The Elites

by Ruby Vincent

  “A price?”

  Derek took my hand and continued chopping. His touch was gentle as the broccoli stalk became a handful of tiny green trees beneath our knife.

  “Think about it, Zee. How much would a new author pay to be mentored by J.K. Rowling herself? How much would Cole pay for tips from Michael Phelps? The answer: a shit ton.”

  I nodded slowly. “That’s what he meant by monetizing the Network,” I whispered. “But then, where does the expansion fit in?”

  “Breakbattle Academy is just one school and the Elite Class is no more than ten students. Plus, not all of them agree to join the Network. For what they wanted to do, there aren’t enough boys to pay.”

  “Of course. It makes sense,” I said grudgingly. “And you’re right, people would pay through the nose to get one-on-one attention from the best. So that’s the plan, make the boys pay to join.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  He shook his head. “That wasn’t Dad’s plan. You know his story. He grew up middle class. His parents put him in Breakbattle because he was bullied at Chesterfield for being smart. One week of orientation, he’s put in the Elite Class and his whole life takes a different path.

  “Breakbattle is majority Chesterfield kids and most of them couldn’t afford to be in the Network at the prices the members wanted to charge.” Derek trailed his finger along my cheek. “He knew excellence could come from anywhere.”

  “I don’t get it, then. What did they decide to do?”

  “Dad came up with tiers. The first ‘level’ is free and it’s what they’ve been doing from the beginning. Recruit the freshmen and be available to all the members in exchange for favors. The next level is email contact. You’ll be put in touch with the high-ranking member of your choice for a one-time fee. You can talk to them, get advice, and they’ll interact when they want and put a stop to it when they feel like it.

  “As the tiers go up, you spend more, but get more one-on-one time. The highest and most expensive tier is basically an internship. For example, a budding director could pay to work on set with Dad.”

  “No wonder Michael, Cole, and Landon wanted to be a part of this.”

  “It’s why we’re all a part of this. The Network isn’t evil. No one is trying to hurt people. The members’ time is valuable, and they’re willing to offer more of it, they only ask to be compensated. Not all of us have parents like mine able to hand them their dreams on a silver platter. If you have the money and ambition, why wouldn’t you take advantage of what the Network has to offer?”

  Despite myself, understanding wormed its way in. What Jonathan Grayson did made sense. Keep the Network free, but charge for those looking for more. Everyone got what they wanted and the potential was there to make millions.

  “Where does Dominick Dupre fit in? I overheard him. He said he was only brought in because of the expansion. Why did your father need a man like that?”

  Derek blew out a breath. “Dominick Dupre is a bastard, plain and simple. Everyone knows it. He doesn’t bother to hide it. The thing is, the man can squeeze five dollars out of a penny and he’s no idiot. He may be involved in some shady stuff, but the SEC has never been able to find something on Dupre Financial Holdings because he keeps his business completely above board. He manages the accounts of almost everyone in Evergreen and he does it well.

  “The kind of money the Network wants to play with can’t be kept under Dad’s mattress, and the members didn’t like it being put in an account only he had access to, so—”

  “They brought in Dominick to manage their funds,” I finished. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.”

  I pushed the food away. My stomach heaved. I doubled over, head falling onto the marble countertop. “I’m so stupid. I thought— I thought— You don’t want to know what I thought,” I cried. “I torpedoed the expansion and I had the Network all wrong.”

  Derek rubbed small circles on my back. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Yes, it was! I told the board not to approve it. I riled up the classes and bred resentment so no one in their right mind would want the battle system in their school.”

  “Zee, if you knew all of this before, would you have done things differently? Do you honestly think the battle system is good for students?”

  “Of course not,” I replied without hesitation. “The only people who benefit are those at the top, and in no society has that situation been the best for everyone.”

  “There you go. You fought for what you believed in. No one, including me, Landon, Michael, or Cole, blames you.”

