Read Online Armani Angels by Cate Kendall - Free Book Online

I’ll get to those later,’ Stephen said. ‘Tyler and I are just heading up to Corner Store for a latte.’ He made to walk out of the room, and then stopped and asked, ‘Oh, did you want to come?’
    Gemma could sense the hollowness of the question. He didn’t want her tagging along on their father-and-son morning.
    â€˜Sure,’ she said, ‘I’d love to come.’
    â€˜Fine,’ he sighed, ‘but you smell like a pub, so I guess you’ll need a shower first. We’ll wait for five minutes.’
    At that moment Tyler slumped into the kitchen and propped himself against the wall as if he hadn’t enough strength to support himself.
    â€˜Hey, mate, nice to see you. How are you doing?’ Gemma stepped towards her lanky son. He leaned sideways to avoid her.
    â€˜Orright,’ he grunted, his eyes on the floor.
    â€˜I’m just going to jump in the shower and then I’ll join you guys for a coffee,’ she smiled at him.
    â€˜Yeah, whatever,’ Tyler mumbled back.
    Gemma showered quickly, dressed in Lululemon turquoise, white and grey weekend wear and pulled on a cap. She went downstairs to find Tyler gone and Stephen surrounded by model boat pieces.
    â€˜Are we going?’ she asked.
    â€˜No point,’ he said. ‘Tyler got a text from a mate and headed off to the skate park.’
    â€˜Oh, okay, I guess I’ll just do some work then.’
    â€˜That’ll make a change,’ Stephen muttered to her back.
    An hour later as the spouses worked at either end of the large house in discordant silence, the telephone called Gemma away from the tedium of her paperwork. She picked it up. ‘Hello?’
    â€˜Hello? Is that Mrs Bristol? It’s Enid Carruthers here.’
    â€˜Mrs Carruthers, how are you?’ Cripes, she thought, this can’t be good. Enid Carruthers was the vice-principal at Princes Academy, the private all-boys school that Tyler attended.
    â€˜Look, not very well at all, unfortunately. I’m sorry to call you on a Saturday morning but I’ve got Tyler here at the school and I’m afraid he and Mathew Gillespie are in rather a lot of trouble.’
    â€˜Oh, God.’ Her hand flew to her cheek. ‘What’s happened?’ She restrained from saying, ‘this time’.
    â€˜I came in this morning to catch up on some work and I discovered the two of them plastering the gymnasium wall with some very colourful language.’
    Oh, for fuck’s sake, Gemma thought. ‘Oh, dear me, I’m so sorry,’ she said.
    â€˜This is a very serious matter, Mrs Bristol. The boys will be suspended for one week. It really should be for two weeks given their appalling record. This is the third time this term, is it not, that a staff member has had to contact you about your son’s behaviour?’
    â€˜Yes, Mrs Carruthers, it’s the third time,’ Gemma replied meekly. I guess they didn’t record the little incident trespassing at night last month, she thought. Her mind started to race with anxiety.
    â€˜The boys are also expected at Saturday detention for a month starting today so I shall be keeping them with me; they have a lot of cleaning to do,’ the vice-principal continued.
    Tyler hated Mrs Carruthers, because she was an old-school disciplinarian and came down hard, often.
    Sometimes Gemma felt that the older woman’s style was a little heavy-handed and her expectations of the boys of today were deluded, but at least someone was disciplining Tyler. She just couldn’t manage it herself. Every time she punished him for talking back or breaking curfew he’d go to Stephen who would override her decision. She was too exhausted to face the inevitable ugliness of arguing with Stephen, so she would let it go. It was easier just to stay at work sometimes. But Tyler was starting to get out of control and Gemma knew she had to take action, and soon. It was so much