Free The Better Man (Chicago Sisters) by Amy Vastine Page A

in their attempt to fit a hundred and forty chairs in a restaurant that only needed forty, one of the stacks of chairs fell over and damaged a freshly painted wall.
    All the while, Max felt the need to remind Kendall over and over that Mr. Sato would not be covering the cost of her mistake. “If this sets the project back—”
    “You need to stop talking,” she snapped, finally pushed to her limit. His resemblance to Trevor actually made it easier to argue with him. “This is not going to set the project back. This is the vendor’s error. They’ll fix it as soon as someone gets back to me and we’ll move forward.”
    “I’m just saying this is not an expense the restaurant should have to incur.”
    “No one said the restaurant would incur any extra expense.”
    He moved closer and Kendall became all too aware of the differences between Max and Trevor. He was a bit taller than Trevor, who stood a solid six feet tall, and leaner. Trevor had always smelled like soap, while Max’s cologne had a peppery spice and citrus scent. It was a pleasant difference, like his eyes, and it made Kendall feel slightly off balance.
    “I just want to be sure,” he said as her phone rang.
    She gathered her wits about her. “This is probably them right now.” She answered without looking at the number. “Hello?”
    “Hi, Mrs. Montgomery. This is Lisa Warner, from school.” The apology was in her tone.
    Kendall felt her heart sink. Not now. She turned away from Max and made her way to the restaurant entrance. She needed to find Owen. “What happened?” she asked Lisa.
    “We’re going to need you to come in. Simon locked himself inside the nurse’s bathroom.”
    Kendall spotted Owen talking to the delivery man, who was trying to leave. The sooner she went to deal with Simon, the sooner she could get back to handle this fiasco. “I’m on my way.”
    * * *
    S IMON OPENED THE door for his mom but wouldn’t tell her what the problem was while they were at school. Lisa let them use her office, but all Simon would say was his stomach hurt.
    “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me why the yucks are so bad.”
    “I need to go home.”
    “We can’t go home, Simon. We both have jobs to do. Your job is school and Mom’s job is at the restaurant.”
    “My tummy hurts too bad.”
    “Baby, Mommy has a big problem at work. I need you to tell the yucks to go away. You can do it.”
    That was when the tantrum started. Kendall didn’t have time to deal with this today, and as much as she hated to give in, she was left with no choice. She got up and opened the door. “Let’s go.”
    Lisa and the principal, Mrs. Nigel, were waiting for the two of them in the main office. They were talking but stopped as soon as they saw Kendall.
    “Can I go down with him to get his backpack? I’m going to have to take him with me.”
    Lisa and Mrs. Nigel exchanged a look. Kendall knew they were unhappy with her weakness. She’d already received a letter from the school regarding Simon’s attendance record. Lisa smiled at Simon. “How about I take you to get your backpack so your mom can talk to Mrs. Nigel for a minute?”
    The suggestion gave Kendall the yucks. Mrs. Nigel had always been supportive, but that understanding might have an expiration date.
    Simon held tighter to her hand, and truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to stick together. Regardless, she encouraged him to go with Mrs. Warner.
    His reluctance was clear in his eyes and the dragging of his feet. He left with the social worker, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder to make sure his mother didn’t bolt out the doors.
    Mrs. Nigel motioned for Kendall to follow her into her office. Kendall suddenly knew exactly how Simon felt—her own feet were cemented to the floor.
    The principal’s office was a decent size, with two large windows on the long wall opposite the door. Inspirational posters with quotes about success and believing in yourself hung on the walls. They were