  Derek lifted me up by my hair. I looked in his eyes, battling guilt like I had never felt.

  “We love you.”

  “But what’s going to happen now?” I croaked. “Cole won’t get to swim with Phelps and Michael wants to go to the Olympics. I ruined everything.”

  “Oh, baby.” Derek kissed me gently. “It’s not as bad as all of that. We’re ridiculously rich and Michael runs faster than comic book heroes. They can still get as far as they want to go, whether the members lend more of their help or not.”

  He kissed me again, and again, and again until I relaxed into him. I wrapped my arm around his waist, holding him tight.

  “As for what happens now,” he continued, “we’ve been scrambling since the announcement to figure it out. Mrs. Jeong promised to give advanced notice of their decision, but that obviously didn’t happen. Dad is out right now working to convince the high-ranking members to stay in the Network. They were looking forward to the money coming their way. Dad basically assured them the expansion was a done deal. Without more recruits, they’ll hardly get millions.

  “And without the members they joined to meet in the first place, the Elite students are threatening to leave too. It’s been a fucking mess keeping things together. Even Hunter wants to leave and the kid worships me.”

  “Hunter is in the Network too?” I tossed my head. That was hardly the most interesting thing he said. “Hold on, the entire Network is falling apart over this? But why? They don’t have to recruit from battle system schools. Why don’t they approach college freshmen or award winners or—”

  “That’s a lot of work, Zee, and they’re all busy with their own lives. It’s why me, Cameron, and the guys before us handle the recruits. What else do we have to do? And you know how easy Breakbattle makes it. They literally take their smartest, most athletic kids and slap labels on them. We don’t have to search for the kids with the most potential. The battle system tells us who they are. And getting them when they’re fifteen is the whole point. Teenagers need mentors. Wealthy adults who’ve already gotten there on their own don’t.”

  “Oh.”

  He had a point. Michael was headed for greatness. Everyone could see it. Waiting until he got there on his own didn’t make sense. No wonder they snatched us out of our beds as freshmen.

  “Do you think your dad will convince them to stay?”

  He kissed the top of my head. “Yes. They still get a lot out of the Network from favors alone. They’re pissed because the dollars spinning over their heads were snatched away, but when they calm down, they’ll realize there’s no reason to leave.”

  I relaxed. “Okay, good. The expansion had to be stopped. If I’m honest, I think Whittaker should give into For All’s demands and end the battle system completely. But I don’t want to get in your way, or Michael’s, Landon’s, or Cole’s. I never had a problem with the Network, just the people you put in charge.”

  “Cameron went too far. Dad took away his position, but Dominick wouldn’t stand for him to be kicked out of the Network. Everything got way out of hand since they tried to change things up. I’m on board with Dad getting things back to the way they were.”

  “Me too.”

  Derek cupped my cheek and gifted me another sweet kiss. “Are we good? That’s everything, Zee. I swear.”

  “We’re good. Thank you for telling me.”

  “Of course.” He bent to kiss
me and paused. “Actually, there is one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Mom told me who my biological father is,” Derek said casually. “I meant to tell you sooner but you kept distracting me.”

  I gaped at him. “I distracted you? You’re the one who rips my clothes off before I say hello.”

  “The result is the same.”

  Laughing, I rose up and claimed my kiss anyway. “Do you want to tell me about him?”

  “Mom didn’t want to tell me about him. She and dad fought about it for like a week. Big mansion like this and I still heard them. In the end, you convinced them.”

  “Me?”

  He nodded. “Everything you did to find Jonathan Grayson. Dad didn’t want me to go through my life thinking I had to find something missing. He wore Mom down.”

  “So, who is it?”

  “You actually know him. He was her costar from her movie Monsoon Canyon.”

  My mouth fell open. “No way. You mean your biological father is Trevor Philips?”

  “Yep.”

  “But he—he’s like in every single one of my favorite movies. He’s Will Smith famous.”

