“Who was that?”

Maggie looked up from her desk to see the school’s principal standing in her doorway. Olivia Witherspoon’s expression was more than politely interested in what had sounded like an innocuous question. Of course, what Maggie had learned in her tenure here, at what people in Denver often referred to as the most expensive private school in the area, was that nothing about Olivia Witherspoon was ever innocuous.

Maggie arranged her face into a pleasant smile. “That was the uncle of one of our students. He was just picking up because the father was still at work.”

“Oh, I see.” Olivia Witherspoon meandered into Maggie’s office. “I heard there was another bullying incident today.”

“Yes. I handled it.”

Maggie didn’t know all that much about Olivia’s personal life, but they had all been secondary witnesses to the woman’s ugly divorce. Now that Olivia Witherspoon was single, she was far more dangerous than she had ever been during her marriage. It felt like the woman had something to prove. There weren’t a lot of single teachers at the school. In fact, Maggie and Olivia were the only two singles on the entire staff, with the exception of the elderly librarian who was a long-time widow with no desire to remarry.

Olivia gave Maggie a derisive once-over with her dark gaze. “You handled it?”

“In accordance with the school policies outlined in the handbook and the bylaws. Yes.” Maggie was retreating behind protocol. That wasn’t a good thing. Where was her backbone? Why did this always happen? Sometimes Maggie wondered if she was so non-confrontational that she could have been convinced to throw herself off a cliff just to avoid the potential of an uncomfortable conversation with someone.

Olivia’s smirk suggested she knew that Maggie didn’t want to discuss this topic. She tossed her curly dark-brown hair until it settled around her shoulders in a way that framed her attractive round face. She was wearing a lot more makeup than Maggie and probably spent a pretty penny on both her clothing and her makeup. Maggie always felt dowdy and drab beside Olivia. Maggie wore plain clothes because she didn’t feel like she was supposed to be flaunting skin or anything else in front of the kids. That sometimes meant she came to work feeling like she’d picked her outfit out of her grandmother’s closet.

“School policy, huh?” Olivia pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze. “Just remember that’s where your power ends.”

“I know my job,” Maggie said quietly. She swallowed. Why couldn’t she speak at least in a strong, firm voice? She sounded like she was apologizing.

“You realize you were not the school board’s first choice for this position, right?”

Maggie cleared her throat and focused on the report in front of her. Maybe if she looked busy, Olivia would go away. “Yes. You’ve made that crystal clear. Thank you.”

“There was a much better candidate who was passed over simply because a few members of the school board were pressured into hiring you by some of the parents.” Olivia’s lip curled as she stared at Maggie. Then she seemed to remember that she was still at work and they were still in a professional setting. She drew herself up and affected a shrug. “But I’m sure you’re qualified.”

Maggie did not see any benefit in pointing out that it had been Laredo Hernandez to drum up support for her to get hired. It had not been at all personal. Laredo had simply pointed out that her education was more appropriate, as was her experience. He had told everyone in that excessively blunt way of his that she was the best qualified for the job and that they needed a good guidance counselor if the school was going to be productive and competitive in a market where the public schools were more than decent.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Principal Witherspoon?” Maybe if Maggie were super nice and helpful, then Olivia would just go away. “I will have this report on your desk before I go home tonight. I can promise you that. I know how you take a personal interest in these bullying incidents.”

Olivia seemed mollified. “I do have a personal interest. This is my school. Everything that happens under this roof is on me, Ms. Brown. That’s something you can’t possibly understand.”

“Of course not,” Maggie gushed. “I’m not in your position of authority each and every day.”

Okay, maybe that was smearing it on a little too thick. Olivia’s brows drew together as though she were getting a bit miffed by the lip service. Then she sniffed and turned to leave.

“Oh, Principal Witherspoon?” Maggie bit her lip and swallowed. This was going to be uncomfortable. “Have you had any luck finding a gym teacher either for a permanent position or for a temporary substitute position?”

“That takes time,” Olivia said irritably. “Do you have any idea how busy I am? I don’t have time for that sort of thing.”

