Mid Life Love: At Last (Mid Life Love #2)(58)

“Excuse me?” I heard her gasp and I knew she hadn’t meant to say that last sentence out loud. “You’re going to risk expulsion? Is that what you just said, Caroline?”

“What?! No...”

“You have ten seconds to tell me what the hell is going on. Don’t you dare bullshit me.”

She sighed. “I missed the first two weeks of classes because I overslept...I went out partying every night and—I mean it’s Physics, like my best subject. Or so I thought...I can’t get into the flight program with less than a B minus...”

“And?”

“This isn’t like regular physics...It’s a strategic level course. It’s not about how many you get right, it’s about which ones you get right. Apparently the problems I pick to solve are the ones only worth two points...” Her voice cracked. “There are only four tests this semester and I already failed the first one. Terribly. I need to make an A on every single one to get the B minus average...”

“I take it that Ashley isn’t failing?”

“Ha! Are you kidding me?” She scoffed. “Of course not. Strategy is her best asset. She has the highest score in the class...I tried to get her to help to me, but I just don’t get it...”

I sighed and shook my head, telling her how disappointed I was that she would even think to ask Ashley to cheat for her, and that I was upset because she wasn’t taking college seriously. I told her that I would hire a private tutor for her, but she’d have to commit to twenty hours’ worth of sessions a week—at night, during party hours. I knew that was the only way she’d take it seriously.

She sounded like she was trying not to cry, but I could tell that she was. “When will I start the tutoring?”

“Tonight. I’ll have Greg fly out to get you. I’ll help you with some of it here.”

“Okay...Thank you...” She sniffled one more time before hanging up.

Claire’s four o’ clock call came across my phone and I wanted to pick it up, but I couldn’t.

Instead, I ordered two kettles of Caroline’s favorite hot chocolate and had a local candy store set up a small sweets bar in my office. I figured that a long night of physics problems would keep me from thinking about Claire.

It was a little after eight o’ clock when I heard knocking at my door.

“One second.” I set a few calculators down on my desk and opened it.

It was Claire. And Caroline. And Ashley.

“Hello ladies.” I avoided looking directly at Claire. I knew she’d been crying by the way she’d done her makeup, by the way she’d brushed her hair over her face, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her.

“Just because I have an A in the class doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be whisked away in the private jet, Jonathan.” Ashley grabbed a chocolate stick from the candy bar. “I’m offended that I didn’t get a call. Don’t you love me too?”

I rolled my eyes and showed them over to my desk. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

While Caroline took out her books, I let my eyes follow Claire over to the couch where she was placing her head on a pillow. As I went over problems with the girls, she lay curled up in a ball, watching us without saying a word.

As usual, Ashley and Caroline were great learners. They watched every equation I broke down, and asked questions whenever they didn’t understand.

It took a while—five hours, for Caroline to finally grasp what she was doing wrong, but I gave her problem after problem to make sure she wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

“Finally! It took you long enough to figure that one out!” Ashley smiled at Caroline’s paper. “I think we should do this again next weekend. Do you know how many pictures I put up on Twitter of the two of us in your jet? Wait until people see that we can do that anytime we want...”

“Your modesty never ceases to amaze me.” I shook my head at her and stood up. “Do you think you have a better handle on it now, Caroline?”

She nodded. “Yes, thank you so much...”

“Anytime. I’ll have a tutor for you tomorrow night. Greg is waiting downstairs to take you back to the airstrip.”

They both hugged me and Claire before walking out of my office and I felt my heart swelling. I was still getting used to having a family, but I liked it. A lot.

As soon as I heard the ping of the elevators, I turned around and looked at Claire. I narrowed my eyes at her and tried to walk over, but I couldn’t do it.

I still didn’t have anything to say.

I walked into my executive suite and lay across my bed. I’d hoped she would simply fall asleep on the couch and let me talk whenever I was ready, but I felt her slipping into bed next to me.

“Please let me explain,” she whispered.

I didn’t say anything.

“I was leaving Starbucks when he showed up... He sat down at my table and asked me to give him two minutes to talk. I didn’t want to, and I swear I wasn’t going to, but there was this look in his eyes.”

“Is there a point coming?”

She took a deep breath. “I told him to say whatever he had to say and when he told me Amanda was terminally ill...I felt bad, but I left anyway...Then he followed me to my car and we started arguing...I tried to fight him off, but he—”