Table of Contents
TITLE
ALSO BY ROBIN DANIELS
NEWSLETTER
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT ROBIN DANIELS
SNEAK PEEK
by Robin Daniels
Also by Robin Daniels
Perfectly Oblivious
ROBIN DANIELS NEWSLETTER
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Copyright © 2017 by Robin Daniels
Edition 1.0
Edited by Jennifer Henkes (www.literallyjen.com)
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
For Kelly - From your biggest fan.
Blah, blah, blah, blah… I was hearing Rob’s words, but they weren’t registering.
“I can’t believe you used to make out with him,” Lilly leaned over and whispered while shaking her head, a look of disbelief on her face. She’s my best friend, so her expression should be a look of disgust. But it’s hard to express disgust when your eyes are full of lust and wonder.
My mouth tightened and my lips pursed. Squinting, I drew in a large breath through my nose. Why did I date him for so long?
I leaned toward Lilly and responded through the side of my mouth, “I was totally suffering from a massive brain fart and temporary insanity during freshman year. Don’t hold it against me. The relationship high from dating The Robert Emerson had me duped. I was mesmerized by his gorgeous face and nice body, which made me completely blind to his rotten personality. Maybe it’s a universal law or something that girls must drool and act like flirty dimwits when he looks at them. Someday, Lilly, you’ll build up an immunity like I have. Then you’ll realize that narcissism is definitely not hot.”
“Do you have something important to share with the rest of the group, Ivy?” Rob pinned me with a hard stare and waited for my response. The easiest way to pull his attention from me was to redirect it back on him. If there was one thing Rob loved, it was being the center of attention.
“Lilly and I were just talking about how much we loved your idea of turning this year’s auction into a dinner, too.” I smiled as eagerly as I could fake, waiting to see if my distraction worked. Honestly, I thought the dinner was a horrible idea. It’d cost a lot of money, take a lot of time, and need a lot of man power. It was a huge component being added to an already big project, an addition that would have a massive overhead expense, causing us to earn less money overall. But, once Rob has spoken, his word is law. If he wanted a dinner, then he’d get a dinner. It’d be less work for me not to fight it.
Rob stared at me a moment longer before returning my smile. “It is a really good idea, isn’t it?” He verbally patted himself on the back. Not like he needed to. There were twenty-three other people in the room willing to pat it for him. He was, after all, Franklin High School’s golden boy. A walking, talking, Abercrombie & Fitch advertisement: tall, blond hair, tan skin, blue eyes, perfect teeth, great abs, and, to top it all off, rich beyond reason. Most people were wearing blinders when it came to Rob Emerson. He looked great and could be very charming when it suited him. Unfortunately, very few recognized his less than admirable qualities. He was conceited, self-absorbed, and condescending. Especially if he didn’t find you his equal. And in Rob’s mind, nobody was his equal.
Rob nodded at my approval and went back to droning on. I still wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Lately, when Rob spoke, all I heard was blah, blah, blah, blah… I should’ve been listening, because he was our student body president. But I was getting sick of his leadership methods. Even though I’d been elected vice president, Rob ran everything like a dictatorship. He wouldn’t be so successful if I weren’t the only person unaffected by his perfect exterior. Rob was like the Manchurian Candidate. How do you compete with that?
I guess charisma and beauty were the only things important in high school politics. No wonder our country was such a mess. Rob was exactly the type of person my peers wanted to represent them, because they were too foolish to get informed. I took a good look at the kids seated around me and realized that many of them would be voting in our country’s next presidential election. The thought made me shudder.
“So, Ivy, how are we coming on volunteers for the auction? You have enough participants, I assume. The deadline for name submission is today.” Rob was speaking in his usual condescending tone. But, as his unfortunate right hand in student government, and his ex-girlfriend, I rarely accepted his superiority without sarcasm or general rudeness.
“Of course, your Highness.” I bowed my head to him in mock reverence. “As head of the auction committee and one of your most loyal subjects, I can assure you that everything is in order and will be presented to Principal Anderson this afternoon.” My sarcasm was thick enough to cut.
Rob shot me a death glare. Most of the room was silent, except a few people who were snickering under their breath. It was Lilly who broke the tension when she yelled, “Damn!” Only it came out “Dayuuum!” and was accompanied by fingers snapping while her chin jerked side to side. The whole display was utterly ridiculous coming from Lilly’s tiny frame and fiery red head, but it had the desired effect. The entire council erupted with laughter. Well, everyone except Rob and his girlfriend, Sophia Hill. That girl was a piece of work, perfect for Rob in every single way. A match made in trust fund heaven.
