Page 60 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
Molly gave him her empty cup when he held out his hand and he took them both to the counter where the used cups were collected. “I need to get back to the store,” he said when he came back to the table. “Lola’s there, but Chase had to take the afternoon off. I don’t want Cal and Karl loading grain.”
They started back to her office and after he’d opened the door to her building, Molly said as casually as possible, “About Chase...?” Finn gave her a curious look and she continued, “He and Georgina are getting kind of serious.”
“I gathered.”
“He’s a good kid, right?”
“What do you think, Molly?”
“You know him better than I do.”
“He’s overcome some decent odds to get where he is today. I don’t see him going anywhere but up.”
Not what she’d hoped to hear. Not even close. She wanted someone who was already “up” for Georgina. They rounded the corner leading to her office and before she could say anything else, Finn said, “You have a customer. A surly one from the looks of things.”
Sure enough, Jonas was leaning against the display case opposite Molly’s office. And even though he was looking at her as if she was a lower life form, she knew for a fact that Jonas hadn’t given her a poor review because his class had been chosen for the second round of student evaluations.
“Hi, Jonas. What can I do for you?” Molly asked, doing her best to sound positive.
“Well,” he said in his overly precise voice. “You could be on time for your office hours.”
Molly’s smile froze. So much for positive, but she told herself not to react, because that was what people like Jonas fed on, although it was a bit of a challenge to keep her composure when Jonas held up his phone, which read 16:05, and snapped, “Some of us have schedules to keep.”
“And some of us need to learn to treat people with respect,” Finn growled. “She is your instructor.”
Jonas’s gaze jerked toward Finn. “Who are you to give lessons in deportment?”
“Your elder,” Finn said calmly, but when he turned to Molly to say goodbye, she could see the tension in his face. He was doing his best not to pop the kid and she appreciated his effort.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asked. “I could hang here in the hall.”
It took Molly a surprised second to say, “No. I’m fine. I’ll see you later.”
“You’re sure?”
“You’re wasting time,” Jonas muttered.
“And you’re a little...” Finn closed his mouth and after a quick look at Molly, headed down the hall.
Jonas watched Finn go down the hall through narrowed eyes, then turned back to Molly, waiting with barely contained patience for her to open her door.
She walked inside and took her time putting her purse away. Two could play the discomfort game. “What do you plan to major in when you go to college, Jonas?”
He seemed surprised at the question. “I plan to be an electrical engineer.” He pulled yet another assignment out of his bag. “I have an issue with your marks on this essay.”
“Have a seat, Jonas.”
“I also have an issue with your condescending tone.”
Molly’s eyebrows rose. “I have an issue with your rudeness and I suggest that until you can conduct yourself politely, you leave my office.” She might want to keep this job, and student evaluations might play a part in that, but there was also the small matter of self-respect.
Jonas blinked at her. “You work for me.”
“I work for the state of Montana, which pays me to give you an education. It doesn’t pay me to sit in my office while you take potshots at me.”
“This is why I’m getting Bs, isn’t it? You don’t care for me.”
“You’re getting Bs because you’re doing B work.”
