Chapter 322
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The next second , Jonathan explained , “ I don’t even know who she is . It’s just a boss and spokesperson thing . ”
Teresa shot back , “ Since when does signing a spokesperson mean the boss has to personally suck up to them ? ”
Jonathan’s frewn disappeared , and he was in a great mood . He asked Teresa , “ Can you smell that ? The air’s thick with jealousy . *
Teresa fired back , “ Jealous my foot ,” and she turned to leave .
Jonathan laughed , “ Let me give you a ride . ”
“ No , thank you , ” Teresa replied .
Jonathan was still in high spirits and spoke to her gently, “ Benny told me you were threatened and that’s why you won’t go back . If it’s just this stalker , or if there’s anything else , just tell me . ”
“ I’m fine . Nothing else going on , ” Teresa insisted .
Jonathan stared at her . “ So stubborn . ”
Just as Teresa was about to argue , her stomach growled loudly . She hadn’t eaten yet .
Jonathan said , “ Come on , I’ll take you to get some pork chops . I found a deli here in Everport that’s right up your alley . ”
Teresa actually knew the place too , and it turned out Jonathan was taking her to the exact one she was thinking of .
He’d called ahead , so they didn’t have to wait in line . He picked up braised pork chop , soy – braised pork chop , and some tender , flavorful sliced pig ears .
The smell made Teresa’s mouth water , but she still tried to act tough . “ I’m not eating anything you bought . ”
Jonathan started the car . “ As long as you like pork chop , that’s all that matters . ”
“ I don’t , ” Teresa muttered .
Jonathan shot her a look , rolled down the window , and pretended he was about to toss the food out . Teresa stopped him , clutching his arm . Jonathan raised an eyebrow , amused . “ Still acting tough ? Didn’t you say you didn’t want it ? ”
“ Fine , you win , ” Teresa snatched the food from him . Jonathan just let her eat , not caring if she made a mess in his car . Teresa grabbed a piece and started eating , finally satisfying her craving .
While driving , Jonathan handed her a napkin . “ Wipe your hands . ”
“ Thanks ,” she said .
Watching her devour the food , Jonathan sighed . “ Come back to Nareigh . The pork chop there is even better . ”
Teresa shook her head . “ No. ”
“ What are you being so stubborn about ? ”
Teresa didn’t answer , just shook her head .
Jonathan didn’t say anything either , just waited to see how long she could keep this up .
The next day , when Teresa showed up at school , Tina started buttering Teresa up , fussing over her , asking if she was cold or hungry , and even tried to give her some brand – new makeup she’d just bought .
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Teresa smiled politely . “ Thanks , but I don’t need it . ”
Tina said , “ Ms. Johnston , I really didn’t know who I was dealing with , I had no ides your ex husband was such a big deal to wonday you allien ( Interested in Ryan . I even called you stuck up before . Guess I was just romring my mouth .
“ Actually , about Ryan’s job , Ms. Johnston , could you maybe talk to your ex for him ? Just put in a good word ? Ryan’s too embarassed to ask you inf so I’m doing it for him . He should keep bothering you . ”
“ It’s okay . We’re all just coworkers here , and I help when I can . But with Ryan , I really can’t help ,” Teresa said . “ I’m divorced . What my ex does is none of my business now . I can’t ask him for favors or anything ”
Tina sighed . “ I get it , but Ryan’s my brother , and you and I get along so well . ”
Teresa thought , ‘ Get along well ? We’re just coworkers . The only colleague I’m actually close to is Ivy , not this Tina who gossiped about her. Teresa stayed firm . If Tina wanted something , she could go ask Jonathan herself .
Tina’s face darkened . “ So that’s it , Ms. Johnston ? You’re just going to leave a colleague hanging ? ”
“ Sorry , I really can’t help . I have class now , so I’m heading out . ” Teresa turned and left .
Tina was fuming . All that sucking up for nothing – she’d just embarrassed herself . She thought Teresa was easy to deal with , but she was dead wrong
It was around noon when the teachers were told they had to head out for a training session . Teresa hadn’t heard anything about it beforehand . Normally , only the homeroom teacher would go , but since hers was on leave , Lysander told her to fill in .
Teresa hadn’t even figured out what to do with Michael yet , so she refused .
But Lysander said , “ It’s settled , Ms. Johnston . We’re all waiting for you . The training will only take two hours , and then we’ll be back . ”
Teresa thought , ‘ I’ll be back before school’s out in the afternoon , so I can still pick up Michael from kindergarten , ‘ and agreed .
But the training ended up running straight into the evening , and Lysander even arranged for everyone to stay overnight .
Stuck out of town with no way to get back , Teresa realized it was time for Michael to get out of school . She didn’t know anyone else in Everport she could turn to for help . Taking a chance , she reached out to Jonathan .
[ Sherry’s kid is at kindergarten here . Christian’s mom’s cancer came back , so they went with her to Jarisburg for treatment . She’s not home and asked me to look after their kid , but I’m not in Everport right now . Can you pick him up ? ]
Teresa typed out the message because she was worried she’d mess up if she called .
But Jonathan called her and asked , “ Where are you ? ”
It was really noisy on Teresa’s end . “ I’m- ”
“ Ms. Johnston , we’re waiting for you ! Your room’s ready , come over ! ” someone called out .
“ Oh , okay , ” Teresa replied .
“ I can’t make it back today . Can you pick up the kid and let him stay at your place tonight ? ”
Jonathan was silent for a few seconds before agreeing . He thought he heard a man’s voice and wanted to ask her about it , but Teresa had already hung up . Picking up the kid was the least of his worries . He cared way more about Teresa .
When Tina saw Lysander assigning rooms , she noticed he’d given Teresa a single room , while all the other female teachers were paired up , and the male teachers were sharing too .
That arrangement made it obvious to Tina what Lysander was up to . Everyone knew he was a creepy old man who loved to ogle pretty women , and with Teresa’s looks and figure , he’d been after her for ages .
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Even though Tina usually couldn’t stand Teresa , this time she thought of her brother , Ryan , and decided to help it took quite a bit of affect ta harra finally get Jonathan’s contact info .
She called Jonathan several times before someone finally picked up . “ Hello , is this
Mr. Lynn from Horizonlead Group ? ” she asked , a filia nervous .
“ This is the secretarial department at Horizonlead Group . May I ask what business you have with Mr. Lynn ? ”
Tina thought , ‘ It’s never easy to get through to a big boss . ‘
She said , “ Well , I’d like to speak with Mr. Lynn . It’s about Teresa . I’m not sure if he knows her , but could you please transfer me , or at least let him krunu ! “
As soon as she mentioned Teresa’s name , the person on the other end paused for a few seconds . “ Alright , please hold . ”
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