  Derek shrugged. “They filmed the movie while Mom and Dad were basically separated. The two of them got close, kept it secret of course, and Mom got what she wanted out of the relationship—me. Trevor never saw kids in his future, so he was cool with signing away his rights.”

  Derek released me and reached for the food. He went back to chopping like we were talking about last night’s football game instead of the man who brought him into existence.

  “I met him once when I was seven. He got a part in another one of Mom’s movies and I was running around on set. The manager said I couldn’t have any more cookies, so he snuck me one while she wasn’t looking.”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  “Nah. Mom popped out of nowhere and hustled me off. I never saw or spoke to him again after that.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. Derek truly sounded unruffled, but then, he wasn’t like me. He grew up with a father who loved him. He didn’t question his life until I bulldozed into it.

  “Do you want to see him?” I asked.

  “No. He was a nice guy who respected my mom’s wishes and gave her the one thing she always wanted. I’ll respect his wishes and leave him in peace. Besides, Mom is having puppies over this whole thing. I don’t think she could take it if I tried to make contact with him.”

  I leaned against him. “She loves you. She wants you to be proud of her, and more than that, she doesn’t want you to think for a second that you weren’t wanted.”

  “I know. It’s just convincing her that I’m okay is important to me. We’re a family. We always have been.”

  “I love this,” I murmured. “Us talking, being honest with each other. We should have done this a long time ago.”

  “It’s what we’ll do from now on.”

  Derek finished chopping the ingredients and finally threw them into the pan. My stomach growled in direct response to the sizzling food.

  “What about you? How is everything with your mom?”

  “It was rough,” I admitted. “There was another man and she refuses to tell me who he is. I haven’t fully forgiven her for that.”

  He looked at me over his shoulder. Sympathy shone in his eyes along with traces of unsureness. “She must have her reasons.”

  “I want to know who he is, Derek. I’m tired of being protected. All the things that have happened to me prove not knowing him has kept me far from safe.”

  “I meant it when I said I’d help you find him.”

  I smiled. “I know you did and I truly appreciate it. I just wish I knew where to start. I don’t have a name. I don’t have anything. Every veiled comment my mom made about ‘Jeremy Holt’ growing up was about your father. There’s nothing to go on except that they were together one time.”

  “Any chance you could get your mom to break?”

  “No. Andronika Manning does nothing she doesn’t want to do. I’d have a better chance of convincing the senate and house of representatives to dismantle the government and name me queen of America.”

  Derek chuckled. “Specific.”

  “I’m not even kidding. She will never tell me.” I pushed myself off the counter. “Ugh. Let’s change the subject. This is ruining my mood.”

  I came up from behind and pressed my cheek on his back. “Go back to talking about our future. How many kids are we having?”

  “So many. We’re talking an irresponsible amount.”

  I giggled. “Got any names for these kids?”

  “Derek Junior for sure.”

  “I would not be sure about that one.”

  “What’s wrong with DJ?”

  We argued, talked, and laughed back and forth as he cooked dinner. Then we sat down to a meal that proved there was nothing Derek Grayson couldn’t do. I swallowed one bite of the chicken stir-fry and moaned pornographically.

  “This is incredible. I can’t wait to eat what you make for dessert.”

  Derek caught my hand under the table. “Dessert will be served upstairs and it won’t be in the form of food.”

  I knew my smile was goofy. I didn’t care. “Even better.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time though. It’s almost nine thirty and we have to leave at ten to get you back before curfew.”

  “It’s okay. If there was anything I would have given up sex for, it’s spending the night talking with you. We’ll do it next time when we don’t have to rush.”

  “Agreed, but I’m still going to scarf this down so I can get you upstairs and out of those clothes.”

  “I’m way ahead of you.”

  Although delicious, I did not savor my meal. We cleaned our plates in eight minutes flat and then grabbed our drinks to go. We stifled our giggles as we climbed the stairs, passing two guards on the way. They watched our ascent with stony faces. Just another night in the Grayson mansion.

