The Bad Boy's Palything: A Dark High School Bully Romance

by Lannah Smith

  Annoyed, Christopher glanced away from his laptop to study the papers. "Are those really urgent matters?"

  Tapping the pile, Alec said, "Everything's urgent in this business."

  Christopher turned back to his laptop. "You're so full of shit," he mumbled.

  "You know. If we went back, you wouldn't even be working this hard because we have a full staff. I wouldn't be playing your secretary."

  "Alec, you're being annoying."

  "I'm saying this for you own sake," was his friend’s affronted reply.

  Finished with writing a long email out, Christopher hit send and leaned back with a heavy sigh. "If you want to work that badly then go by yourself," he told him. "I don't care."

  Though he was neck-deep in work, it was actually in good timing when he got into a fucking terrible situation with April. That way, he could focus on work and in the meantime, let her cool. And fortunately, April wasn’t the type of person to hold grudges.

  "Look, I understand how you're feeling but you can't go on like this forever," Alec started to argue.

  Christopher’s guard came up. "Go on like what?"

  "Go on wagging your tail at April."

  That made Christopher chuckle in amusement.

  Glaring down at him, Alec went on to say, "Let's break it down this way, sir. If you get close to her, she takes up a defensive stance. And if you dare make another move on her, I think she'd try to fight you to the death."

  "It's not that bad."

  "Not that bad? You're hated, sir."

  "She reminds me of that on a daily basis, Alec," he grinned. "I don't need you to remind me of that."

  "You should give up on her. She wants peace, just give it to her."

  Christopher's focus sharpened on him.

  "Give it to her?" he lost the grin, a steely edge now in his voice. "When I live for her?"

  At that, Alec pressed his lips tight together.

  "Have you forgotten what you said to me, Alec?" he asked in the same soft, steely voice. "When you put me into this position?"

  "Yes," he curtly answered.

  "You do? Now try telling me that shit again."

  Alec knew that he was threading on thin ice right then and there so he stayed quiet. It took Christopher a moment to compose himself and Alec gave him that moment.

  When he did, Alec finally spoke on a wry tone, "On second thought, don't. Who knows what you might get yourself into again? Just let her treat you badly and hold on. You're so passive when it comes to her that it's almost disgusting anyway."

  Christopher barked out a laugh. "This is why females don't like you, Alec. You're mean."

  "We're not talking about me, Prince Charming."

  "You should seriously consider falling in love."

  "And be like you?" Alec asked with disgust. "I'll pass."

  Yeah, right.

  This fucker was really so full of shit he was reeking.

  Taking off his glasses, Christopher pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

  Then he said, "Can you give me a five-minute break?"

  "No," was Alec's immediate reply. "The last time you asked for a five-minute break you were upstairs, trying to lure April out of her bedroom with cake."

  Christopher snorted. "That would have worked if you didn't find me."

  Alec scowled. "You had a Moretti on the line. And she has a pet," he spat the word out, “to look after.”

  "Come on," Christopher leaned his head back on the chair. "I want to check on April."

  "She's being watched. You don't have to worry about her escaping anymore."

  "You don't understand. I need to see her to recharge my battery."

  "You mean she doesn't drain it?" Alec said scathingly. "She's mean to you."

  "You know I like it that way," he smugly replied.

  Disgusted, Alec gave up on him and went back to his seat.

  "I'm going out!" he called out from his desk. "Five minutes, alright?"

  "You know the sooner you finish all your work, the sooner you can give all of your attention to her right?"

  "I don't want her to feel I'm neglecting her."

  "Hell," Alec muttered, picking up his cup of coffee and draining it. "Just do as you wish."

  No sooner than he said those words did Christopher knife out of the chair, immediately moving towards the door.

  He stopped and turned back when Alec called his name.

  "Five minutes," Alec bit out. "Alright? We really can't afford to waste time anymore."

  Christopher nodded to appease him.

  Alec jerked up his chin in agitated anger and turned his attention down on the file he was holding.

  "And change your clothes, for God's sake."

  His lips twitching, Christopher walked out of the study.

  April was sitting on the counter table, her gaze through the window and at the sparkling blue sea. She stiffened when Christopher closed the door to the study behind him but didn't turn her head to look at him. Staring at her, he leaned a shoulder on the wall, folding his arms across his chest.

  Beautiful. Really beautiful.

  That was what his first thought when his eyes laid on her.

  Her long, strawberry blonde hair was hanging down her back, a strand framing the side of her face. Wearing a gray knitted jumper and black leggings, her feet was barefoot with no shoes in sight.

  He tilted his head to check under her stool. But all he found was the kitten on the floor, playing with a ball of yarn.

  "Where are your shoes?" he asked.

  She didn't answer. Holding a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, she took a sip, studiously ignoring him, eyes still staring at the sea.

