Now she was going to have a chance to see who I was with them. One area of my life, which had been private and only mine, was suddenly going to be exposed to Ashleigh.
Who could see everything.
And the thing she would see right away was how much of a front it was. I acted like a popular kid. I was treated as a popular kid. Anyone on the outside looking in would think I was friends with the whole fucking school. Because that’s what I wanted them to think. Because popularity had advantages, and any time I could gain an advantage in this world, I took it.
Ash would know it was all fake.
I swam a few laps to work off the unease I was feeling, then pulled myself out of the pool only to come face-to-face with the master of the house himself.
“Sir,” I said, ducking my head and reaching for the towel I’d left on one of the lounge chairs. “I’ll get out of your way.”
My goal was always to get out of Arthur Landen’s way as fast as possible. It wasn’t like he intimidated me. Maybe he should have, being as rich as he was. It was more about feeling like I was on borrowed time with him. As if any minute he might pull the rug out from me and George and send me packing. So the less he saw of me, the better.
“A moment, Marc.”
Shit. I turned to face him. Arthur Landen was a formidable looking man. Tall, with a full head of hair even if it was all white. Heavy, but not fat. Just solid. He had Ash’s light blue eyes, but they weren’t as soulful as hers. As expressive as hers.
As fucking all-seeing as hers.
“Yes, sir?”
That was the other thing I did. I said sir as much as possible around him. Reminding him I knew who was in charge around here. I lived here at his whim.
I had to work for it, earn my keep by working with George around the place, but even without that, I had to remember how lucky I was he’d conceded to George’s wishes.
“I understand you’re going into your senior year. By all accounts, you’re doing well.”
Top ten academically, captain of the State Championship soccer team, student council vice-president and captain of the debate club. Everything I needed to pad my résumé to get into Princeton.
Because that’s where I was going.
Two years ago, George drove me the hour south to the Ivy League school and I’d become fixated on it. Not Yale, not Harvard. I wanted Princeton. Where Landen had gone with a silver spoon tucked between his teeth.
I wanted to earn it. Because of my circumstances, my rise from the gutter to the top of my class, my brief time spent in the foster system, I was just enough of a sad sack for them to take a look at me without the pedigree. There weren’t a lot of poor kids who got into Ivy League schools, but I was going to be one of them, and I’d picked Princeton.
“Well enough, sir.”
“I’m sure you know my daughter will be attending Harborview High this year. We both felt it was time to acclimate her to her social peers.”
He didn’t have a damn thing to do with her decision, but I kept my mouth shut.
“I just want to be clear. My expectation has always been that you and Ashleigh keep to yourselves, separately. You can appreciate my concern given she’s an impressionable young woman and you come from…well, more challenging circumstances.”
AKA: my mother was a heroin addict.
“But now you would like me to watch over her at school?” I suggested, thinking that’s where this conversation was going.
Landen sniffed like he smelled something bad. It wasn’t me. I only smelled like chlorine.
“On the contrary, I saw you with her in the pool and thought you two looked rather close. More than I’m comfortable with, to be blunt. She’s only fifteen. Innocent, because I’ve kept her that way. With the two of you at school together, she might cling to you. Look to you for support. Become…attached. I’m asking you to discourage that behavior.”
No problem there. It’s exactly what I’d already told her. There was no way I could hide how much I was faking everything from Ash. So the only strategy was to keep her at a distance.
“That won’t be a problem, sir.”
He nodded. “Good, good. George says you have ambitions to go to Princeton. Not sure if you’re aware, but that’s also my alma mater.”
I could feel my jaw get tight, and I suppressed the urge to clench my fists. I knew what was coming next. This guy was not about to wish me luck on my ambitions.
“Actually, I didn’t, sir.”
“Hmm, yes. A long time ago, of course, but I’ve kept in touch with a lot of influencers at the school. You understand my meaning.”
Crystal. Clear.
Stay away from Ash or risk him using that influence against me.
These had always been the rules at the Landen estate:
Earn my rent through work.
No friends at the main house or the carriage house.
No drugs or drinking.
Stay away from Ashleigh.
That was the hardest one to follow because she wouldn’t leave me alone. At least that’s what I told myself.
“That won’t be a problem, sir.”
He nodded. “Good. Anything you can do to discourage her attachment would be considered a boon to me.”
Most of the time I was mean as fuck to Ashleigh. It didn’t discourage shit, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t double down if that’s what I had to do. Hell, it would be my pleasure.
“Yes, sir.”
A week before school
Marc
“It was the greatest movie of all time,” Ash said.
“More potatoes, Marc?” George asked me. We were sitting around the kitchen table in the carriage house, having dinner together, which we normally did when Landen was out of town. I’d mentioned seeing the latest Avengers movie with my friends and somehow, I’d ended up here, in the most ridiculous argument of all time.
“You’re kidding me right now,” I said to Ash. To George I said, “Sure. I need to carb up before practice. Coach wants us in shape before the year starts, which means running.”
George slapped some more mashed potatoes onto my plate and I dug in while they were hot.
“Wonder Woman was an inspiration for girls everywhere,” Ash exclaimed. “That’s bigger than a superhero movie, that’s…that’s feminism.”
“It’s a movie, not a movement,” I told her. “You got completely caught up in it, too. You do realize there were parts when you cried? And not just when the hero bit it.”
“When all the warriors were coming down the cliffs to fight the Nazis and you believed they were evenly matched. That was epic!”
I rolled my eyes. “It was okay. I’m not saying it was a bad movie. I’m just saying it was not the greatest movie of all time.”
“You need to appreciate that women are going to run the world someday,” Ash said confidently even as she scooped up her own mashed potatoes. “But don’t worry, Marc. I’ll go easy on you.”
I snorted. There were times Ash could be a trip. Arguing with her shouldn’t be as fun as it was. I had to give myself a mental shake, reminding myself of the conversation I’d had with Landen last week. I needed to put more distance between us.
A hard knock sounded on the door. The house was an open concept layout so all I had to do was lean a little from where we were sitting at the table to see through the glass pane that ran along the side of the door.