Headmistress Read online

  Headmistress

  A Lesbian Romance

  Emily Hayes

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Also by Emily Hayes

  Also by Emily Hayes

  1

  Megan’s fingers drummed against her steering wheel. She was so late, beyond late, the one thing she couldn’t be today. The morning did not start off as well as she had hoped it would. Her daughter, Lola, would not co-operate. Megan understood, going to school was not an easy thing to do when you were just five years old, and normally she would have handled it better, but today was a big important day for both of them. After working minimum wage jobs, sometimes more than one just to make rent, today Megan had the chance at a real job with benefits, a good wage, and decent hours. Hours that she could work while Lola was in school, something they’d never had before. This interview had to go perfectly, and she was going to be late.

  Finally, parking her car, Megan checked her makeup one more time in the mirror before getting out and heading into Westerville High School. Megan couldn’t shake the nerves that were making their way all through her body. Most would think an interview to be a personal assistant would be no big deal, and maybe it wouldn’t be if Megan hadn’t lied on her resume to even get the interview. She had zero experience as a personal assistant; most of her experience was as a waitress. Megan figured it had to be at least similar to being a waitress. She followed orders from her boss, she got the customers what they needed, and she did it with a smile. That had to be close to what being a personal assistant was. At least that is what Megan was hoping.

  Megan walked into the main office and instantly noticed two things, one there was a beautiful woman standing there. With mocha skin, dark hair, and a tight pencil skirt, this woman was designed to make a person look twice. The second thing she noticed, said woman, did not look friendly. What could have been very warm brown eyes were, in fact, cold as ice. She was staring right at Megan, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was being heavily judged. All Megan could do was hope this wasn’t her potential boss, but Megan knew that was merely false hope.

  Deborah Stewart ran a very strict school, students and teachers, alike. She was known to be an ice queen, but that never bothered her. If her staff were on top of their game, that meant the students would be getting an even better education, and the school would have an impressive reputation. That was all Deborah cared about. The school was everything to her.

  She could tell that the woman that stood before her, Megan, was the woman set to have an interview with her. She was late by fifteen minutes, way past acceptable to Deborah. She had already made up her mind that she would not be getting the interview, let alone the job; if she could not show up on time or preferably early for an interview, then she must not truly want this job. Deborah had no interest in having a personal assistant that can’t even be bothered to be on time. It was unacceptable to her, and she was telling the receptionist, Kathy, to call and schedule an interview with the other candidates when Megan finally walked in.

  Seeing Megan standing there in front of her brought on conflicting feelings inside Deborah. At first appearance, Megan was a beautiful young woman. However, her clothes were old and worn, clearly secondhand. Her golden hair was a long tangled mess. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed and into Deborah’s office. Deborah was torn between a spasm of desire at the thought of Megan rolling out of bed and her professional appraisal of Megan looking a mess for an interview. What got Deborah, though, was her blue eyes, they were as blue as the ocean. They were pulling her in, mesmerizing her to the point that she had to force her own eyes to look away for a moment to collect herself. Megan was here for an interview for a job Deborah had no interest in giving to her. But she would let her have the interview; after all, how could she say no to having this attractive young woman sitting across from her for a few minutes?

  “Miss. Campbell, I presume.” Deborah asked in a cold tone. Keeping all of her emotions from it and off her face.

  “Yes, Ma’am, are you Miss. Stewart?” Megan said with a warm smile, hoping it would help to melt her icy exterior.

  “My office.” Deborah said, turning and heading to her office, not even bothering to make sure that Megan was following her. She knew she would be.

  Megan quickly followed Deborah into her office. She only had a moment to look around, but even her office was cold. There were no pictures of family or friends on the walls or on the large desk. The walls were a light beige color, void of any warmth a rich color would provide to the office. Even the furniture in the room didn’t say inviting. It was clear that Deborah had no interest in being friendly or welcoming to visitors or fellow teachers.

  “Take a seat.” Deborah ordered as she sat down in her comfy office chair.

  Megan wasn’t going to let Deborah’s cold exterior stop her though, this was her chance at providing a better life for Lola, and she was not going to screw this up now. Megan sat down and crossed her right leg over her left, making sure she sat up straight and kept her eyes on Deborah. She might not feel confident, but she was not going to show it.

  Deborah opened the file that contained Megan’s resume as she spoke. “Your resume says you’ve been a personal assistant for five years now. What happened with your last job?”

  Megan could feel the judgment radiating off from Deborah. Almost as if she didn’t believe her resume, sure it was completely false, even down to her address, but there was no way Deborah could know that.

  “It was time for a change. I had been there for two years, and I felt myself growing comfortable with the position. I wanted to start a new adventure and challenge.”

