Valentina - [wlw]

nine

The following Monday...

Valentina's view:

I rushed out of my office building as I was running late again to pick up Nani and Vivi from school.

My meeting had run an extra 30 minutes late so the girls had to wait at school a little longer.

I didn't have time to call Evie myself but, I had my assistant call the front office instead letting them know about my tardiness.

Quickly upon arrival at the school I stepped out of my vehicle, the sound of my heels clicking against the concrete.

I moved my sunglasses to the top of my head and swung the front doors open expecting to see Evie sitting with the girls.

Instead there was a young woman around the same age as Evie sitting with my daughters.

"Who are you?" I asked wondering why she was here and Evie was not.

"Oh! Miss Clair, I'm Miss Love's teaching assistant Taylor. I help out in Nani and Vivi's classroom. I was told to wait with the girls today since Miss Love is out on leave right now" the skinny blonde said.

"Leave..? What for?"

The girl shrugged, "I'm not sure. I heard there was an incident Saturday but that's all I really know" she whispered.

I nodded and grabbed my girls hand's. "Well then... thank you for watching them and.. waiting with them"

Taylor smiled and waved goodbye to the girls as we walked out.

. . .

I sat in my office sighing as I ruffled my hands through my hair. My paperwork needed to be completed but all I could think about was if whether or not Evie was safe.

Her assistant said there was incident on Saturday. What was that supposed to mean? Did Evie get hurt? Was she okay now?

I drank the rest of my wine in my glass, licking my lips after.

I set the glass down on my desk and leaned back in my chair rubbing my temples. If I wanted the answers to those questions all I had to do was call.

But what if she didn't want to speak to me? After that night we kissed she hadn't spoken to me since. Maybe Evie didn't feel what I felt in the kiss. That or she was clueless as to the fact that I was talking about her when I confessed about liking someone.

The look on her face that night said it all. Evie was book smart but when it came to all the other obvious things in life. She was as dumb as a rock.

I smiled running the tips of my fingers across my lips. She was clueless but enough to make me smile and not hate her as much as I usually would if it were anyone else.

My wine glass was empty making me itch for another. Sadly I hadn't restocked on whatever stash I had here at work. I sighed and decided against going down to the nearby bar where everyone usually gathered after work.

Instead I looked at the time and made the final decision to make a quick stop before I head home. I was thankful Abby our maid didn't mind staying after hours for extra pay to watch the girls.

I had only drank two glasses of wine so thankfully I wasn't too buzzed or numb to drive.

As I pulled up to the familiar apartment complex I took a few deep breaths to get myself together. No woman has ever made me nervous, but the fact that I consciously made the decision to stop by my kid's teachers house... is kind of a big deal.

She'll probably think I'm too invested now after our kiss. I was hoping for her to say something after it happened but she didn't. Pick up was always normal, just a hello and goodbye. We also had each other's numbers now since she took care of the girls for me. So she could've texted... but so could I.