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When her hand settles on my thigh and she gives it a gentle squeeze, I know that it’s her way of thanking me.
Even if I don’t think her presence here is the best idea, I’ll still go toe-to-toe with anyone who wants to say something about it.
Brady finally arrives with the amount of fanfare I expect. All the side conversations immediately cease when he steps up to the front of the room.
“I have an announcement to make,” he says loudly, with the same tone he’d use if God had just given him a new set of commandments. “Our pledge class is looking a little thin on the ground this year. If we want the best, then we have to make sure we have enough candidates to choose from. We’ll be accepting bids for the next few weeks, so spread the word on campus.”
“Any freshman can qualify?” Cole asks, casting a significant look at Gigi who just stares back at him.
“As always, legacies are preferable, but I’ll trust your judgment. The alumni board has informed me they don’t plan to add more restrictions to the ones that are already in place.” Brady surveys the room with a bland smile, the overhead light glinting in his eyes. He looks practically filled with glee. “In fact, I’ve already done a bit of recruiting myself. Let me introduce our newest pledge.”
The entire room turns as Brady points to the French doors behind us.
Olivia steps into the room, a confident smile on her face. Her haughty gaze moves around the room like we’ve all gathered here just for her. When her attention briefly rests on Gigi, her expression doesn’t chance like she just saw a vaguely familiar stranger.
The reaction of the guys in the room is mixed. I definitely hear some surprised noises and more than a few grumblings of discontent. They barely tolerated adding one girl into the mix, and everyone assumed it would be a single exception.
Gigi stiffens beside me, but her face is expressionless. Whatever her reaction might be to her sister’s sudden appearance, she doesn’t want anyone to know what it is.
I’m pretty sure I know what she’s thinking because I’m thinking the same thing: what the hell is Olivia doing?
“Since when are we letting our slam pieces pledge Havoc House?” Nolan mutters, sounding more than a little aggrieved. With the way he has been crawling up Brady’s ass, it has to piss him off that he is finding out about this new female pledge at the same time as the rest of us.
Tough shit.
If Brady hears the discontented mutterings, he doesn’t acknowledge them. “That’s all I have for you assholes. Let me get just the seniors for a minute and then we can get the party started. It’s Friday night, bitches.”
A whoop goes up at that. As much as Havoc House likes to pretend like they’re some ancient society of power players, most of the time, this place is no different from a typical frat house.
Gigi squeezes my hand as she gets up. She doesn’t spare Olivia a glance as she leaves. I turn my head to watch as she heads upstairs. She isn’t going to hang out with the other pledges and make small talk. Not that I blame her. Going public with our relationship has just painted a bigger target on her back.
Brady waits for the underclassmen and pledges to file out of the room, then gestures for Cole to shut the door.
“This better be about the Initiation,” Nolan grouses as he crosses his arms over his chest like a petulant child.
Brady just smiles genially. “Somebody make me a drink.”
Initially, no one moves. A beat goes by and then another in complete silence.
With a loud curse, Nolan pushes himself off the couch.
Brady turns back to the rest of us with a smirk. “It’s been a fun ride, boys. But all good things must come to an end.”
“So this is about the Initiation?” Cole asks.
Like the dick he is, Brady waits until Nolan hands him a glass of whiskey before he says anything else. Ice clinks as he takes a sip and then breathes out in a sigh. “Is this the Macallan?”
“It’s actually a twenty-year-old Glenfiddich that I put out for you,” Nolan acknowledges. The annoyed look on his face turns to one that’s more hopeful. “My uncle sent it to me for my birthday. Do you like it?”
Ever the bootlicker.
Brady takes another sip before answering. “It’s fine.”
Nolan’s face falls. I’m pretty sure that Brady just enjoys fucking with the guy.
I lean forward with my elbows resting on my knees, thoroughly done with all of this. “Spit it out, Brady. What do you want to talk to us about?”
Brady has a shit-eating grin on his face as he surveys us from his normal place by the mantle.
