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I sent a text to Tristan to let him know I was on my way, then climbed into my matte-black Maserati Levante and got the fuck out of there.
* * *
“She not only expects me to move back home forfour fucking weeks, but she expects me play chauffeur to this greasy girl, who, by the way, is now living in my house for free. It’s taking the piss.”
Tristan smirked at me, his bright blue eyes full of sadistic humour.Wanker. “Didn’t your sister’s last nanny live there? What happened to her, anyway?”
I sat back, pushing my sunglasses onto the top of my head. We were sitting in a shaded part of the terrace of Nottswood Golf & Country Club. It was pretentious and full of snobby assholes, but there was something about the atmosphere I liked. I usually came here with my dad, but I’d dragged Tristan here because there was a new waitress who was apparently hot as fuck, and he knew my tastes better than anyone. He could be my wingman today.
“Yeah, the last nanny lived there, but she didn’t have a kid of her own. No idea why she left either, just decided the job wasn’t for her anymore. I don’t know, I don’t have anything to do with the staff. That’s my mother’s domain. Back to the important point—we’ve only just sorted our living arrangements and the crypts, and now I have to stay at home? It’s fucking bollocks. And this girl basically gets to live rent-free in my house, plus she’s somehow managed to get into Hatherley Hall.”
“That’s what the Ashcroft name gets you.” Tristan tapped his fingers on the edge of his glass. “Instant admission.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, she’d better stay away from me in school. We don’t want her kind hanging around us. And no taking the piss out of me either.”
“I’d never do that,” he said with a smirk, lying through his teeth. “It sucks that you have to stay home for now, but you know what it means?”
“What?”
“Big party at the crypts when you finally get to board with us. It’ll be Halloween, so it’s double the chance to celebrate. Good excuse, right? You know the girls will be all over you; might improve your mood.” He gave me a smug grin. “Now, are you going to tell me why you dragged me here?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Turning my head towards the glass doors that were currently open, thanks to the unseasonably warm late-September weather, my gaze scanned the bar area. “I have it on good authority that there’s a new waitress here. Big tits, long dark hair, long legs, just how I like them.”
“You want my seal of approval?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
He nodded. “I’m on it.”
2
ELENA
Ididn’t recognise the girl staring at me in the mirror. Had I ever looked like this? My long, dark brown hair fell down my back in a glossy, sleek waterfall. Subtle make-up made my golden-brown eyes look huge and my lips look full and pouty. My tailored uniform fit me like a glove—and I’d never understood that saying until now. Fuck, even my underwear was perfectly fitted, so silky and so soft that I barely noticed I was wearing any.
I smoothed the lapels of my blazer down—navy with blue piping—and then traced a finger over the school crest.Hatherley Hall. This was going to be a big departure from my previous school, where uniform policy was…lax…let’s say, and the combined wealth of the students probably equated to about two of my new classmates’.
Rich people could suck my metaphorical dick. Starting with Knox Ashcroft, the stuck-up, arrogant knob that strutted around this monstrosity of a house like he owned the place. Just like his dad. Like father, like son. I knew the type—a typical spoiled rich kid, thinking they were better than everyone else. I’d admit, I was basing my knowledge on reality TV, but so far, he was ticking every box. The way his gaze had passed over me like I wasn’t even worthy of his attention, like I was nothing to him. If anything, he wasn’t worthy of mine.
But his mum—Maria, as she’d insisted we call her—she’d actually made an effort. Taken me shopping to be fitted for these new clothes. Given me a phone and told me that I didn’t have to worry about data limits. Said I could decorate the tiny room next to my mum’s bedroom however I wanted—I just needed to tell her, and she’d order paint in any colour.
It was almost enough to make me feel guilty about what we were here to do.
Almost.
But not quite.
Gripping the waistband of my demure navy, black, and royal blue tartan skirt, I rolled it up, exposing more of my legs, and then added a sweep of eyeliner around each of my eyes. Stepping into my chunky heels, I blew my reflection a kiss before scooping up my new buttery-soft tan leather backpack and heading out of my bedroom.
It was time to go to battle, and I had my war paint on.
In the hallway of the main house, I glanced at my phone exactly once. Maria had told me that Knox hated to be late, so I was expecting him at any second.
He didn’t disappoint. There was a creak on the uppermost stair, and then he descended the staircase like a fairy-tale prince turned villain. Beautiful, with an edge so sharp that you knew it would cut you if you got too close. Dark, thick hair. Deep, brown eyes. Angular jaw. A sinful mouth, soft-looking lips with a cruel twist to them. Tall and built, his body flexed and released as he moved, powerful and coiled like a jungle cat, ready to strike at any moment.
For a second, I was intimidated, but I straightened my shoulders and reminded myself that just because his parents had money, that didn’t make him any better than me.
Far from it, in fact. His family would pay for what they’d done. My mum had her part under control. As for me? Now I was at school with him, I was ready to take advantage of every opportunity I could.
