Across The Tracks Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Alright, consider this your warning. If the articles continue, then your probation will kick in and I am certain the union will step in for a hearing.”
    He took his glasses off and said, “For what it’s worth, you are a damn good teacher and I’d hate to lose you. I’ve often thought you’d make a great principal someday.”
    She smiled at him and said, “That means a lot coming from you, Mr. Dixon.”
    Gathering her things, she went outside to the parking lot with the hopes of heading home to get ready to go out with the girls. She needed to unwind after today. Lisa counted over 200 emails now that the day was over and not even sure how many phone calls or messages. Her phone stayed off during the school day, so she could focus on the students and her work.
    As she approached her car, she saw someone leaning against it. At first she thought it was Danny here to surprise her. But the closer she got the more she saw it was a man, but it was not her man.
    It was that man.
    “To what do I owe this intrusion, Mr. Wells?”
    “I come in peace,” he said and raised his hands in surrender.
    He was in another expensive suit, with his sandy hair and a tanned complexion. This was an Italian trait, but she was not sure if he had simply been in the hot sun for a while or he was just a darker shade. He was taller than her by a few inches and his physique was that of an athlete. The man definitely worked out because that suit outlined his broad, expansive chest in the best way possible. In the courtroom, she was too angry to recognize any of his features, except his devil horns. Lisa did not know if it was the sunlight or that suit, but he looked good.
    “I’m sure you do. What? You’ve come to rub it in?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
    “What are you talking about, I came to speak to you.”
    “I’m not in the talking mood,” she said as she rounded to the driver’s side of the car.
    He followed her and she quickly turned around to face him, not trusting him to be behind her.
    “Listen – “
    She interrupted him and said, “If you are going to call me a bitch at,” she looked at her watch, “5:40 in the evening. At least buy me a drink first.”
    He looked shocked and said, “Funny you say that because I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner sometime.”
    She busted out laughing to the point where tears were rolling down her face. He did not seem to find anything funny but looked at her with wonderment.
    Once she settled, she said, “That’s just an expression. I wouldn’t trust a drink from you if my life depended on it.”
    He was shocked at her words but said, “You hate me that much? You think I’d do harm to you?”
    She chuckled, “No, Wells, you hate me and people like me that much, that you do harm in other ways. You don’t have the balls to stab us directly, so you use the law and your position to do the killing. It’s a damn massacre.”
    He looked confused and then anger slid across his face. “You are going to stand on your high horse and try to blame me for all the wrongs that have happened in the judicial system. I handle all of them,” he raised his hands, “oh no, 70% of them at least. Right? This is all my fault.”
    “Of course not, it’s a systematic problem, which you contribute to every day.” She looked at him square in the eye and continued, “But at least have the decency to admit you don’t like people, not like you. I already see you for who you are, you don’t have to lie to me, Wells. I won’t write about you again. I’m not bitter, but I am angry.”
    He looked at her intently and said, “It’s not that I don’t like people, not like me. I don’t like freeloaders, people who con the system every day, get away with murder on technicalities, people who are weak, stuck in the same rut, never getting out. It boggles my mind. You are not like them, but you are a sympathizer, which makes you weak as well. Because you’ll die a lonely angry woman, with