As Alex sat down in her office that morning, listening to the school bell marking the start of classes for the day, she felt a sense of foreboding. The meeting with the superintendents last night had not gone well, and as principal she had been forced into damage control for both her school's future and also her own. Too much money lost on useless contractors who over promised and under delivered, and the relentless issues from those few vocal stay-at-home mums who had nothing better to do with their day but complain to the higher ups about every tiny thing.
She rubbed her temples, trying to clear her head. Suddenly rising to seek out coffee, she headed out the door and walked straight into her assistant principal, Mr Rudd. Matthew Rudd was both tall and strong enough to hold his own in the collision however, and after steadying her and with a quick apology, continued on his way.
She watched him stride down the corridor and couldn't help but take a second to admire his retreating form. At almost 6 feet he was slightly taller than her, even in heels, and as a rugby player and coach to the local under 11's team, he was built very nicely. Not that she would ever tell him that. Whenever her mind wandered off to fantasies about what he would look like naked and under her she quickly pushed those thoughts away. She was his boss, and she made sure he knew it.
Mr Rudd had been assistant principal now for over a year, and despite their differences of opinion on how things should be done, she thought he was clever and more than capable. He even had an air of confidence to him that she found a little intimidating sometimes. Not that he would know that, because any challenge to or doubt in herself made her more determined and assertive as the leader. She had earned her place as head of this school, and at 37 was the youngest principal in the county, by a long shot.
And it was this reason, her hard work and sacrifice to get this role, that had forced her hand last night in the crisis meeting. For when, feeling the certainty in her competency for her job coming into question, she had subtly shifted all the blame onto Matt. It was Matt who had sourced the contractors, Matt who had mismanaged them, Matt who had failed to account for the inflated invoices. Which was partly true, as she had delegated out some of the smaller jobs to him.
So when Matt came barging into her office at lunch time looking livid, she braced herself for the fallout. She stood and came around the desk to meet him, looking at him with what she hoped was haughty surprise.
"Coming into my office without even a knock? What's going on Matt?"
"Whats going on?" He repeated with incredulity. "Oh, maybe you throwing me under the bus has me a little incensed, Alex." He replied, approaching her. In spite of herself, she backed up at the look on his face.
"I don't know what you mean?" She replied, trying to keep my face as deadpan as possible.
"I got a call from the superintendent's office this morning...I think you know exactly what I mean." He practically snarled. "The thing is Alex, I've watched you as you've fucked this up along the way. I took copies of the work orders you showed everyone, and signed off on without realising the hole you were digging for yourself." He moved closer as she subconsciously retreated towards the corner of the room. "All the invoices, all the contractor interactions. There was no way those new classrooms were being built under budget... and with every attempt to cover your tracks I knew it was only a matter of time until I'd have what I wanted."
"And what is that?" She spat at his cocky face.
"Your job." He replied simply. "But after learning how quick you were to destroy me today, well, now I want something more. I want revenge."
To Alex it sounded like a line from a bad movie. But the look on his face made her flinch for the first time. "Revenge? That seems a bit extreme, don't you think?
"I could destroy you, Alex." He said, as he moved uncomfortably into her space. "Everything you've ever worked for. All gone in the light of mismanagement and a blind arrogance that made you cover your tracks and shift blame."
She actually started panicking now, the look on his face was so vindictive she had no doubt he would do anything he could at this point to have her fired and out on her ass as soon as was possible.
"Matt. Matthew. There's got to be some way to resolve this in a mutually beneficial way?" She asked, with a hint of desperation. His eyes lit up, but in a way that made her feel that sense of foreboding all over again.
"Mutual?" He said, with a gleam of a laugh in his eyes. "Oh, I think we've passed the stage of mutuality." He said as he closed in, and Alex realised she was literally backed into a corner with nowhere left to go.
"I have everything I could ever need to blow your whole life apart." He said, with a laugh. "And I would totally do it." The look of censure on his face made her completely believe it. "I am interested though, to see how far you'd be willing go to make this all go away."
She started in surprise. What was he talking about? Did he want money? She earned more than him, but he didn't think she had a big savings account stashed somewhere that would be enough, surely? But when he looked down at her breasts and leered, she immediately understood.
"Absolutely not." She said in disgust, trying to push him away. He didn't move. The way he was looking at her had her suddenly locked in place.
"It's entirely up to you Alex. You know what's at stake, that all this," he said, gesturing to her office, "will be lost. Probably for good, when word gets out how much you've fucked things up here." He paused for a second, then retreated to sit on the small lounge on the opposite side of the room. He leaned back, stretching his arms out along the headrest as though he had no cares in the world. The casual arrogance of his posture and the look of smugness on his face made her blood boil.
"You are free to leave at any time." He said, gesturing toward the door. "But the second you do, I promise you, every single parent, teacher and administrator at this school, and on the board, will receive a copy of everything I have on you. How much are you liable for at the moment again, Alex? I believe it's well over $100k? And to even finish the main build at the moment you're looking at another $100k or more? When the whole extension was doable for half that if it had been handled properly? After you pushed and manipulated your way into getting this build that you wanted, over the cheaper gym facility that all the parents were gagging for?"
He smiled like a cat playing with a mouse that he'd caught. "I don't think the parents will be thrilled with all the budget cuts required to salvage this; scholarships gone, staff numbers reduced. They'll be after your head, Alex."