Page 55 of Winter Unleashed

“It does, but we have faith in you and your friends. We know you’ll do whatever it takes to stop the issue before it goes too far.”

It was my turn to frown. “Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence… and lack of immense, suffocating pressure.”

He shrugged. “I won’t apologize for that. We must depend on you and Mr. Fraser.” He gave Liam a pointed look that had me wondering if he had figured out who he was.

“You can count on us,” Liam said, shaking the man’s hand.

He gave Mr. Fleming a summary about what had happened with Celeste. When he finished, the principal’s cheerful façade crumbled for a few seconds before reappearing. “Thank you for the update, Mr. Fraser.”

“You’re welcome, George. And I’ve asked you before to call me Liam.”

“Liam.” Mr. Fleming nodded and looked at me again. “If you have a moment, I’d like to show you something. All of you.”

We followed him to his office where he moved behind his desk. He opened a long tube and pulled out blueprints. I watched as he unrolled them and placed various objects on each corner.

“What’s this?” I asked, confused as to why he’d be showing me design plans.

He looked up from the drawings with a huge smile. “These are the plans for using your incredibly generous donation.”

His words echoed in my head, and I clenched my jaw to stop the first response that wanted to come out.

The room seemed especially quiet as I stared at Mr. Fleming. No one seemed to breathe. They all waited for me to react. I was waiting too. How could I respond to that? I had recently learned my so-called father had left me a hefty sum of money. There was no way I was keeping a gift from the asshole who had made my life a living hell, so I’d made the donation to the Academy. And I’d done it anonymously because I didn’t want recognition for it. The Academy needed an upgrade, and I wanted to help. That was it.

“Donation? What donation?” I asked finally.

From Mr. Fleming’s expression, it was clear I wasn’t fooling him. “Miss Steele, I think you know very well what I’m referring to.”

My shoulders sagged on a sigh. “How do you know it was me?”

His pleased look turned into one full of guilt. “When I received the donation… When I saw how large it was, I couldn’t sit by wondering where it’d come from. Of course, Mr. Fras—ah, Liam was my first thought, but he was adamant it wasn’t him.”

Liam gave me a smug look when I glared at him. He could’ve lied and said it was from him. He was beyond wealthy and had multiple businesses… It would have made the most sense that it was from him.

“Okay, so it wasn’t Liam.” I still wasn’t ready to admit the truth. “It doesn’t make sense that you’d jump from him to me.”

“That’s where I may have crossed a line.” He fidgeted with his tie and swallowed hard. “My wife works at the bank…” He let his words trail off waiting to see if I’d figure it out. When I didn’t respond he swallowed again. “She told me you withdrew the entire balance of an account in your name. One you hadn’t touched your entire life then suddenly emptied. It wasn’t hard to figure out from there.”

My face warmed and my jaw clenched. What they’d done was unbelievably intrusive. I wasn’t sure if there was a banker-client privilege rule like with lawyers and shrinks, but at the moment, it felt like there should be.

“What you did was more than crossing a line,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Liam’s arm slid around my waist. It looked like he was trying to comfort me, but I knew he was holding me back from punching the Academy’s principal in his stupid face. “It was highly unethical and uncool. But what your wife did is worse. You had no right to ask her, but she had even less of a right to fucking tell you anything about my personal business.”

Isaac moved up alongside of me to take my hand in his. He was also worried I’d attack the principal. I wouldn’t hit the man, but I was so angry, I’d hoped to make him think I would. If it had tricked Liam and Isaac, it would damn well work on Mr. Fleming. And I knew it had when he loosened his tie. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. I was scaring the piss out of him, and I didn’t feel bad about it.

“You’re right,” Mr. Fleming said. “I truly am sorry. I let my excitement overwhelm me and I made a stupid decision. Please don’t be angry at my wife. She tried not to tell me, but I nagged her incessantly until she gave in. We both made mistakes, and if I can make it up to you, please tell me. I’ll do anything.”

I sighed. “What’s done is done. Just remember this the next time you want to pry into someone’s personal shit. And keep this to yourself.” I groaned when I saw the guilt and fear on his face. “I guess it’s too late for me to ask that.” He nodded. I growled. “Just show me the fucking plans.”

He excitedly went through the ideas for each area of the school. Most of it was just fresh paint, new windows, and floors. The courtyard for the first shifts was getting a major overhaul. Stone walls with a wrought-iron gate would encircle the current empty field, and pavers would replace the grass. Planter beds would line the inside and outside of the walls, and oak trees would stand in the back corners.

The gym and sports areas were getting overhauls as were the classrooms. But my favorite part was the library. They were expanding it to twice its current size. All the computers were being replaced with the newest models. Any worn out books, which was most of them, were being replaced with newer versions, but they were also adding a shit ton more to the catalog. There would be an area for story time for the younger kids, another for study groups for the older ones, and a huge section for movie nights for everyone.

“This is amazing,” I said, temporarily forgetting I was angry with him. “What’s this area?” I pointed to an open space right outside the library.

“That’s where we will hold outdoor movies and live performances. There’s a firepit, a section for food trucks, and a stage.”

He paused with his hand on the bottom lefthand corner of the plans. He looked like he was debating with himself. With a quick nod he flung the top page up to reveal a closeup of the library entrance.

“Oh…” I breathed. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to respond when I saw the name of the library.The Ember Steele Libraryran across the space above the entrance doors. “Um… I don’t know. I mean, I’m honored, of course, but this is a lot.”