27

The phone on Joseph Sanders’ desk rang, and he reached over and picked it up. “Yes, Ms. Taylor?”

“A Miss Marilyn Bannister is here to see you, Mr. Sanders.”

He lifted a brow. “Marilyn Bannister?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Please send her in.” Joseph Sanders stood and slid into his suit jacket. He couldn’t help wondering why Marilyn Bannister would be paying him a call. He hoped there was nothing wrong with the math program. From all accounts, he’d heard it had been very successful so far.

The door opened and she walked in. He couldn’t help but smile. He recalled her initial interview. He’d known then she would be an asset to his school district.

“Miss Bannister, it’s good to see you again,” he said, moving from around his desk to shake her hand.

“Thank you, Mr. Sanders. It’s good to see you again, as well. I’m sorry I didn’t have an appointment, but I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to get here. Right now, I’m on my lunch hour.”

“That’s no problem. Please, take a seat,” he said, offering her the chair in front of his desk. “So what brings you to see me? I recently saw a report on your project as a math coach, as well as the students’ grades. You have really worked hard to bring them up. We are proud to have you,” he said, sitting in the chair behind his desk.

“Thank you, sir. But I’ve encountered a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes, sir.”

He frowned. “Is it with the project itself?”

“No, sir. Everything with the project is going great. I love what I do.”

He relaxed somewhat. “That’s good. I hope it’s not about Helen. I talked to her last week and as always, she was singing your praises. She thinks the world of you.”

Marilyn smiled. “Oh, no, this has nothing to do with Mrs. Chapman, either. I think the world of her as well.”

Joseph Sanders nodded as he leaned back in his chair. “That’s good to hear. So what’s the problem, Miss Bannister?”

Marilyn paused a minute. “It’s Jonathan Madaris.”

Joseph sat up straight in his chair. A concerned expression immediately appeared on his face. “Jonathan?”

“Yes. I want to file an ethics complaint.”

“Against Jonathan Madaris?”

“Yes.”

Joseph Sanders got out of his chair and came around to sit on the corner of his desk. Deep concern was etched in his face. “What on earth did Jonathan do?”

Marilyn paused again, before speaking. “Mr. Madaris had ulterior motives for transferring me from Parkwood to Cullers. Motives that had nothing to do with the math coach program.”

Joseph Sanders looked stunned. Finally, he asked, “And what reason do you believe Jonathan transferred you from Parkwood, Miss Bannister?”

Marilyn swallowed. She knew Mr. Sanders liked and respected Jonathan. Unfortunately, he would soon find out Jonathan’s true character, just as she had. “The reason he transferred me to Cullers, Mr. Sanders, was so he could be free to pursue a relationship with me. In other words, he did it to bypass the non-fraternization policy.”

* * * *

Joseph Sanders stood at his office window and looked out at downtown Houston. When he’d left home this morning, he’d assumed it would be a good day, a quiet day. His school district’s ratings were still the highest in the city, mainly because of the man he had summoned to his office a little over an hour ago. Now that same man may be faced with a blemish on his stellar career.

He turned when he heard the phone ring on his desk and crossed the room to pick it up. “Yes, Mrs. Taylor?”

“Jonathan Madaris has arrived.”

“Please send him right in.”

Moments later, Jonathan entered his office. “Joseph? I got here as fast as I could. Your call sounded rather serious.”

“It is, Jonathan. Please have a seat.” He could tell from Jonathan’s expression that he was wondering why Joseph was being so formal.

“What is it, Joseph? What’s wrong?” Jonathan asked, sitting down in the chair across from Joseph’s desk.

“That’s what I need for you to tell me. I had a visitor today. A very upset visitor.”

Jonathan lifted a brow. “Was it the parent of one of my students?”

“No. It was one of your former teachers, Marilyn Bannister.”

He watched Jonathan’s eyes widen in surprise. “Marilyn? Marilyn came to see you? Why?”

He met Jonathan’s gaze. “She came to file a complaint against you, Jonathan, for an ethical violation.”

* * * *

Jonathan angrily paced back and forth across Joseph Sander’s office floor. “Calm down, Jonathan.”

Jonathan stopped and glanced over at Joseph. “You’re kidding, right? How can you ask me to calm down?”

“Are you saying Miss Bannister lied?”

Jonathan dropped his arms by his side. “No, she didn’t lie. But I explained to her why I did it. I love her, Joseph.”

