by C. L. Stone
The corner of Mr. Coaltar’s mouth twitched up. “I believe so.”
“Then I might call,” I said, although I hoped I sounded as cool as he did. I turned from him, not daring to look back, but the whole way, I felt his eyes on me.
My heart was thudding against my ribs, telling me that despite what I wanted to believe, he may have won that round.
♠♠♠♠♠
The party after that point was mostly uneventful. The worst part was waiting for Brandon to return with the wallet and the keycard.
I consulted with Corey about my suspicions that Mr. Coaltar had a few bodyguards. He said not to say anything and pretend as if he didn’t. If they were watching us that closely, he didn’t want us making eye contact in an effort to figure out if this was true.
Corey and I held hands and made rounds through the party. We would stop beside another group, pretending to socialize with each other while blending in. We repeated conversations about the weather. Corey reeled off his opinion about restaurants I’d never been to, while I made occasional comments about how interesting they sounded and how I’d like to try them.
I thought it would never end until Corey squeezed my hand hard once to get my attention. “Ready for round two?” he asked.
“I’m ready to leave,” I said.
He chuckled. “There’s still half a buffet of food left.”
“I don’t suppose they give to-go boxes.”
He squeezed my hand again. “Go stuff yourself with some last minute things. Be right back.” He winked and shuffled off.
I was in the middle of trying to swallow the last of one too many fruit tarts when one of the boys angled up beside me. One glance up at his eyes confirmed it was Brandon. “Did you leave me one?” he asked, eying the buffet.
“You would not believe the day I’ve had. I think I’d rather pickpocket.”
“Well here’s your chance.” He took my hand and casually drew it to his waist and then slid it down toward his butt.
“How’d it go?” I asked, feeling the outline of the wallet. I gazed around, looking for our target.
“I don’t know. I didn’t go in. Do you want me to hang onto this until we get close?”
I tapped gently at the wallet against his butt. “Actually, just hand it over. I have an idea,” I said. I found a fancy folded napkin, and smoothed it out. “Do you have a pen?”
“What are you doing?”
“Job prospect,” I said. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? What’s going on?”
I held a finger to my lips. I didn’t want to talk about it now. I didn’t really want to talk about it at all except I knew Corey would probably mention the second encounter. They would probably give me a lecture about lying to get a job. It was their fault I had to do it.
And I was totally lying to myself that this was any kind of job offer at all.
I wrote down the phone number of a voicemail box I’d established on the internet for whenever I applied for jobs. I couldn’t resist this game. I started it, I suppose. Maybe it was masochistic of me to find enjoyment in flirting with danger in this way.
I blew out a puff of air. Dropping a wallet was bad enough to think about before. Now that I knew his bodyguards were on the lookout, I needed to get this just right.
I waited, watching Mr. Coaltar from a distance. He was chatting with a couple closer to where the band was playing. Mr. Fitzgerald was standing by, but he was keeping an eye on the younger man in the polo I had spotted earlier who was now leaning toward one of the girls of the party, feeling his way up to her breasts. I shook off that image and focused again on Mr. Coaltar. At least Mr. Fitzgerald had a distraction. I checked back on Brandon, who was standing by and watching. It would have been too awkward if he passed by again in the same routine. Once was excusable. Two times would have been noticeable. This time, I had to do my best to switch the wallets and have Brandon come save me and escort me away. The difference was, if I was caught with a fake wallet after the exchange, I could easily pass it off as Brandon’s. Getting caught with Mr. Coaltar’s wallet was what I had to worry about.
I repositioned myself until I was behind Mr. Fitzgerald and walking toward Mr. Coaltar’s back. At the same time, I crossed in between people, nodding a polite hello on occasion as I passed – even if they weren’t paying attention to me. I tried to appear as if I was heading somewhere specific, not actually for Mr. Coaltar.
