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“Requested, as in, it’s optional?” I raise an eyebrow in challenge.
Her eyes narrow. “No, young lady, it’s not optional.” She looks at the slim watch on her wrist. “You now have nine minutes, so I suggest you finish getting ready for school.”
I sigh. “Fine. I’ll be there.”
Ms. Williams nods and turns on her heel. I was ready before she knocked, so after quickly checking my reflection and grabbing my backpack, I head downstairs. Kingston will be here to pick me up soon so thankfully, I won’t have to suffer through sitting with those people for long. We haven’t shared a meal together since the night Kingston and his dad were here. It doesn’t seem to be a big thing in this household unless we have guests, which is perfectly fine with me.
Charles is reading something on his iPad when I arrive. He looks up when I enter the room and sets the device on the table.
“Jasmine.”
“Morning,” I mumble as I take a seat at the opposite end of the table.
A chill races down my spine when we make eye contact. He’s looking at me like he’s trying to read my mind. Does he know Kingston and I were spying on him the other night?
Madeline and Peyton walk into the room, breaking our stare-off, and take their seats as well. Madeline sits next to my father and Peyton sits directly across from me, no doubt so she has a direct line of sight to glare at me.
“Good morning, everyone.” Madeline flashes a fake smile and turns to her husband. “Dear, what’s the meaning of this? The girls have to leave soon.”
“Are you questioning me, dear?” Charles gives his wife a look that erases the smile on her face.
“No, of course not,” she sputters, redirecting her gaze to the white tablecloth.
His blue eyes narrow. “I should hope not, considering it’s not your place.”
“Of course not, dear. I apologize for my indiscretion.” Madeline is still in a subservient position, carefully avoiding his eyes.
Whoa, what’s that about?
“Good morning, Daddy,” Peyton says enthusiastically. “Thank you for inviting us to eat with you this morning. Seeing you always brightens my day.”
Kiss ass.
Charles smiles at her. “Good morning, Peyton. I’m glad to see at least one of the women in this household has some manners.”
Peyton beams while I frown. What is going on right now? It’s not like these people are exactly warm by nature, but there seems to be a considerable amount of tension between him and Madeline.
Natalie, the chef’s assistant, rolls a cart into the room and sets a dish in front of each one of us. Charles’s plate is filled with a giant omelet, hash browns, bacon, and fruit. Damn, that looks good. The rest of us have a scoop of cottage cheese with a few berries on top.
“Eat up, girls. As my wife so helpfully reminded me, we don’t have much time.” He waits until we each take a bite. “Now, as for the reason I called you here, I wanted to check in with you. I’ve been out of town so much recently, I feel out of the loop. Jasmine, you’ve been here for a couple of weeks now, how are you settling in?”
“Um... fine.”
Charles raises an eyebrow. “And school? How’s that going?”
“Yeah, Jasmine, how’s school going?” Peyton goads.
I bounce her fake smile right back at her. “It’s just great, thank you for asking.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Charles says.
Madeline lifts her eyes to her daughter. “How is Kingston, dear? Have you two discussed what color theme you’re going with for homecoming?”
Peyton huffs and jerks her head in my direction. “You should ask the boyfriend thief over there.”
Madeline turns to me, confusion evident in her expression. “What does that mean?”
I shrug. “I have no idea. Kingston dumped her, so it seems like she’s looking for someone to blame.”
