Fraud

Gabriel

I drop few cubes of ice in my glass, pour four fingers of scotch and lift my eyes to see Ta

Lifting my drink in a feigned toast, I swallow it down, my lips curling into a smile because he looks about ten seconds away from marching over here to drag me back to a room and demand answers.

After leaving the den, I came straight to the kitchen to pour a drink. As far as everybody else can tell, I’m my normal self, the fraud Ivy keeps tossing in my face.

But Ta

Frustration.

A

Some other damn feeling that I can’t make heads or tails of.

It’s utter bullshit, and I slam the drink while Ta

Ivy is sitting over with Luca and Ava, her expression blank and that smart mouth of hers silent. My jaw tightens to see it.

I pour a second drink and slam that, too.

Ta

I pour a third drink and set the glass on the counter, slowly spi

Glancing up, I once again ignore the concern I see in Ta

“I’ll start this since I’m the one who talked to Warbucks. The asshole finally admitted he’s specifically looking for information on Jerry Thornton. Although, he wouldn’t tell me why, of course.”

Ta

“I’m surprised he told you that much. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Frowning at that, I admit, “According to him, you fucked up royally with Luca, and a change occurred because of it. He also mentioned you’re no longer the favorite son, and I’m getting everything in the end of this.”

Lips quirking into a grin, Ta

“How does it feel to be the golden child?”

“I’m fucking thrilled,” I deadpan, “It’s an achievement I’ve been aiming for my entire life. I might go to Disneyland next. Maybe run for President.”

Luca’s voice draws our attention her way. “Did he say anything about Everly?”

Confused by the question, I cock a brow.

“Why would he do that, love?”

With what I know about Everly delivering my warning to Luca’s father, she’s the last person I want to discuss. Sadly, there’s no way we can leave her out of this equation. Especially with Jase constantly on our asses about it.

Luca shakes her head, her brows crashing together in thought. “I’m just trying to figure out something Ivy said.”

Her blue eyes glance up at me. “What if it wasn’t coincidence that she was assigned to be my roommate? I lived with someone else first year at Yale, but a change occurred over the summer, and the only two people switched were Everly and me.”

It’s a good observation, and I’m not surprised Ivy was the one to see it. She has a different view of the entire picture only because she’s not yet wrapped up in it.

She’s also insanely intelligent and attentive. Although you wouldn’t know that now by looking at her.

My gaze skates to her, but rather than adding to the conversation, she stares down at her hands in her lap, her white blond hair falling like a curtain to hide most of her face. A muscle in my jaw jumps, and my fingers tighten down on my drink.

I glance back to Luca, fighting the urge to call Ivy out on just sitting there.

“Warbucks wouldn’t have been able to pull something like that off. Not without Taylor.”

All of us turn to him.

He shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. “What? Don’t look at me. I didn’t do it.”

“My father could have,” Luca says softly. “Or Jerry.”

Thoughts racing back to Yale, I remember that Everly never asked me how she could get in touch with Luca’s dad. She’d simply agreed when I asked her to do it. Was that because she already knew exactly how to reach him?

I keep that question to myself. But I plan to find out what I can about it.

“When did Ivy point this out?”

Ta

“In your office.”

“Oh, you mean when Ivy fucked with my-“

“Ta

He doesn’t.

“Don’t you have anything to say about that, Ivy?”

All eyes are on her, a few of the guys smirking because they are waiting for her to strike out.

The truth is I’m waiting, too.

“Sorry about that,” she mutters while examining her fingernails like they’re the most interesting thing in the room. “It won’t happen again.”

We all stare at her, Ta

Interestingly, Luca and Ava are the only ones to not openly react, but I can still see the tight line of their mouths.

Luca finally looks up and says, “I happened to think what happened at the office was fu

Ta

“And well deserved,” she shrugs, giving him a sweet smile.

The entire scene is uncomfortable and wrong. But it’s what I demanded of Ivy and apparently what she’s giving us. So why the hell is my stomach twisting in my gut to see it?

Ta

“Warbucks also said we’re on a timeline right now.” My eyes meet Ta

He grimaces, but let’s go of Ivy’s behavior and returns to the topic we’re here about.

Sadly, I can’t focus on all of what he’s saying because my eyes keep dragging back to Ivy, narrowing on the way she sits demurely in her place, picking at her fingernails or staring out the window.

“Okay, so obviously Warbucks and Daddy Dearest must know the servers are missing and at least have a suspicion of who took them. Their comment that I failed with Luca is telling.”

Nodding, I sip from my drink, Ivy’s behavior driving me fucking mad.

Staring at it while Ta

I don’t think she was wrong to say what she did, and if I had to guess, I would say the drinking is just another mask, another way to numb the bullshit of my life.

Sawyer is worse, obviously, but he tends to be more open about it. Even now he puffs on a joint while waiting for what Ta

We all have our vices, I guess. And knowing that, I pick up the drink and down the rest of it in a few swallows. It does nothing to ease the a

“But how would they know?” Ta

My eyes lift to his in response to the question. “We told him the servers are gone. That’s how we got them off Luca’s ass.”