by V. L. Silva
I’d let her run the company for three years and planned to keep her around after I stepped up fully, but that didn’t mean I trusted her any more than I trusted White. She’d been as prepared to hear my changes as everyone else in the room—which was not at all. I’d surprised her as well but she was being a good sport about it, but I knew she was used to getting her way and I was rocking the boat. I wondered if she’d turn on me.
I excused myself. White’s wheezing followed me halfway across the room. The horde of businessmen and reporters cleared a path for me. The reporters kept snapping shots. No doubt the little scuffle with White would be in the morning report if it wasn’t already on a national website by now.
I played friendly with the guests for another hour and then made my way over to my allies.
Silas, Rome, and Alan looked sharp in their suits. We’d all worn back from head to toe.
Alan, unfortunately, was in one of his moods. I didn’t have to ask why. I knew why. I bought his suit and he resented me for that. He resented me for a lot of things, but I wasn’t about to apologize for who I was and the fact that I had money. He’d have to get over it. The people in the room wouldn’t respect him if I had left him to pick a suit off the rack.
I didn’t understand why he kept looking a gift horse in the mouth. He should’ve been taking advantage of me, like Hope.
I offered her entrance into one of the world’s top universities and she’d taken it.
She was a fighter. I liked that.
There was a small stack of hors d’oeuvre plates on the high table between us. Alan plucked the last of his bruschetta up and popped it into his mouth. “Grilled bread with vegetables. I bet you paid a little fortune for this shit.”
“I did pay a little fortune for that shit. I hope you enjoyed it.”
“I’ve had better.”
Was it a pissing contest he wanted? I wasn’t in the mood. My fray with White still had violence burning its way into my blood.
He grunted and turned his hazel eyes to a curvy reporter and gave her a wink.
“Great speech,” Rome said as he flickered through his phone. The model of phone wasn’t on the market and it would never be. It was exclusive for his family and our team. I was sure the tech capabilities were illegal in most of the country. “I love the added touch with White, by the way. That combined with the changes you’re implementing will all but taunt the guy you think is guilty.”
His words scraped against the roof of my mind like nails on a chalkboard. The guy I thought was guilty. Meaning, he didn’t agree. “That was the plan. We’ll see if it gets a rise out of him.”
On more than one occasion over the last few years, Rome had made it clear that he thought my father was the murderer. He also refused to believe me when I said I hadn’t seen my father since the day he’d been released on bail.
He thought I was hiding Aric. I had no doubts he was monitoring my online activity. He could monitor all he wanted. He’d find nothing.
He didn’t believe me and hated most of the people at Barnet. He’d had run-ins with the old money crowd who wasn’t ready to see a face like his sitting in the same bars and five-star restaurants. I’d once asked him why he bothered to stick around. He said, “I like how persistent you are and I’m willing to see where this goes.”
His answer had made sense at the time.
But now, I was starting to wonder if Rome had another agenda. Maybe he was looking for my father so he could be arrested for a crime he assumed Aric Gustavo had committed.
Maybe he’d turn his back on me at the last minute and sabotage everything.
It was just another reason to keep him close.
Silas asked, “Should my father be at the board meeting tomorrow?”
“No. I want you there.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re just a little more of an ass than your father.” Thomas Birk was half hero, half villain, it all just depended on how he was feeling at the time. I didn’t necessarily want the board thinking I planned to be their friend and I needed someone who understood that.
Silas grinned and then tipped his glass of bubbly at me, taking my words for the compliment they were. He was only twenty but no one was carding around here. “I look forward to meeting them.”
“Diana is here,” Rome cut in.
“I’m aware.” I’d been aware of her since I took the stage. She’d been hard to miss in her red dress.
Rome leaned across the high table. “Go talk to her.”
“That wasn’t part of the plan.” Diana would get my free hours at school. That was the beginning and end of it.
“Hope wasn’t part of the plan either,” Rome reminded me.
I fisted my hands and then relaxed. He was right. I couldn’t ignore Diana.
I turned away and thought about the circumstances that had gotten me here. My plan began to unravel when Hope stepped into my life.
She would pay for her insolence.
My footsteps pounded into the marble floor and I thought about how I’d be pounding into Hope’s sweet pussy very soon.
But first she’d learn the valuable lesson of falling in line.
7
Hope
“We’re so glad to have you back, Hope. The school year wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
A laugh poured out of my mouth as I stared into Mrs. Granger’s soft blue eyes. The secretary for West University’s Head of Academics knew me well. She helped me coordinate the announcement and dates for events and fundraisers.
Mrs. Granger had worked at West for over twenty years and I often heard her greet parents of students like they were old acquaintances.
It was good to see her. I’d been more than a little nervous this morning about returning. Everything felt different yet also the same.
In reality, there were high schools in the area bigger than West University, but I liked the intimate feel of the campus. I felt like everyone was my friend. Seeing her face gave me an added boost of confidence in my decision, and I was needing every boost I could get.
