“Do you slap guys a lot?”
“Just ones that piss me off,” she says easily, and I nod. “Or the ones in the bedroom.”
I choke at how honest she’s being, my body feeling hot and red all over. I need to get away from her. Need to be alone with my thoughts and remind myself how bad of an idea it is to be feeling all sorts of torn up over Scarlett Voss. As if she can telljust how ridiculous I’m being, she laughs quietly before pulling out her car keys.
“I’ll see you in class, Branson.”
I think I mumble something in response, but I’m not too sure that anything comes out as I walk to my car and get myself the hell out of there.
CHAPTER NINE: SCARLETT / EVAN
SCARLETT
I swipe a flute of champagne as a server walks past, downing it all in one gulp.
I have never needed liquid courage more than I do right now. Being alongside important people and half of my family isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my night after the week I’ve had, but I didn’t really have a choice.
I’ve got to start ticking off these things on the list one way or another and this gala practically fell into my lap.
I’ve learned over the years that a lot of these kinds of events are full of people who want to flaunt their wealth and show how much money they can give to charity without doing any actual charity work. My family are one of the few that get involved with every charity they donate to, making time to spend it with people in need, and fostering relationships with charities they expect me and my siblings to continue supporting.
I love seeing how passionate my parents get about these sorts of events. How important it is for my mom to get involved with causes that mean something to her, and to actually see her work reflected not only in statistics, but in real people’s lives.
Another thing I’ve picked up on is that if I spend enough time with my brothers, I can avoid getting dragged into boring conversations about my future or information about Voss I’m not allowed to share. Arthur is sucking up to CEOs somewhere, while Junior, Leo and I stand guard over the canapés—a very important job we’ve thrust upon ourselves.
“How’s the whole treasure hunt thing going?” Leo asks, picking off all the salmon from the potato cakes. Junior and I share a look, but neither of us says anything.
“It’s going great,” I tell him.
“You’ve not done anything yet, have you?”
My shoulders drop, and I readjust the black dress I picked out specifically for tonight. It’s a simple strapless formal dress that pools into a long skirt. The silver eye makeup I did complements the earrings my mom got me for my birthday last year, and the heels add a few inches to my height. Just like the pantsuit I wore to meet my parents, my outfits are my armor. They give me that extra edge of confidence that I sometimes feel is fading inside me.
“I’m trying,” I tell them. “And me being here is proof of that.”
Junior nods. “So that’s why you’re doing the speech?”
“I amsolucky I didn’t have to do a speech,” Leo says, shaking his head and letting out a low whistle.
I sigh. “You guys seriously can’t tell meanything? Not even what was on your list?”
“Against family policy,” Junior says.
“Fuck the family policy. I’m desperate.”
I watch my brothers share a look before Junior nods at Leo. Leo grips my shoulder, and gestures for us to follow him. We weave past loud conversations and excited hands waving around before we stop in a quieter area of the room. I look expectantly at my brothers, waiting for them to explain themselves.
“Okay, when I first got my list, I asked Alex for help,” Leo starts, and I nod eagerly. “I thought it wouldn’t matter since he was my big brother, and Dad hadn’t explained the rules to me properly yet. But when he found out, he took us both to the woods and he left us there for three days. We were starving, could barely form sentences, and we were close to eating a rabbit when Dad came back for us. He told us he was just teachingus a lesson for helping each other after he’d told us not to.” My mouth drops open, horrified. “It was all over the news,” he continues, nodding solemnly. “But Dad got Rachel on it, and she covered it up with the press immediately.”
Junior rubs Leo’s shoulder like this is a story he’s heard a million times before. I know he’s been adamant that I shouldn’t ask for help from my siblings, but I hadn’t thought my dad would do somethingthatcrazy.
“You’re serious?” I ask, just to make sure.
They both burst into uncontrollable laughter and they’re lucky we’re at an event because I would absolutely be tackling them to ground if we were anywhere else. I don’t know why I expected them to answer me seriously.
“You should’ve seen your face,” Leo wheezes, wiping tears from his eyes. “I really wish we could tell you, but I don’t want Dad toactuallyleave us in the woods to fend for ourselves.”
“You two are idiots,” I mutter, stealing another canapé before walking past them.
