Page 8 of Man Seeking Woman

Reaching the double doors, I hit the buzzer for the secretary at the front desk and waited for her to let me in. Looking up at the camera above the door, I gave a friendly smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice breaking up as it came out of the speaker.

"Yes, I'm Ella Day, filling in for Mrs. Chase today."

I heard the door lock click, so I pulled it open and stepped inside. A woman in a deep blue pants suit was waiting by the main office door, her arms folded across her chest. I could tell instantly that she was the principle, and could see she was highly annoyed with me. Her face was stiff, lips tight and drawn down. One of her eyes had this tick that was hard to ignore. The corner was vibrating, forcing her high cheek bones to twitch.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I gave her a weak smile. "Hi," I said, reaching my hand out towards her. "I'm Ella Day—"

Lifting her hand up, she let out a soft breath. "I know who you are and you're late."

It took a moment for me to register what she had said, my hand lingering awkwardly in the air. Lowering my hand, I gripped the thin strap on my purse. "I know, and I apologize for that. I'm really—"

Cutting me off, her voice was harsh. "Our classes start at eight-twenty, it's nine."

"I'm really sorry—"

Holding up her hand again, I stopped talking. The woman didn't give two shits about why I was late, and rightfully so, she had an entire school to keep track of. It was irresponsible and stupid of me to get drunk the night before.

What the hell was I thinking!

"We went ahead and got a different teacher to fill in for Mrs. Chase today."

"But—"

"Maybe if you took teaching more seriously, you would have been here when you were supposed to be. I don't have the time, or the patience, to chase down someone who obviously doesn't want to be here. You can see yourself out, Ms. Day." Turning, the woman walked into the office, her heels heavy on the tiles, leaving me alone in the hall.

Grabbing the back of my neck, I stood still for a moment, so pissed at myself for royally screwing up this opportunity.

Fuck! Why the hell did I do that last night?

Leaving the school, it felt like I had cement on my feet as I walked back to the bus stop. Dropping onto the bench for the bus, I hung my head in disappointment. I needed that job, I needed the money and the reference for future work.

And now, I had none of that. I had probably red flagged my name to all the other schools in the area, fucking up the carreer I was trying to build. Digging my elbows into my knees, I cradled my head, ready to cry.

"Is this seat taken?" a man's voice asked.

Sitting up quickly, I wiped the few tears that had escaped away from my eyes as I pushed over a little to make room. "No, you can sit." Stuffing my hands under my thighs, I looked up the street.

"Thanks." Taking the open space beside me, the man sat a briefcase at his feet. "Gorgeous day today, we're lucky that storm fizzled out."

"Yeah," I said, not looking at him.

I could feel him studying me, his eyes surveying my face as I wiped them dry. "Rough day?" he asked.

Twisting my head over my shoulder, I stared at the man, unsure how truthful I really wanted to be.

He was dressed in a cheap business suit, with a deep red button-up underneath. His hair was slicked back, jaw sharp with a pointy chin. The man looked older, maybe in his fifties if I had to guess.

As our eyes connected, a feeling came over me. I felt awkward and uncomfortable. There was something in his eyes that made me uneasy. It wasn't something I could explain, he hadn't done anything wrong, only making small talk. But the way he looked at me just gave me the chills, and not in good way.

Taking in a deep breath, I force myself to break eye contact and look up at the sky. "You could say that."

"Well, a little advice—don't worry,bad days never last. Eventually, shit gets better."

"Thanks for that, I'm idly waiting for the day shit gets better." Crossing my leg, I could feel his gaze as it traced the visible skin of my calf and moved up to my thigh. Pulling my skirt down, I did my best to cover up.

"Praying mantis."

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