Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Hailey had her back to the railing and her arms across her chest. She might have meant to look stern but all she really looked was cold.
It wasn’t right. She didn’t deserve to be in the situation.
“And high heels,” Bennett added.
“And makeup,” Grant said. He shrugged when I glared at him. “What? They’re right, we do have a reputation to uphold.” He seemed to be confusing notoriety with reputation.
“I don’t have a dress like that,” Hailey said softly.
“I already found you the perfect one, but you refused to wear it,” Bennett said. Had he really gotten her a French maid costume? I slanted my eyes at Theo, who nodded. Did everyone know about that except me?
Ignoring Bennett, I addressed Hailey. “Do you have a friend you can borrow one from?”
She thought it over for a moment. “Yes, I guess so”
“Is she single?” Dave asked and we laughed.
Hailey fidgeted nervously and took a step forward. She looked like a scared little lamb among the wolves. “I’m really not sure I should be at your party. I took this job to cook and clean. I don’t know anything about mixing or serving drinks.”
“This is part of the job,” Bennett said.
“And we can help you,” Theo said. I assumed he meant about serving drinks, not the dress. Then he threw me to the wolves, too. “Ian worked the bar a lot when he was a pledge. He can help you out.”
Great. I hadn’t even planned on making more than a quick appearance at the party and now I’d be working it. But the look on Hailey’s face, like I’d just thrown her a life preserver, made it impossible to object. “Sure.”
That erased some of the tension in her posture, but not all. We all knew that she wasn’t the type of girl to go to frat parties, and yet when Bennett decided something, it usually happened. I didn’t have to like it, though.
Hailey waited a few more seconds, glancing around the balcony, as if waiting to see if more bad news was heading her way. When no one said anything else, she picked up her tray and escaped into the suite.
I tried again. “Maybe it’s not the best idea to have her working the bar. She’s not twenty-one yet, is she?”
Theo shook his head. “She’s twenty.”
Bennett dismissed that. “That’s what lawyers are for.” But we all knew we weren’t likely to be challenged. Both on campus and off, people knew that the Forsythe family wasn’t to be messed with. And those who tried usually regretted it.
The conversation grew less contentious as the night wore on. Everyone out here was my brother, and I was linked to them all. And friends with them all, more or less. The purpose of a fraternity wasn’t that we’d all be carbon copies of each other. We were very different people, but I’d learned to get along with everyone. Even Bennett, at least when he wasn’t on a power trip. Which seemed to be happening more often these days.
Eventually, I knew I had to get back to my room to hit the books. Everyone groaned when I stood up. I was almost always the first person to leave. But I didn’t have the family connections the others did. I had to work my ass off, and deep down, they knew it.
I jogged down the stairs and did a double take when I saw Hailey on the landing, skulking in the corner. What was she doing here?
“Hi,” she said.
“What’s up?”
“Um, thanks for what you said out there. For standing up for me.” She looked down, her dark eyelashes brushing against her cheeks, and I felt guilty I hadn’t done more. But at least I could look out for her at the party.
“Anytime.” It was an automatic response, but it was rather depressing how frequently things like this might happen to her before the summer was over.
“Can I ask you something?” she said, proving that she could.
“Sure.” I was curious what she wanted. Maybe a way out of her bartending duties at the party? I couldn’t blame her for that. Or maybe to ask me to try to get the other guys to lay off her? Theo had told me how badly Bennett and Grant treated her, but to be honest, I hadn’t really noticed until tonight. My mind was pretty much always on my coursework, whether I was in class or out of it.
That seemed like a copout, now. So far, I’d only done the bare minimum for her, and that wasn’t enough. “What do you want to know?”
She hesitated. “That new guy—um, I mean, he’s not new, but I hadn’t met him before. Dave. Does he have one of the rooms up on the third floor, the ones over mine?”
That was the last thing I’d expected her to inquire about, but I shook my head. “No. His room is down by Theo’s.”