I tried not to shake too much. It was the last thing I might ever have to do. Maybe once and for all, I could leave bad girl Kayli behind. I could be someone new. Maybe even Mr. Coaltar would hire me.
Or date me.
I forced myself to take slow breaths and angled my head to make sure Brandon was hanging back. I waited until Mr. Coaltar started to turn and adjust his stance, so it was him moving into me.
Bump.
In a fluid motion, I’d traded the wallets and held the second one behind my back. This time I made sure to do it quickly so I wouldn’t be distracted. I avoided his eyes on purpose.
Through batting eyelashes, I focused on his tie. “Oh, sorry,” I said, being completely dismissive. I even started walking off as if not really looking at who I’d bumped in to.
“Miss Kate,” he said, not allowing me the luxury of simply walking away quickly. “When I said after the party, I meant...”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry,” I said, pretending to just recognize him. However, one look at his eyes, and I knew he assumed I bumped into him on purpose. Time for plan B. “I was just leaving and wanted to say goodbye.”
A smooth eyebrow cocked. “So soon?”
“I had ... um...” I had a lie ready, but thought feigning awkward pauses probably sounded more natural. I floated the napkin with my number in front of him. “I know you said to call you, but I thought...”
The corner of his mouth twitched up. He captured my wrist lightly and with his other hand, gently removed the napkin. “So I have talked you into it?”
“I’d like to learn about it before I commit,” I said. I pressed the fake wallet with my palm at the back of my thigh. I didn’t have to hide it now that I had the fake one back but didn’t want to draw attention to it either.
His head turned, gazing around the crowd once before returning to my face. “Your boyfriend doesn’t seem happy about that.”
I flicked a look, sighting Brandon not too far. His arms were crossed, and his brows furrowed. I was supposed to be walking away by now. He wasn’t happy.
“He probably thinks I should stick to sea creatures.” Or pickpocketing.
“I don’t think that’s the problem.” Mr. Coaltar kept hold of my wrist, and switched his position until he was dead in front of me. He clutched my hand between his fingers. He brought it to his mouth. His lips grazed along my knuckles. Our eyes locked, and he focused on me as if no one else mattered. The same spark that lit up the gold flecks in his eyes flowed through his lips, against my skin and sent a flicker of warmth through me.
He was staking claim.
“I’ll give you two something to fight about on the way home,” he said.
A slow breath escaped my lips. That wasn’t coy like before. I realized the move I’d made just now was really too forward. It probably made him feel like I was welcoming the chance to play this game with him. His response was an aggressive attack. Challenge accepted. A whirlwind of pleasure through me that I never wanted to admit to feeling.
I was about to answer him when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Brandon leaned into me, his fingers clutching my bare skin strongly. “Haven’t you bothered Mr. Coaltar enough today, sugar?” he asked, his voice deeper than before. At the same time, his other hand collected the wallet, and he pulled it from me, freeing my hand.
Mr. Coaltar squeezed my hand once before finally releasing it. “No bother,” he said coolly. His gaze locked on me. “Let me know when you’d like that interview. I’m at your disposal.” His head inched forward in a nod, and the start of a smirk played on his lips. He tu
rned, walking away. Mr. Fitzgerald met up with him and they headed into the house.
“What are you doing?” Brandon asked me through his teeth.
My heart trembled, not only from Mr. Coaltar’s provocation but also for Brandon having spotted it. “I’ll tell you in the car.”
BULLYING
We picked up Corey around the block. He was walking away from the party, wearing a sports coat and trying to look inconspicuous.
When we pulled up beside him, he hopped into the back seat, grinning. “We did it? No one noticed?”
“Oh he noticed,” Brandon said. His hands twisted at the wheel as he drove, his knuckles whitening. “He noticed her. You didn’t tell me they buddied up.”
“She was being a distraction,” Corey said. “She was handling it.”
“What was that, Kayli?” Brandon glanced over at me.
I shrugged and slumped in my seat, kicking off my shoes. “He wanted to give me a job.”