  April was still angry at him. He didn’t mind it though. At least he got his point across. He knew that she’d somehow use Leon to try and bargain with him. A wrong move, that. She’d only served to infuriate him.

  If he regretted one thing, it was that the kiss had to end too soon. fuck, fuck, if she didn’t taste as good as he imagined. Better even. Fourteen years later and at last he had the chance to kiss her. Their second won’t happen anytime soon but he was sure to take his time the next time they would.

  She did want him.

  If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have reciprocated his kiss like that.

  The knowledge was like having gasoline tossed into the flames of his desire.

  And fuck if he didn't ache to kiss and touch her again.

  At that moment, Christopher had business to deal with. Alec was right. He needed his head in that.

  Five minutes.

  That was all he needed. Then he'd return to work. They did have a bet going on. When it was time for April, he'd give his attention fully on her. And soon, tomorrow at least, he would.

  "Seriously," he checked around the floor again, "where are your shoes? Did you lose them? I know we keep the floors so clean you can even eat food off on it but it's cold. You might get sick again."

  "I'm not going to get sick," she finally murmured.

  "Right. Because you promised to be healthy. Good girl."

  She rolled her eyes. She would have thrown up her hands in disgust too if they weren't holding a mug.

  "You look like a woman but you act like a little girl, April," he observed with amusement.

  "What kind of adult doesn't drink coffee?" Alec mumbled as he passed by him, pouring himself his fifth cup of coffee of the day from the coffee maker on the corner.

  "I heard that," she snapped and snidely went on to say. "And what kind of human needs twenty cups of coffee a day, Jackman?"

  Alec turned around and sipped his coffee, ignoring April and her fierce glare. This made Christopher smirk. Not many could ever withstand April’s glares. And looking at how her face was healing, her beauty was becoming more and more dazzling as each day went by. Though he tried not to let it show, Christopher still tells how Alec couldn’t look at her quite in the face.

  Looking pointedly his way, Alec told him, "Your friend calle
d. And they want you to call them back."

  Christopher lost the smirk. "Which friend?"

  "Our friend from downtown."

  He let out an irritated sigh. Then he dropped his arms from his chest and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll call them back in my study. You can stay here."

  "Are you asking me to watch over the infant?" Alec's irritated question trailed after him. “And the cat?”

  "I'm not asking," he countered. "I'm giving you an order."

  "Who are you calling an infant, Jackman?" came April's outraged voice.

  Smiling, Christopher closed the door behind him and turned the lock. The faster Alec could get used to April, the better. Because Alec would see even more of her in the future when she became his wife.

  Then with that pleasant thought, Christopher picked up the phone and called the club manager back.

  Chapter 28

  I managed to hold my laughter in.

  God forbid I laugh in front of these assholes.

  The moment Alec told him about the call, I had sneaked a glance his way. And the moment I did, I noticed what he was wearing and my mouth briefly hung open in shock.

  He was wearing a crisp light-blue dress shirt and a silk tie in a darker blue. His usually messy hair was now swept back from his handsome face and his beard was trimmed. But the crazy asshole had put on track pants instead of trousers. And he was wearing slides on his feet.

  I glanced at Alec who was done getting pissy with Christopher as soon as he left and was now filling the coffee filter. Alec, unlike Christopher, never walked around in hoodie or sweatpants. Never looked around looking like he needed a shave, a bath or a haircut. Right now, he was wearing a pullover sweater and dark pants. Despite being mean-tempered and a complete hardass and despite currently living in the middle of nowhere, he was still quite well put together.

  The man, I also found out, could not live without coffee.

  Putting the filter in the machine and flipping the switch, he stood in front of it, waiting and kept his back to me. He was set to ignore me but wasn't set on disobeying his employer.

  "Jackman."

  His head lifted and he turned his head sideways.

  "What?" he grunted.

  "You should seriously get me out of here," I told him. "If not for my sake, then yours. He's making you crazy, isn't he?"

  He turned and leaned his back against the counter beside his beloved coffee maker. "It's part of the job."

  Part of the job, my ass.

  How the hell can he be so emotional in front of Christopher and look so subdued when talking to me? The gap was absurd.

  "I told him I'm going to escape again," I informed him.

  He didn't look worried. "Did he tell you that he'd only bring you back?"

  "Yes," I admitted.

  "Then why waste your energy on stupid shit like that?"

  Because it was all I could do, I thought glumly.

  He pursed his lips in thought for a moment, studying me closely. "Is there a reason why you can't stay?" he asked.

  I tried not to show how agitated that question had made me become and tried desperately not to flinch at his eyes that were trying to read into me.

  "No," I replied coolly. "It's just that... we were briefly childhood friends. Nothing more. I don't understand why he's doing this?"