My transgression of disrespecting our benevolent leader was temporarily forgotten, so I tried to smooth things over while I could. “Seriously, though, Rob, I only need one more volunteer, and I’m confident I can find one by the end of the day.” I smiled politely. I did have to work with him for the rest of the year, and I wasn’t a complete hag. I could be civil. Probably.
Rob gave me a curt nod and said “Good” before closing the meeting. It was Monday morning, and the dismissal bell was about to ring. The student council got to meet each day as their very own homeroom class. This was super convenient because most of us were real overachievers, and our schedules were booked up tight after school. In addition to student council, I played volleyball in the fall, ran track in the spring, and took photos for the yearbook committee. I also belonged to the National Honor Society and Student Art Association.
Lilly was one of the only people who didn’t need meetings to
take place during school. Her extracurricular activities consisted of supporting me in mine. As far as student government went, she was only along for the ride. Same as everything else in her life. Lilly was whimsical and carefree, but fiercely loyal. It’d been easy to talk her into joining the student council.
I thought I was off the hook, but right before I walked out the door, Rob yelled out to me. “Hey, Ivy, can I talk to you for a minute?”
I heaved a sigh and turned to my best friend. “Go ahead without me. You don’t need to endure the tongue-lashing I’m about to get.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying. It’s a best friend’s job to provide backup, you know.”
Rob strode out the door and stopped, placing himself between me and my feisty little best friend, as if she wasn’t even there. Lilly’s jaw fell, incredulous at his blatant disrespect. Luckily, his back was to her so he couldn’t see her middle-fingered salute. I smirked at the gesture, then tried to focus on what Rob was saying.
“What the heck was that in there, Ivy?”
“Whatever do you mean, Robert?” I asked, batting my eyelashes sweetly.
“You know exactly what I mean. You’re always being disrespectful and trying to make me look stupid at meetings. I’m running the student council professionally, but you undermine my efforts daily. You are the vice president. You should be showing me more respect than anyone, in a gesture of solidarity.”
Anger was flaring up inside me. I should be showing him the most respect? Who did he think he was? I tried to compose myself before I spoke. “Where exactly in my job description does it state give total respect to your student body president, even if he is a conceited a-hole?”
“I can’t believe how snotty you’ve gotten, Ivy. You’re behaving like a spoiled brat.” He paused, obviously wanting me to cop to my brattiness. Yeah, not happening. Rob waited for my response, arms folded across his chest, tapping his foot like a petulant child.
I looked over his shoulder and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. Lilly was mocking him to his backside. She’d assumed his pose, arms folded, foot tapping, angry glare on her face. When I didn’t answer Rob right away, he continued with his lecture. I tried to tune him out as usual, but it was hard, because as he spoke, Lilly’s mouth started moving silently. She was one word behind him for the entire scolding, and her facial expressions were hilarious. When it sounded like Rob was starting to wrap up, I turned my attention back to him.
“Ivy, if we want the student body to respect us as leaders, we need to present a united team. Bad-mouthing me in front of everyone isn’t the way to gain that respect. It makes me look stupid, and it makes you look immature.”
“I’m not immature, I’m just pointing out what everyone else is blind to.”
“And what is that exactly?” Rob was getting exasperated.
“That you’re so self-centered you expect everyone to bend to your will. Did you ever stop to think that other people can have good ideas, too? That maybe you aren’t the only person on council who’s capable of getting things done? It’s like the Rob Show in there all the freaking time. I’m VP, for heaven’s sake. You shouldn’t publicly check on everything I do like I’m a kid putting off chores. You say you want us to be a team, but all you do is show everyone you don’t trust me to do my job. I’m a competent individual and more than capable of getting things done, without you nagging me like you’re my mother.”
To his credit, Rob’s glare softened slightly, and his voice was a lot calmer when responding to my outburst. He uncrossed his arms and threw them up in a gesture of surrender. Lilly threw hers up, too. The fact that he was totally unaware of the performance being given behind him only reaffirmed how self-absorbed he was.
“Listen, Ivy, I know that you hate me. I don’t know what I did to you, but ever since you dumped me freshman year, there’s been lots of tension between us. We could avoid each other easily enough before, but now we have to cooperate and at least be civil. If we don’t, this is going to be a long year. And there’s still a lot of year left.”
Rob was taking the high road, huh? This was new. Very diplomatic of him. Maybe he realized that I wasn’t the kind of person you wanted to have on your bad side. I sure as heck knew he wasn’t expressing humility. Rob Emerson didn’t know the meaning of the word. He waited again for me to respond, and I knew I had to make a decision. I could continue to be supremely annoyed by Rob and his one-man government, or I could play nice and try to change how things were run, hopefully making student council a more enjoyable experience for everyone. This should have been an easy choice, but the part of me that really was a giant brat wanted to make him suffer.
