Page 3 of Deadly Secrets

And put something on that shows skin. I want to introduce you to a friend *wink emoji*

Me

I don’t date, but if he’s hot, I might make an exception…

Caroline

I’ve shown him a picture of you.

Believe me when I say he has other plans for you that are not dating *taco emoji* *eggplant emoji*

Her last text made me chuckle. She was nothing like the people I’d met during my time at boarding school. Rubin American Boarding School was full of arrogant, entitled pricks who believed they were superior to everyone else. Half of them hailed from European royal families, while the other half were either offspring of political figures or rock stars. Sarah was, in fact, the only normal person. Her father, Tim Afolami, was the CEO of a very successful water treatment company in the UK, and she intended to follow in his footsteps by pursuing a degree in chemical engineering and biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. Money, beauty, and brains—a killer combination.

After spending what might have been an overly long time in the shower, I moisturized my body with vanilla-scented body milk and blow-dried my hair until it had a naturally styled look. Everyone knew that when Caroline said “casual,” she meant we were headed to an underground bar where all you could smell was whiskey, sweat, and tobacco, so I made sure I looked good without overdoing it. I wore my favorite pair of jeans and a red tank showcasing my curves and finished the look with black military boots and red lipstick.

I headed downstairs to the living room, where my parents were having dinner. About an hour ago, my mom knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to join them, but whenever it was just the three of us, I felt super awkward. During the infrequent moments we shared together, my father often stressed my obligations as part of the Moore family and emphasized the importance of how I portrayed myself to the world. I politely declined the invitation, which clearly displeased her. Judging by the expression on my father’s face, he wasn’t thrilled either.

“Hey, Dad, Mom. I’m going out with Caroline. I might be back late. I just wanted to give you a heads-up,” I informed them. The clattering of my dad’s cutlery against his plate startled my mom. He pressed his lips tightly together, and his eyes gave the impression he was about to snap.

“Sweetheart, not now,” my mother whispered softly as she tenderly laid her hand on my father’s wrist. Throughout my life, she’d always shielded me from him. She would craft last-minute excuses to justify his absence when visiting me in Switzerland or his disinterest in my personal life. The only thing that really interested Edward Moore was how well I did in school, just so I could go to an Ivy League college and play my part in maintaining his public image, like a pawn on a chessboard. His grand plan was for me to eventually join him in managing the company, but he failed to understand that the last thing I wanted was to work for him at Cos Pharmaceuticals.

He looked at me, then extended his index finger, directing it toward me. “I’m away on business next week until Wednesday, but I expect you to meet me in my office on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. sharp. We need to discuss your internship before we leave for Cabo.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” my mom interjected. She still hoped that I would change my mind, but as appealing as Cabo sounded, I preferred to stay home.

“Mom, I’d rather stay here. We’ve already had this conversation. I want to make the most of my time here before heading to Stanford in a few months.” I approached the table and kissed my mom on the cheek before heading to the front door.

Mrs. Bishop, our housekeeper, was already there waiting for me and holding the door open. “Good night, Miss Moore. Enjoy your evening.”

Caroline waited outside, leaning on the passenger door with a smirk. She wore black shorts, a Metallica T-shirt, and comfy Converse shoes. With a nod toward the vintage black Cadillac parked in my front yard, she playfully beckoned me. “Jump in, cutie. The night is young.”

* * *

Seated in the back of the car, I couldn’t help but notice that Jake, Caroline’s friend, kept gazing at me through the rearview mirror. She introduced us as soon as I hopped in the car, and he’d barely focused on the road since we left Moore Manor.

“See something you like?” I challenged. Jake was very attractive, had an infectious laugh, and it seemed he also had excellent taste in music. “The Reason” by Hoobastank blasted through the car’s speakers while my eyes roamed Jake’s tattooed arms and how his black T-shirt accentuated his well-defined biceps. His hair, dark and slightly longer at the front, almost grazed his eyes, which were the most striking shade of green I had ever seen. The way he would touch his short stubble made me wonder how it would feel between my legs.

Why am I always this horny?

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Caroline announced. It turned out we weren’t hitting the city tonight but going to a private party at one of Jake’s friend’s houses. Caroline and I made small talk while Jake drove us to Greenwich, a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut. By the time we arrived, the party was in full swing, and dozens of cars surrounded what looked like a country house. Jake struggled for a few minutes to find a parking spot, so he ended up leaving the car in front of someone else’s truck.

“Don’t worry, it’s my friend’s car. If she wants to leave, she’ll text me,” Jake said when he noticed my hesitation.

The moment we entered the house, all eyes in the living room turned in our direction. At first, I thought they looked at me because I was an outsider, but then a horde of girls came running toward Jake to say hi. It was evident that he was popular with the opposite sex.

Using this diversion to my advantage, I ventured into the kitchen area in search of a beer.

During the entire evening, Caroline kept introducing me to people. I seamlessly joined their conversations, which mainly involved topics such as football, the latest movie releases, and some drama involving a girl named Mandy and her boyfriend, Marcus.

I made my way around the party, looking for Caroline. It wasn’t the first time she had ditched me for dick, so I decided to find Jake to make sure he would give me a ride home. It took me a solid ten minutes to locate him casually leaning against a doorframe in the living room, beer in hand, engaged in conversation with another guy who soon wandered off, leaving him alone by the time I reached him.

“Hey, have you seen Caroline?”

He looked me up and down, his stare making all the butterflies in my stomach come alive. “No. I haven’t seen her in a while. Maybe she’s fucking someone in one of the rooms.”

I rolled my eyes, making Jake chuckle.

“Caroline mentioned you studied in Europe. Is that true?” he asked.

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