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Fallon

“A nd the winner of best costume goes to...” he opened the envelope to read the name. “...Fallon Montgomery for being the hottest devil this campus has ever seen. Seriously, it says that.”

The crowd roared to life as I was led forward to the DJ to accept my prize—a bottle of whiskey and a Halloween figurine trophy.

So much for a low profile .

“You’re hot!” A bunch of guys yelled from the crowd.

I took my prizes and tried to scurry off the stage before the DJ stopped me. “No way! You’re due obligatory pictures now. Everyone line up!”

The first person came up to me to take a picture with me.

Sloane.

“Hey, bestie!” She threw her arm around my shoulder, sending a wave of nervous energy down my body. Her lips dipped close to my ear as we took a few pictures, a viscous grin apparent in her voice. “I hope you know what you’re doing. The games have just begun.”

Smiling through her threats, I made it through the next twenty minutes of the groups of guys wanting pictures with the hottest devil on campus before Kelly finally saved my ass.

“Look,” she showed me her phone full of cash deposits. “We got money for lunch forever now.”

I laughed, knowing she’d been up to something. “Were you secretly charging for pics?”

“Duh,” she flipped her hair. “There’s money galore on campus, and now we have lunch paid for a year in advance.”

The party raged on, and I found myself losing steam as I became more nervous about the meeting with Augustus the next morning. That nagging feeling creeping back up into my chest that something was horribly wrong flared my paranoia back up. Drinking more wouldn’t solve the issue.

“I’m gonna head home,” I said to Kelly. “Are you staying?”

She shook her head, giving me a sweet smile. “Nah. Let’s go.”

Good, because I needed to throw up.

The next morning after retching over the toilet, I tried to mentally prepare myself for the day, but my phone buzzed with yet another new headline:

Breaking News: Another Accidental Death on Willow Bay’s Campus. Should College Parties Avoid Alcohol?

The notification flickered across my screen, sending me back to the threat from Sloane.

The games have just begun.

And the series of creepy texts that came to my phone—some with knowledge of Brent and me.

It made sense, really.

I wasn’t just living through a bad TV soap opera; I was trapped in one.

Kelly ambled softly into the kitchen in her disheveled pajamas and messy hair while she stretched her arms in a yawn. “Hey girl! Breakfast? I’ll make bacon and omelets.”

“Check this out,” I said, extending my phone to her. “This is right after Sloane threatened me last night.”

She pursed her lips, opening the fridge to pull out ingredients. “This scandal has everyone on their toes, especially since a bunch of these rich assholes are turning on each other. It’s giving mafia, if I’m being honest.”

“The one percent of the one percent just acts like this?” I couldn’t fathom how the top did all that they did. It felt soulless, like they’d signed their souls away in exchange for power and money.

There was a separate set of rules by which we lived. Yes, we . The government worked for us, law enforcement was a bill to pay, and doing what you wanted wasn’t a fantasy. It horrified me. I could get away with so much without suffering anything other than a fake slap on the wrist.

And made me angry at my mother for keeping me boxed up like she did. Kelly knew the reality, Brent knew the reality, and everyone around me was in the loop while I stood on the outside like an actual child begging for porridge.

Kelly stood at the stove prepping breakfast, keeping a bit too silent for my comfort. Was the news affecting her? Or were there other things going on she was keeping close to her chest?

“I have that meeting with Augustus today,” I injected into the silence.

She cracked an egg into a bowl. “Today’s a big day. You think you’re ready?”

I’d forgotten to mention what I’d learned about Sylvia to her. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. With what I learned about her involvement and knowledge in certain extracurriculars by way of her father—that I didn’t know if she talked to—I was not in a very sharing mood.

More secrets to hold that would tear us apart , according to Madame Dina.

I nodded, offering up a smile as I poured orange juice. Looks like we both have our secrets. “I’ve been briefed again and again since Evans started dragging me in early. James has been filling me in on details when he comes inside, too. I wasn’t technically supposed to be involved until I was twenty-one, but I’m happy I started now. It’ll make things easier.”

She flipped the omelet, the spatula scraping the pan, the only sound between us while she pondered what I said. “How come you’ve not been involved even earlier? Like when you were eighteen?”

“Good question,” I said. An answer we had yet to fully investigate.

Sylvia had been doing a lot of damage, and I had a few short months to figure out how to stop it.

“Well, I’m off on a date after breakfast,” she said, breaking up my train of thoughts by dishing up two plates with omelets, bacon, and toast.

The silence between us was less than comfortable, full of words that needed to be said, but wouldn’t be. It made me think the fortune reader may have been right in her prediction.

There were many dark paths that lay ahead of us.

“What’re you planning to do on your date?” I poked around with my fork, hoping to break the weird silence.

She clicked her tongue. “He wants to go golfing and then lunch at his family’s country club. He has no idea I’m about to wallop him with a good game of golf.”

“Ever the athletic prowess, and I didn’t know Shane was part of a country club,” I said with a mouth full of food. “I, on the other hand, have a date with a very old man. ”

“Eww! Make sure he leaves you all his money, though,” she snorted, avoiding talking about Shane. She was usually very talkative about her male ventures.

“Very funny.”

The compound for the Vaughn residence was intimidating. It was mafia style. It was an empire dressed as a mansion. The scale of every building had me holding my breath as I stepped out of the car. So, this is what wealth looks like. The compound sprawled like a small city–straight out of a movie, where power dripped out of every corner. Every shadow told of the control the Vaughn’s held

Landscaping so immaculate, it felt unnatural. The hedges were trimmed with near robotic precision, the grass was healthy green and perfectly even, and the rows of flowers framed every edge and pathway. It was beautiful in a terrifying way, demanding respect, intolerant of mistakes.

