He tapped his pen against the table. “Good. How do you feel about planning? Are you very structured, or do you improvise?”
Another answer I was confident about. “I think there is room for both, but I’m a planner. It actually, to me at least, makes improvisation easier. If you have detailed short-term plans, and a little looser long-term goals, it’s easy to see the direction you’re headed. This way also lends itself to troubleshooting any problems along the way.” I smiled brightly, and my smile was reciprocated.
“I like that.” He shuffled the papers in front of him, stacking them neatly to his side. “Miss Norrel, I think you are perfect for the position. All we really need is for the superintendent to approve it, but since he was such good friends with your father, I’m assuming we can move forward soon. Congratulations, Cerise. I’m proud to have you on my staff.”
I positively beamed. I tucked my hair behind my ear and tried to maintain composure as I asked him about my schedule. “What classes and levels would I be picking up?”
“Looks like two sections of junior honors trigonometry, one class of senior college prep calculus, and two groups of elective personal finance.”
“Perfect.”
He handed me some paperwork. “You don’t have to fill this out now, just get it to me by September. We’ll have a new staff orientation the week before classes begin, but I’m assuming you know most of the staff by now. You’re everyone’s favorite sub, Miss Norrel.”
My throat tightened at the words favorite sub, but the feeling actually empowered me. I was doing this for William. “Thank you, sir.”
“Enjoy the rest of your summer,” the principal said, shaking my hand vigorously and politely seeing me out.
All the steps of project “Win Back the Vamp” were complete.
I rifled through some old Christmas cards and found my mom’s address. Then I mailed her some cookies and a recipe book, and she called as soon as she got it, gushing. I booked a flight to go see her next month, a week before school started.
The third therapist I called, Joan Macintosh, sounded perfect for me—she was a teacher for years, lived in a D/s relationship as a full-time sub with her husband, and she had availabilities once a week. I was finally ready for William.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Cerise
The box of supplies was packed and I carried it carefully out to my car. The gesture was so symbolic, and I truly hoped that William would understand the gravity of my sacrifices.
All for him. I would do anything to win back his approval and his love.
The drive to Strawbery Banke was short, but it took forever. The sun was going down, creating an ungodly glare that stalled traffic and caused at least two small fender benders. The air was overly warm, pushing people out of their comfort zone. It wasn’t the nicest night in Portsmouth, which cranked my anxiety further up the emotional Richter scale. I perfected the bow in back of my halter sundress and smoothed the skirt nervously. I hoped I looked good.
I had been to William’s town house only once before. One night shortly after we moved in together, he brought me there to introduce me to Breanna, Steven, and Harvey. They were playing Scrabble. I don’t know what I expected—some dark ritual that involved the married couple mutually feeding on their human host, perhaps? Instead, I saw three normal folks sitting around a coffee table, listening to jazz, and playing board games.
“You must be Cerise,” a tall brunette had said, approaching me with a warm smile. “I’m Breanna. This is my husband, Steven,” she said, gesturing to the stocky blond man seated on the right. “We’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’m thrilled to finally meet you all,” I had said after shaking everyone’s hands. Now that I knew what vampires were like, it wasn’t hard to discern Breanna and Steven’s supernatural nature. They both had eye colors that were slightly more interesting than a human’s—Breanna with her dark-green eyes and Steven with his steely gray ones. Their handshakes were also firm and cool.