Page 21 of Mr. B

“Why is Dr. Jordan going to be there?”

“I guess she wants to be involved. It has always been managed by Mr. Bishop.”

“She’s not Mr. Bishop.” He held up his cup. “Not your problem. I’ll take care of it.”

“I’ll get your breakfast order so you’ve eaten by the time they get here.”

He cocked his head. “Are you inferring I’m hangry?”

“A little bit, yes sir.”

He smiled. “I’ll be in my office where I can’t hurt or offend anyone.” He returned to his office and settled behind his desk, then took a bite of a cookie. Chocolate chip. Mrs. Henderson. Recently divorced mother of two boys at the school. “Well, Mrs. Henderson, you make a damn good cookie.”

When someone knocked on the door, he finished the cookie and took a sip of coffee. It wouldn’t be Polly with his breakfast already.

He brushed the crumbs off his desk. “Come in.”

Cassandra walked in holding a plant. “Morning.”

“Morning. I thought the meeting was at ten.”

“It is. I just wanted to bring you this.” She set the plant on his desk, then stepped back.

“You brought me a plant?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To mark our one-week anniversary.”

“Why are we celebrating that?”

“We made it a week. The first week has to be the hardest, right? So, it’s going to get easier from here. Before long…who knows? You might even smile at me once in a while.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t hold your breath.”

She nodded toward the three cookies sitting on his desk. “Breakfast?”

“I’m getting some food delivered. I…” He shook his head.

“You’re right. None of my business what you eat for breakfast. I just assumed you ate healthy, what with all the running you do.”

“How do you know I run?”

“You run right by my house several times a week.”

“On Westchester.” She nodded, and he added, “I forgot you lived over there.”

“Are you going to avoid my street now?”

“No. It’s the most direct route to the trail through the greenbelt.”

“You’re very dedicated to getting up that early to run.”

“It’s that or at night. After a long day, night doesn’t work for me. Why are you up so early?”

“I like getting up early before the world wakes up.”