Chapter 7

7

ALAINA

I woke up with a storm of nerves in my stomach. Roan Lockhart, the man who had saved me from myself and the father of one of my favorite students, was coming to visit my classroom.

I was trying to convince myself that it was just another day, but let's be real—having one of Chicago's wealthiest men in my class was a big deal. Assuming he showed up. He said he would but he would probably have his secretary call me and cancel.

Cate had said he was the richest guy in Chicago. Could I really expect him to come in and hang out in the classroom? I was regretting extending the invitation. What was I thinking?

I walked into the kitchen and Cate was already sitting at the small breakfast bar with her laptop open. She glanced up when she saw me. "You're up early."

"I did something stupid," I groaned.

"Again?"

"Shut up. I invited Roan Lockhart to sit in on my class today."

She stared at me with a blank expression. "You asked Roan frigging Lockhart to sit in on your third-grade class? Do you know how much a minute of his time is worth?"

"No, how much?"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Well, I don't know either, but it's a lot."

"He doesn't think I'm a good teacher," I said. "He made a snap judgment. I feel like I need to defend myself."

Cate sighed and shook her head. "You invited him—does that mean he's going to show up?"

"I don't know," I replied, pouring myself a cup of coffee. "He said yes."

"Okay." She nodded. "So, what are you going to wear?"

I looked down at the purple slacks, green flats and a green blouse. "This."

"Alaina, you look like the Joker."

I frowned and looked down at my outfit again. She had a point. "I'll put on a different shirt."

"How about you put on a different everything ?"

I sighed. "I'm never going to dress like you, Cate. I'm me. My kids like the way I dress."

"Your kids are nine. They can't even dress themselves. Listen to me, not them."

I laughed. "Fair enough. I said I'll change, but I'm keeping my pants. I love my purple pants. They're comfortable and I feel good in them."

She rolled her eyes. "Barney. Grimace. Grown women don't wear purple pants."

"Confident women do." I walked back to my room and scanned my closet. I spotted a white sweater with purple flowers on it. It was probably something my grandmother would wear, but I liked it. It was upbeat and reminded me of a pretty spring day.

When I returned to the kitchen, Cate let out a loud groan. "You're hopeless."

"Yes, I am." I smiled. "You could use a little purple in your life."

"I have a purple blouse," she replied.

"Yeah, sure. And I'm sure it looks great in your closet." I grabbed a granola bar, filled my water bottle and prepared to leave.

"Want me to give you a ride?" Cate asked.

"Nope, I'm good. I'm going to walk. I need the time to think."

"Good luck," she called out. "Let's get drinks tonight."

"Sounds good, but not that stuffy place you call a bar."

"I'll text you an address," she said. "I have a late meeting, so you'll have time to come home and change."

I burst into laughter. "Why would I change?"

"Alaina, please."

"We'll see," I said. "See you tonight."

I walked over and gave Beau a quick kiss goodbye. "Lucy will be here to take you for a walk," I told him, referring to the dog walker.

He gave me a kiss by swiping his tongue across my cheek, and I walked out of the apartment.

On the walk to school, I was very aware of where I was going. The last thing I wanted was to wander out into traffic again. Roan wouldn't be around to save me.

I arrived at school early to make sure everything was perfect. The desks were arranged for our hands-on math lesson, and I double-checked that I had all the materials ready. I tidied up the classroom, making sure it was a good representation of me as a teacher. As the bell rang and the students started trickling in, I plastered a smile on my face, determined not to let my nerves show. I had no idea if he would actually show up, but I wanted to put my best foot forward in case he did.

Rafe walked in, beaming with excitement, and there he was, Roan Lockhart, in all his designer glory, right behind him. I took a deep breath and greeted them both with what I hoped was a confident smile.

"Good morning, Rafe! Mr. Lockhart," I said, nodding to Roan.

"Hi, Ms. C!" Rafe chirped, practically bouncing to his seat.

Roan gave me a curt nod and a small smile that barely reached his eyes. I couldn't help but notice Rafe was wearing a pair of jeans and some new sneakers. The jeans looked stiff and new but it was good to see Roan took me seriously. And Rafe looked pretty thrilled to be wearing regular clothes like the rest of his class.

"Morning, Ms. Callaway," Roan said, his gaze sweeping over the classroom before landing back on me. He looked suspicious, like he was expecting me to whip out a whiteboard full of complex equations that would confuse the kids.

"Please, call me Alaina," I said. "Feel free to sit wherever you like. We're starting with a hands-on math lesson today."