“Fine.” I sighed. If Rob could be a grown-up, then I supposed I could, too. “I’ll stop mocking you in front of everyone if you promise to stop treating me like a five-year-old. And you have to promise to let other people get involved. Stop being so bossy, and treat the rest of the student council like your peers instead of your minions.” I held out my hand, waiting for him to shake it. “Truce?”
Rob’s mouth twitched up on one side, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. He grabbed my hand and shook it firmly. Such a polished politician. “Truce,” he agreed as the warning bell for first period rang. Rob turned to leave, smacking straight into Lilly, who happened to be only inches behind him. She put on a mask of innocence and stepped out of his way as he walked back into the classroom. Once Rob was far enough away, Lilly and I burst into laughter. We both had first period across the hall, so we headed inside, still giggling over Lilly’s theatrics.
“You do an excellent Rob Emerson, my friend,” I complimented her. “Too bad I just promised not to mock him anymore. The truce will ruin all of our fun.”
Lilly shot me a wicked grin. “Speak for yourself. You’re the one who said you wouldn’t openly mock him. I made no such promise.”
“Well, at least one of us can still do it.” I pouted.
“You can still do it, too,” Lilly insisted, wrapping her arms around me. “You just have to be a little more discreet about it.”
I smiled at Lilly, my best friend since seventh grade. We’d instantly bonded because Jeff Morris thought it was hilarious to tease us about being named after plants. Ever since then, we’d been stuck together, at the roots, so to speak. She was basically my polar opposite. Her long, curly bright red hair to my shoulder-length strawberry blonde bob. Her big, round brown eyes to my almond-shaped blue ones. She had the standard ginger complexion, fair with some freckles across her nose, while I was moderately tan and freckle free. Her petite five-foot-two body was dwarfed when she stood next to my athletic five-foot-eight frame. I think she weighed maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet.
The differences didn’t stop in the physical department. Our personalities couldn’t be more opposite, either. I was your classic Type-A personality. I liked to be responsible and in control, an overachiever and perfectionist. I was also a candid person, which, in my opinion, was one of my greatest strengths, but admittedly also one of my biggest weaknesses. Most of the people I knew appreciated that I was so real with them. My friends always knew what I was thinking or where I stood. But there was a small percentage of the high school population that I’d offended with my honesty. I never tried to hurt people, but I tended to speak faster than I thought.
Lillian Atkins was your typical Type-B socialite. I had lots of friends, because my extracurricular list was extensive. Lilly had lots of friends because she was like a breath of fresh air. She was cute, fun, and spunky, constantly making people laugh. She was quirky but really didn’t care if people thought she was weird. And Lilly was always sporting some crazy outfit or accessory. Today it was bowling shoes. Her attitude was infectious, and people couldn’t help but be happy in her presence.
“Lilly, you know discretion isn’t one of my many fine qualities,” I whined.
She laughed at me as we took our seats. “Yes, Ivy, I’m aware of that. You’ll definitely be challenged by you
r new arrangement with Rob. But that’s what’ll make it so entertaining for me.” Lilly raised her eyebrows up and down, enjoying my displeasure.
I sighed dramatically. “Well, after all the fuss I made about being competent, I guess I better find another volunteer by the end of the day. Otherwise my temper tantrum will have been for nothing and I’ll look like an idiot. No better way to prove your competence than to not get the job done.”
Lilly went into problem-solving mode. “What do you need? A boy or a girl?”
“I have ten girls signed up but only nine boys. I’ve asked almost every guy I know, but either their girlfriend says they can’t be auctioned off or they want to bid on one of the girls that has already signed up.”
“You can’t possibly have asked every guy in school.”
“I’ve asked every guy who I think can bring in decent money. This is a fundraiser, after all, so we can have a kick-a senior party. No offense to the dorks of the senior class. A lot of them are super nice guys, but I doubt the captain of the chess team or president of the cosplay club will bring in a ton of revenue.”
Lilly tsked me and clicked her tongue. “Now who’s being conceited? There are probably plenty of girls out there that’d love to get their hands on a man who’s willing to role play.” She gave me a suggestive look.
“Be serious, Lilly.” I rolled my eyes.
“I am being serious. Just because a guy doesn’t look like Rob Emerson doesn’t mean a girl won’t be into him.” Leave it to Lilly to call me out on being judgmental, another one of my less than stellar personality traits.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “But, as the head of the auction committee, my name is attached to the success of the event. If we don’t bring in a decent amount of money, not only will we have a sucky senior party, but Rob will never trust me to do anything.”
“It’ll be fine, Ivy. I’m sure you’ll find the perfect boy to complete your list by the end of the day. Just promise me that you won’t overlook anyone because he isn’t your ideal candidate.”
Perfectly You (The Perfect Series Book 2) Page 1
