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He bites his lip, thinking. “All right, let me see… I agree that he’s divorced, but it was a long time ago, like 10 years ago. See, he’s been an admissions officer at BCU this whole time, and his ex-wife found out he was taking bribes from wealthy families to let their kids into school. It turned into a big fight, and she left him over it. No kids. Ever since then, he’s just fallen further and further into degeneracy, taking bribes and then gambling them away.”
I grin. “Oh, that’s good. What about the daddy-daughter combo that came in after us? Were they bribing him?”
“Absolutely. The moment we left, Mr. Partridge handed over an envelope full of cash.”
I go quiet, my cheeks warming.
“What?” Alessandro asks, noticing my silence.
“I don’t want to say it.”
He smirks. “You’re thinking about Talbot assuming you were my daughter?”
“Yeah.”
He wraps his fingers around my ponytail and pulls slightly, making me gasp. “Well, then he’dreallyhate seeing me do this.” He brings his lips to mine and kisses me with authority, leaving me breathless.
“I’m pretty sure he knows I’m not your daughter now,” I squeak, brain a little mushy from the kiss.
“Good,” says Alessandro, still holding me by the ponytail. “Because I’m going to do it again.”
The kiss is insistent this time. I melt against him as his tongue enters my mouth.
Then I hear the sound of tapping from outside, and I jump. A campus security officer is standing next to our car, motioning to roll down the window.
Murder flashes in Alessandro’s eyes, but he controls it quickly. He rolls down his window and addresses the officer politely. “Good afternoon. Can I help you?”
“You can’t be doing that here,” says the campus security guy. “Sorry to interrupt. We got a report about some people loitering in their car. I have to ask you to leave now.”
“No problem, officer,” says Alessandro. “Have a great rest of your day.”
My face is bright red as we drive out of the parking lot. “Wait a second,” I say, spotting something outside the window. “Slow down. That’s him, right?”
As we exit the BCU parking lot, Jacob Talbot walks out to a blue BMW and puts his stuff in the backseat.
“Blue Beemer,” he says, eyes narrowing. “Can you write down the license plate on your phone?”
***
We follow Jacob Talbot into a wealthy suburban neighborhood. “I’m getting ‘married with kids’ vibes if he lives here,” I remark. “Definitely two incomes. Looks like we were both wrong.”
“Don’t be so sure,” says Alessandro. “I don’t think he’s going home. Look. That house already has three cars in the driveway.”
From a safe distance, we watch Talbot park his car and go into a well-lit home. Alessandro parks on the other side of the street, hidden from view by a large SUV. When Talbot comes out about 10 minutes later, he’s holding a briefcase.
“What do you think is in the briefcase?” I ask, continuing the game.
“Cash,” says Alessandro with a shrug. “He’s taking a bribe to let some rich kid into BCU without the grades.”
“I can’t even tell if you’re joking or not.”
“I’m not. Can’t be easy to fund a gambling addiction like his, even on a private school salary. Stay in the car. I’ll be right back.”
***
Alessandro
“What’s in the briefcase?” I ask, leaning against the blue BMW.