“I came to get reassigned to my guidance counselor.”
“I’ll print your schedule and have that ready for you when you come back from the office. Mr. Parker wants to speak to you.” She turned away to look at the screen and I listened to the familiar sound of her fingers clicking across the keys.
The picture of her poodles drew my attention and I picked it up. I’d had two dogs growing up. Both of them had been rescued. One died from injuries they’d sustained from their previous owner and the other had cancer. After that, I told Mom not to bring any more animals home. I couldn’t stand all the dying.
“What does Mr. Parker want?”
“I didn’t ask but I assumed he just wanted to say hello.” She didn’t glance up. She was in her zone. From experience, I knew that by the time I came back out here she’d have her work squared away. She was one of the most efficient and dependable people I knew.
I put the photo down and walked over to Mr. Parker’s door. I knocked.
The door opened and Mr. Parker’s face split in half. His gray eyes went round. “Hope! You’re back.”
“I am!” I scooted around him and backed away.
Mr. Parker was a big dude who still carried the frame of a professional quarterback ten years after he’d limped off the field with an injured knee. He’d grown up in the area and ran for a position on the school board before eventually being hired on as Head of Academics at the college.
He was in his early forties and already graying from the stress of the job, but everyone thought of him as the coolest thing since GIFs. He often hung out with the football team and coaches. His form of discipline was mild, which surprisingly worked well with the students who were causing trouble and falling behind.
Talking to him was like talking to an older brother. I was still nervous about him but he had a way of cracking someone’s guard in half and making them spill their guts and leaving them unasha
med of it.
He was just that cool.
I might have worshipped him a little.
I might have also had a crush on him once or twice.
The girls at school talked about him all the time. Mrs. Granger was as sweet as her puppies but she could become a bulldog when it came to keeping certain students out of his office.
He opened the blinds to the window that led back to Mrs. Granger’s office before he closed the door.
“How have you been?” He rounded his desk and sat. At the moment, it was pretty orderly but I knew once the school year really got underway it would be a mess.
“I’m great.” I dropped my bag on the floor and crossed my legs. Had I known I’d be meeting with Mr. Parker I would have dressed more professionally. I was wearing faded shorts and a white spaghetti-strap cami with matching sneakers. My hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and my golden pin was in place.
When I said I was great, I meant it. “I’ve got so many plans for the year. I called Jason last night and we talked about some of the events he’d discussed adding to the school year. We’re planning to meet with the campus clubs next week.”
Mr. Parker had his arms on the table and sighed with his whole body. “Hope, you made my life so much easier last year. You’re the best student I have here. Is there anyone more efficient than you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, I don’t want to toot my own horn...”
He shot his hands up in surrender. “Oh, no. Toot it. You deserve it.”
We laughed.
He sighed again. “I hate that I lost you.”
“Well, I’m back now.” I lifted my fist to say, “hoorah” but actually said, “Yay.”
The Head of Academics shook his head. “I’m sorry, Hope, but you can’t come back.”
I laughed. He was joking. He was always joking unless something terrible was happening. But nothing terrible was happening right now. First semester had just barely started. I was here early, and I would take any open class, anything to fill my schedule.
He was joking. He had to be.
But his features narrowed into that constipated look, like he was trying to get something out but it wouldn’t come.
A nagging sensation started at the back of my head. I dropped my leg and straightened. “Uh, Mr. Parker, why did you want to meet with me?”
The door behind him opened and a figure stepped out of the private bathroom.
I looked up and up and right into a pair of blue eyes I thought I’d never see again. I tried to blink the image away but it wouldn’t leave.
It was official. I’d become unhinged. The incident from the other day had left a portion of my skull cracked. That was the only option because there was no way Axel was here. He was dressed in a navy-blue suit with a crisp white shirt that contrasted beautifully with his tan skin.
Sunlight cut through the open window and made his pale eyes even more striking. His dark hair swept back from his face. He looked ready for a photo op.
He was slowly drying his hands as he smiled at me.
He threw the napkin away before he shook Mr. Parker’s hand.
I watched the exchange but could barely hear anything that was being said. I was stuck in a nightmare.
Wake up, Hope.
“Peart Pharmaceuticals has just made a donation to the school for our overachieving students in your name,” Mr. Parker told me. “You didn’t tell me you knew the King family.”
He was talking to me. He was talking about me.
I struggled out of my shock coma and stared at the men who were standing by one another like they were old chums. I didn’t understand.
I didn’t know the King family and even if I had, why would I have ever brought it up during a discussion. Hey, the Math Department is planning a study and recruiting session with the local high school. And by the way, I know the King family. Their son Axel is a wacko. Someone help me.
My nemesis gave me a direct look. “What are you doing here, Hope?” The question was transporting more than simple curiosity. From his stony expression I could hear the anger and disapproval.
