“You’re right. And one day there will come a time when I have to pay my dues.”
Athena heard the chair push back, grating against the floor, providing a loud warning that she had to move. She backed up and bumped into someone.
Her scream died when she saw Lorraine standing there, leaning against the wall. She didn’t know what to say.
“Why are you here?” Athena was tired of Lorraine’s creepy, stalker attitude.
“Looks like we’re doing the same thing.”
“You are acting so weird. More than usual,” Athena replied.
“I suppose you’re acting the same way you used to when you first got here. The American girl-next-door seems to have taken a trip to the wild side. Before your arrival, we had a mission. We stuck to it. Collin didn’t have side interests and wasn’t distracted.”
“I’m a distraction?”
“You don’t need me to answer that. You may be stupid, but not that stupid.”
“Is it that you wish you were in my shoes?”
“Shut up.”
“Oh, my God, that’s it, isn’t it?” Athena covered her mouth with her hand. “You’re in love with Collin?” she whispered.
“What’s going on out here?” Collin stepped in the hallway, but closed the door. “Is something wrong?”
Athena didn’t respond. The revelation almost bowled her over. Lorraine’s face was still flushed an angry red. Her eyes were bright and shimmering as if she would fall apart if someone said the wrong thing. Athena saw her hands close and open and she took a step forward.
“Athena, we need to talk. Can you stick around?”
And Lorraine took a step back. Her hands closed into fists and didn’t reopen. Her gaze shifted to Athena and a coldness crept in and stayed there. She spun on her heel and left.
“What’s going on?”
Athena looked at the stiff retreat of her coworker. She hated that Lorraine’s secret feelings had to surface in such a cold, brutal manner.
“Athena?” Collin called.
“You know, I think that I’d better get going. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Let’s talk tonight. I’m ready to talk.”
“Excuse me. Collin, I have to leave.” The man who must be Kitchner stepped into the hallway next to Collin. He glanced to Athena, his eyes squinted, examining her. “Are you one of the teachers?”
Athena nodded. She didn’t care for his tone, but considering who he was and what he was capable of doing to her, she answered. Now he offered his hand. She couldn’t ignore it without consequences. Already she’d pegged him with guns strapped all over his body and bodyguards to finish the job. She placed her hand in his.
“What’s your name?” He hadn’t released her hand.
“Athena Crawford.”
“Ah.” A broad smile was bestowed upon her. “I’ve heard of your strides with our local youth. I am in your debt, young lady.” He bowed before releasing her hand.
She tried not to wipe her hand clean on her clothes. His leering smile felt like an oil slick ran through her system. She hoped that Collin would intervene, but he merely stared at the older man. In her opinion, he looked uncomfortable and antsy.
“Mr. Kitchner, I have to be going. I’ll leave you to finish chatting with Collin.”
“My dear, I wish I had the stamina to keep talking to Collin. Alas, I have to be on my way. There may be others in need of my help.” He placed the handle of a large umbrella on his forearm. “Collin, don’t let your pride get in your way.”
He walked away, leaving Athena with Collin.
She didn’t wait long, but hurried down the hallway, too, making her exit. In doing so, she ignored Collin calling to her.
The tropical storm lasted three days and had done millions of dollars of damage on the island. Collin counted the school lucky not to have suffered major structural damage and nothing had been destroyed.
Almost everything had returned to normal. Students were back in classes. His staff was performing at optimum standards. He was finally getting caught up on writing proposals for more grants. Their efforts had made it in the nation’s newspapers with a prominent photo of the staff and Marigold’s family.
“Mr. Winslow, here’s your mail.” Clarissa handed him the letters already opened for his convenience. She hovered, very much unlike her.
“Is something wrong?” He took the mail, but kept his focus on her.
Clarissa, meanwhile, hadn’t shifted her gaze from his face. Her expression puzzled him. He looked down at the envelope with various international postage and stamps. From the return address, he determined that the letter was from the parent organization of the teachers program located in France. “Are you going to tell me what’s in the letter?”
She shook her head and backed out.
Collin took a deep breath and shook the letter into his hand. He opened the brief typewritten note. Its contents created a boulder-size heartburn. His head roared in protest. When he was finished, he set it down on the desk and leaned back in the chair.
Clarissa eased back into his office. Her actions reminded him of a mouse, hovering but willing to run if necessary.
“Looks like we’re about to get audited. Did any e-mails about this come in?” Collin’s mind raced through the potential outcome to the contents.
She nodded. “There will be Dominique Gaston and two others arriving today. She wants to interview the entire staff and have access to all documents.”
“Someone complained.” He reiterated the letter’s message.
“Or accused.”
“You know about this?” Clarissa always knew the gossip around the school grounds.
“Maybe.”
“Talk.” He needed to know every tiny detail of the rumors that had to be swirling.
“Someone wrote a complaint to the European headquarters.”
“A complaint? One of the parents?”
She shook her head. “It was sort of an accusation.”
