Chapter 11 #2
“I did. He said we need to get our asses over to HR right away and tell them. Dr. P, too. He warned me in friendly terms that with this being a small town, someone might stir up trouble with the school board if we don’t take the bull by the horns.”
Mila sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” he asked, praying she wasn’t.
“Not at all. This is a good thing. Let’s meet at admin now. What are you wearing?”
“A T-shirt and shorts.”
“We want them to know we’ll be going by the book, so we need to look professional when we drop in. Go home and change,” she advised.
“Do you think I need to wear a suit?”
“No, just a nice shirt and slacks. Maybe a tie.”
“Will do. Meet there in half an hour?”
“See you then.”
Carson returned home and changed into dark blue pants and a pale blue shirt. He retrieved a tie and decided Mila was right. They needed to present a united front and let the powers that be know they would be professionals regarding their relationship.
He arrived in the parking lot, seeing her Jeep was already there. Hurrying inside, he found her in the lobby, wearing a sleeveless, blue and white seersucker dress and dressy sandals. Her usual ponytail was absent. Instead, her honey-blond hair fell in waves past her shoulders.
Approaching her, he said, “You look beautiful. Wear that on our first official date.”
“Last night wasn’t a date?”
“It was an in-house date. Once we get the go-ahead, I’m going to take you somewhere for a nice steak. An impress-you first date.”
“You’re on, Coach.” She wet her lips nervously, causing desire to rocket through him. “Let’s do this.”
She led them to her dad’s office, greeting his secretary.
“Hey, Sandy. Does Dad have any openings in his calendar today?”
The secretary eyed them with interest. “He’s got a two o’clock meeting in Corpus at the Region 2 Service Center with other superintendents. He’ll leave here at one for that.”
“Then we need to see him now,” Mila said firmly. “In an employee capacity.”
“I see. Anyone else need to sit in on this meeting?”
Carson could tell Sandy had an inkling of what was going on, and he said, “Mae Williams from HR.”
Sandy nodded. “That’s what I thought.” She picked up the phone and dialed. “Mae, could you come down to Bill’s office for an impromptu meeting? Great.” Sandy looked up. “She’s on her way. Good luck, you two.”
The secretary stood and went to her boss’ open door, rapping on the frame. “Mila Perry and Carson Andrews are here to see you. And Mae Williams will be here to sit in on your meeting.”
Carson sensed Mila tensing and took her hand, squeezing it briefly before releasing it. She reached for it again, though.
“We’re going to do this,” she said, her voice firm as she led him to the door. Then she said, “Dr. Perry, we need a few minutes of your time.”
Carson supposed with her addressing him in that manner, her dad would know there was a serious issue to discuss. Then he saw Dr. P’s gaze fall to their linked hands and back up.
“I see. Come in. Let’s sit at the table, shall we?”
They seated themselves as Mae arrived.
“Come on in, Mae. Mila and Carson want to notify the district about something.”
The HR director walked briskly across the room, setting her tablet on the table and taking a seat. She looked at Carson expectantly.
“Mila and I have decided to embark upon a romantic relationship,” he began. “We’ve read what the district policy in the employee handbook is and wanted to inform you.”
Mae frowned. “While it’s commonplace for two teachers to date, this situation is different, Coach Andrews, because of your position. There are considerable risks involved, despite there being no specific state law against a superior dating a subordinate.”
“We understand,” he said, taking Mila’s hand openly. Just touching her let his confidence soar.
The gesture didn’t get past Mae, who crisply said, “You are in a supervisory position as our athletic director, while Mila is an employee who would be evaluated by you. There are certain issues to consider.”
“I know favoritism would be one,” he said. “Whether it’s actual or perceived. Mila is already a head coach, however. The only promotion I could award her would be to my position as AD. So that argument doesn’t hold water.”
“We need to be concerned about other employees being resentful,” Mae continued. “Your relationship could have a negative impact on the workplace.”
Mila spoke up. “I don’t see that becoming a problem, Mae,” she said evenly. “We both have solid work ethics. I’ll stay in my volleyball wheelhouse and wouldn’t think to give Carson advice regarding other coaches in the district.”
Carson took up the banner. “And I assure you that we will keep professional boundaries so that our relationship doesn’t affect our work environment.
Or the educational environment for students.
I will attend a couple of practices to see Mila in action and get a feel for her coaching style, but we would never act in anything but a professional manner in public. ”
“There is the matter of evaluations,” Dr. Perry pointed out.