“I know you’re very busy and entirely too put upon by all of those tasks that are just heaped on top of you,” Maggie said hesitantly. “Perhaps you could delegate that search process.”

“Perhaps for a substitute that would be possible.” Olivia seemed to think that over.

Maggie knew exactly what was going through Olivia’s mind. She was remembering the last school board meeting where she had been sternly tasked with finding a substitute gym teacher. Olivia was remembering that she had spent most of her time since then setting up her dating profile online and that she hadn’t really done anything but send out a bunch of memos to parents, teachers, and other staff detailing her hypothetical plans to address certain issues in the school. She had plans but no solutions. If she were to be seen as delegating, that would make her look good.

“We just want to make things easier for you,” Maggie murmured. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and her palms were sweating. Why was she always so nervous having conversations like this?

“Well, I appreciate that.” Olivia suddenly beamed. “It’s always great to know that people are team players. You know team players that do what they’re asked to do are often given privileges they didn’t initially expect.”

“Right.” Maggie just wanted the woman to leave. Was that too much to ask?

Olivia waggled her fingers. “I’m going to go home for the night. I want to see that report in my inbox before the end of the day. And you have yourself a wonderful evening.” The sudden mood swing was making Maggie dizzy. Then Olivia grinned from ear to ear. “I have a date tonight, you know?”

“Oh?”

“Yes. You should try Internet dating,” Olivia suddenly suggested. “Even you would have some luck.”

“Even me?” Maggie wondered what was wrong with her in Olivia’s eyes.

“Sure.” Olivia’s sage nod was almost more than Maggie could take. “There’s even a button on there for men to push when they like redheads.”

“Oh. Right.” Maggie sighed. Like she’d never been made fun of for having reddish—and once upon a time it had been very red—hair. “Well, I will think about it. Until then, I hope you find your prince charming.”

“Oh, I will.”

Olivia practically pranced out of Maggie’s office, and she was left with the feeling that she had been run over, insulted, put in her decisive place, taken advantage of, and mocked all in one sitting.

“Oh my God!” Maggie moaned.

Her forehead hit her desk as she tried to get a hold of her emotions. She hated the way she always did this. How many years had she been trying to be more assertive? She always failed. Always! In the end, it was too great a risk to take. Being assertive came with consequences that Maggie was never quite willing to accept.

For example. Olivia Witherspoon was the principal of the school. The ultimate hiring and firing decisions came from her. She was on contract with the school board. Maggie was not. Olivia could decide to fire Maggie, and if she could show any kind of minimal reason, she could do it.

Maggie needed her job. She loved it here. She enjoyed the work. She enjoyed most of the people. She felt like she was actually making a difference. She got to work with kids a lot more than the average school guidance counselor. That was what she enjoyed.

“Why are you still here?” Rhonda poked her head into Maggie’s office.

Maggie lifted her face from her desk. She probably looked ridiculous. There was nothing more professional than a certified therapist acting as though she needed an intervention. It was not one of Maggie’s better professional moments.

“I have to write a report on that bullying incident,” Maggie said in a muffled voice. “I promised Principal Witherspoon that I’d have it on her desk by the end of the day.”

“She’s gone.” Rhonda’s dry tone suggested that Maggie was going to a lot of trouble for nothing.

“Her virtual desk,” Maggie clarified. “You know, so she can look at it and then complain that I didn’t handle things the way she would have.”

“Oh, by saying that boys will be boys and then patting them on the head?” Rhonda snorted. She walked the rest of the way into Maggie’s office. “You realize that woman just lives to torture you. She’s jealous.”

“I highly doubt that.” Maggie didn’t like it when Rhonda got onto one of her Principal Witherspoon is just a jealous witch rants. “Our principal is back out there dating. She’s got that online profile done.”

“Oh, geez, that’s great!” Rhonda said sarcastically. “That means she might actually do some work around here!”

Maggie frowned. She highly doubted that. It would probably be back to Internet shopping. “Now our esteemed principal is planning to delegate the task of finding a gym teacher substitute to the rest of us.”