Mr. Parker slapped Axel on the shoulder. Axel barely shifted as Mr. Parker spoke. “Mr. King has told me all about the work you’re doing at Barnet. He said you joined their public relations team, which was what inspired the donation to begin with.”
I bit the inside of my cheek just before I could break the skin.
I knew what Parker was saying. I couldn’t come back because Axel’s money was worth more than my acclaimed efficiency. He’d miss me but he’d rather miss me than miss out on the windfall Axel was bringing to the school.
I wanted to tell him it was illegal to not take me. I had a perfect record. In the two years I’d attended West U, I’d never been in the office for disciplinary action. Not once. I’d finished the year with honors. I volunteered.
People knew me, told me I was going places, ahead of the curve, but as far as I was concerned I was behind.
There were already millionaires my age and while I wasn’t driven by money I did like a certain level of power. I didn’t need to be front and center of everything but I did like to have a certain level of control, especially where my future was concerned.
I was Hope Meredith Malonie and that was going to mean something.
Hell, it already meant something to me.
I could make Parker take me back. I could make him do it right now, but then what? The school would lose the donation and I wasn’t stupid enough to think all money was bad. The school could use it. The amount was neither here nor there.
But I did wonder… How much was I worth to Axel?
I held Mr. Parker’s eyes. “How much is the donation?”
“Five hundred thousand dollars.”
My eyes bugged and I looked away.
I was worth half a million dollars? He didn’t even know me.
I turned to Axel. Staring at his face and trying not to think about the way he’d held my face while he grinded between my legs was hard but I managed it. Barely.
“I thought we agreed to donate a million. After all, the school could use it. Many programs are underfunded, which cut the number of students who are allowed to get hands-on experience in their fields. I’d hate to see anyone denied their dream over a measly additional five hundred thousand.”
Axel smirked and his eyes lit up that same way they had the night we met, when he realized he had me right where he wanted me.
And to think I thought him humble once upon a time. The MMA fighting wasn’t what excited him. It was the mental games he enjoyed.
“You’re right, Hope. The donation is a million dollars. Five hundred thousand for this semester and five hundred thousand for the next.”
Mr. Parker lost his mind and yammered on, but Axel and I were in another place. He was locking me into a verbal contract. If I wanted West to have the money, I couldn’t come back. That was the deal.
And it was worth it.
As I thought about all my friends who’d profit from this donation, I found easy acceptance in my fate. Axel and his Clique wouldn’t slow me down, but there were other students who needed the leg up in the world and I wasn’t going to deny them that.
I grabbed my bag and stood. “It was nice seeing you, Mr. Parker.” I barely heard a word he said as I breezed out of the room, waved goodbye to a befuddled Mrs. Granger, and walked out of the school just as the first bell rang.
Amanda stopped me on the front steps. “You’re back!”
I hugged her until my heart didn’t ache so bad and then pulled away. “I’m not. I’m going back to Barnet.”
“Why?”
A few of my other friends came over. Paul and Danny. Jason, who headed our little communications teams at the school. Monica and Sarah. I hugged them all and listened as they bemoaned me leaving.
A hand landed on my lower back. Axel’s mouth brushed my ear. “Let’s go. You’ve already made me late. Don’t upset me further.”
A shiver went through me as he slipped his hand away and walked off.
Everyone turned to watch him swagger to the car he’d illegally parked in front of the school. This one was black and sporty. The butterfly doors opened but he didn’t get in. Instead, he leaned on the door and waited.
Amanda swung her head back to me. “Who is that?”
“I have to go.”
“Hope!”
“I’ll tell you later,” I tossed the apology over my shoulder.
Axel’s eyes raked over me as I got closer. Heat crawled up my neck. My knees were almost buckling by the time I stood in front of him. I stopped a foot away. “How did you know I’d be here?”
His hands were in his pocket. His jaw was tense. “Get in the car.”
Avoiding a scene was paramount. Otherwise, Amanda would never let me breathe until I told her everything. For now, I could pretend that he was just a nice guy from school who’d offered me a ride.
Would she believe it?
The doors closed as I put on my seatbelt and looked straight ahead. “I don’t have my ID.”
“Do you honestly think they’ll stop you if I tell them to let you in?” As he waited for pedestrians to pass before he could pull away, I studied him in disbelief. Were there any limits to his power?
We pulled away from the curb and out of the parking lot.
I looked back at the school and watched as it got smaller the farther Axel took me away.
I narrowed my eyes at the man on the other side of the car. I didn’t know what to say but I got the same feeling I used to have whenever I upset my father. Overall, I’d been a good kid, but even I’d had my moments.
The urge to apologize rested heavily on my heart but I refused to do it, because unlike with my dad, with Axel I knew I’d done nothing wrong.
I had every right to go back to West. Axel didn’t own me. In fact, I needed to make that clear, “I’m only doing this because of the donation.”
