Page 92 of My So-Called Perfect Life

“This is Luke. He’s filling in for Mrs. Lavalli, who is ready to pop out a baby any day at this point.” She smiles at him and then turns back to me. “He just survived his first open house.”

He adoringly looks at Danielle, and my urge to piss a circle around her is strong.

“Thanks to the two of you, I did,” he says, giving Danielle a wink.

She beams at Luke. “Teachers helping teachers. That’s what it’s all about. We’re all in this together.”

“I’m Ryan,” I say interrupting them gushing over each other. I offer the man my hand, anything to get him to stop looking at Danielle with those doe eyes.

“Nice to meet you.” His smile is genuine, and it irks the hell out of me.

The situation makes perfect sense. The man is new, and Danielle has been helping him. Of course he’s grateful. Of course they have rapport. They’re colleagues.

Tone down the alpha, asshole.

“Everything went well?” I ask, trying not to come off like a total douche as I take Danielle’s bag from her.

She carries everything for school around in it, and I swear, it’s like twenty pounds.

Her face lights up. “It did. We had a great turnout. Almost everyone’s parents showed up, which makes me happy. I like getting to meet the parents and seeing their involvement in their child’s school.”

“Great.”

“But I’m ready to get home and relax,” she adds. “It’s been a long day.”

“You can say that again,” Brooke says. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

“I’d better head out too,” he says. “Thanks for all your help.”

Danielle waves to him and then we head toward the subway.

“He seems nice,” I say, lying through my teeth.

“He is,” she says as we cross the street. “It’s his first year heading up his own classroom. Brooke and I have been spending a ton of time integrating him into the ways of the school. I forgot how overwhelming it can be when you’re first starting out. Especially as a long-term sub. Parents always seem to insist on asking when the ‘real’ teacher will be back. It’s so demeaning for a teacher in Luke’s position, like parents view you as something less than a teacher.”

“Well, that sucks,” I say even though a deep part of me is glad he won’t be around for long.

“Yeah.” She yawns as we head down the stairs to the platform. “I’m so exhausted.”

“Did you eat?” I ask.

She nods as she leans her head on my shoulder while we wait. “I had a slice of pizza earlier.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, mad at myself that I didn’t think ahead. “I should’ve brought you something from the bar.”

“It’s okay,” she says with a sexy smirk. “The last thing I’m thinking about right now is food. I have other plans for you when we get home.”

* * *

“So,are we drinking to celebrate, or drinking to drown our sorrows?” Raul asks.

This afternoon, I met with my finance guy, Pete, to hammer out the final details for Cohen’s West. We finalized all the numbers for this endeavor and . . . shit, this almost feels better than getting the first business loan for Cohen’s East. Since I’m so far East in the city, Cohen’s East and West make sense in my head.

“Come on man, don’t leave us hanging,” Evan begs. “Is it a go or not?”

I try to keep it cool and not thrust my hand in the air. “It’s a go!”

Evan holds his beer up in salute. “That’s fantastic, man. Congratulations.”