The CEO's Rose

Vivian’s POV

"Mommy said that everything tastes better fried, but she wouldn’t let me put my socks in the air fryer," Oh goodness, were it not for the pure seriousness on the cherubic face that had just spoken. Vivian would have been rolling around on the floor laughing like there was no tomorrow.

But because she could tell that her student was seriously bothered by having not been allowed to taste his own fried socks, she kept a serious face. Choosing to turn the moment into a lesson, she asked the kids to name food groups and they gladly did so.

"Did you guys notice that socks aren’t in any of the food groups?" They all nodded and Vivian smiled at them.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"It means that we can’t eat socks!" They chorused and she clapped her hands for them, the kids quickly joining in and congratulating themselves. They had done something similar before, for other things that the kids wanted to put in their mouths...things like chalk, soil, spoons and crayons, ooh crayons. Suppressing a shudder at the thought of the waxy abomination, Vivian turned her attention back to her class.

"Alright guys, how about a little song and dance?" The kids cheered, and Vivian began leading them in one of their favorite songs, everybody dancing to their heart’s content. As she moved amongst them, making sure that they did not trip over their own two feet. Vivian felt her heart settle.

She had really missed them. As much as she had enjoyed taking a little time to herself, she was loving being around their little sweet souls again.

***

"Miss Rose, is it true that you are marrying a knight in shining armor?"

"Nuh uh, my mummy said, Miss Rose’s boyfriend is Mr Moneybags,"

"That’s not true. My daddy said he’s the king of everything,"

"No! He’s not the king, he’s the emperor," After a great first half of the morning, Vivian was not at all prepared for the way in which things quickly took a turn, going in a direction that she was not ready for at all. For a few seconds, all that she could do was stare at her kids, not really sure how to address the issue.

Of course, kids would listen in on their parents talking, and unlike adults who would speculate from a distance, they had come to her directly and she had no idea how to deal with that. Putting aside her own feelings on the matter, she clapped her hands to get their attention and the class instantly quieted.

"All right, I have no idea what you have heard, but just know that Miss Rose has found a special friend and I am very happy with him. Okay?" The kids nodded.

"Can we meet him?" Somebody piped up and Vivian froze for a few seconds before she came up with an answer.

"He is very busy with his work and won’t be able to come see you guys. But I will tell him that all of you are happy for us. I am certain that he will be glad to know that,"

Just as it looked like she would have to shield more questions, the curse of the crayon came to her rescue.

"Miss Rose, I swallowed a crayon," Immediately latching on to the unintentional life saver. Vivian got to work, handling the situation. By the time that she was done, the kids had all forgotten that they had been grilling her and were focused on other things.

Unfortunately though, her fellow teachers were not so easy to throw off her scent. Later that day, Vivian ended up eating lunch in her car and running away from all of the far-too-friendly looks that she was getting. Everybody wanting to sit next to her or to gift her with something. It was really unnerving and she hoped they got over it soon and realized that she was still just playing old Vivian.

***

By the time that she finally made it back to the penthouse, Vivian was exhausted.

She was so glad to find Ryan waiting for her, a glass of wine in hand. Barely managing to grunt a hello at him, she grabbed the alcohol from him, gulped it down and then fell against his chest, hugging him for all that she was worth.

"Was it that bad?" He asked once they were finally seated and Vivian raised her head from his chest, looking into his eyes with what she knew was a haunted gaze.

"It was worse than whatever you are thinking. The kids would not stop talking about you and when I finally managed to get them to stop, it was around lunchtime and the teachers were all ready to hound me for the latest scoop. I evaded them but then when it came time for the parents to pick up their kids, all of them wanted to stay longer and chat,"

"Apparently they had all been ’so worried’ that I hadn’t been to school in a while. When I was done with that, the director wanted to talk and she told me that if I ever needed somebody to have a heart to heart with, she was available," Ryan laughed and Vivian groaned as she let her head fall back against his chest.

"It was horrible Ryan, she kept wanting to tell me about the fling she had with the mayor’s son in her small town before she moved to the city. That must have been like a hundred years ago. I do not want to know," Laughing even harder, Ryan squeezed her gently before letting go.

"I know it might not seem like it right now, but things will get better. Just hang in there. Pretty soon they will realize that you being with me has not changed you and they will lose interest and start seeing you as regular old Vivian Rose again,"

Letting out a soft hum, Vivian rubbed her nose against his chest. She really hoped that happened soon.