by James, Avery
"I'm going to assume you're kidding,” Callie said.
"No, really, I mean what's the scandal? Unless people know about this, it's just a single woman having a baby. Sure there might be rumors or something, but that's not a big deal for the school. I'm sure they could bury this on their own. Why do they need to call in a hotshot crisis manager? It’s the middle of the summer, why now?"
"We're not going on behalf of the school. We're going on behalf of our client. Michael Callahan,” Callie said.
"Who is Michael Callahan?" Logan asked.
"He's the Governor of Connecticut, and he's thinking of making a bid for the White House in a few years. A Republican who plays well with independent voters but has strong family values to court the right.”
"And his kid is the one who knocked up the teacher?"
"Yup. That about sums it up,” Callie said.
"So we're going up there to pay her to keep quiet so dad can run for president in a few years?”
"In part, yes,” Callie said.
"What's the other part?" Logan asked.
"We're picking up his son. He just finished his senior year."
"How old's the teacher?" Logan asked.
"Twenty three,” Callie replied. She knew where he was going with this and she didn’t like it.
"So an eighteen year old knocked up a twenty three year old? "
"Yeah. Well, he's nineteen, and she's twenty three."
“You’re kidding, right? That's a four year gap, Callie.”
"Just wait. The teacher has been threatening to go public with it."
"Unless she gets paid off, right?"
“No, well, we don’t know yet.”
"What about the money? I mean she must be looking at some serious cash if they're that worried about her screwing things up for the school and the family. When you think about it, it's kind of ingenious."
"What do you mean?"
"Who knows how it started, but let's say that Junior had a crush on her. She knew his family name, their reputation. Maybe she hatched a plan to get in on some of that money. Maybe she invited him to some after school study sessions and came up with a few extra incentives. Man, that would be one hell of a story."
"Except she won't take the money. That's why they asked me to go talk some sense into her."
"What?" Logan asked. "If she doesn't want money, what does she want?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out. Of course, first we need to figure out where exactly she is. The school placed her on leave and barred her from campus. That's as much as I know."
Logan turned and looked at Callie for a moment. “We're driving to New Hampshire, and you're not even sure if the person we need to see is in the state?"
"She's not the person we need to see. We talk to the kid and find out what he knows. Then we get him as far away from Cabot as possible and figure out a way to keep the teacher quiet. Once we've done that, we can figure out the rest."
Logan grinned. "Maybe this is more interesting than I thought."
***
Situated on the rolling hills that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean, Cabot Academy looked more like a country club than a high school. Every blade of grass on the lawn was cut to exactly the right length, and not a brick or a pillar looked out of place. The school's website had boasted that aside from the technological improvements, the campus had been virtually unchanged for over two hundred years. The line Callie remembered was "any of the five presidents or countless governors, senators and titans of industry who walked these halls would be at home at Cabot as much today as they were fifty, a hundred, or two hundred years ago." Cabot was a school raised on power, protected by reputation, and fed by ambition.
Of course, there was the image the school liked to project, and then there was the reality of the place, the daily lives of the sons and daughters of wealth and power. Callie had dealt with enough family scandals to know that half the students drank and dabbled in drugs, and that half of their parents had made generous gifts to the school to keep them in good standing. If "Junior" as Logan had been calling him, had been caught with alcohol or had driven his car into the lake while sneaking off with the captain of the cheerleading squad or committed misdemeanor shoplifting in the campus store, Callie wouldn't have needed to make the trip.
But here she was, riding along with Logan, pulling up the long, tree-lined drive to the school. The place was even more idyllic than the website had let on. A few students were lying out on the lawn; someone was walking a dog, the trees swayed slightly in the gentle afternoon breeze. This school was on the brink of an enormous scandal, and no one had a clue. It always surprised Callie how often that was the case, that these things popped up in what seemed like otherwise perfect circumstances. Whether or not the picture-perfect lawn would fill up with news vans and reporters was entirely up to her. It was time to get to work.
The walk to Luke's dorm had been a short one. He had stayed on campus for a summer session. Supposedly, he was hoping to pick up a few extra credits before college, but in light of recent revelations about his personal life, Callie was pretty sure Luke's intents were anything but academic. Before they entered the small brick building, Callie pulled Logan aside. "Remember," she said, "we don't know how this kid's going to react, so don't be so... so you." She let her voice fall at the end of her sentence to convey just how seriously she meant this statement.
Logan nodded as if this were a command he had been given a hundred times before.
Inside, Luke was standing alone in the common room, leaning against a window. "I've been waiting for you," he said. "Let me guess, he wants me to come home. What are you guys on his staff or something?”
Callie shook her head. "I'm a paid consultant for the family."
"I'm just here for fun,” Logan said with a smile.
Callie elbowed him in the side. "I mean I'm her driver. Just consider me a friend."
"Yeah, right, some friends," Luke said. "You're here to tell me that I'm in trouble, that I need to give up Erin and go with you back to Connecticut, right? You know I'm not going to do that, right?"
