Page 69 of King

She looks at him, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

He glares back. “Lea,” he says this as a smooth cordial greeting.

My jaw clenches. Is this why Damien brought me here? To make Lea jealous?

“Damien,” she spits between gritted teeth. “I’m sorry for outing you and your little project from the projects but it was more for her than it was for you.”

Bitch.

“So it was you,” I mutter, taking a gulp of the drink Damien gave me. Scotch.

“Of course it was me!” She waves the bottle around and I dodge it, champagne sploshing out of the top. “How do you think I got the tape? My mom has cameras all over that place!"

Damien tilts his head at Georgina before she gets up and pulls on Lea’s arm. Lea jerks her head back, looking up at him like a child about to lose her privileges. She gasps, “Damien?”

“Enjoy your evening, ladies.” He returns his hand to the small of my back, leading me away.

I try my best not to smile. I can feel the heat coming off Lea from here. I was wrong. She's not why Damien brought me here at all. He says this is only business but I know he doesn’t treat everyone like this. I haven’t even seen him this cordial with Lea.

We walk through the halls with colourful walls and framed platinum records, Damien leading me towards wooden doors. The room in front of us looks like another living space, boyish laughter coming from inside.

“Gentlemen,” Damien greets whoever’s in the room, leaning against the door.

When I peek in, Isaac and Christian look up, laughter quieting. They’re sitting on one of the orange sofas in front of a projector screen. The party, what’s in the front foyer anyway is on display, and the guys sit up when they see us walk in. They have a beer in each hand, and when their eyes meet mine, Christian’s grin fades.

Looking around, I realize I'm standing in Isaac's room. It's bigger than Damien's. Artsy and futuristic. Vinyl records decorate the walls, a few fancy guitars hanging between them.

Damien leads me in front of the screen, the boys’ eyes on him. “I know how we can get that stuff to Craig Carson."

“Damien!” Lea’s voice comes from the hallway, “You stop right there! I don’t know what you’re doing but—” She appears at the door but Damien is quick to slam it in her face.

All three of us have the same look, eyebrows high as he turns back to me and the guys. It's an action that seems small, but to me, that means a lot.

"As I was saying…” Damien gestures for me to take a seat on the sofa. When I do he continues, “Medusa…” My mouth twists and he looks down with a smirk before trying again, walking over to the small bar at the side of the room. “I mean Jo is the key to our problem. She has some other skills, besides the obvious.”

“Dude.” Christian’s nose wrinkles at his comment and mine does the same.

He rolls his eyes, giving me a small smile but that smile jars me. I haven’t seen his lips do that in days. “Oh, so we’re good now?” I ask, words coming out louder than I expect.

“Isaac.” Damien doesn’t let us get into it. “Show her the stuff.”

Isaac smiles, swaying towards a chest at the end of his big ass bed. It's covered by a green tartan blanket. When he flips it open, his grin gets wider as he says, “Behold.”

Damien points his chin where Isaac is standing and I make my way over. When I look inside, I’m floored. This chest has it all.

Weed.

Coke.

Pills of all varieties. All colours.

“Woah.” My voice is almost a whisper. Tens of thousands of dollars sit in front of me but it's not in cash. I lean closer to Isaac, muttering, “Shit, no wonder you’re always out of it.”

Isaac winks. “I got people to please, baby.”

I reach in, looking at the layers and layers of pills. “Ecstasy, MDMA, Adderall, ketamine..." I’m listing off everything I see.

“Damn, you know your stuff.” Christian sounds surprised.

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