The Principal's Office by Jasmine Haynes

before. Until they sold the place, that was still his responsibility.
    “It’s just the batteries.”
    “It’s not,” she said through gritted teeth. “Both remotes do the same thing.” She’d already told him. Just like she’d asked him to fix the hedge trimmer so she could cut back the juniper by the front door. She didn’t mind doing the work—she mowed the lawn, did the weeding, even got the boys to help her—but she needed the proper tools. And she damn well wasn’t going to buy a new trimmer.
    “Fine,” he said with an edge. “I’ll look at it next week.”
    “Thanks.” She hung up without slamming the phone. He made her so angry. She hated feeling like this, powerless.
    She needed some control over her life. She needed a better income. Maybe Bree was right, and she should get a degree, accounting, something she could offer DKG to get a promotion and a raise. Then she’d strip away Gary’s power over her.
    Rachel looked at the closed bedroom door. All of that would take time, a lot of it. What she needed now was to call Rand, right this minute. Some naughty talk, a shot of him telling her she was hot, that he wanted her bad. That would fix
everything
, a deliciously quick fix that wouldn’t last, but whatever.
    She stalked to the door and flung it open before she could succumb to temptation. She’d already sworn to herself that she wasn’t doing anything with Rand when she had the boys. Not even phone calls.
    * * *
    FIRST THING THE NEXT MORNING, RACHEL PUT HER TAKE-CONTROL plan into action. “Have you got a minute, Erin?”
    “Sure, Rachel, come on in.”
    Rachel admired her boss more than any woman she knew. Erin was only a little older than Rachel, but she’d done so much. Erin and Dominic DeKnight had owned DKG for ten years. She was the guts and heart while Dominic was the brains and the inspiration. He designed the ultrasonic gauges they produced, but Erin got them manufactured and shipped out the door.
    She was pretty, with a slim figure and hair a rich shade of red Rachel envied. And she was married to a hunk of a nice guy. Rachel would have said Erin had it all, except that they’d lost their son a little over a year ago. As much as she groused about her boys, she’d die if she ever lost one of them. She didn’t know how Erin survived. But she was strong, and that’s what Rachel admired most. Remembering Erin’s strength was what had given Rachel the courage to come in here this morning. She could be like Erin. She could take charge. She wouldn’t continue to be at Gary’s mercy.
    Erin’s desk faced the door so she could always see what was going on out in the roundhouse, which was how everyone referred to the common area in the center of the building that housed all the business machines, the conference table, and the coffee setup.
    Without closing the door, Rachel took the chair opposite.
    “What’s up?” Erin asked.
    “Bree said that you do an education reimbursement.”
    “Yes. As long as the class has to do with improving your current position.” She put her pen down and leaned back in her chair, giving Rachel her full attention.
    “I’d like to take some accounting courses to help with thestuff I’m doing for Bree. And computer basics, too.” She was self-taught, but Bree’s Excel spreadsheets made her cross-eyed. She was woefully lacking. “San José City College has several classes that would be useful.” After the boys went to bed last night, she’d done some research.
    “Aren’t you a little late for the spring quarter?”
    “They have some late-start short courses that there’s still time to register for.” There were a couple of computer offerings that had looked interesting. They began in April, which gave her time to register at the college, meet with a counselor about getting an AA degree, and even investigate financial aid for whatever DKG didn’t cover. Yeah, she’d done a
lot
of planning last night.
    “The computer classes are certainly