“Accusing who of what? This letter doesn’t provide much detail.”
“You of dealing with organized crime.”
“What?” Collin erupted in a long string of curses.
Clarissa eyes grew wide.
“Do you know who did this?”
She stayed silent. Her head dropped on her chest.
“Don’t you dare hold anything back.” Collin hadn’t felt such rage with his school or staff. Plus he hadn’t been able to make headway with Athena. She’d gone very professional and refused to remain in any room with him. He refused to think that it was over, but he certainly missed her. Now someone had betrayed him. “If you don’t tell me, you can pack your things and leave.”
“I—I am sorry. I only just heard about this. But I didn’t know how to tell you. Then the letter arrived. What will you do?”
“Who is it?” he said through gritted teeth.
“Lorraine.”
Chapter 13
Dominique Gaston, director of employee relations, arrived with her own driver in a two-car caravan. Her itinerary had been e-mailed to the office. Collin waited in the common area at the precise time. The staff was busy with classes. He saw no reason to pull them from their duties or close the school for the day. They needed to see that their investigation wasn’t going to change normal procedure.
The most difficult part in this ugly, stressful play was to continue working with Lorraine without revealing what he’d learned. Try as he might, he couldn’t figure out why she disliked him enough to levy a false accusation. She never presented her question to him. However, worry snaked through him. Guilt had a way of sticking because the victim happened to be in the vicinity.
But he wasn’t giving up without a fight.
The car stopped in front of him and he stepped forward to open the door, but the driver beat him to the task. Instead he waited for the director to emerge like a queen.
“Good morning, Dominique.”
“Collin, how do you do?” Her French
accent swirled around the words. However, the accent didn’t dilute the cool greeting. “These are the financial analysts who will be checking everything. I will take care of the other matters.”
“Other matters?” Collin almost choked. There was more than one issue.
“We’ll talk inside.” Dressed in a black pantsuit and crisp white shirt, she was pure business. Her cool demeanor had to be physical because she didn’t appear mussed or affected by the heat.
Collin held open the entrance door for her small army to enter. Clarissa stood off to the side, looking as if she was ready to melt into the wall. She signaled to Collin, who nodded.
“My office is ahead.” He walked forward to lead the group to his office. His assistant came in with a tray laden with water, tea, finger sandwiches and cookies. “This is Clarissa.”
“Good to meet you. You are the first one on the list to be interviewed.”
“Interviewed? Mr. Winslow?” Clarissa looked as if she needed to be rescued.
“Clarissa, I’m in charge here. I’m conducting interviews of the entire staff. Be available in an hour.” Dominique paused. “You can leave now.”
Collin felt sorry for the young woman, who looked ready to pass out from the stress. With her hasty exit, he was sure that she ran to the others to explain, probably with nervous embellishment.
Dominique closed his door and then surveyed his office. Her presence felt oppressive and set his nerves on edge. He remained standing, observing her as she made her rounds of the entire office, flipping through his in-box and then taking his chair to sit.
“I think that I’ve been patient about this investigation of my character. And no one has answered my question to reveal any information. I don’t understand how an accusation warrants a personal visit.” This situation was nightmarish. Dominique wasn’t going to come in, snap her fingers and destroy what he and his staff had built.
Dominique slid her fingers along the outer edge of his desk. She examined her fingers before rubbing them together to dislodge the dust. Collin wondered if he was about to be accused of a third thing—poor housekeeping.
“Collin, the nature of the accusations is very important and is the basis for immediate dismissal if found to be true. I want to believe that there is some big mistake. But there are other improprieties that must be checked into.”
“Like what?” Although he should be delighted that she was now explaining the weird circumstances, he didn’t like the vague improprieties.
“I am here for only two days. I have no desire to be in this hot place for any longer. We should find what we need to know in that time. And you’ll have my recommendation before I leave.”
“Find? Good grief, could you be any more vague? By the way, where are you staying?”
“I’ll be in the city. My arrangements have already been made.”
Collin took the chair on the other side of his desk. He didn’t like the feeling of being on the defensive, but his future was in shreds. Even if he was cleared, the stigma had now been created. His every move would be second-guessed.
“What is the other accusation?”
“That you have had improper relations with a member of your staff.”
He swore that her words had the effect of a cold hand around his heart, squeezing until he passed out.
“And from the feigned horrified expression, I guess that is true. Well, that will cut my investigation short. Who is it?”
“Ask your snitch.” Collin had had enough. He wasn’t dragging Athena into this.
“Actually the person did provide a name. Just checking to see if the name you reveal matches what was in the letter.”
“And do I get a chance to confront the accuser?”
“All in due time. We have to protect the person’s rights, too.”
“And what about mine? Was it so easy after everything I’ve accomplished here to think that I’d done these things?”
“Actually I was coming here, anyway, but then these issues popped up. Kind of like the perfect storm.”
“And what did you initially want?” Collin rubbed his head, wondering how quickly his life seemed shot to pieces.