The older man nodded. “I figured you did. But evidently, she doesn’t want your love, son.”

“Evidently. Still, when I was her principal, I made sure I was nothing but professional with her.”

“Yes, she admitted that. Her complaint is that you purposely sent her away, just so you could start a relationship with her. And in sending her away, it created transportation difficulties for her.”

“I offered to buy her a car, but she wouldn’t take my offer,” Jonathan said, trying to keep his voice down. But he was getting more agitated by the second.

“For your sake, it’s a good thing she did. All she wanted was to be a good teacher.”

“And she is a good teacher. I recognized that immediately. That’s another reason I suggested her for the math coach program. You know as well as I do that she is doing an excellent job.”

Joseph nodded. “I guess the important question is this--would you have suggested she be sent away from Parkwood if you hadn’t wanted to strike up a relationship with her.”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Joseph. My idea for the math coach program did stem from my desire to place Marilyn elsewhere. If doing that was unethical, then fire me.”

Jonathan paused a moment and shook his head. “My excuse is that I love her and want to marry her one day. As crazy as it seems, I believe I actually fell in love with her the day we met, and wanted to give us time to get to know each other. I didn’t want to be her boss. I was restricted in letting her know how I felt, what I thought we could one day have together.”

Joseph rubbed his hands down his face, and drew in a deep breath. “I won’t fire you, Jonathan, but if Miss Bannister carries out her complaint, there will be an investigation. If you’re as honest with them as you are with me, your reputation will be tarnished.”

Joseph paused. “I said I won’t fire you, but I can’t say what the school superintendent, with the school board’s backing, will do. I guess I don’t have to tell you that there are those who are jealous of your success, people who, for the longest time, thought you were too young to be a principal. But you’ve proved them wrong. I don’t want Miss Bannister’s filing of this ethical complaint to give them reason to believe anything else.”

Jonathan began pacing again. He couldn’t believe it had come to this. He’d only wanted to give Marilyn some time to know him, time to love him. Not as her boss, but as the man who loved her. But he’d wanted it all, her and his career in education.

He stopped pacing and looked over at Joseph. “So, what’s next? Am I being placed on suspension?”

“No. At least, not yet. I was able to convince Miss Bannister not to rush into doing anything, to take some time and think things through. If she still feels the same way next week, I will have no other choice but to officially file her complaint.” Joseph stood to stretch his limbs. “I’m hoping that during that time she will realize what she’s doing, and withdraw the request. If she reaches that decision, it’s simply a matter of forgetting my conversation with her happened, since there isn’t any paperwork. Only the people involved will know this even happened--me, you and her. It will be up to you and Miss Bannister to decide if you want to proceed with your personal relationship.”

Jonathan moved to the window and looked out. He’d noticed that morning how much it was beginning to look like Christmas. Houses and shopping centers were decorated, and people rushed around town, their arms heavy with shopping bags. Today was officially the last day of school. Christmas break began tomorrow and teachers, students and staff wouldn’t be returning until after the new year. He had been looking forward to getting into the holiday spirit. Now, here it was, two weeks before Christmas, and the only thing he felt was betrayed. All the way to the bone.

He had explained to Marilyn why he’d done what he had. He had confessed to loving her and had even apologized. But she hadn’t wanted to hear any of it, refused to give them a chance. Refused to accept what he’d done was out of love and not deceit. She had never told him that she loved him. After making love, he had just assumed she did. Maybe Joseph was right--she didn’t want his love. Fine. He would keep it to himself.

He slowly turned from the window and met Joseph’s concerned stare. “It’s too late for a personal relationship between me and Marilyn Bannister, Joseph. Even if she does withdraw the complaint, I don’t know how I’d ever forgive her for not believing me. I feel betrayed.”

He rubbed the back of his neck to ease some of the pressure building there. “By coming here, she proved that she doesn’t trust me or my motives. Marilyn is the first woman I can say I truly loved. But not only does she not love me back, she has no qualms about destroying my career. I don’t need a woman like that in my life.”

Jonathan drew in a deep breath. At that moment, he hurt all over. The pain was almost unbearable. He had loved her so much, but with this one act, she had practically destroyed him. No, he didn’t need her in his life. “When will you know Miss Bannister’s decision?” She could no longer be Marilyn to him, his Marilyn.

“She said she would let me know no later than a week from today, which is next Tuesday. Until then, handle your business as usual.”

Jonathan nodded, then slowly walked out of Joseph’s office.