Page 86 of Unwritten Rules

“Why would we get into trouble?” Jokester Kelly was back.

“Double trouble, then. Fallon, I’d like to discuss some business with you when you have a chance. My people tell me that you’re being groomed into your leadership position. Our families have a longstanding...relationship. I’d like to keep it,” he looked me up and down like we were back in the bedroom again. “Strong.”

Taking a swig of my drink to clear my throat, I grumbled at him. “I have a meeting with one ofmypeople coming up about current events. I’ll inquire about your request with him.”

“I look forward to it. Shall I have our schedules lined up?” The look on his face said he was enjoying this forced polite interaction. I wanted to punch it.

“Sounds great, Mr. Vaughn. I should probably find my way home now since I have an early morning.” I raised my glass at him and turned back to Kelly.

“Did you just–never mind. I have something I need to do before we can be on our way home. Meet me right outside the front door in twenty.”

Something she needed to do? With whom?

“I’ll be leaving thiswonderfulroom and rejoining the party until then,” I said, inching my way to the door to get the hell out of the uber VIP area.

The outside party jolted me awake when I stepped out. Geez, that roomwassoundproof. I was relieved to be back out in the main area.Never thought I’d say that.We parted ways and I marched my hungry ass back to where the food was. My small purse was calling for me to squirrel some extras away to have for later.

Say what you wanted about rich people, they had good snacks sometimes.

“You’re a slippery one, aren’t you, baby girl?” He snatched my wrist with even more force this time. His eyes looked glazed over a bit from whatever drug he took and I genuinely feared for my safety.

Alexander. His swagger didn’t compare to Brent’s; he wasn’t as practiced with it. He was a ‘daddy will sue’ type if he didn’t get what he wanted and those guys never carried much charm.

I used my free hand to pop some fruit into my mouth and looked down at my trapped arm. “Right now? Not really.”

His smile grew pitch black. “I could change that, you know.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “You and me could be a power couple. Take the world by storm. My soon-to-be power and your company would give us something Chamberlain Industries could never have.”

Got it. Money and power is all these people liked to play with. I smiled at him as sickly sweet as I could manage. “Then you’d have to woo me properly. I’ve heard you’re quite the gentleman, but I’m not seeing it.”

He released my hand and relaxed his shoulders an inch. A small lowering of his guard. “Why didn’t you just say so, baby girl?”

“I just did.” Feigning boredom, I popped another snack into my mouth. If I wanted to make it out of this, I needed to come up with a winning strategy. Because I had to face the fact that his type was willing to kill for what they wanted.

“I love a challenge. Go ahead and play hard to get.” His words sounded more sinister than any movie I’d ever seen. They sounded cruel.

“Well, it was wonderful to meet you tonight. I have an important event I cannot miss.” I nodded politely and excused myself, being careful not to full on sprint in the opposite direction of him.

The guy was a lunatic and the asylum was looking for him.

Kelly was headed to the front door at the same time as me. A good sign that it was time to get the hell out of here and back home where I could pretend I was safe.

Outside, I almost collapsed on the ground from the weight coming off of me. Kelly pulled out snacks and handed me cheese and crackers wrapped in a napkin. Food, my favorite.

My phone pinged.

Unknown: hey blondie

Awesome, I forgot all about that. Brent stole my phone and gave himself my number. Before I could reply, another message came through.

Unknown: see you soon baby girl

Great. I sighed and swiped out of my messages because I was not dealing with either of them.

Kelly looked pensive on the drive back and the driver hopefully enjoyed us being calm passengers. Who knew what the poor rideshare drivers had to deal with on and near campus with the wealthiest kids in the country.

I was just looking forward to being in bed and blissfully knocked out, trying to rid my mind of the garbage swirling in my head. That was the hope, anyway. Sleep might not want me.

“Sit down,” Kelly motioned to the couch after I kicked my shoes off.

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