  “And you find being a personal assistant to be challenging?” Deborah asked, not being able to keep the unimpressed tone to her voice. To Deborah, being a personal assistant was far from challenging. After all, it was nothing compared to the workload and responsibility she had as a Headteacher.

  “I find people to be challenging, not the work itself. Working for someone different will allow me to utilize different skills and be around different personalities. I’m sure you enjoy being around the other teachers and getting to know any new ones.” Megan was very proud of herself for the smooth answer. She may only have a high school diploma, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t smart. She had figured out how to raise a baby all on her own while working multiple jobs. It had taken real smarts to stretch every dollar she had.

  “And what skills have you utilized with past employers?”

  “I’ve managed phone calls, emails, handled scheduling, making travel plans and note-taking, of course. I’ve prided myself on being there for all of my employers when they need me. I know life can be very busy, especially for you as head of a such a successful school. You must have so much paperwork with all of your students and staff. You must be exhausted by the end of the day.” Megan said with a warm smile. She was hoping if nothing else, she would get this woman to warm up to her and bond. She learned long ago that if you could get your potential employer to like you and connect with you, you were more likely to get the job. Her charm had come in handy many times in the past.

  Deborah simply stared at Megan, as if she had said the dumbest thing in the world. She didn’t care for chatty. She didn’t care to get to know someone. She was here because she loved teaching, not because she loved being close to people. She didn’t want to be friendly with her assistant; she wanted an assistant that could do the jo
b and not complain about it.

  “You’ve used scheduling software and Excel before?” Deborah asked, in a dead tone.

  “Of course, and I am a very fast learner for any programs you might use that my past employers haven’t. I’m always learning and finding new ways to do something. I’ve always been like this, I used to drive my parents insane. Your parents must be so proud of you being a teacher, a Headmistress, you are shaping the minds of the future.” Megan said with another killer smile.

  She was trying to be cute, Deborah knew that, yet she didn’t hate it. She had no idea what was going on right now. She doubted that Megan would be a good match for her. She was messy, late, chatty, and seemed to enjoy knowing things about people. She was the exact opposite of who she wanted to have as a personal assistant. Yet, there was something about her. Something that made Deborah hesitate. Something that made her even entertain the idea of having an interview with her after she showed up fifteen minutes late.

  “Can you start now?” Deborah asked. She had no idea how well this was going to go. She would probably live to regret it, but for some unknown reason, she wanted to see Megan in her office more. She didn’t want to listen to her talk, but she did want to see her work, preferably in a tight skirt and top.

  “I can, yes,” Megan said with a big smile. She couldn’t believe that she might have actually secured this job. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up yet; it could have just been a routine question to see how serious she was about this job. For all Megan knew, there were ten other candidates waiting for their interview behind her.

  “There is a three-month contract that you will need to sign. It is a probationary period, where I will be closely monitoring your work. Should I not be impressed, at the end of the three-months, you will be let go. Alternatively, IF you impress me, then you will be hired as a full-time personal assistant. The contract is straight forward; you will need to read it over and then sign it if you agree to the terms.” Deborah pulled out the contract from her top drawer, along with a pen.

  Megan took the contract and saw that it was three pages long with very tiny print. She did her best to review it quickly. She had never signed one of these before or even seen one. Some of the words were very big and new to her, but she did her best to understand what it was saying. She was too afraid to ask what a word meant in fear that she would be called out as a fraud. She did notice that for the first three months, she wouldn’t have any medical benefits, and she would only have five sick days. Something that shouldn’t be an issue as long as Lola didn’t make her sick. It would only be for three months, and then she would have vacation time, more sick time, and full health benefits. She could make it work for three more months. Feeling confident, Megan signed and dated it before returning it with a warm smile.

  “It’s all pretty straight forward. I appreciate this opportunity to work for you. I won’t let you down.”

  “Well, we will see.” Deborah pulled out another piece of paper and placed it down in front of Megan. Her hands were smooth and brown and perfectly manicured. “This is what your daily tasks will look like. Some will change depending on the day and my needs. This is what I need you to complete by the end of the day. Kathy will show you to your desk and sort out any additional paperwork that you need to fill out. If you do not know something, then ask. I will not tolerate mistakes.”

  The cold stare that Deborah gave her told Megan that this woman was not going to warm up any time soon. It also meant she would need to be on her A-Game if she was going to be able to keep this job at the end of the three months.

  “Thank you. I will get started on this right away.”

  Megan picked up the paper and headed out of the office. She only glanced down at the list of tasks once she was safely out of Deborah’s office. There were thirty different items on the list, some seemed easy enough, while others looked like they were written in another language. She would have to ask Deborah questions throughout the day. She was just hoping the answers wouldn’t leave her with even more questions. One thing Megan did know was that today was going to be a long day.

