Page 89 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“What if he gets a diagnosis?”
“He can retake the class with provisions for his disability. I’m totally on board for differentiated assignments. Given the lack of a remedial class, it makes sense. But he has to have the skills we say he has when he finishes the course.”
“Of course he does.” Molly leaned forward. “I don’t want this guy to feel like a failure. That won’t do any of us any good.”
“Are you involved with him?”
“I’m not.” Her words were instantaneous and adamant. She was no longer involved with him—and the short time she was, she would hold close. “But I want him to succeed. I want all my students to succeed. Even Jonas. I use grades to encourage and inspire. In Finn’s case they encourage and in Jonas’s they were supposed to inspire him to try harder.”
“You did well there, as you will see with our next Simon meeting.”
“Another?” Molly asked weakly.
“Tomorrow at five o’clock.”
“What happens to Finn?”
“The grades will change, but since the midterm and final projects count for the most, he can rescue himself.”
He. As in him alone. That was how it would have to be, if he even continued in the course.
Molly felt like growling as she left the dean’s office, but she managed a smile at Penny and a few cordial nods on her way down the hall. Teachers were such great actors. She went into her office, closed the door and leaned back against it.
At least she hadn’t heard the wordsYou’re fired.
Yet.She still had quite of bit of time left in the semester and the remainder of the evaluation process to get through. She gathered her grading into her briefcase, jammed the lid shut and thanked her lucky stars that the hallway was now empty. She started for the entrance, her footsteps echoing on the tile floor—a sound she usually loved because it meant she was where she wanted to be. Now she wasn’t.
You wanted to teach. You signed on for this.
She had. Most of the time she loved her job, and she’d known going in there’d be conflicts with students, parents, other instructors, administrators.
She hadn’t counted on the Finn part.
* * *
MOLLYSEARCHEDTHECUPBOARDS, then finally gave up and leaned back against the dishwasher and put her forehead in her hand.
No chips.
How could that have happened?
She paced into the living room, turned around and paced back. She was never one to pour her problems out to others, but now she really and truly wished that Georgina was home so that she could discuss the events of the day—even if it meant coming clean about things that had happened between her and Finn. Her sister was an adult and she’d already clued in to the fact that she and Finn were more than mere acquaintances...or at least had been. Her sister had a good head on her shoulders. She could deal and damn it, Molly needed to talk to someone. And she needed chips.
But Georgina wasn’t at home, which meant that Molly had the whole empty house to herself. The place had never seemed so big. Or echo-y. And she hadn’t felt so uncomfortable with herself since Blake had first left—before the anger had set in, when she’d been dealing with the bewildering pain of his betrayal. Mourning the loss of an illusion.
But now she was once again dealing with a loss. Things between her and Finn were never going to be the same, and she’d never be in his bed again. She probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but at that point their perceptions of their situation had been in alignment. They were enjoying each other. A lot.
Now they weren’t because their wants, needs...perceptions...were no longer in line with each other’s.
Temporary mourning. That’s all. She hadn’t been with Finn long enough for it to be anything else.
She went into her room and flopped down on her bed, dragging a pillow over her face, shutting out the light. Darkness felt right. She could deal with entitled Jonas and his influential family and whatever they might throw at her. She could even deal with losing her job—even though she hoped it didn’t come to that. She just needed to gather her strength, get it together. She needed to reassess.
* * *
FINNCOOLEDHISHEELSin the waiting room of the administrative office, feeling very much as if he were waiting to see the principal, which in essence, he was. The only difference between now and high school was that back then, he’d at least had an inkling of the crime he’d committed. Right now, he didn’t have a clue as to what was about to happen. He assumed it had something to do with Molly and his grades, but until he saw the dean, he wouldn’t know for certain.
At the moment he was more concerned about Molly than his grades. It hadn’t taken long after their recent blowup for him to realize that he’d essentially reneged on his promise to her. They’d had the fun times he promised...but he’d also been moving in the direction of a relationship. It was part of a natural progression. They did well together, so why not spend time together? A lot of time.
