The Teacher by Meg Gray

you Em. C’mon, remember
how I went to that little sing-songy thing of yours, please, please, please.
Pretty, pretty please.”
    Seth grinned at Emma sympathetically.
He’d been on the receiving end of these phone calls before too.
    “Fine,” Emma said, realizing if she
repaid this so-called favor now she wouldn’t have it looming over her later.
“I’ll meet you at your place.”
    “I like that one,” she mouthed to Seth
and pointed to the snapshot of him and Kelly on the beach. The California sun
set behind them and the ocean waves paused in a lazy curl. Their arms were
draped over each other’s shoulders and their faces reflected sheer happiness.
    “Me too,” he whispered, smiling at the
screen and clicked to the next picture.
    “Yay.” Stacy was squealing. “But meet me
at the office. I’ve got to show a client a condo a couple of blocks over. He’s
going to hate it, so I’ll be back pretty quick. Let’s say one hour my office
and then you can read my email for me.”
    “Wait?” Emma snapped her attention away
from Seth’s computer. “You had your results emailed to you at work?”
    “Yeah, so?”
    “You know your company can track what you
do on their network, right?”
    “Oh really Emma like anyone ever does
that. See you in an hour.”
    “Yeah, sure,” Emma agreed and hung up.
    “So what are we dealing with this time?
Pregnancy or STD?” Seth asked.
    “Possible gonorrhea,” Emma answered.
    “Oooh,” he winced and closed his laptop.
“C’mon, I’ll drive you. I’ve got to go downtown anyway.”
    *     *     *
    An hour later Emma and Seth, still
boasting about the amazing parking space he found right out front, walked into
the lobby of Stacy’s office building. Before the tall glass door closed behind them,
it was yanked open again and a woman charged in, with an iciness as cold as the
gust of air that followed. She brushed past them, her briefcase swinging
recklessly out of one hand and a venti-size Starbucks cup in the other. She was
dressed in a black velour sweat suit and her white tennis shoes squeaked as she
bolted to the elevators. She was shouting into the hands free receiver of her
cell phone, tucked inconspicuously into her right ear.
    Emma and Seth, sobered by the entrance
of the other woman, quietly followed her to the elevators and waited.
    “Yes Dennis, I know we are supposed to
be taking vacation time this week,” the woman shouted and stabbed the elevator
button repeatedly. “I had to cancel my holiday mani-pedi to come down here.”
    She paused and Emma looked at the
woman’s fingernails pressing the elevator button again. When she let go and
stepped back Emma recognized her from the elevator last month. She’d gotten on
with Mr. Lewis and the other man.
    “I’m on my way up to the office now to
fax over the documents I have. If you know what’s good for you you’ll get your
ass down here and help me. He needs your files too.”
    Another pause.
    “You don’t think I tried to explain
that. We’re up against a deadline and apparently one of us has screwed up. And
it’s my head the asshole bit off this morning. Look, I’m just trying to do what
Marcus asked.”
    Marcus, Emma’s
ears perked. This woman was talking about Mr. Lewis.
    The elevator arrived.
    “See you in twenty,” the woman barked
into the phone before disconnecting the call.
    The doors opened and Emma and Seth
quietly stepped in behind the nettled woman, keeping their distance. The
woman’s hackles began to droop as she sipped from her cup and then Emma saw her
catch a glimpse of Seth and watched as her eyes traveled the length of him.
Seth, completely unaware, read an advertisement posted on the wall about the
upcoming performances at Keller Auditorium.
    The woman checked her watch and the
aggravation that had been corroding her inside returned. Emma sympathized with
the woman. From her own experience, she could imagine exactly how the woman
felt.
    She thought of Brayden. At least