Page 73 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“Mr. Simon. Jonas Simon’s father. As you know, Jonas is still in high school so...I guess that’s why we got the parent call.”
“What’s the problem?” Molly asked, thinking it was better to know exactly what she was dealing with rather than to confess to something that might not even be an issue. Maybe the parent was on her side. It could happen.
The dean frowned down at the floor as if looking for words. Never a good sign. When he looked up, he said, “Succinctly, you are grading harshly, you are rude to students and you’re apparently overly friendly with another of your students. To the point of making Jonas uncomfortable.”
Molly’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?” She didn’t know even where to begin refuting and her stomach was in the process of curling into a tight little ball. This was no way to start a new job in a place where she hoped to stay.
“That’s the story. And Mr. Simon is close to Dr. Womack.” Dr. Womack, as in the president of the school. This just kept getting better.
“I understand that the Simons donated some land to the school.”
“They did.”
Molly blew out a breath. “I stand behind my marks. If anything they are on the generous side.”
“That’s the easiest of the claims to refute. Jonas has agreed to bring his papers in for examination.”
“I keep copies of everything, so he needn’t bother.”
“Good. Now...the alleged rudeness.”
“Have you ever spoken to Jonas?”
“Do you mean have I been spoken to by Jonas?”
Molly felt a twinge of relief. The dean understood. That didn’t mean Dr. Womack would.
“No matter how our students speak to us, professionalism dictates a tactful reply.”
“I don’t think I strayed far from tactful, given the circumstances,” Molly said, trying to re-create the conversation in her head.
“In the future try to stray less far. At least until Jonas is gone.”
“I’ll do that.”
The dean uncrossed his legs, looking uncomfortable. “Now...are you having some kind of an amorous relationship with a student?”
“Amorous?” she asked incredulously, half wondering if Jonas had been spying on her last night, because other than going to coffee...and Finn not giving up his tutoring time upon Jonas’s demand...
That little fink.
“Not my word.”
Molly cleared her throat. “I went to high school with one of my students. We’re...friends. We’ve known each other for a long time.” She hoped that the words sounded more convincing to him than they did to her. They were friends. For the most part. Friends who had shared one hot kiss last night.
“You were seen in a bar together a few weeks back and the parent specifically mentioned that fact.”
A few weeks back—as in no one had seen them kissing in the parking lot last night. Relief slammed into her, even if she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Is there a rule against that?”
“No. But there are perceptions and rumors and the snowball effect.”
“You can’t have a student dictating what goes on,” Molly felt compelled to point out.
“You are correct, but we have a unique situation. A high school-aged student in a position to raise you-know-what. The family is wealthy and they’ve donated.”
Fine. She’d just been given a directive to kiss ass.