Roan ended up sitting in one of the tiny chairs at a table with Rafe and three other third graders. I had to stifle a giggle at the sight of his long legs awkwardly folded under the little desk. He looked so out of place, yet determined to fit in.

I noticed he was wearing his suit. I imagined it was custom tailored. Another sign of wealth. I suddenly wondered if I was wrong. Maybe Rafe wanted to dress like his father. But when I looked at the smile on Rafe's face and the other kids complimenting his shoes, I had a feeling we were both right. Rafe probably did like dressing up like daddy, but he also wanted to fit in with his friends at school.

"Alright, class," I said, clapping my hands for attention. "Today we're going to explore fractions with some fun activities. Everyone grab a partner and let's get started!"

The kids hurriedly paired up, their excited chatter filling the room. Rafe turned to his dad, who just nodded and patted him on the shoulder. They had already become partners.

"Okay, class, each pair should have a bag of colored blocks," I began, distributing the bags among the pairs. "And here's a piece of paper for each pair. Now, you're going to build a tower using your blocks, but you must use equal amounts of each color. Who can tell me why?"

A hand shot up from the back of the room. "Because if it's not equal then it won't be fair to the other colors!" a student piped up.

"That's one way to look at it." I smiled at her before pointing to the board where I'd written "1/3" in big numbers. "But for our purposes today, we're focusing on making equal parts, like fractions."

After laying out some basic instructions, I set them on their task and began moving around the room, observing and guiding as needed. I watched as Roan and Rafe started to build their tower, the boy's eyes sparkling with excitement. He eagerly took a red block and was about to put it on top when his father intervened.

"Wait, Rafe," he said slowly. "We should first count how many blocks of each color we have."

Rafe looked at him with a confused expression, but he dutifully dumped out the bag of blocks and they started to sort them by colors. Once they had their piles sorted, Roan took a moment to explain the concept of fractions to his son—something my third graders generally understood—but I let him go on. There was an unexpected tenderness in the way Roan spoke to his son. The man had a very gruff, don't mess with me look, but he could be very kind.

I liked watching him with his son. It explained why Rafe was such a good kid. He had a good father.

As I walked around, I couldn't help but notice Roan's eyes on me. He wasn't just observing—he was scrutinizing, like he was trying to figure me out. Did this man ever smile? I wondered if he thought I was some sort of fraud. It made me a little self-conscious, but I pushed through it.

"Mr. Lockhart, would you mind helping Rafe's table with their fractions?" I asked.

Roan looked at me, then back at the kids. "Sure, Ms. Callaway," he said, leaning in to help them cut out pieces of paper to represent different fractions. I watched him interact with the kids, his serious demeanor softening just a bit. Maybe there was hope for him yet. Maybe it was quirky teachers he didn't like. He seemed to have a soft spot for kids.

Two hours flew by. It was time for the class to head to their music lesson down the hall. I fully expected Roan to make his exit then, but to my surprise, he stayed.

"So," I said, leaning against my desk as the last of the students filed out. "What do you think? Do my teaching abilities meet your standards?"

Roan looked up from the desk he was sitting at, his expression thoughtful. "I wish I had a teacher like you when I was a kid," he said quietly. "I might have enjoyed these subjects more if I did. I might have actually understood fractions before I hit high school."

That caught me off guard. I had been expecting criticism or at least some pointed feedback, not praise? I didn't quite know what to make of it.

"Thank you," I said, genuinely touched. "I'm glad you think so. I love working with kids. I love math. Getting to put the two of them together is my dream job."

He stood up, adjusting his jacket. "You're doing a great job with Rafe. He's lucky to have you."

Before I could respond, he nodded and headed for the door. I watched him go, utterly baffled by the enigma that was Roan Lockhart. I didn't understand him at all. One moment he was gruff and detached, the next he was, well, still gruff, but a little more human.

"Thank you, Mr. Lockhart," I said. His encouraging words filled me with a sense of accomplishment that I hadn't felt in a while. This wasn't just any parent complimenting my teaching skills. This was Roan Lockhart, the intimidating business tycoon who was known for his high standards. The man Cate thought I should have been terrified to be around.

And not once did he act like I was wasting his time.

He glanced down at the tiny chair he had been sitting in and chuckled. "I might suggest adult-sized chairs for future parent visits though."

I laughed. "I'll make a note of that."

"I have to get to work. Thank you for allowing me the chance to observe. It was eye-opening."

"You're welcome," I replied. "I want to always be open and honest with my students and their parents. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out. I'll do my best to answer you."

I watched him walk out of the classroom with a smile on my face.

As much as Roan intrigued me, he was Rafe's dad. I could not get mixed up with the father of a student.

But damn, I couldn't stop thinking about him.