Read Charm School After Dark: Lesson 1 for Free Online Page A

paused, tilting her head to the side. “I’m not as familiar with real estate law. Did Ms. Belle ever take out a loan on the school?” Athena’s lawyer-mind was whirling, the cogs obviously turning.
    “That’s not for me to say. I am not one to meddle in other’s private affairs.”
    All the girls kept silent on that one, biting their tongues hard , because meddling in people’s affairs was, well, pretty much everything Ms. Hattie lived for.
    “And mind you, I’m the only one who calls him the Handsome Devil; that’s my nickname for him,” Ms. Hattie said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “He’s always hanging around, asking questions, trying to ferret out information. Maybe I should have called him The Weasel instead. No, no. Handsome Weasel doesn’t have the right ring to it,” she stated with a triumphant smile, looking around as if asking for confirmation.
    “He’s been here?” Brynn asked, the quietest sister looking very concerned.
    “Oh yes, we haven’t been able to get rid of him. You’ll see him soon enough, I’m sure. He’s dying to find out about the event this Friday.”
    Caelen’s mind started to spin. She wanted this school bad. She needed this school; it was the opportunity she’d been looking for, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. She’d been desperate for a job and a place to stay; Ms. Belle’s provided both. But she also needed money, fast, to battle foreclosure and some asshat who was trying to steal the school away from them.
    Either way she looked at it, money—and a lot of it—was necessary. “Dacey?” Caelen directed a look at the family’s computer genius.
    Dacey raised her palm, her cell firmly in hand. “I’m on it. By the end of the day, I’ll have birth records, financials… Hell, I’ll be able to tell you the last time he went to the bathroom, if you really want to know.” Dacey cackled in glee as the rest of the women groaned in disgust. “I just need a name.”
    “I only know him as the Handsome Devil. Let me think, what did he say his name was? Wally, Will… Something like that. I’m sure Mr. Brown will have all that information for you.”
    “I don’t like it. What’s with all the secrecy? Why wouldn’t Mr. Brown have given us all of this information, already?” Athena stood and started her signature pacing.
    “He is very protective of Ms. Belle and her privacy, as I’m sure you are.” Ms. Hattie directed a sharp look that had Athena sitting back in her seat.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Oh, snap! She was going to have to take notes from Ms. Hattie. How many times would she have given her least favorite pair of shoes to be able to shut Athena down like that? Hundreds.
    “Now. I know you brilliant girls are going to figure out all those pesky financials. I am here to educate you on some of the classes Ms. Belle would teach. Do you remember the fine events Ms. Belle would throw when y’all were children?”
    Flashes of colorful, silky gowns and wisps of expensive perfume tickled her memory. All of the small town’s finest would attend. Caelen and her sisters always tried to catch a glimpse before her mother showed up. The whole thing had been so exciting with wait staff, carts, and bottles and bottles of wine. It had been magnificent, but Caelen didn’t think Ms. Belle had had one of those parties in years.
    “She was inspired by those parties. So many beautiful memories, and handsome men,” Ms. Hattie said with a mischievous wink. “She wanted to start up the classes again, but with a modern twist. Much more exclusive now.”
    “Exclusive? For who? Or should I say, whom? I can never get that straight,” Dacey said.
    “Whom,” Brynn corrected automatically. The resident English professor was their go-to source for all things “grammar.”
    Ms. Hattie gave Brynn a gentle smile of thanks and continued. “Oh yes. It’s still a party, and a quite exciting one at that, but there is an instructional component to it. We have