“No!” Rhonda moaned. “I don’t want that job!”

“For the record,” Maggie retorted. She even lifted her head off the desk to stare Rhonda right in the face. “You are absolutely qualified to do Olivia Witherspoon’s job, so don’t let me hear you complaining about her. Understand?”

“Poo!” Rhonda gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t want that kind of responsibility, which is why I don’t want to have to find a gym teacher either.”

Maggie could not stop herself from smiling as she thought about the offer she had made to Darren Hernandez. It was perfect. It was the best thing that could have happened, and she had managed to pull it off!

“What is that smile for?” Rhonda demanded suspiciously. She got right up close to Maggie’s desk and pointed her finger in Maggie’s face. “You look like you have a secret. Spill it. I don’t like secrets!”

“I think I might have solved the gym teacher problem for now,” Maggie said excitedly. “I don’t want to say more because I’m not sure it’s going to work out.”

Rhonda reeled back a step. “Oh my God! Did Maggie Brown just get involved in something other than the narrow confines of her job description?”

“Shut up.” Maggie didn’t appreciate the way that comment made her feel. “Just because I don’t stick my nose in everything does not make me a bad person.”

“Sweetie, you don’t stick your nose in anything,” Rhonda said sarcastically. “You are the ultimate survivor in the don’t-get-involved game!”

“It’s not a game,” Maggie insisted. “I just don’t like sticking my nose in other people’s business.”

“Yeah.” Rhonda sighed and started to leave the office. “I get it. You prefer to remain uninvolved and let people deal with their own problems and find their own solutions. So, while you will listen to people’s problems all day long, you never actually want to own a solution.”

“Don’t poke at counseling practices!” Maggie felt her face getting red. “A therapist can’t get involved in her client’s lives that way. That isn’t how it works! We listen and offer insight. In the end, all of the decisions and outcomes are someone else’s to deal with. That’s why I don’t get involved. I don’t want to screw something up in someone else’s life!”

Rhonda sighed. “I’m not trying to poke at you, Maggie. I just wish you would crawl out of that shell you’re so determined to hide in and get involved in something. You know?”

“I get it.” Maggie offered Rhonda a half-hearted wave. “I’ll see you tomorrow. All right? Maybe it will all look better then.”

Rhonda was laughing when she left the office. “That’s my Maggie,” she called over her shoulder. “She won’t help you, but she’s happy to be your cheerleader and the one to remind you that every cloud has a silver lining!”

Maggie didn’t respond to that jab. It wasn’t a fair statement. Maggie had grown up in a very quiet household. Her parents had been older and scholarly, and there had been no conflict. Did nobody ever realize how insane it felt to be embroiled in family drama and people drama and just drama when you had been insulated from it for practically your entire life?

Spinning in her chair, Maggie stared out her big picture window toward the playground. She remembered being in grade school and having friends who had been in constant conflict with other friends, their siblings, their parents, and pretty much anyone else who would engage. Then Maggie would go home and she would talk about her day with her parents. They would smile and nod and tell her that there were much better ways to solve problems. Conversation will carry the day. That was her mother’s favorite adage. Was it any wonder that Maggie had turned out as she had?

With a huge sigh, Maggie shut off her computer. Screw this report. She would do it later that night. It wasn’t like Olivia was going to do anything with it before tomorrow morning. The timestamp on the email would show when Maggie had sent it, but for once Maggie felt too tired to care. Later sounded pretty darn good. It was already dinnertime and she was starving. Maybe dinner at her favorite restaurant would help alleviate some of the stress she was feeling.

Maggie covered her computer with its plastic sleeve. Then she gathered up her purse and her keys. The other offices in the administrative wing were already dark. Maggie was obviously the last to leave. Even Rhonda’s desk was bare and quiet. Sometimes the school seemed eerie like this. Everyone had gone home to be with their loved ones. And then there was Maggie. She was going to go eat in a restaurant by herself so that she could watch families and not be involved with them. Then she would go home to her empty little apartment and try to pretend that her life was satisfying and complete.

Who was she kidding? And how much longer did she really believe she could keep this up?