Page 40 of Old Money

“Who the fuck areyou,”the man asks, “and what are you doing in my apartment?”

SAWYER

Now I’m the one giving him the look. I reach around my bedroom door and grab my sweat jacket, putting it on quickly.

“Your apartment?” I ask. “Who are you?” I ask again.

The girl scoffs and clicks her tongue.

“This is Brooks Everett.”

My eyes widen. Now I see it. The familiar brown eyes and perfect jawline. Their noses are different—and I much prefer the slight crookedness ofmyEverett’s—but I definitely see it.

Fuck.

“Now,” he says with an overly confident smirk, “do you mind telling me who you are and how you got in my family’s apartment?”

“Fuck,” I whisper. I dash to the counter and pick up my phone. He watches every move I make while the tall blonde rolls her eyes and smacks her gum, clicking her heels on the floor every time she alternates sticking one hip out. I dial Julian, biting my lip while I hold the gaze of the youngest Everett brother—funnily enough, the one who I’m closest to in age.

“Hi, baby,” he says in a hushed voice. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I know you’re in a meeting, but, uh…I think we have a problem. Your brother is here.”

Brooks’s eyes widen as he watches me on the phone.

“Yeah, okay,” I say, walking toward him and handing it over.

“So, is this the girl from Bedell House?” he asks, that same smug smile on his face.Shit. He knows about me?Or even worse…was there another girl at Bedell House?“Uh-huh. Yep, no problem. Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll wait right here.”

I swallow as he hands me the phone back.

“Hello?” I whisper, walking into my room.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll be there soon. Hang tight. I’ll take care of this,” he says. I nod, my heart pounding.

“Okay,” I say, having no choice but to do as he says and just sit tight.

When I go back into the living room, Brooks is apologizing and walking the blonde to the door.

“Unreal. Some fucking date,” she squeals as she yanks her alligator bag up over her shoulder. “We don’t even make it to the fucking restaurant, and now I’m supposed to just leave you in this janky apartment with some other chick? This is the last fucking time, Brooks,” she goes on, stomping across the floor to the door.

“Okay, sweetheart, apologies again.” He nods, holding the door open. “Adam is waiting for you downstairs. He will take you wherever you’d like to go. I’m sorry you weren’t satisfied with the evening, but feel free to keep the earrings. Remember, you signed the NDA at the start of the night, so none of this can be repeated. It was really great to see you, Candy,” he says.

She doesn’t say another word, just sticks up a perfectly manicured middle finger in his face and storms off. He chuckles and closes the door behind her, turning to me with a shrug.

“That’s the third time she’s broken up with me this month,” he says.

Gross.

“Well, it’s nice to see that the rumors about you hold no merit,” I say, walking past him toward the couch and sitting down, pulling the throw over me. I’m hungry, but I feel weird doing anything else in this apartment that may or may not belong to the strange man here with me.

He laughs as he turns to the fridge, helping himself. He grabs two Frescas, the only thing I have to drink around here, and brings them to the living room. He slides one across the coffee table to me then plops down on the oversized chair and puts his feet up on the table.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” he says. “The new furniture looks good.”

I open my can and take a sip, nodding. I don’t know what I should and shouldn’t say, if anything.

“I don’t suppose you’re gonna give me much until my brother gets here, huh?” he asks with that same cocky smirk. “How you met? How you ended up here? Your name…?”

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