“To offer you a post at the headquarters in France.” She flipped her hair. “But these other matters have to be cleared.”
Moving from the field to the home office may sound ideal in the next five years, but he didn’t join the organization aiming for the top of the mountain. A cushy desk job in Europe didn’t stoke his passion to work elbow to elbow with teachers and children.
“I’m going to update my staff. Then I’m going to leave the premises while you continue with your witch hunt.”
“Don’t go too far. I’ll be interviewing you and your consenting staff member tomorrow morning.”
Collin slammed his office door closed. He was angry enough to punch a hole in the wall. He paced the hallway, trying to focus on what to do. Then he decided that he had to talk to Lorraine. He wanted answers.
Athena sat at the table listening to Clarissa fill them in on the goings-on. They were all there in the teachers’ lounge, except for Lorraine. When the office assistant mentioned who accused Collin, the remaining teachers were shocked. A few tempers escalated to anger because of their betrayed feelings.
With her last class for the day dismissed, Athena was grateful for the early afternoon to herself. She had to find Collin to see how he was doing. Despite their disagreement, she couldn’t evict him from her heart. If the staff were unsettled, then she knew he had to feel low. She headed for his office.
She knocked and popped her head in.
“Come in.”
Athena frowned, clearly not expecting a stranger’s voice dripping with a French accent. She entered the office, a little tentative.
“Good to see you. Which one are you?”
“Athena Crawford.” From the way this woman dressed and had taken over Collin’s desk, she figured this was the representative wreaking havoc. If her demeanor didn’t slice her victim to shreds, then the sharp fashion statement and makeup with precision application could perform the deed. Every facial feature was sharp, pointed, angular and defined.
“Do come in. I’m looking forward to talking with you in the morning.”
“Why do you need to talk to me? If this is about Collin, then I have nothing to say.”
“I bet you don’t. You are the only one who is so close to Collin that you would know everything.”
“I’m not a snitch.”
“No, but you are an employee who could be dishonorably discharged and sent back to the States.”
Athena wanted to run out of the office, but fought to stay calm. She had done nothing to warrant a dishonorable discharge.
“Let me give you a heads-up for your interview tomorrow.” Dominique propped her chin. Her red nails heightened the feeling of danger. “We’ll be talking about Collin’s interaction with Kitchner.”
“I don’t know anything about that. I never dealt with him.”
“You did meet him, though.”
“Yes,” Athena hissed.
“We’ll get into that a bit more tomorrow.”
“May I go?”
“Sure.” Dominique watched her, making her feel like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, a sneaky one.
As she left, she sensed that there was more that the woman wanted to say. Now she had the evening to think about what the woman really wanted. She didn’t know whether she should dress as if she was on an interview or casual for the plane ride home.
Unease blanketed the school yard. Teachers and other staff created tiny huddles sifting over the swirling information. Still there was no sign of Lorraine. Athena hadn’t checked the house, but really didn’t want to. Her coworker had effectively sabotaged one career, maybe others.
Cicely looked miserable as she chatted with Thelma. They both looked over at Athena before shifting away their gazes. Athena slowed her approach. She’d planned to sit in their huddle and chat about everything. The
last thing she expected was an outright rejection. She considered them, especially Cicely, her bud. Not only did they avoid eye contact, but now they’d turned their backs on her. If they treated her this way, had they been equally nasty to Collin?
She went to her room and packed an overnight bag. Staying on-site held no pleasure. Thankfully no one wanted to be bothered and stayed away from her.
Athena drove off the property, planning to go into town and reserve a room at a hotel. Halfway there, she remembered Clarissa mentioning that Dominique and her crew would be staying in town. The small island buzzed with the news of the important arrivals and the boisterous entourage. There was a slim chance that she would run into the barracuda of a woman, but she didn’t need that stress.
Instead she turned the car north and followed the familiar streets to Collin’s house. She pulled up in the driveway and parked. He was on the veranda, feet up, leaning back with his eyes closed.
She stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for him to acknowledge her. But instead he stared out into the darkness. The atmosphere didn’t feel good. She slowly climbed the stairs, surveying the area where he sat. The glass in his hand partly filled with amber-colored liquid spoke volumes. She wondered how much had been in the glass.
“Collin?” She walked in front of him, waiting for his acknowledgment.
Slowly he turned to her. A wan smile crossed his face.
“You’re looking too sad.” She took the empty seat next to him. She raised his arm over her head and nestled under his arm.
“And that changed your mind about me?”
“Actually I’ve set aside my feelings,” Athena explained.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. This could mean a nasty end—here and in the courts.”
Collin nodded, no longer talking. His expression grew pensive.
“I know we’ve had our issues. But I’m here.”
They sat quietly looking out in the dark. He never picked up his glass. He didn’t speak to her. But when his thumb stroked her arm, she knew that she offered him some measure of comfort.
“Tomorrow is going to be hell for you.”
His voice breaking the silence startled her.
Only in Paradise Page 15