Page 76 of King

“Yes!” Isaac yells. “A thousand dollars! You don’t have to whisper that here. It’s like ten bucks to us.”

I roll my eyes, giving Isaac the laugh he was looking for, but I’m much giddier about the good news. “Alright. As long as it's not like last night.”

“Sorry, but blame Damien,” Isaac says. “Regardless, you handled yourself pretty well and got the product sold so that’s all that matters. I had to calm Damien down after he saw you with Craig. I got what you were doing but dude has a temper."

"I’ll catch you guys later.” There's a hint of anger in Christian's voice as he turns to walk away. I call out to him but he doesn’t respond.

Isaac stops me, “Man let him go. He’s been weird lately. Let's worry about you. You’re basically Queen B. Be happy. You deserve it. See you at noon.” Isaac kisses me on the cheek before he takes off after Christian.

It stuns me for a second, his lips soft and gentle, a burning on my skin but I’m not far behind them, my mind on Isaac's words. Queen B? That's Lea. Not me. Even if it was up for grabs I don’t want it.

“Slut,” Lea says when I walk by. “Sucking off all three of them?”

Christian stops when he hears and turns to face her. “Lea, your jealous bratty act is getting tiring. Why don’t you take your minions and do something worth talking about and I don’t mean fucking your algebra teacher.”

Now I’m stunned by Christian. He’s not usually confrontational but those words came with a sting. He glances at me before he storms into the school and I’m damn near speechless. Whispers erupt around us, giggles coming from students nearby.

“See you later, Jo!” Isaac calls behind him, leaving Lea to sit with her jaw dropped.

I smile as I pass her. Looks like this job comes with perks.

At second period, I tell Allie I have a meeting with a guidance counsellor. I walk her to Algebra before making a beeline for my locker.

Isaac’s waiting there with another manila envelope and I follow him to his car. We head out to a cafe in Ancaster Acres and he instructs me to find Jasper Montgomery. He's the great-great-grandson of oil tycoon, Reginald Montgomery.

I’m relieved this task is easy. I much rather assist during the daytime at crowded places. Less chance for a repeat of last night. Jasper invites me to lunch but doesn’t ask that I try the product. I decline and by the time I’m back in Isaac’s car, I’m a thousand dollars richer.

“What do you get out of this?” I ask.

Isaac turns up the radio with a smile and drives us back to the school.

Once we’re back on campus, the school is abuzz with the lunch rush. The halls are overrun with hungry students and it's starting to smell like today’s special. Smoked salmon bagels.

Isaac has hockey practice so he goes his separate way and I head to meet Allie and Nate by my locker.

More whispers come from students when I walk by but they're much less hostile.

“Did you hear? She’s one of the Supremes now.”

“She's off the blacklist.”

“King says if anyone touches her they’re dead.”

“I love her hair.”

Shaking my head I pull my locker door open, and a box falls out onto the floor. It’s a grey box with a black bow, the letters “JO” in fancy cursive.

I pull on the ribbon to loosen the top of the box and open it. I jump at what’s inside and the box drops to the floor, the item rolling out with it. The little black nub, a big gem on the end, rolls down the hallway stopping at a black shoe. A girl with pink hair picks it up, holding it out to me. “Uh…”

I snatch it out of her hand as she starts to snicker, girls laughing around her. Slamming my locker door closed, I head to Allie’s car instead of standing in the hallway humiliated. Damien is still up to his twisted fucking games and I don’t get what he’s trying to do. How can someone so twisted be so fucking irresistible? This kid is going to be the death of me.

As I approach the side doors to the parking lot, I take out my phone to text Allie and Nate where I am. When I push open the doors, I’m stopped in my tracks. I can see Allie’s car from where I’m standing and she’s already inside but...there’s someone in the driver’s seat and it’s not Nate.

He’s wearing a hockey jersey and I make out a ‘P’ and a ‘Z’ but the rest of the name and number is too frumpled to read. That's already enough to make my jaw clench as the back of this guy is starting to look familiar.

Allie has her head down and when my phone buzzes I see why.

Allie: No, let’s meet at the front steps. See you soon!

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