’t help it.

  “Doesn’t she look fabulous?” asked Mrs. Daughtry, the chemistry teacher.

  “She does,” Presley said and he really believed that. He had no idea that Jones could look so good.

  “Okay, okay, everyone,” Jones said, waving the staff members away. “Thank you so much for the compliments, but you’re embarrassing me.”

  The group gave a few fleeting comments and then dispersed, leaving Jones and Presley alone in the middle of the office.

  “Glad to see you took my advice. I was right, wasn’t I?”

  Jones rolled her eyes. “You would take credit for my make over, wouldn’t you? Just like you take credit for everything else I do around here, Principal McGuire. It must be nice to get paid such a hefty salary for doing nothing, but, just for the record, I didn’t do this because of what you said, I did this because I finally learned how to play the game.”

  “Play the game? What does that mean?”

  Jones flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It means just what I said. Obviously a woman can’t get by just on her skill and hard work alone. All that does is leave the door open for the next woman with the tighter skirt and the bigger boobs to get in front of you. I’m tired of taking the back seat.”

  Presley had so many things he wanted to say to that but he decided to let her have her moment. “Fine. Has my father seen you yet?”

  “Not yet, but he definitely will,” she replied, winking at Presley. “Excuse me. I have a meeting.”

  Presley watched
as she strutted toward her office. He’d never seen her wear heels so high. Through the glass walls he spotted Marcia sitting in a chair with her legs crossed waiting for Jones.

  Marcia looked over and gave Presley a wave as Jones took the chair beside her. The two women leaned into each other laughing, and he imagined the sound of them cackling. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that Marcia was about to unleash all the scandalous details on their hot and steamy weekend. They all knew that Jones could very well use that information to end him.

  This is the end of Book Three. What do Jones and Marcia have up their sleeves? Is Jones’s plan to get the dean going to work? How long is Presley going to have to watch the Sara date his father? Find out in Book Four when things get kicked up a notch in Interns and Intercourse.

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