Callie paused for a second. The way Luke said his teacher's name had caught her off guard. Erin, not Ms. Anderson. "We're just looking for a way to make sure that everyone wins, Luke."
Luke shook his head and started pacing back and forth across the room. “You think this is about winning?” he asked. “My father and this school are trying to ruin Erin's life because of a mistake we made together. It's not right. Do you really think I want to figure out a way to win? I just want you and him and everyone else to get the hell out of here. How about that? Can you go back to Greenwich and tell my father that I'm an adult, and I don't need him to clean up my messes? I'm telling you, that's the best you're going to get from me."
Callie had to admit that Luke had a point, but that didn't matter. It wasn't her job to make Luke happy. It was her job to keep him out of the press. Maybe she could win him over by pretending to try something on his behalf. "What if I do that for you? Will you at least let us talk to Erin first? Will you help us keep her from making another mistake that will ruin her life? This is in your hands, Luke, not ours. We're just here to help."
"You're here to pay her to go away. This is what my father does when something threatens his precious image as a family man. Were you the ones who covered up my father’s affair with my nanny? Maybe you were the ones who got my sister’s DUI erased last year.” Luke stopped pacing, threw his arms up in the air and looked at Logan.
“We're here to help,” Callie said.
"Is she for real?" Luke asked Logan. "I mean really, what's her deal?”
Logan shrugged. "I'd listen to her if I were you. She's usually right."
"What if I make a call and tell your father you need some space?” Callie asked. "Would you consider at least letting us talk to Erin?"
"Sure," Luke said. He added, "That doesn't mean I will though."
Callie turned to Logan. "Can you stay here
for a minute? I'm going to make a call."
"Sure thing, boss," Logan said. Callie could tell that he found this whole thing to be pretty amusing. "You're not afraid I'll try to corrupt him?"
"He's done a good enough job of that on his own," Callie said.
"You know I can hear you guys talking," Luke chimed in.
"We know," Callie said. "Stay here with Logan. I'll be right back." She motioned to Logan and lowered her voice. "Remember, he's just a kid. He's probably scared out of his mind right now. Just don't do anything that will get me in trouble, ok?"
"Deal," Logan said. Callie walked out of the common room and out into the hallway. Logan followed her and shut the French doors to the room.
What is he doing? Callie took three steps toward the exit, stopped and walked back to the french doors. Peeking through the crack between the door and the jamb. She listened in on Logan. She watched as he walked over to Luke, and leaned against the window next to him, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh.
"Tell me about her," Logan said.
"What?" Luke asked. "I'm sure you guys already have a file on her, probably provided by the school. You've got your plan to make sure this isn't too inconvenient for my father. You don't have to pretend to care about Erin."
Logan leaned in and lowered his voice. Callie had to step right up to the door and lean in to hear what he said next.
"The woman in the other room is a friend. I haven't known her very long, but I'm trying to help her. I'm still deciding whether or not I want to help you too. So tell me, what are you willing to do for Erin?"
"Anything. Everything. I get it. I'm nineteen. I'm barely old enough to vote, but I've never met anyone like her before. I know I shouldn't, but I just feel more alive around her. I don't expect you to understand what I mean."
Logan looked back toward the door. "I know exactly how you feel. Do you love her?"
"Yeah. More than anything,” Luke said.
"Can you keep a secret, just you and me?" Logan asked.
"What choice do I have?"
"You want my advice, marry her. As soon as possible, and spend the rest of your life thanking God you found her so young,” Logan said.
Callie’s eyes widened as she listened to him. Shit. He did not just say that. Logan better have some kind of endgame, or he could cost her this case and her job.
"My father would never allow that."
"Who cares what your father wants?" Logan asked.
"Everyone cares what my father wants. Why do you think they're firing Erin? Why do you think you and your friend are here? He gets whatever he wants. And he wants the two of us as far apart as possible. He'll lord my trust fund over me until I turn twenty five, and by then who knows where we'll be."
"I know how you feel." Logan pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to Luke. "I'll pay for the ring."
"How can a driver afford to pay for someone else's engagement ring? And why would you do that anyway?"
Logan laughed. "I drove up here in a vintage convertible that cost more than four years at this school. I've got it covered. As for why: I've spent my whole life in my father's shadow. Nothing I ever did was ever good enough, so I acted out. I made bad decisions, and I hurt people I loved. Hell, I was even kicked out of this very school when I was your age. I would give anything to go back and tell myself that I was going about it all wrong. I was too afraid to do what I wanted with my life because it was beneath the family name. If you want to marry your teacher, go propose to her. I have a feeling she's going to say yes. Besides, I think it will mean the world to her. Remember, this isn't just about you."
"If it's so important, why haven't you married your girlfriend?" Luke asked.
Callie leaned in closer to listen to Logan's response. The floor creaked underfoot, and she froze in place, wondering whether or not she had been caught. She held her breath for what felt like an eternity and waited to hear what Logan had to say.
