Chapter 1
Maylee
Sipping my iced tea, I look out of the kitchen window and think about how far I have come, and in such a short space of time.
Whitney, my best friend and who I class as a sister, accepted her marriage was over. I agreed and handled her divorce, which was easy enough since Kyle, her ex-husband, didn’t fight for her.
I’ve never seen Whitney so happy, and she glows with it.
She has taken on more work since she opened her own business.
She still helps her old boss Gerald when he is stretched, but I can see that help becoming less as she is becoming more popular as people talk about how good she is at her job. Word of mouth is a powerful tool!
Christmas was great, the best one I have had in a long time.
For the last few years, I’ve been on my own because Kyle didn’t like me much, and the feeling was mutual.
This year, however, I was here with Whitney and found Myles.
We are still in the early throes of our relationship, but I threw all in, and I’m hoping for the best.
Oren is a dream. I just love him, and even if Myles and I don’t work out, I would never walk away from Oren. He loves so openly and with all his heart, only some evil person would throw that back at him, rather than return it with the wholehearted love he deserves.
Myles, I can’t help but think is my one. The man of my dreams, who will always stand by my side and no matter what happens he stands strong. How Myles has not been snapped up by some woman before now is a mystery.
It is the middle of January now, and I’m working at the local attorney’s office.
Mr. Wallis is a good boss. He has placed me as the divorce lawyer everyone would need to see and has taken on another lawyer to cover any criminal law.
He himself covers a multitude of law and has asked me to increase the amount I do with all family law, although divorce is my speciality.
I’m working after lunch with thankfully only one appointment. I’m wanting to settle into the job gently, and I had told Mr. Wallis that right before I agreed to sign the job contract.
Whitney is busy today as she has a new author who is a New York Times bestseller. It’s a job she took knowing it could lead to new opportunities.
I will leave her to her own devices today, and I will do a few chores before I have to go to work.
Rinsing my glass from my iced tea, which I have to admit I enjoyed immensely, I pop it into the dishwasher and head for the laundry room.
This is better known as the utility room as it doesn’t just have the washing machine and dryer, it has a sink, cabinets and all the cleaning equipment you could wish for.
My cell phone rings and picking it up from the counter where I’d placed it earlier, I see it’s a call from Oren’s school. Quickly taking the call, I speak clearly. “Hello, Maylee Ferndell speaking.”
“Hello, Miss Ferndell, this is Principal Glenshaw’s secretary speaking. We have a problem with Oren. Could you or his father come to the school?”
“Is Oren okay?” I quickly ask.
“He is fine, Miss Ferndell, but there has been an incident and we need someone to come to the school.”
Obviously, she is going to tell me nothing more, so I grit my teeth and respond. “Either I or his father will come immediately.” I don’t wait to hear anything else. I close out the call and place one to Myles.
“Hi, Maylee. Is everything okay?” Myles quickly asks.
“No. I’ve just had a call from the school regarding Oren. No idea why they contacted me rather than you, but one of us has to go to the school and see what the heck has happened.” I step into the living room and check everything is tidy as I listen to Myles's response.
“Fuckin’ hell, I’ll go, Maylee, and if they are taking the piss like they did the last time I had to go to the school, I’ll give them hell.” Myles' tone is more than agitated. He sounds totally pissed.
“If you need me to go with you, I can. But I’m due at work for an appointment at two o’clock. I will need to leave the house an hour earlier so I can review any case notes.”
“I’ll go, and if I need you to come to the school, I'll give you a shout. See you later, Poppet.” Myles chuckles, and the silly pet names he keeps trying out have both him and me laughing. Poppet, I mean, really!
After the call ends I quickly head back to the laundry room and place the first load into the machine. I get two more piles of laundry ready as I’m doing these on a quick wash today.
I clean the sink, wipe the cabinet doors and make sure everything is in its place before heading upstairs where I need to shower and get ready for work.
