Page 46 of Ugly Duckling
“I don’t think that we need you here.” The woman pointing her finger tapped Gunner on the chest. “I’m also not sure that you’re the man for the job. You’re a celebrity, not a security consultant.”
Oh, boy.
Ten
Maybe the grass is greener over there because you’re not over there fucking it up.
—Gunner’s secret thoughts
GUNNER
“And why do you think I need this?”
I hated this part of the job.
The superintendent of Gale Roberts Independent School District looked at me like I was a nut job.
Maybe if she buried her face in the sand, nothing bad would happen.
“You do know why I’m here, right?” I asked. “The district voted for me to make this place safer for their children.”
She scoffed. “These are elementary-age kids. Nothing like that will ever happen here.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
“About what?”
“You think that the bad things only happen at high schools?” I asked. “Think again.”
“A five-year-old isn’t going to come to school with a gun.”
“Actually,”—a familiar voice sounded from behind me—“there was a teacher who’s literally fighting her way through court right now that was shot in the face by her elementary-age student. She even told the school officials that she thought her student had a gun, and they did nothing.” She narrowed her eyes at the superintendent. “Kind of like you’re doing right now. Burying your head in the sand won’t make the threat go away.”
“And who are you?” the superintendent sneered.
“I work with him,” Sutton lied. “I’m his social media person. Smile.”
The superintendent, Mrs. Waters she’d ordered me to call her, smiled as if she hadn’t just been fighting me on every little thing. “Oh, I didn’t know this would be a photo op.”
This bitch…
“If you’re okay now, I’ll just let my crew get back to work,” I grumbled.
“Oh, I guess that’s fine.” Mrs. Waters now played the part perfectly.
Maybe I should’ve threatened to record the event an hour ago when she started bitching about why we were here.
The crew that was working on the GR ISD with me today looked relieved to be able to get to work.
They were paid by the job, not by the hours that they worked, so their entire goal was to get this done and move on to the next job.
They performed their jobs well, but sometimes their tempers left a lot to be desired.
I guess that was what happened when you hired all former military and former cops onto your crews.
“Ramsey,” I said as we made eye contact. “Take lunch when it gets here. The district is supposed to provide it for us. Call me if you have any issues. I’m making a stop at a few other job sites today, so I might not be back.”
Ramsey nodded his head. “Thanks for dealing with that on your day off. I know that you have Lottie today.”