“While Mila has an evaluator to observe her academic performance in the classroom, you are the supervisor regarding her athletic performance. If you’re seeing one another, there is a loss of objectivity in your evaluation as you review and rate her. ”
“I would suggest that for this academic year, we task Jon Earl Horton to step in and do Mila’s evaluations,” he pitched. “He is familiar with her coaching, and that would take me out of the equation altogether.”
Dr. Perry nodded, looking at Mae. “That would be an acceptable compromise if Jon Earl would be willing to take on that responsibility.”
“I would be more comfortable with that,” Mae said. “It would eliminate any conflict of interest.” She paused, glancing from Mila to him and back to Mila. “My biggest concern is a sexual harassment claim.”
“What?” Carson and Mila both cried in unison.
“If your relationship ends badly, Mila could claim it wasn’t consensual or that she was pressured into it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mila said. “We are informing you before we ever start dating, and I will sign anything necessary to indicate that I am entering into this relationship with Carson of my own free will. We plan to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. If things don’t work out between us, we will still behave in a responsible manner. ”
She looked to her dad. “You know me better than anyone. You know I’m not going into this lightly.
Carson and I have discussed the ramifications, but we believe there is definitely something present, and we wish to pursue it.
I think having Jon Earl in charge of my evaluations is sufficient, but if you request that I resign, I will do so. ”
“No,” he said quickly. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
She looked at him, her clear blue eyes assuring him. “I feel strongly enough to do so. If the district isn’t comfortable with the solution we’ve approached them with, I would rather resign my position and coach somewhere else.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Mae said quickly, obviously not wanting to lose Mila, much less dealing with the fallout from her father if Mila resigned.
“You’ve done the right thing by informing HR and the superintendent of your intentions to pursue a romantic relationship.
I’m comfortable with this. Are you, Dr. Perry? ”
The superintendent chuckled. “You mean as the head of the district—or as Mila’s dad?”
Dr. Perry turned to Carson. “I thought enough of your character to hire you as both our basketball coach and athletic director. That hasn’t changed. I know you will conduct yourself as a gentleman and a professional with my daughter, Carson.”
“I promise that I will perform my job to the best of my ability and treat Mila with the respect she deserves.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
He squeezed Mila’s hand, and she squeezed it back. They looked at one another, and both grinned.
“Thank you, Mae,” Dr. Perry said, and the HR director excused herself.
Once she was gone, he said, “I don’t think this will be as big a deal as Mae made it out to be.
As you said, Carson, Mila’s already a head coach.
You wouldn’t be promoting her over other people.
Having Jon Earl complete the evaluation is a smart idea. ”
He smiled. “As long as you don’t make out in the stands at the first football game, I think the community will be behind you. And you have my support. Laura’s, too.” Looking at Mila, he said, “You better call your mom and let her know. If she hears about this from anyone else, you’ll be toast.”
They laughed, and Mila said, “I’ll stop by the shop on my way home and let her know.”
Carson rose. “Thank you, sir. I know this is an unusual situation. One more thing to ask.”
He explained how Lisa Thornbach hadn’t known he was the new AD and if he should send something out.
“You’re welcome to do a group email to your coaches if you’d like, Carson.
The announcement regarding your hiring goes out in today’s town newspaper, and it’s also going up on the website as we speak.
I usually send out a Monday morning email to the entire district, and your hiring will be one of the items I mention in it. ”
“Thank you. I just didn’t want to overstep.”
They left his office, still holding hands. Sandy smiled at them as they passed her desk and left the building.
Mila blew out a long breath. “Wow. That was hard. Not as hard as I’d thought, but still pretty intense.” She gazed up at him. “I hope you think I’m worth all this trouble.”
“If we weren’t standing almost directly outside your dad’s window, I’d kiss you and let you know you’re exactly worth any hoops I have to jump through.”
He walked her to her Jeep.“Still on for Burger Barn?”
“Yes. I told the kids about it when I dropped them off this morning.” She smiled shyly. “I also told Michael and Cec about us. They were thrilled. Cec is already planning a double date for when they get back from their trip.”
Carson laughed easily, his spirits considerably lighter than when he had entered the building. “I’m looking forward to that. Go see your mom.”
“I have a sneaky suspicion that Dad’s already called her to give her a heads up.”
He kissed her lightly. “See you soon.”
Opening the door for her, he helped Mila into her vehicle. She beamed at him.
“I feel we’re off to a great start.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he replied, heading to his own car.
Announcing their involvement to HR had been a big step. Carson knew word of their relationship would spread quickly.
And that was fine with him.