  "He told you he loved you," he bluntly replied.

  "And that's what I can't understand," I burst out, promptly losing my nurtured control.

  His brows flew up but before he could speak, I kept on raging.

  "What part of me does he love? I have given him no reason to make him fall in love with him. Why couldn't he have fallen for someone who has a heart?"

  His eyes shifted over my shoulder and I stiffened.

  "If he's behind me, I'm going to throw this mug at you," I warned him.

  "He isn't," he said with a such a straight-face I briefly wondered if he was trying to hold back his laughter. "I was just checking the distance to see how many seconds I could make it out of here before you start crying."

  "I'm not going to cry," I grumbled.

  It was refreshing, having something to talk to in this house instead of Christopher. I could tell Alec didn't like me. And that made me comfortable around him. Dislike was something I knew, something I was familiar. Something I was able to handle.

  "He's..." I sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "He's different now."

  "He's always been different," Alec mumbled. "And he's never been serious. Worse than John really. He does things that he likes to do even though everyone tells him not to do it. He's always been a dumbass."

  "Is that something you should say about your employer?" I deadpanned, giving him a look.

  He lifted a brow. "Should I have given him a compliment?"

  "I don't really care."

  "He's sociable, ridiculously good at networking and has many friends," Alec recited unnecessarily. "He's the kind of person people just gravitate to."

  "And you were one of those people."

  "I'm your usual story of parental neglect," he shrugged. "I'm sure you've heard of me. One day, his grandfather picked me up and took me under his wing. With the condition that I take care of his grandson."

  "And Christopher never suspected?" I asked in surprise.

  "Nah." He shook his head. "John was looking for some guys to do some deeds for him and I offered my services. That's how I got close to Skull."

  I frowned. "I hate that nickname."

  He shrugged again. "But he likes it."

  Putting my chin on my hand, I considered the information Alec told me, tapping the table with my fingers. Alec pulled his phone out from his jeans and was now staring at it. Something didn’t add up. He was actually engaging me in a conversation. He wasn’t acting like there was nothing he wanted more in the world but to get away from me.

  After a few more minutes of finger tapping, I came to a conclusion. And with it, my breath got caught in my throat.

  The sly asshole.

  Straightening up my seat, I let my breath out, clenched my teeth and gave him a frosty glare.

  "Are you testing me?" I muttered in a voice just as frosty.

  Somehow, I had the feeling that he was telling me things Christopher didn't know. Like that part about Christopher's grandfather.

  His face turned careful as he looked at me. "Now why do you think that?" he asked mildly.

  "You're telling me things I didn't need to know," I pointed out. "Things I can easily repeat."

  "But you won't."

  My brows flew up. "What do you mean I won't."

  "I just have a feeling you won't," he turned his attention back on his phone.

  This was a lie. I knew this when a corner of his lip slightly curved up. I stared at him, my mind reeling, trying to catch a thought and when I did, my body stiffened.

  "How much did you find out about me?" I asked him tersely.

  "A lot of people, when you ask them about you, well, they speak nothing but bad things about you," he ended in a wry tone. He was finding it funny how he was trying to understate what they said about me but I didn't find it funny. "You are universally disliked, except by a seemingly endless stream of guys who said they have fucked you."

  "Go on," I prompted when he didn't speak anymore. He must have thought that would have insulted me but it didn't. Accepting taunts and scorn from others made me feel more at ease.

  "But some think that you're their savior," he went on in a tone that had turned quiet and low.

  My body froze, every inch of it including my eyes, which were wide open. Suddenly, I didn't want to hear anymore.

  "You can stop talking now," I breathed.

  "Why? Aren't you curious?"

  "I'm not," I gritted out.

  He shrugged. "Whatever you say. Do you have any more questions, Miss Locke?"

  Belatedly, I was getting angry. Eight years ago, I would have had the power to make a man feel like nothing but dirt. Bu
t living away, Dan had taught me to leave the attitude behind and start fresh. Now, I couldn't summon the Wicked Witch of both East Private School and North High Academy even if I tried hard enough.

  It seemed that I still needed to find myself. I thought I knew who I was with Dan. But I didn't know who I was anymore.

  Christopher was walking out of the study then before I could come up with a snarky reply to Alec. I glanced at him over my shoulder to see that a phone was on his ear. Christopher saw me look and winked at me. Then he returned to his phone conversation with Rohan and went up the stairs.

  “They’re still pretty tight, aren’t they?” I mumbled in thought.

  Alec heard me anyway. “If either one of them was a girl, I’m pretty sure they would have married years ago and have five children by now. They’re that devoted to each other.”

  I twisted my neck around and snorted at his bad joke.

  “You don’t believe me? Didn’t the boss pick Rohan up from school almost every day back when they were in high school?”