Silence filled the car. Corey tilted his head. “What?”
“He said he was interested in letting me help him with some chemical research project.” I spent a few minutes quickly filling them in on all the conversations, skipping over the underlying flirting.
“Oh no,” Brandon said. “You’re not getting near that guy again.”
I sat up, planting my hand on the dash to square off at him. “What do you mean? Is he doing the drug thing? Did you find out?”
“I don’t care if he’s doing drugs or planting bombs, running numbers or not doing anything. You’re not working for him.”
I huffed. “He offered me a job.”
“He offered Kate a job. What’s going to happen when he finds out you lied?”
“Kate could be short for Kayli. Besides, he said the job was easy and he’d train.”
“He doesn’t want to give you a job. He wants a piece of your ass.”
I squinted at him. I was trying to leave that part out. But maybe he’d noticed when he talked to Mr. Coaltar himself. He did seem to bristle. “Is that a problem for you?”
His mouth fell open and his hands let go of the wheel for a moment. He reclaimed it and shook his head at the road. “I can’t believe you’re serious.”
“You’re the one yelling at me to do something other than stealing wallets. Now here’s a good opportunity and you’re suddenly against it.”
“We’ll get you a job.”
I didn’t really care about this fake job offer with Mr. Coaltar but it was irritating that Brandon thought he could tell me what to do. I wanted to push a few of his buttons and get him to back off. “There’s one right here! You won’t need to look. And if he’s really looking for a date, well, he’s single and smart.”
Brandon nearly growled. “And rich?”
“And none of your business,” I said. “What? Am I only supposed to go out with people in my social status? Sorry, call me a snob, but I’m just not attracted to hobos.”
“Oh my god, you’re such a fucking girl. You’ll do anything to justify going out with someone who can buy you whatever you want.”
I grunted, turned and punched him on the shoulder. “Take that back.”
The car swerved and Brandon overcorrected, obviously not expecting the hit.
“Whoa, whoa,” Corey’s hand shot out and captured my wrist before I could hit Brandon again. “Hang on there. He’s driving. Beat him up after we get back.”
“You’re on her side?” Brandon said.
“I’m not on her side. I just don’t want to die.” Corey released my wrist. “Sorry, Kaylie. I know I don’t know you that well, and I don’t really have a say in who you date, but this guy is on our watch list for a reason. If it were anyone else at that party, I wouldn’t say anything. He’s dangerous. You should stay away from him.”
I grunted and folded my arms, sitting back against the seat. “I’m not a gold digger. And I don’t think I could get a job with him, anyway, even if he was serious. He knew I was with you and he wanted to get you ticked off so you’d break up with me or whatever.”
Brandon’s eyebrows furrowed. “So you know he’s trying to get into your pants.”
“I shoved my boobs into him twice. Of course he wants in my pants. Do you think for one minute if I was serious about it, I’d even be here right now? No. I’d be back there at that party trying to hook up. I’m not that kind of girl. If I was, I wouldn’t have to steal in the first place.”
Brandon frowned. Corey bowed his head, staring at his shoes. I sunk into myself, staring out the window. I hated that part of what I’d just said was a lie. I had been intrigued. I’d always thought rich people were stupid, in a general sense. To me, they all just lived completely oblivious lives. Mr. Coaltar seemed different. Was he? Or was I just letting myself be tempted because he was rich? Was it because I always assumed someone like him would never be interested in me?
But he really wasn’t interested in me. He didn’t know me. He liked Kate. And Kate probably looked like she almost fit in. It was still a lie. Brandon was right.
Suddenly I couldn’t wait to get home to Wil and go back to what we were; at least there I knew where I stood and what I had to do. This job was over. If they kept their promise or not, I needed to get away and figure out what I was going to do next.
I snuck a glance at Corey in the rearview mirror. He was already looking and caught my gaze. He smiled in that way that made the wall around my heart want to crash down. He understood. He wanted to know if we could be friends again.
