Page 22 of Change

No one was going to fall for this façade when it had such obvious plot holes.

Did I have to doeverythingmyself?

But this could be good. Ms. McKinnen was the worst kind of gossip. Anything we discussed now was sure to make it around the entire campus before the end of the day.

My words would be weighted and criticized. Once everything became known, people would look back to this moment and it would be forever known as my first statement to the world about my place here.

Darn it. I wasn’t ready.

I swallowed, trying to push away my impending panic. My fingers tightened over the corner of the bag, and I sucked in a breath, ready to venture into my first public relations foray.

I couldn’t screw this up. Ireallyhad to make it seem like we were star-crossed lovers, but also not lie. That way I could claim innocence later.

I had to think like a politician.

“Yes. We had a few setbacks in the beginning of our relationship.” I glanced toward the exit, and my face grew hot. I was only twenty feet from freedom, now to just hurry this along before I puked. “But we wanted to be together, so it worked out.”

There was no way that this open-ended statement could be misinterpreted. Go me.

“Really?” Ms. McKinnen frowned. “I’ve been wondering, Mrs. Hamway is very traditional, especially with her views on student/teacher relationships. I’m shocked that Bryce still has a job. What did she have to say about this? She knows, right? When is she returning?”

My breath caught and my shoulders tensed. Professor Hamway?

Lord, I’d completely forgotten about my ex-biology professor. I hadn’t heard from her since she asked me to house-sit and all this nonsense started.

I felt my expression darken, and my teeth clenched almost painfully. We had an agreement, and she still owed me money. I’d put up with almostdying, and any furniture replacementsshouldhave been taken care of by the boys.

What even happened with her plants? I sure hoped Bryce was looking into things.

But what could I do? I had no idea where she was. I’d have to get paid later.

“I don’t know, just that it’s been taken care of,” I muttered. The boys had said something to that effect, but no one bothered to illuminate me.

It could mean many things, including that they just left her entire conservatory to wither and die.

A shame.

Ms. McKinnen raised a thin, brunette eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes,” I said, even though now I was worried despite the boys and their assurances that all was okay. I’d never been so ill-prepared for anything in my entire life. But I couldn’t mention them and their role to Ms. McKinnen, we were, after all, only supposed to be acquaintances.

No, I would have to pretend to fully trust my ‘husband.’

And he probably let those plants die.

Regardless, what sort of nonsense did star-crossed lovers sprout? I was going to have to channel my inner-Damen and search my soul for something cheesy.

“It’s fine.” I held the bag closer to me, trying not to let my grief about the—now probably dead—exotic plants ruin my mood. “When we got together, Bryce promised that nothing would ever come between us.”

It was technically true. We were siblings, so even our eventual divorce could not tarnish that bond.

My heart pounded, by the end I carried an extra burden of knowledge I didn’t expect, but I’d gotten through without saying anything terrible. I was going to besogood with managing the press.

Ms. McKinnen paled and opened her mouth, but the phone rang and she moved to answer it. With her distracted, I let out a low breath, once more allowing my focus to drift to the double doors.

Maybe this was a good time to take my leave?

“Please wait a moment, Mrs. Dubois,” Ms. McKinnen said, hanging up the phone. She no longer sounded like the kindly librarian acquaintance I’d come to know. In fact, if I was reading her pinched expression correctly, she seemed almost afraid.