I hate to say it but I had a little bit of a struggle writing this chapter. I still don't love it, but I wanted to update!
Thank you for reading!
Chapter Twenty
"What do you mean... Suspended?"
Haley shook her head at the question, letting out a deep breath.
"She's suspended, Nathan. Like full on, no school for the rest of the week," She informed him, pushing her hand through her hair.
"What happened?" Nathan asked her.
Haley's grip tightened on the phone in her hand, sighing softly. "The principal said that she pushed a kid over and she won't talk to me about her side. I know there's more to it but she won't tell me anything. He said that she was suspended because this isn't the first time she's done something like this, but the first time was in like kindergarten. It's so dumb."
"So what did you do?" He asked, clearing his throat.
"I got a call, drove over and saw her sitting in the reception area with Brooke, and then I went back to Principal Turner's office and he told me what happened, and then told me the punishment. I left, tried to get her to talk to me in the car and then for about fifteen minutes once we got home, and then I called you," She informed him, letting out a sigh.
"Don't you have a ton to do today?" He asked her.
"Kind of," She mumbled, rubbing her hand down her face.
"Why don't you two come over and we can get a quick lunch and then you can leave her here with me for the day?" Nathan suggested, clearing his throat.
"I don't know... Should I be taking her to lunch and letting her hang out with you?" Haley asked him, shaking her head.
"You're asking me for parenting advice?" He laughed into the phone. "I don't know, Hales... Look, you think there's more to the story. Maybe I can get something out of her."
"I do have a big deadline tomorrow, and I've been pretty preoccupied," She said, a small smile forming on her face.
"My fault completely. Let me take her for the day. Nick loves coming to work with me, maybe she will," He said, humming softly.
"You know what? Okay. We'll be there in about twenty minutes?"
"Sounds good. See you soon, beautiful."
Haley grinned, mumbling a quiet farewell before hanging up the phone and letting out a deep breath.
Hopefully Nathan could get something out of Macey.
xxxx
"Why are we going to lunch with Nathan?" Macey asked quietly, letting out a loud sigh as she laid her head against the elevator wall.
"Because he wants to see us," Haley told her, resting her hand on Macey's shoulder.
"But I'm in trouble," She responded quietly, her gaze falling to the ground.
"Macey, I know you, and I know there's more to the story," Haley said, shaking her head. "You're in trouble, yes. But you're going to spend the day with Nathan."
"But why?" Macey asked, shaking her head.
"Because he asked if he could. Uncle Clay is here too," Haley said, smiling down at her.
"Okay," Macey said quietly, leaning against Haley's side instead of the elevator.
When they doors opened, they were met with an empty floor. Most of the lights were off, except for Nathan's office light, of course.
Haley quickly knocked on the door, letting out a small hum and looking down at Macey.
It took a moment, but Nathan pulled open the door, a smile forming on his face.
"There's my favorite girl," Nathan said, kneeling down in front of Macey. "Have a bad day?"
Macey nodded slowly, releasing her grip on Haley and throwing herself into Nathan's arms, much to the surprise of both the parents.
Nathan held onto her tightly, glancing up at Haley and offering her a small shoulder shrug.
"You're okay, Mace," He whispered, rubbing his hand up her back. "It's okay."
Macey's grip tightened on him a his words.
They stayed like that for another minute, before Nathan stood up slowly. "Hey," He said, tapping her head lightly. "We get to go to lunch and you get to spend the whole day with me. Remember how fun Nicky said it is to go to work with me?"
Macey nodded, looking up at Haley, who smiled back down at her.
After a pretty silent drive to the restaurant, they were finally seated at a table, Nathan on one side and Haley and Macey on the other.
"So... Nathan, what have you been doing today?" Haley asked him, smiling slightly and raising her eyebrows at him.
"Oh, you know... Just the regular stuff," Nathan said, glancing down at the menu and shrugging his shoulders.
Haley sent him a stare, before tilting her head at Macey.
Nathan nodded slightly, clearing his throat. She wanted him to keep talking. Okay.
"I have a new potential client that I'm pretty excited for. Guess what sport he plays, Macey?" Nathan said, looking over at her.
"Basketball," Macey said quietly, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Nope, basketball," He hummed, shaking his head.
Macey let out a quiet laugh, "That's what I said!"
"Oh, right," Nathan said, shrugging. "My bad."
"Nathan is silly, isn't he?" Haley hummed, wrapping her arm around Macey's chair lightly.
Macey nodded, sending a small smile up at her mom.
Nathan laughed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I try. But yeah, I've just been setting up that contract all day. Bothering Clay for no reason. Really fun stuff."
"Really? You're bothering Clay for no reason?" Haley laughed, raising her eyebrows.
"Okay, fine. Clay is bothering me for no reason," He laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"That sounds more like it," She hummed, grinning at him.
Nathan glanced over at Macey before looking back at Haley.
Haley shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head and sighing.
"Are you guys doing anything fun this summer?" Nathan asked them, loosening his tie a little bit.
"Well, my parents live in an RV and travel around, and usually Macey stays with them for a week, and then I meet up with them, wherever they are, and we just hang out for another week," Haley said, nodding. "I'm not really into the RV lifestyle."
"I think it's fun," Macey said, nodding her head.
"Do your cousins ever join you?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Sometimes they do," Macey said, leaning against the table lightly.
"Are you doing anything?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Usually Katherine tries to free up her summer a little bit and we go do something fun, just the three of us," Nathan said, clearing his throat. "But I think this year I'm just going to have her and Nick go."
Maybe he'll plan it for the same week that Macey is gone.
They met the others eyes, and they could both tell the same thought was passing through the others head.