  2

  “Lola, come on it’s bedtime!” Megan called out once again to her little five year old.

  This was a nightly ritual with Lola and it was starting to become rather overwhelming for Megan. She knew that with Lola now being in school she would want to spend more time with her at night, it was understandable. But now that Megan had to be at work for nine and Lola had to be at school for eight, they couldn’t stay up that late. They both needed to be in bed and fully rested so they could get up and get to school in the morning.

  “All clean Mommy.” Lola said with a big toothy smile.

  “Beautiful, now into bed for you.” Megan said with a warm smile as she walked with Lola over to her bedroom.

  After getting Lola all tucked in and giving her a kiss goodnight, Megan closed the door as Lola curled up with her favorite teddy, her dark curls messy on the pillow. Megan let out a sigh as she headed off to the living room, where her bed was, to see that her roommate, Amber, was back from work. Amber was a godsend to Megan, not only did she pay half of the rent, but she also looked after Lola when Megan had had to work nights. Lola honestly had no idea what she would have done if she had never met Amber. Yes, the apartment was small and rundown, but they had managed to make it work. It was a two bedroom, so Megan slept on the pull out couch they had managed to score at a thrift shop five years ago. It was tight and hard at times, but they always made it work.

  “How was it?” Amber asked, handing Megan a glass of cheap red wine.

  Megan took it gladly as they sat down on the couch. “Well, I got the job! But it was a lot harder than I thought. I’m fairly certain my boss hates me.”

  “Congratulations! First days are always rough. You’ll get used to what she likes and how she likes things. She can’t be that bad, I mean, she is a teacher.”

  “Head Teacher, as she liked to remind me today. And she might actually be that bad. Every time I did something even a little bit wrong she was a total bitch to me. I mean, it was my first day, you would think she would give me just a little bit of slack.”

  “Yeah, but you are supposed to have already been working as an assistant. She probably figures you should know how to do everything already. It’s a miracle you even got through that interview.” Amber said with a smirk. “Your charm never ceases to amaze me!”

  “I still stand by what I said, waitressing and being an assistant are virtually the same thing. The only difference is, she seems to be immune to my charming self. Whenever a customer was annoyed, I could just flash them my smile and chat them up. In no time they were happy and leaving me a tip. All I’m getting from her is ice.”

  “Not everyone is happy like you. Some people take a long time to warm up and some never do. You’ll get used to how she likes things and her attitude. I still can’t believe you aren’t going to tell them about Lola.”

  Megan could hear the slight judgement in Amber’s voice. She knew that Amber wasn’t happy with her decision to hide Lola. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to be a single mother, how could she be? Lola was the best thing that ever happened to her and if everyone saw it that way then she wouldn’t have to hide her. Megan had been to interviews in the past for better jobs and she got told to her face that she couldn’t work there and be a single parent. Sure, they didn’t put it that way, but basically that is what they said. This personal assistant job was the best opportunity to have something real. To be able to afford her own two bedroom apartment one day for her and Lola. Megan couldn’t risk losing it all because she chose to have a child and raise that child.

  “I might one day if I am still working there. You know why I am keeping her a secret. I can’t risk losing this job. If I can just get through my three month probation and get on a proper contract…”

  “I know and I get it. Still, how long can you really keep a secret child from the people you work with? She’s going to get sick, she’
s going to have school holidays where you’ll have to work. There’s no guarantee I’ll be off for them. Eventually, they are going to find out.”

  “And when that day comes, I’ll deal with it then. Hopefully I’ll have been working there long enough that no one thinks twice about it. I honestly have no idea how my boss would handle me having a child. Teacher or not, she isn’t warm at all to anyone. I bet she HATES children.”

  “I don’t know, Lola is a pretty special little girl,” Amber said warmly.

  “She sure is,” Megan agreed.

  If you had told Megan five years ago that she would be this much in love with someone, she would have told them they were crazy. Yet, here she was sleeping on a pull out couch working her ass off all so this sweet little girl could have a shot at having a real life. Megan honestly didn’t know what she would ever do if she lost Lola. To Megan, Lola was it, she was everything. She had tried dating since Lola had been born and joined a dating app, but nothing ever came of it. Some good sex, but that was it. Some were running away the second they found out she had a child and the ones that didn’t weren’t worthy enough for Lola. It didn’t matter to Megan though, she had Lola and that was all she needed.

  “So, is anyone at the office hot?” Amber said with a big grin.

  “That is not what I am there for.”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “You’ve got eyes though. Come on, you must have noticed if someone was smoking or not.”

  “There might be a few teachers that have it going on, but I’m not there for dating. I’m there to work and I am not about to screw up this job over a night of fun.”

  “Ok, ok, I get it. But what about your boss, is she smoking?” Amber said with a giggle.