And that did it for me. Despite being mad at Brandon, I realized maybe he was only looking out for me. I wanted to hang out with Corey again. He knew more about me and didn’t cringe. Was this my chance to finally be around people who didn’t care what I came from and still liked me?
A deep part of me hated the thought that this could be over. I wondered if they did this type of thing regularly. It was tempting to think maybe I could work with them again—I had to admit, it had been pretty exciting.
But after this party, would they want to keep me around?
♠♠♠♠♠
Back at the apartment building, Brandon led the way to the front lobby. I scanned the lot, but didn’t know when the others would get back. I was tempted to tell them I’d go home and take a bus back simply to avoid the awkwardness. I wasn’t sure if the busses were running this late, but I would have hitchhiked if I had to.
It was Corey that grabbed my hand, odd to me because we didn’t need to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend any more. Did he forget? “Come on, Kayli,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
I relented, and he continued to hold on to me in the elevator. Brandon shuffled in, and pushed the number seven button with a thumb.
“Thought you would want to check out our two bedroom. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to room with Wil in something like we’ve got. I didn’t think you needed a three bedroom.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I can’t afford a place like this.”
“You could,” Corey said. The doors opened to the seventh floor. He tugged at my hand. “This isn’t exactly Mt. Pleasant. Or Isle of Palms, for that matter.”
He said it like one little job could help me manage to pay for everything. I checked back with Brandon. He followed us with his hands stuffed into his pockets, his head down.
Corey released me to grab keys and open the door.
Inside, the set-up was similar, but a little backward. The front had a living space, and there was a couch pushed up against the wall on the left and an entertainment center on the right. In the back was a small corner dining space, and a smaller kitchen. The dining space was set up with two desks, but this time, instead of having only a couple of computers, the desks were littered with a variety of them. Desktop computers were set up in a row, side by side, underneath the desks and pushed up around the wall. On top, there were several monitors, although there were only two chairs, so it appeared to be just two workstations.
There w
as a door just in front of the kitchen on the right. On the left, a small hallway, and the bathroom door was open with a matching bedroom door beside it.
Corey crossed the living room, heading to the door on the right. “Come see,” he said. “there’s a bathroom in here, too. So two bathrooms. You wouldn’t need to share.”
I crossed the living room while Brandon locked the door behind us.
The moment I entered Corey’s bedroom, I got distracted. The walls themselves were bare ... but instead of the usual apartment white, they were covered in a gray surface. At first, I thought it was just a color until I noticed white markings from chalk.
My fingers traced over the surface. “How did you get chalkboards in here like this? Are they bolted to the walls?”
Corey paused on his way to the other side of the room, he stopped, studying what I was staring at. “Oh,” he said. “It’s just chalkboard paint.”
I turned, the room was covered from ceiling to floor with the stuff. The smooth gray surface had occasional chalk dust smatterings across it. There were various trays of chalk and erasers positioned at about elbow height pinned to the walls. On top of the paint, there were mathematical formulas far more advanced than I’d seen. It wasn’t algebra or geometry. It had to be some sort of advanced calculus or beyond that even. I tried following the formulas, but I couldn’t keep up with where he was going with them. Some sections had tacked up aerial maps and charts. Mathematics based on area location?
“What is all this?” I asked.
Brandon grumbled. “Maybe you should take her out of here. She shouldn’t see this.”
Corey shrugged. “If she can figure it out, she’s allowed to know.” Corey ventured over to the far wall, where there was a door and shoved it open. I stepped up next to him, finding a tub, toilet and sink crammed together, a lot like at the hotel. “The other one is bigger,” he said. “But it’s pretty decent. And if Wil wants to stay on campus, they have a few single bedrooms, too.”
“They don’t have as good of a kitchen, though,” Brandon said. He stood in Corey’s doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. “I’ve seen those floor plans. You’d barely have enough room for a microwave and a mini-fridge.”