  Derek’s room was the usual mess of books. He shoved a whole stack to the floor and tossed me in its place. We shed our clothes with frenzied hands.

  “Now, I believe I said something about those freckles.”

  An exhilarating mix of desire and excitement thrummed in my veins. Derek flipped me onto my stomach and my heart beat so loud I was sure he could hear it.

  The mattress dipped. Derek reached over me and grabbed one of his pillows. “Get comfortable, Zee.”

  I put it under my chin and sunk into the sweet, downy smell of flower detergent and a scent that could only be Derek’s.

  “There’s one,” he said softly. He kissed the small of my back—a kiss so feather-light it felt like a tickle. “And another one. One here too.”

  I sighed. Could this be more perfect? What I wouldn’t give to not have a curfew?

  “Oh.” His husky voice floated up to meet me. “There’s one here too, and you said you didn’t have freckles on your back.”

  Derek kissed me again and my eyes popped open.

  “That’s definitely not my back,” I teased.

  “I’m just going where the freckles take me.” He pressed another kiss on my cheek. “Fucking hell, Zela, you’re so beautiful.”

  “He says to my backside.” I lazily kicked my feet in the air. I was completely comfortable with Derek. Comfortable with teasing him and comfortable letting him explore my body as he wished.

  “Your frontside is pretty amazing too.”

  Another kiss, much lower this time. I knew what was coming before he slipped his hand between my thighs and nudged them apart. My breath caught.

  “I’m pretty sure there aren’t any freckles down there.”

  “You were wrong before,” he replied. “I’d better check myself.”

  I laughed breathlessly. It was cut off by a swipe of Derek’s tongue.

  “Oh yeah. Lots of freckles down there. It’s going to take a while to count them all.”

  Holy hell. If I wasn’
t in love with this guy before, I would be now. Why was he so freaking sexy?

  “Take your time,” I rasped.

  “Wanna help me out?”

  I got my knees under me and lifted my ass in the air. A moan ripped from my lips as Derek tasted me. Up and down, his tongue unwound my sanity like a loose thread. I whimpered with every teasing of my clit.

  A noise made me peek down. He stroked his length furiously—at odds with the slow, lingering way he was eating me out. The sight caused my lower belly to tighten. He must have felt me clench. Derek stuck his tongue through my lower lips. Picking up the pace, he bobbed in and out. That was the final straw.

  I buried my face in the pillow, crying out as my orgasm shuddered my body. I collapsed on the bed with no chance to catch my breath before Derek groaned. I gasped as my ass was covered in sticky wetness.

  “Shit.” Derek collapsed on top of me and kissed my damp temple. “If it’s that good, imagine what it will be like when we have sex.”

  “I don’t want to imagine. I want you, Derek.”

  “I know you do, but not in the woods or ten minutes before curfew. Next time I get you alone here, Zela Rae, you’re mine.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Derek’s weight pressed me into the warm, silk arms of his bed. Safety and security existed beneath him. I never wanted to leave. The future Derek saw of us traveling the world with our obscene amount of children was what I wanted. I wanted it with all of my boys. I just prayed Landon, Michael, and Cole wanted it too.

  We spent what little time we had making out and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Curfew came all too soon. Derek drove me back home and said goodbye to me on the doorstep with Mom watching openly through the living room window.

  I went to bed that night feeling great about my relationship with him. Now I had to speak to Michael, Landon, and Cole.

  Chapter Five

  Monday morning, I strolled through the halls for the cafeteria. My body hummed from my rendezvous with Derek. We changed it up that morning with roleplay. Derek was enjoying dangling sex over my head, so I would make him as crazy as he made me. Since I was finally in the right uniform, I went full schoolgirl. I put my hair in ponytails and donned knee-high socks that I snuck out of Melody’s drawer. I would never ask why she had them. I knew way more than I needed to about Adam’s sex life thanks to Jordan.