"She's not my girlfriend," he said. "I haven't had a girlfriend in years. I've dated plenty of women. I've gotten into my fair share of trouble, and I've had a lot of fun, but I had never found someone who I thought could be anything more than that. That woman you're asking about? I've known her for a few weeks, and already it feels like a lifetime. I'd like to find out more, and I can't do that if she's running around up here trying to deal with your issues. I'm not asking you to help us because your dad wants us to. I'm not asking you to help us because I can help you. I'm asking you to help my friend."
"I don't know," Luke replied. "Does she know how you feel?"
"I think so,” Logan said. “What I do know is that you have an opportunity. You can get everything you want or nothing you want. You just have to have the balls to go out and take a risk."
"I could say the same thing about you."
Logan laughed. “Well, you've got balls, kid. I like that, and you really do remind me of myself at your age. How about this? You do right by your woman, and I'll do right by mine. What do you say?" Logan let the question hang in the air as he waited for Luke to think it through.
"She's off campus, staying with a friend. How the hell am I going to make this right?"
Logan slapped him on the back. "There we go. Let's go make a trip out to visit her, just the three of us. We'll get this whole thing behind you. I went through some tough times when I wasn't much older than you, and I wish I could go back and reassure myself that everything would work out. You need to be with her, not here hiding out."
"Let me get my stuff," Luke said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Callie bolted back to the front door and slammed it behind her as she pretended to return from her call. She gave Luke a smile as she passed him in the hallway. "No luck with the call," she said, shaking her head, "but I'm sure we can work something out."
"You should talk to your boyfriend," Luke said.
"He's not my boyfriend," Callie interjected.
"Sure," Luke said, "I spent months trying to hide my feelings for Erin. Do you really think I can't tell when two people are stupid for each other?”
Stupid for each other, that’s one way of putting it. Callie paused for a moment wondering what she should do. If she admitted to having something with Logan, it might help her win some points with the kid and make it easier for her to end this scandal as soon as possible. On the other hand, she didn't want anyone to know what was going on. She didn't even want Logan to know how she felt. "Go,” she said. “You have two minutes or we're coming up after you."
"Suit yourself." Luke headed off to his room.
Callie turned to find Logan smiling back at her. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"How much of that did you listen to?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on. I heard you in the hall. You're a mouth breather."
"I am not!" Callie snapped back. "You didn't hear a thing."
Logan walked over to her and stepped right on the creaking floorboard. "I didn't hear you breathing the same way I didn't hear you step on this while you were eavesdropping."
"So what if I was? Maybe I needed to make sure you didn't screw anything up."
"If I remember correctly, I was the one who convinced him to play ball."
"Yeah, and in doing so, you might have just cost me the business of his very powerful and very connected father."
"Do you really think I did that to help you with your business?" Logan asked.
Callie was eager to shift the conversation away from her eavesdropping. "Why else would you have done that?"
"You heard what I said. I did it because it was the right thing to do."
"Because the kid reminded you of yourself?"
"I'm sure that's part of it, but his girlfriend is probably scared out of her mind right now, and if someone doesn't do something to help her, she'll never get over this."
"That's what the money is for,” Callie said.
"Screw the money," Logan muttered under his breath. He looked Ca
llie in the eye and said, "Screw business and reputations. Some things are more important."
Callie couldn't help but stare right back into his eyes. He was right. She knew that he was talking about more than just this case. As she looked at him, she became aware of the distance between their bodies. He was close enough that she could almost feel his heat. She could smell the deep musk of his cologne, and the longer he just looked at her, with those deep blue eyes, the more she felt every inch of her body call out for him. You know what he means, she thought. He means you.
Logan broke eye contact for a moment and looked over to the staircase. Then he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Callie, pulling her against himself as he pressed his lips to hers. The slow, soft motions of his lips against hers made Callie forget about everything for a moment, and she let herself lean into the warmth of his embrace, lost herself in the smooth bliss of his kiss. A flame of desire rose up deep inside her core.
"No," she said, pushing herself back. "Not here."
Logan smiled at her. "We could always go out behind the bleachers,” he said with a wink.
"Not funny," Callie said. "I know you're not working right now, but I am, and we can't do this." Callie looked back to the staircase, where Luke was sitting on the second to last step.
"You guys are weird," Luke said. He tossed his bag over his shoulder and headed down, walking past them to the door.
"Yeah," Logan said, "I guess we are. Let's go. We have a damsel in distress to go save."
Callie wanted to believe that Erin Anderson really was everything Luke thought she was. She wanted to believe that Logan's rather inconvenient plan would work, but she couldn't rely on it. It was her job to protect her client, and she couldn't do that unless she sat down with Erin one on one and figured out her real motivation. There was still a very real chance that all of this could fall apart.
Twelve
Erin Anderson hovered over the gas range, waiting for the kettle to boil. “From the day I told Luke I was pregnant,” she said, “I’ve been waiting for the cavalry to arrive. If you think you can scare me off, you’ve picked the wrong woman.”