Classic architecture and warm colorings spoke to the old but inspired design. Dark wood lined everything, and it was all comprised of leather or true velvet. Each room I came into watched me, judged my every movement.

Augustus Vaughn knew style and oozed with it.

I bet he had his own swagger, too.

I tried to focus on the intricate details of decor to steady myself and familiarize myself with my surroundings, but this wasn’t a house or even a mansion. This was a fortress. A statement.

“Welcome, Miss Montgomery. Shall I take your coat?” A man at the door opened and ushered me in, leading me through the foyer.

I may as well cooperate. “Sure, thank you.” I plastered a sickly-sweet smile to my lips, hoping to feign niceties.

“Yes, right this way. The Vaughn men shall be waiting for you inside.”

“...Men?”

“Yes,” he smiled, gesturing to the staircase. “Augustus and his grandson, the heir to the empire. Now, allow me to escort you to the sitting room.”

Fuck.

Trying not to trip up the stairs, I gripped the railing to steady my entire body as I followed him up to my doom. I should have known Brent would be involved, but I let my na?veté get the better of me.

Everyone else was always a step ahead of me, leaving me to flounder and drown in the deep end.

“Hello, Miss Montgomery,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for a while. Please, sit.”

I bowed my head in a small greeting, giving the hint that I was cooperative and willing to listen. Just as I was told . Why none of my men were here with me was frustrating. I only had my one lone security guard on standby a hallway away.

Feeling disadvantaged, I took the chair he gestured to. It was terribly close to Brent. His gaze flickered over my entire body, and I tried to cool myself down as the heat rose to my neck. The last I’d seen him I was semi-drunk and ready to strip my clothes off for him again.

And again.

“It’s my pleasure to meet with you, Mr. Vaughn.”

“Oh please,” he scoffed. “Call me Augustus. I remember when you were just a mere babe clinging to your mother. You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman and let me extend my condolences for the passing of your mother.”

Grief crept into my chest again. So many times I’ve heard condolences for my mother who’d gone five years ago. “Thank you, Augustus.” I mustered a small smile, hand going to my chest to grip my heart.

He shuffled some papers around. “Let’s cut to the chase. Your mother and I had a... particular agreement regarding the usage of some higher-end overseas properties. I would have loved to have coordinated this earlier with you, say, when you were eighteen. But here we are, and I’d like to not waste anymore time.”

Was I supposed to mention the reach outs he made being usurped by Sylvia? Did he know about that? How would I even broach that subject? Maybe it’s best left for another day, or a private conversation with my team. “I am aware and have been filled in on the details of this working relationship. I am here as a formality to discuss that this relationship will continue as it had with me as the operating CEO in charge. There will be no hiccups or slow downs with your needs.”

A devilish smile appeared on his face, reminding me of Brent. They were related, surely. “So glad to hear you’ve been raised the Montgomery and Vaughn way. Your mother and I had close discourse as partners of sorts. I would like to start bringing you into joint meetings to reinforce our ventures.”

With the prep I’d done, I would have assumed this meeting would have been trickier. Given what I’d been told about the relationship between him and my mother however... they seemed more informal. It was as if he saw me as her reincarnate.

“I’m happy to assist where needed. I do need to preemptively let you know that I am still a novice in my current standing. Things may be a learning curve for me.”

I glanced over to see Brent looking completely uninterested and uninspired by our current conversation. His eyes were focused on... my legs? Whatever he was thinking, I didn’t need to know about it. Just looking at him gave me unnecessary heat in regions of my body that shouldn’t be hot in front of his grandfather.

“Anything to say, boy?” Augustus challenged him. His tone shift from me to Brent was apparent. Grace to distaste.

“My current job title doesn’t allow me to speak on these matters,” he said. Brent’s tone was also different, making me wonder the dynamic between the two.

Where my mom treated me kindly, it seemed Brent received the opposite entirely. Was he not in the same boat as I was—learning the CEO ways of his large conglomerate? The way he spoke was as if he’d been banished.

We almost had something in common.

I swore I saw Augustus roll his eyes. “You will soon be head of this company, as you are my sole heir. Consider yourself in the same shoes as Miss Montgomery, effective immediately. Your current position is still in effect as you work well there. However,” he stood, lighting a cigar and dismissing his man in wait from behind him, “you two must get to know each other. As you are both the future of this entire enterprise. Both companies are intertwined, you see.”

My hands faltered a bit with confusion. Was he saying that we were to work together? “I’m a little lost.”

Also, no way! I just told myself that I wanted nothing to do with this playboy!

The smoke filled the air, a scent of vanilla and tobacco filling my senses. It was a calming sensation—which is why I assumed he lit it up in the first place.

He found his words after a few puffs and vague hand gestures. “You two are assigned together as business associates of sorts. Brent will be in a similar position as you—learning how to be a proper CEO. I will be the guide based on the experience your mother and I bring.”

Brent tapped his foot in frustration. “Sounds like a merger is in order, then, sir.”

Taking small strides around the room in thought, a smile on his face, I could tell he’d been brewing a plan of his own. “Not out of the question entirely, boy. We’ll talk when she’s taken rightful place at the head of the table.”

A merger? Was that the long game here?

Brent’s eyes met mine and I held my breath for a showdown between them. “Tentative position accepted. What’s the next step?”

The build-up for this meeting with Augustus Vaughn was the worst part of it all. When he dealt with others, he seemed to be brutal and calculating. He was sharp for an older man.

What I didn’t expect was him to be soft with me and treat me well, even though that’s how it seemed he treated my mother throughout their working relationship. I wondered what the two of them working together was like. What did she say about me to him?

Had I met Brent before? As a baby or something?

Augustus broke up my thoughts with two words. “Cleaning house.”