"Hi, Sydney," he said, and extended his hand toward her as a friendly smile curved the lips she'd just fantasized about. "Thanks for coming in. I appreciate it."
"Of course." She shook his hand, all too aware of the heat of his large palm against hers, and how long and strong his fingers felt wrapped around her hand. In contrast to his undeniable masculinity, she almost felt delicate… when she was anything but.
She pushed the ridiculous notion from her mind and kept her thoughts strictly on business. "Nothing is more important than my daughter and her education, Mr. Barnett." And she was determined to make sure that Cassie had every advantage, and the grades to get accepted to a reputable university. Sydney might have scratched, clawed, stripped, and slept her way to being able to open her own business because she'd lacked any type of college degree, but her daughter would hopefully never, ever have to stoop to that kind of level. Not if Sydney could help it.
"Call me Daniel, please." He rounded his desk and pushed aside papers and textbooks on it in search of something. "I have to say, if all my parents had your same positive attitude and showed more interest in their kids' academic achievements, my job would be so much easier and far more enjoyable."
She shook her head, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I can't even imagine how difficult it must be to teach a classroom of hormonal, moody, and temperamental teenagers." Considering she could barely handle Cassie's mood swings, the thought made her shudder.
He glanced up at her and chuckled, a warm, deep sound that did funny things to her insides. "It's definitely a challenge. If I didn't love math so much I would have quit my first year, which was pure hell, and followed in my brother's and father's footsteps and joined the family medical practice. Except I'm not that great when it comes to blood and guts, and stitches and shots make me queasy." He pressed a hand to his stomach and grimaced.
This time, she laughed, because it wasn't often that a man admitted to such a weakness. "Well, if you do ever quit, you can always come to work for me as a bartender at The Electric Blue."
He lifted an inquiring brow, bringing her attention to the amusement glimmering in the depths of his eyes. "Don't the workers dance on the counters and tabletops there?"
"Yeah, they do." She bit the inside of her cheek, unable to imagine a reserved guy like Daniel shaking it for the crowd. She was guessing he came from a blue-blooded type of family who preferred the exclusivity of a posh, upscale country club over a loud, rowdy bar. "It's part of the job description. You've got to be willing to be a little uninhibited."
"Ahhh, it's a tempting offer, but I'm much more comfortable holding a calculator and textbook than juggling bottles of beer and liquor, not to mention the whole dancing thing," he said, and picked up a file folder he found beneath a pile of papers. "I'm an analytical, problem-solving kind of guy, and the whole bump-and-grind scenario just isn't my thing. At least not in public, anyway." Grinning, he winked at her, then started for a small table and chairs set up in the corner of the room.
She stared after him for a moment before following, uncertain whether she was more shocked at his sense of humor, or the fact that he'd just openly flirted with her.
She sat down in the chair across from him and put her purse on the table, recalling Lora's comment about the possibility of Daniel being interested in her. Okay, so maybe he was attracted to her, especially if she took into account the way his gaze had briefly dropped to her full breasts, clearly outlined in her snug blue sweater, before he averted his eyes to the papers in the file he'd brought with him.
His reaction and quick glance at her chest certainly didn't surprise her. She was used to the blatant stares, the bold and unabashed ogling. With men, it always came down to her physical appearance, and the fact that she had a body built for down-and-dirty sex. And Daniel, being a man, was no different, except for the fact that he was more subtle about checking out her curves than most.
Too bad for him, he truly wasn't her type at all, because she was certain he'd be a fun, temporary romp to end her own dry spell. However, he'd revealed just enough about himself in the past ten minutes since her arrival for her to know that their lifestyles were as different as night and day. A nice, conservative teacher and a wild, anything-goes bar owner just didn't mix, in her opinion.
"About Cassie," he said, getting back to the reason why she was there. "I wanted to show you her work over the past month and a half of school, from the first week in September to this week's review test." He laid out a series of papers for her to look at and compare. "Here, as you can see, she started out the school year with a good grasp of what she was learning. But in the past three and a half weeks, her test scores have dropped substantially. From high As to mid Cs."
As Sydney took in her daughter's decreasing grades, she felt her stomach drop. The decline was startling, and disconcerting, especially since Cassie had always done very well in her math classes.
Daniel's gaze met hers, a troubled frown creasing his brows. "What's odd is that Cassie's homework is perfect, and she rarely has anything more than one or two problems wrong. So, to see her doing so poorly on the review tests, which are taken directly off of the homework I give them, really concerns me."
"It concerns me, too," she said on a rush of breath.
He gave her an understanding nod. "Another thing I noticed is that she's changed answers on her tests and ended up getting the problem wrong, when it was correct to begin with." He pointed out a few of those instances on the papers in front of her. "Something isn't quite right, but I can't put my finger on it. I know Cassie's grades and what she's capable of doing from last year, and this just isn't a normal pattern for her."
"Maybe she's confused about how to do the problem," she said, and wondered if she sounded like she was grasping at straws for an answer. Because if Cassie was able to ace her homework, it didn't make sense that her test scores would be so low.
"Could be," he replied, not discounting her theory. Leaning back in his chair, he tipped his head and regarded her thoughtfully. "You're a single parent, right?"
She stiffened, her defenses instantly rising. Shit. She hated, hated, this line of questioning-and Daniel certainly wasn't the first person to scrutinize her ability as a single parent. "Yes." She couldn't keep the irritable bite from her tone.
He didn't seem to notice her annoyance. "And Cassie's father?"
Her teeth clenched before she replied. "He isn't a part of her life." Tim Carson never had been, and never would be a father figure to her daughter. Especially considering he'd never acknowledged his child's existence, which was more than fine with Sydney.
"Okay," Daniel said, much too calmly, and with too much consideration, for Sydney's liking.
She could only imagine that he was judging her, just as so many before him had, and her irritation spiked. She leaned forward in her chair and braced her forearms on the tabletop, her entire demeanor taking on an aggressive, I'm-not-about-to-take-your-shit stance. "Look, I don't know what kind of information you're digging for, but what do any of Cassie's problems with math have to do with me being a single parent?"
Judging by the barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, it appeared the man actually had the audacity to find her indignation humorous. It was also obvious that he wasn't at all threatened by her confrontational attitude.
"Sydney, I didn't mean to imply anything by the question, and I'm sorry if I offended you in any way," he said, his voice genuinely sincere. "I'm just trying to get a better feel for Cassie's home life. Is something going on with her that might be distracting her from school and testing? Anything in her normal routine that has changed lately?"