Stay With Me Forever

Chapter 24

He opened the door and leaned on it, folding his arms over his chest and tilting his head to the side while he stared down at me with a smirk.

I narrowed my eyes, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hi...?" I spoke, very unsure of his attitude.

"Hey." He replied lazily. "I thought you might come to see me tonight."

Either my brain was giving me wrongful signals, or that sentence sounded very double meaning. My eyes widened as I stared at him. And he raised an eyebrow, daring me to ask what he meant. But I'm a chicken of course.

"Why?" I asked instead. That was safe.

With a smile, he turned sideways nodding towards his office like he wanted me to come in.

I slowly stepped in, feeling like I was entering the lion's den. I glanced at him through the corner of my eye as I passed him and turned as he closed the door.

I watched him as he walked up to his desk and perched himself on it, looking back at me.

"Why don't you tell me why you are here." He said.

"I..I came to apologize." I replied uncertainly. Why does this man manage to make me feel so nervous yet so excited at the same time by just his presence? I wondered.

"For?" He asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly while eyeing me closely.

I shifted from one foot to the other. For God's sakes I'm a grown-up, too, but he always makes me feel like a naughty little girl, and this time, he wasn't even saying anything to imply it. I need to grow a backbone around him, seriously. I took a deep breath before continuing.

"For Liam's behavior. I'm sorry you had to deal with that and that he behaved that way where anyone could have seen him."

"Did you say anything to him about that?" He asked me with a frown.

"No, he apologized on his own. Right after you left. You were really good at handling him. You are good with kids, aren't you?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "He is the first kid I have actually had any relationship with. Aren't I good at dealing with everyone, though?" He asked innocently, making me force myself to not roll my eyes.

"Maybe." I replied lightly. "But still, I'm sorry about that, and I actually wanted to thank you for stepping in and helping me with him today, and I'm sorry that we are troubling you so much."

He sat there quietly for a while, thinking before he finally spoke.

"Ashley, did I overstep a boundary by saying something to him?" He finally asked.

My eyes widened at his question. "No, of course not." I quickly denied, and he nodded in reply.

"So.. you wouldn't mind if I step in again, in the future, if I felt that you needed me?"

If I needed him? That's so sweet, and I felt my heart warmed hearing him say that. But why would he do that?

"What?" I asked.

"Ashley,  I didn't step in because he was being out of hand and disobedient or rude. He has been here a while now, and this is the first time I saw him upset, so I know he is a good kid. I wanted to step in because... well, I wanted to, and also because I felt you needed me to.

I know it's not my place, but I just wanted him to know he had me."

"What!" I asked in complete shock.

"But if you don't want that, I will not interfere again. It's hard to raise a kid on your own, and you looked so sad, I didn't want you feeling alone anymore. I wanted you to feel you had me as well."