Page 123 of Ruthless Prince
I was about to reply when I spotted two of the newer members heading toward me—David Grant and Amy Smith. It was nice to see their friendly faces after spending the first few hours of the evening with a bunch of fake snobs at my engagement party. For the first time in weeks, I felt a rush ofhappiness.
“Hey, Willow!” David said. As he spoke, he handed me a slip of black paper. “Congratulations on theengagement.”
“Thanks. What’s this?” I asked, peering at thepaper.
“It’s a drinks menu. Do you want me to get yousomething?”
I squinted at the fine gold text on the menu. It detailed several cocktails available at the bar this evening. They all contained some sort of drug to heighten sexual experience, provide extra energy, or even knock a person straight out if that’s what theypreferred.
“No thanks, I’m fine for now,” I said, handing the menu back to him. As pleasant as it might be to indulge in a little escapism by having a laced drink tonight, there was no way Logan would let me getone.
“Okay.” David shrugged and pulled aside a masked waiter to order an espresso martini forhimself.
“You haven’t come to any of our meetups,” Amy said, tilting her head to one side. “We’ve missedyou!”
“Order meetings?” I said, my eyes widening. We weren’t supposed to missthose.
She laughed. “No, just little ones for the newer members to hang out and get to know each other better. I’ve been organizing them.” She patted me on the shoulder and went on, pouting her lips. “You’re always too busy to come. I wish you would,though!”
I wanted to slap Logan. He hadn’t told me that I’d received any invitations from the other new members. I knew I wouldn’t have been allowed to go, but it would’ve been nice to knowanyway.
“Sorry,” I replied. “I’ve been so busy with Logan, and I’ve had a ton of assignments to get throughtoo.”
That was all technicallytrue.
Amy groaned. “Please don’t talk about college tonight,” she said. “My thesis is due soon. I’m honestly considering providing my advisor with sexual favors if it’ll get him to give me anextension.”
David turned back to us. “Speaking of favors…” he said slowly. He took a long sip of his new martini before continuing in a hushed tone. “Have either of you been asked to do anything by the Order council yet? Ihaven’t.”
Amy nodded. “I have. They got me a part-time position with Mitch Harmon. It’s going to look awesome on my CV when I’m job-hunting later,” she said. “Anyway, in return, they wanted me to plant a bug in his office and report any meetings he has off thebooks.”
I raised my brows. Harmon was a Supreme Court Justice. “Sounds like they’re trying to get some sort of blackmail material on him,” Isaid.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but I honestly don’t care. He’s a misogynistic douche. Also, the job pays really well, and the Order council paid off my student loans too. It’s nice to finally have a bit of breathing room.” She grinned and elbowed David. “Not that you’d have any idea what I’m talking about, Mr. OilBillionaire.”
David let out a good-natured laugh. “Oh, shut up.” He turned back to me. “What about you,Willow?”
“Hm?”
“Have you been asked to do anything for the Orderyet?”
“Er… no. Notyet.”
Not unless you count me being forced to marry a guy I hate in order to honor a deal the Order council brokered two decades ago,I addedsilently.
He shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll find some use for us eventually.” He finished his drink and looked across the room. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I just spotted my date for theevening.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see a gorgeous nude man beckoning him over to the pool. “Have fun,” I said with asmile.
He waggled his brows before stepping away. Amy grinned and touched my shoulder again. “I think I’m going to go and find someone for myself. We can’t let David have all the fun,” she said with a mischievous wink. “Anyway, come to our nextmeetup!”
“I promise I’ll try,” I said, leaning forward to give her a hug. “It was really good to seeyou.”
“You too.” She pulled away with a smile and looked at Logan, who had remained mercifully quiet throughout this whole exchange. “It was nice to meet you, Logan. I hope I get a weddinginvitation!”
Logan smiled dutifully and nodded before watching her slip into the crowd of partygoers. “Those two seem nice,” he said in a distant tone. “They’re the kind of friends you shouldhave.”
“Guess it’s too bad I’m not allowed to have any,” Imumbled.
