“Names,” I say, looking at my nails as if I care about petty crap like keeping them clean.
“Whatever. Ashley, Simon, Craig, Sam, and Tom. Is that enough?”
“What orders has he given you recently?” I give her my full attention now and I watch as her pupils dilate and she tries to hide her flinch.
“He wants me to keep an eye on Two, and make sure that you guys aren't sniffing around her. If Thallon gets out of line, then I have to tell him about that too, but I don’t know what he means by out of line, so I haven’t said anything.” She swallows hard as her hands shake. She looks so small, not like the vindictive bitch I’ve come to know and despise.
“Why are you even here, One? You come from old money, and you’re far from ugly. What’s in it for you?” Why am I taking an interest in her, for crying out loud? I do not have time for this.
“Because no other prestigious college would take me. No matter how much money we threw their way. My mother wouldn’t allow me to go somewhere she viewed as beneath me, so I was ordered to apply here or they would cut me off.” She stares at her lap, and I’m trying really hard to not relate to her.
“They’d rather you whore yourself out then go somewhere other than Princeton and Yale?” I don’t know that she applied to those, but it’s an educated guess.
“Oh yeah, even better if I land myself a rich husband. Look, I don’t need your pity, Aeron, just leave me alone.” She stares dead ahead at the wall and I walk out, I’ve got what I came for, now it’s time to set the trap.
Although I know Tom isn’t involved, I can’t ignore the fact he was there. Guilty until proven innocent, blah blah blah.
Craig is third on my list to visit, still doubt it’s him but he’s a likely suspect.
“What do you want?” he grouses as he pulls himself out of the pool.
“Want to know a little secret? But it’s gotta stay hush hush.”
He brightens instantly as he waits for me to tell him the gossip.
“I’m planning to propose to One on graduation day. Two was just to pass some time, but I know Sir wanted her to be Emmet’s backup in case Two fell through. Remember, keep it quiet.” I wink before I start to walk away.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I know you can’t stand her. I thought you’d like the chance to be front row and center when she realizes she never stood a chance with me. Karma and all the bullshit.” I laugh wickedly before walking off.
I abruptly stop the momentum once I’m away from him and my mouth tastes like ash. I fucking hate that I had to say that, but I can’t feed them all the same lie. And it has to be something tailor made to each one. After all, I don’t want to raise any suspicions.
Simon actually believes that I snuck a girl into Sir’s office and fucked her on his desk. Yeah, I’m starting to hope he isn’t the spy. There would be no coming back from that one.
Ashley thinks that I trashed my mom’s yacht before the retreat. Although, that one is actually true. Man, that was sweet. I wonder if she’s found it yet? I can’t help but laugh to myself. She has three, I doubt she’s even been on it lately.
I find Sam studying in the library, may have to sit down from the shock for a minute.
“Alright, Aer, what’s up?” he asks, looking around as though he’s surprised I’ve come to speak to him.
“Just fed up with all the bullshit with Tom. That fucker is driving me crazy.” I drop down into the seat opposite him and he closes his text book.
“Yeah? What’s he done now?”
“You know what he’s like, always having to do one better than everyone else.” I smirk, and he shakes his head.
“I’m not surprised you’ve finally seen it for yourself. Never could understand why you and Tucker put up with him for so long.”
“Because we always thought he had our back. I guess girls really are a great test of friendship. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to seeing him the way I used to.” I drag my hand over my face before I pull a cigarette out and spark up.
“Look, if this is about Two, then just keep me out of it, okay? I’d rather avoid the drama this year, and honestly, I don’t really see the appeal.” He stares at me with his brows raised and I smile wide.
“No, Caitlyn is more your style. That girl seems to be calming you down Sammy, it’s good. I don’t get why though, you were such a man whore.”wWe both laugh at that but his turns to a grimace as he clears his throat.
“I tell everyone it’s because she’s great at sucking cock but really, she’s a great listener. What with my sister being in rehab and everything, there’s no judgement. Plus, she keeps it to herself. How many people can we trust like that in this place?” He folds his hands on the table and I don’t even have to think about that answer.
“Barely anyone and I’m not here because of Luna. The issues between me and the other two started with Rachel and with what Tom did. He’ll never understand why I won’t move on from it. But that doesn’t matter. Look, Sam, I’m going to take a risk here and level with you.” He straightens up and I’m about to take a huge risk.
“I think one of us is feeding information back to Sir and that is why he knows everything, even stuff that the staff shouldn’t know,” I say it in a hushed whisper, careful that no one else will overhear.
“I can’t say that I’m surprised, anyone can be bought for the right price. But why are you telling me this?” Good question, Sam, very good question.
“Because I don’t think it’s you. So instead, I’m going to ask why you were meeting with Sir, and not assume that you’re guilty. You've met my mother, she gets people to trust her so she can use it to her advantage, but she doesn’t trust anyone. I don’t want to live like that, and I do not want to turn out like her. So, what do you say, Sam, feel like telling me what is going on?” I keep my face neutral, trying not to give anything away. As I take a long drag and watch him through the smoke.
“I asked Sir if I could work in one of the other branches. I don’t want to work in New York or Los Angeles. I want to get my sister away from all of the toxic influences that she has in her friends and… Caitlyn is looking to move to Texas. I thought that would be as good a place as any.” His cheeks are starting to turn red. So his motives are for a girl. Aren’t they always?
“What did Sir offer you in return?”
“He said he would consider my request and will let me know if there comes a time where I can do a favor for him. That’s all, man, but I’ll tell you if you want. I don’t want to be tied to him anymore than I have to, at least Texas isn’t a place he will visit often.” He closes his eyes, and I believe him.
“I appreciate that. I just have Tom left to test, not that I can see it being him.” I stub my smoke out on the desk and he narrows his eyes on the action.
“Didn’t he betray you already?” He’s making a very good point, but that was different.
“No, he betrayed Tucker. He fucking annihilated me.” I push up to my feet and he stares at me for a few moments.