Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 98

The mayor’s meeting about the Meadows School project wrapped up without any surprises. The department heads didn’t push for any major changes, though a few details clearly needed some tweaking.

As the meeting was winding down, Bonnie glanced through her notebook, pages already filling up with notes. She paused when she saw Odette’s name—Director of the Board of Education—scrawled in the margins. It hit her that Meadows School actually fell under Odette’s watch, though she hadn’t realized it until everyone was already sitting down.

Odette had given her a gentle smile when they first made eye contact. Her feedback during the meeting was genuine, the kind that came from someone who’d seen everything from every angle. She explained what students, parents, and teachers actually needed. Students wanted comfortable classrooms, spaces to hang out, and places to unwind. Parents cared about safety and whether it would be easy to drop their kids off and pick them up. The teachers just needed things to run smoothly so their jobs weren’t any harder than they had to be.

Bonnie really respected Odette. She'd always known the woman was fiercely capable and cared deeply about students’ well-being. Back when Bonnie was still a student at The Cabinda School, Odette was principal. She was everywhere—dropping into classes, sharing meals with the kids in the cafeteria, and sometimes she’d even stay a few nights in the dorms just to see how things really worked. She wanted to know what life was like so she could make it better.

During today’s meeting, Odette listened carefully and brought up only the most important points—the ones that mattered. Bonnie made a star next to all of Odette's suggestions. It made her realize that while she and Jim had focused on making the new school look impressive, they’d missed some practical things. Like, there were too many open courtyards, too many steps. Getting from the school to the sports field was a hassle, and the whole layout could definitely use some work.

After Jim finished his report, the Deputy Mayor called things to a close. Everyone started filing out, leaving just Jim and Bonnie packing up their laptops.

Jim gave a half-laugh, half-groan. “Can you believe it? The holiday’s right around the corner, and they just handed us one more project. I’m already buried, and do you see them giving me another graduate as good as you? Not a chance.”

Bonnie smiled. “We landed something new?”

“Yeah. Nestor hit me up this morning. Evergreen Estates has a new business park in the High-Tech Zone they want us to design. We need some concepts before the holidays, but my team’s already stretched thin.”

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