Page 55 of Harboring Shantae

"I did, but you have to promise to eat them while I help Mrs. Shantae with a couple of things."

Matthew and Andrew eagerly nodded their heads and bounced from foot to foot.

She helped Ray set them up with their snack and then moved back to her desk where she had another chair brought in so Ray wasn't forced to sit in one of the toddler chairs.

"Bribery, I see."

"Of course," he laughed. "I get to be the cool uncle who sugars them up before returning them to their parents."

"So, no aspirations to have a few of your own?"

Shantae didn't know much about Ray other than he was a whiz with technology and looked like he spent hours at the gym instead of behind a desk. If Camron hadn't told her, she would've assumed he was former military like everyone else based on his muscles.

"Negative. That would require me to settle down and that's not what I want. I can't see myself tied down to only one woman. I like variety too much."

"So you're a player."

"Sure, if that's what you want to call me. I prefer sharing the wealth I have to give, but whatever works."

There was something about the way he said it that didn't ring completely true. Now wasn't the time to ask, but she would be digging deeper. There was a story there to be had.

"So ... Trista mentioned that you wanted to go back and get a degree in education. Do you know where you want to attend? In person or online? Or when you wanted to start?"

She hadn't really given any of it a thought after she told Trista what she wanted to do. There were several schools Trista had good relationships with, but Shantae felt weird using those resources. They were meant for women who were getting their life back on track after being trafficked or were coming out of an abusive relationship. The night they got drunk, Trista had explained all the ways her charity was expanding. Those resources needed to be saved for people who really needed them. Not her.

"It doesn't really matter where I go as long as the school is accredited. Online would be better so I could still work here and not have to worry about the number of classes I can take. I know at some point I'll have to do student teaching, so that will require time off, but I would like to keep that to a minimum for now."

"Sounds good. And when are you thinking of starting?"

"Next semester, if possible. I have to see how much it costs per credit and what loans I need to take out. I already have a bachelor's degree, so I doubt I qualify for any aid."

"Don't worry about the cost. Wes has you covered. As to the rest, I think I found you an online alternative option that won't take as long but still gets you the same results. I looked at your college transcripts, and based on your grades, I would say you're a shoo-in."

There was a whole lot about that statement that she needed to hash out. Starting with the fact that her boss thought he had the right to pay for her.

"Uh, Wes isn't paying for anything. I already told everyone the point of me working was so I could support myself and not rely on others. That includes our boss."

"Youalsosigned a contract when you got hired that stated tuition would be covered when the individual was planning on advancing themselves."

"What? No there wasn't," she argued.

At least she didn't think so. That day was a bit of a blur and Nancy had sped through the paperwork. She hadn't argued. Not when she knew Nancy was already mad at Wes and she didn't want to be the reason the woman had more work to do. Plus, it was a work contract. It wasn't like Wes demanded her firstborn or anything.

"You didn't read it very well, did you?"

"Nancy gave me the Cliff Notes version."

Ray shook his head and went back to whatever was on his screen. Knowing her luck, it was probably a copy of the contract she signed.

"Well, then you must not have heard her when she told you about the tuition part."

He slid the computer over to her, and sure enough, there was a section highlighted that did, in fact, say her tuition would be paid in full by her employer.

"Why would he put that in my contract? I can't see him doing that for everyone he hires."

While she appreciated the help, she didn't want to be indebted to anyone, and that included her boss. She wanted to know that when she moved on to work in a school, she didn't feel guilty that Wes lost money on her.

"Actually, he does. Even the guys on the team have it in their contracts. Wes likes to make sure that he takes care of everyone and that he doesn't give them a reason not to pursue their dreams. To him, paying for school is a smart business model. Both Missy and Nancy have utilized it. Missy more because she wanted a business degree. Nancy just takes classes to keep up on the latest updates."