"I'll probably go down to Tree Hill for a few days too," Nathan spoke again, clearing his throat. "And then I'm going to do a little bit of scouting."
"What does that mean?" Macey asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"It's for my work. I try to go and find people," Nathan informed her, smiling slightly. "Sometimes I travel all over the world to do it."
"Really?" Macey asked in disbelief, her eyes wide.
"Yes," Nathan confirmed, nodding at her.
"Does Nick go to?" She questioned, tapping her hands against the table.
"He hasn't yet. Maybe when he's a little older," Nathan said, shaking his head. "I don't really go that much anymore. I like to stay home with him."
"It sounds fun," Macey said, grinning at him. "Maybe you can take me when I'm a little older too."
Nathan's eyes moved over to Haley, a small smile forming on his face. "Yeah, maybe I can," He said, clearing his throat.
"Where have you gone?" Macey asked him, raising her eyebrows.
Nathan pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolling for a little while before pulling up some pictures. "This is when I went to Europe with Clay," He said, showing her a picture of the Eiffel Tower.
"Have you been to London?" Haley asked him, smiling slightly. "We want to go but I'm afraid the flight is a little long for a seven year old."
Nathan nodded his head, clearing his throat. "I have. It's beautiful," He confirmed, tapping the table. He met Haley's eyes once again, "I'll take you guys there someday."
"You will?" Macey asked, her eyes wide.
"Sure," Nathan said, grinning over at the young girl, holding his fist out to her to bump.
She did quickly, before smiling brightly at him. "That's so cool."
"I'm pretty cool," Nathan joked, winking at her and leaning back in his chair, smiling in Haley's direction.
Haley smiled back at him, letting out a deep breath and looking up when the waiter returned to their table.
xxxx
Macey looked over at Nathan while he scrolled through his email, letting out a loud sigh.
Nathan quickly glanced in her direction, raising his eyebrows and turning away from his computer. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Macey said, shaking her head. "I'm just sad that I got kicked out of school."
"Not kicked out," He corrected her, wheeling his chair away from his desk and over to where she was sitting on the couch, watching a movie on his laptop.
"I'm in trouble," Macey said, closing the laptop quickly, sniffling.
Nathan sent her a sad smile, nodding his head slowly. "Yeah, you're in a little bit of trouble."
"But I don't get it," Macey whined, looking at him and sighing.
"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Nathan said softly, shrugging his shoulders.
"The boys older than us were teasing my friend Ava and I didn't like it!" Macey said, scowling at him. "So I pushed them away from her and they fell."
Nathan nodded at her, letting out a deep breath. "Did you tell Principal Turner that?"
"No," Macey said, shaking her head. "But why did I get in trouble for helping?"
Nathan really didn't have an answer for her. In her mind, this wasn't fair. It wasn't really fair in his mind either, but she shouldn't have pushed anyone, of course.
"You shouldn't have pushed them, Macey," Nathan said, clearing his throat. "You did the right thing by stepping in though. Sometimes you just have to go get a teacher."
"But I didn't want to leave her by going to get a teacher!" Macey said, scowling. "Nick was there! They were being mean to her!"
Nathan nodded his head, standing up from his chair before taking a seat on the couch next to her.
"You're a good kid, Macey. I'm sorry that you got suspended for standing up for your friend," He said softly, smiling at her. "You should have told Principal Turner what happened."
"It doesn't matter," Macey grumbled, letting out a sigh.
"Hey, everything you say matters," Nathan said, tapping her head lightly. "Don't dismiss the truth. You should tell your mom what happened, and she'll be able to help you."
"Will you tell her?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Of course," Nathan agreed, winking at her. "I'm proud of you, Mace. Just know that you didn't do the wrong thing by standing up to them, but pushing them was not the answer."
"Okay..." Macey said, letting out a sigh.
"And you only have one week of school left, okay? So if you see this again, just go talk to a teacher," He said, smiling at her.
"I will," Macey agreed, leaning her head back.
Nathan smiled, opening the laptop again and looking down at the movie she was watching. "Can I watch with you?"
"Don't you have to work?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"I'll do it later," He said, tapping the play button and clearing his throat.
After watching the movie for a few minutes, Macey paused the show quickly and looked up at him.
Nathan raised his eyebrows, glancing down at her. "What?" He asked, laughing.
"I have a question," Macey said, shifting slightly in her seat and grinning up at him.
"Uh... Ask away," Nathan said, sending her a suspicious look.
"Do you have a crush on my mom?" Macey asked him, turning so she could look at him better.
Nathan blinked, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.
What did he even say back to that? Kids picked up on everything, it wasn't fair.
They'd been pretty discreet... Or so he thought.
It was a little bit more than a crush now.
"You do!" Macey giggled, poking Nathan's cheek. "Your face is red."
"I don't know what you're talking about," He said, shaking his head quickly. "I don't have a crush on anyone."
"You're lying! Lying is bad," Macey reminded him, shaking her head. "You have a crush on my mom! Ew!"
He let out a groan accompanied with a sigh. "Macey," He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I won't tell her," Macey said, winking at him.
Oh, but she already knows.
He felt a little guilty for some reason and he wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was due to the fact that they were hiding this from the kids?
It was weird.
"Fine," He admitted, shaking his head. "I have a little teeny tiny crush on your mom. But you promised you wouldn't tell."
Macey squealed, clapping her hands quickly. "I knew it!"
"No telling," He reminded her, shrugging his shoulders.
Macey zipped her lips and locked them, before tossing the key somewhere else.
Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes. "Glad my secret is safe with you. Now can we please watch the rest of the movie?"