Luckily, I carried my phone upstairs with me, and before I stripped my clothes it rang. Picking it up, I frown as it’s Myles.
“Myles! What’s wrong?” I quickly ask.
“You need to come to the school, because I’m ready to punch this asshole,” Myles snarls.
Now this is not my laid-back Myles who will do anything for anyone, so he’s more than a little upset. “I’m on my way.” I quickly close the call, grab my gray suit, which has me placing my work head on, and once quickly changed I head into battle.
Walking into the principal's office thirty minutes later I quickly step over to Oren who is sitting on one side of the room. “Are you okay?” I quickly ask Oren, and he gives me a nod but looks upset.
Myles who is sitting with his arms folded across his chest and glaring at Principal Glenshaw looks ready to blow a fuse. I take a seat next to Myles, reach over to him and open his arms, then place my hand in one of his, lacing our fingers and giving a small squeeze.
Turning to the principal, I ask calmly. “Okay, so what is going on?”
“Oren punched a pupil…”
Before the principal can say more Myles snarls, “Yeah he did, because your teacher did nothing to stop bullying in her class. I am not reprimanding my son for doing the right thing. If I taught him to watch a female being bullied by a male, I would fail as a father. He did the right thing, and let’s be upfront here, I will be rewarding Oren for being a good young boy. ”
Turning to Oren, I give him a small smile. “What happened, Oren?”
“Stewart was pushing Lily, and she told him to stop three times. She shouted to Miss Grainger, but Miss Grainger did nothing. When he pushed her and she fell over, I punched him before helping Lily get up.” Oren is frowning at Principal Glenshaw now, and I have to tell you I have a frown on my face now, too.
“Okay, Principal Glenshaw, you know I am a lawyer, and if you insist on any punishment for Oren, I will take this as more than an insult. I will take this to the school board and further if required,” I state firmly, along with my fiercest glare.
“I cannot allow physical activity to go unpunished…”
Now before he can say more, I’m on him. “And what punishment are you metering out to Stewart?”
“Well, well, Stewart has gone home after the nurse treated him with his mother. His mother wants Oren expelled from the school for violent behavior…”
Now, Myles jumps to his feet before the principal can finish speaking, and he still has my hand grabbed in his, so he basically drags me onto my feet with him. “You…”
“Myles, take Oren home, and I’ll be home in a few minutes.” I turn and after pulling my hand from his I take hold of his cheeks and force him to look at me. He calms some as he looks into my eyes, and I lean forward and touch my lips to his before murmuring. “Take Oren home.”
As soon as Myles has taken Oren out of the office and closed the door, with a bang which has me cringing I retake my seat and give my attention to Principal Glenshaw.
“Okay, I am not going to waste my time and energy here. The perpetrator was obviously this Stewart. Your teacher was negligent in her duties. You are not going to punish Oren for being a decent person. Now, you give out punishment to Stewart for bullying. You check Lily is fine. You reprimand your staff member. If you don’t do all that I’ll take the school to court.
What’s it going to be?” I give him my best lawyer-determined look, and wait.
“I actually agree with you Miss Ferndell, and as you are down on his records, which is why you were contacted I can bend to your requests. I agree that Stewart was bullying, and Miss Grainger should have stepped in and stopped it. The physical was my issue, and I ask you to speak with Oren about this. I cannot have him hitting other pupils.”
“Shall we call Lily’s mother in and see what her opinion is, or the other mothers that would like a voice as to the issue of bullying and a boy that stands up for their child?”
Now, the principal is squirming, and I know a parent-teacher evening is coming up soon, and I’m more than happy to put a spanner in the works.
“You speak to Oren, and I will deal with the other issues.” I can see he is not going to bend, so I don’t agree as that would be like signing a contract to me.
I stand, flick invisible fluff from my suit jacket, and turn, leaving the office quietly. I hear Mr. Grimshaw ask. “Is that agreed?”
But, me being me, takes a solid stance, and he’s going to find out that this woman doesn’t bend.