Behind the CEO

Chapter 37

"What shape is this?" Taylor asked Joy as they were sitting at the dining room table in Jonathan's house. Despite Taylor and Jonathan holding off on their complicated situation, Taylor wasn't going to allow that to prevent her from being there for Serenity and Joy. Nothing or anyone could get in the way of that, which Jonathan greatly appreciated. He admired that about Taylor simply because she didn't have to.

Taylor had Joy on the left side of her lap and Serenity on her right. Serenity was working through the last pages of her homework packet. Her least favorite subject, math.

"Obal!" Joy happily exclaimed.

"Great job, pretty!" Taylor smiled at her. She loved nothing more than watching Joy learn and grow while being happy about it. It made her heart happy. "What shape is this?"

"Uum." Joy said as she looked up at Taylor with a helpless expression.

"You know what shape this is." Taylor reassured.

"Oc.. how do I say it?" Timidly, Joy asked.

"Octagon." Taylor slowly sounded it out for her.

"Octagon!" Joy annunciated perfectly with a smile as she lifted her arms high in celebration.

"Mhm," Taylor nodded, smiling. "and how many sides does the octagon have?"

"Eight!"

"Which animal has eight arms?"

"Octopus!"

"Six arms and two legs." Serenity proudly corrected, making Taylor chuckle.

"Good job." Taylor said to both of them. "How many sides does a hexagon have?"

"Five?" Joy questioned unsure of herself.

"No." Taylor shook her head. "How many sides does a pentagon have?"

"Five!" Joy exclaimed as it all made more sense to her.

"So, how many does the hexagon have?"

"Six!" Joy exclaimed excitedly.

"There you go!" Taylor exclaimed holding her hand up for a high-five. Joy excitedly smashed her palm against Taylor's.

"Ugh!" Serenity groaned, slamming her pencil down on the table, distracting Taylor and Joy.

"What's wrong, babe?" Taylor asked.

"I don't want to do this, Tay!" Serenity sighed frustratedly.

"Do you want to play in your soccer game later?" It wasn't necessarily a rule, but Jonathan definitely wanted Serenity to know that school comes before sports and any extra curricular activities. She had to make excellent grades and behave accordingly at school as well as at home. And she did.

"Yess." Serenity whined as she dramatically threw her head back.

"Then you have to do your homework, baby love." Taylor told her.

"I don't like math!" Angrily, Serenity exclaimed rolling her eyes.

"Hey." Taylor gently grabbed Serenity chin and turned her head so they could look into each other's eyes. Serenity had a temper and it's gotten worse lately, but it didn't phase Taylor. She knew just how to get her to calm down and how to put things into perspective for Serenity.

"Take a deep breath, please." Taylor instructed in the sweetest tone. Her tone alone was enough to calm Serenity down. She took three deep breaths with Serenity as she always did.

"Where are we? What are we having trouble with?" She asked Serenity.

"Number seven. It's math! Math is numbers- not stupid paragraphs!" Serenity frustratedly ranted.