Page 56 of The Headmaster’s Rule

There’s only so many times a person can read two pages while someone watches them like a hawk, so I set the menu aside, forced to meet Juliana’s gaze.

“Tell you what?” I say innocently.

“Come on. I know my father pretty well, and I think I’ve got a good read on you, too.”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

Heat slaps my cheeks, and I open and close my mouth, grasping for what to say to deflect. Should I apologize? We haven’t been friends long, but it definitely feels like I’ve done something wrong. And then there’s the fact that Theo would never want anyone to know, even if there isn’t really that much to know…

“I think it’s great,” Juliana says with a smile. “You’re exactly what he needs.”

My jaw falls open in surprise.

“What I can’t figure out,” she continues, tapping her cocktail straw to her lip, “is why he’s so grumpy suddenly.”

My head spins. Where do I start? Should I simply deny outright that anything has happened at all? I settle on attempting to walk the line of answering her without answering her.

“Your dad cares about the school more than anything,” I say carefully. Then I remember I’m talking to his daughter. Whoops. “I mean, not more than anything, but—”

She snorts. “No, I think that’s probably accurate.”

I cringe. “Well, he could never do something that would damage the school’s reputation or cause a scandal.”

Juliana issues an amused laugh. “Don’t worry, I have no desire to get him into trouble. Or get people whispering about you.”

“Thanks,” I murmur. “I’ve been working hard to get people to take me seriously. That’s important to me.”

“I get it. You’re new to the school.”

“It’s more than that.” I twirl the straw in my drink, realizing I want to share why this matters to me. “I come from a family of lawyers. When I told them I wanted to teach instead, my father actually laughed. Then my parents refused to pay for my tuition.”

She winces. “Seriously?”

I nod. “So I took out loans and did it anyway.” I shrug, though the memory still stings. “I guess I've been trying to prove them wrong ever since.” I stare down at my drink. “Wetherly is my chance to make something of myself, you know? To be respected. And making a move on my boss is not the way to do that.”

“Yeah,” Juliana agrees. “I’d probably feel the same in your shoes.” She’s quiet for a moment, thinking. “But… it’s not like you’re doing this to get ahead, right? You have feelings for him.”

I blink, her words settling in my heart. She’s right. I’m not trying to sleep with Theo to further my career. My feelings for him are real.

So real I don’t quite know what to do with them.

“Honestly?” Juliana continues. “I think I’d lose respect for you if you didn’t act on it.” She leans in, putting a hand on my arm. “You both deserve to be happy.”

Unexpected emotion wells inside me, and I let my breath out slowly. I’d never considered how she might feel if things with Theo ever did progress, somehow, but I could never have expected this.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

She regards me with kind eyes. “So, let me guess. You’re both super into each other, but he won’t let anything happen because he’s worried about how it looks.”

I chuff a watery laugh. “Something like that.”

“My father wouldn’t know what was good for him if it hit him over the head.”

I stifle a laugh as I study her, still in disbelief about her reaction to this.

“You really wouldn’t mind if something happened between me and your dad?”

“I said from the start I thought you two would make a good couple.”