Page 92 of Heartless Legacy

“I don’t want to go back, and nothing I was doing is more fun or more important than this.” I mean that wholeheartedly.

She looks at her spoon then says, “Didn’t look so boring to me, with all the legacy daughters crowding around you.”

I sigh, suddenly feeling the weight of the eyes and expectations on me. I’m companionless and it seems their fathers have been encouraging them to befriend me. “They think I’m submitting my name for the next companion selection and wanted to introduce themselves.”

“What do you mean by submitting your name for the next selection? Isn’t it a continuous cycle? You lose one companion, and you’re immediately assigned another?”

She looks over at dickhead Rice, who’s looking at me. He answers, “It’s not continuous. Once your name goes in the pool, you can have as long or as short of a break as the head of your family line decides. Unmatched second year prospects and above can submit their own names for consideration. I’m assuming Finn falls into that category now, since he and Eloise are no longer matched.”

Thea looks over to the legacy side of the dining hall. “I see. And the welcoming party over at your table are the choices? Are you here to get a woman’s opinion on the type of woman you should go for, numb- Finley?”

She almost called me Number Three. I fight a smile and say, “I don’t need anyone’s opinion. I’m clear on the woman I should go for. You are too, since we’ve had this conversation before.”

“Before, being the part of that sentence you should focus on.”

“Before. After. Now. Later.” I shrug. “It won’t change my requirements. It won’t change who I want.” I settle back in mychair. “And since I can’t have who I want, yet, I won’t be entering my name into the normal selection process.”

She either doesn’t hear me or doesn’t understand what I mean, but her fake ass spokesperson did, and asks, “What do you mean you won’t be entering thenormalselection process?”

“I mean exactly what I’ve said. Do you lack basic comprehension skills?”

Thea snorts. “His comprehension skills are impeccable. They have to be considering where he works.”

Rice says, “That’s right, they are. So I’m not asking for clarification about normal versus abnormal. I’m asking what the fuck you’re up to.”

Thea stares at him, then looks over at me. “Finn? I second his question. What are you up to?”

I smirk at him. “You should ask him the same thing, since I get the impression he knows exactly what I’m up to.” I lean closer to him, holding my knife up for him to see. “Sorry dude, but it’ll be a waste of time for you to ask for a special review to take Thea as your companion. I’ve already sent my request through the proper channels.”

She snorts. “Nobody’s getting me as a companion. First of all, I’m not cattle. Second of all, I’m at the bottom of the scoreboard.”

Rice seems unbothered by how close my blade is to his face. “Which is why I’m asking Finn what he did.”

“And I already told you what I did.”

Thea looks from him to me. “Will one of you fuckers tell me what the hell I missed?”

I want to tell her, but he beats me to it. “He found out that there’s a way that a prospect who’s ineligible for being matched can still become a companion.”

She’s looking at me with narrowed eyes when she asks, “And how would they do that?”

“The head of a family line has to submit a formal request to be matched to that prospect. There’s also a challenge involved.”

Thea drawls, “Isn’t there always?”

Rice goes on to say, “And some other requirements that I haven’t bothered memorizing, since no families have ever asked to be matched to an ineligible prospect.” The tension in his face eases slightly. “And I don’t see Mr. Finley or J.R. ever agreeing to something like that.”

If I poke his eyes out, he’ll never see anything ever again. “Then maybe you should get some glasses. Besides, as a second year, I can submit the request on my own behalf.”

Thea’s voice is soft when she says, “Whatever you did, undo it.”

That’s not happening. “If I pull my request, that means I’m subject to a selection like everyone else. I can change my mind about who I requested but not the companion requests itself. If they agree, then you will-”

Thea pushes to her feet. “Un. Do. It! I don’t need any extra credit, or Trium protection, or whatever other bullshit excuses you used, to justify to yourself why you thought this was a good idea, or that it was even a plan that I’d be happy to go along with. In case you can’t tell Finley, I’mnothappy. I’mnotgoing along with it. I’ve already been a Trium companion and zero out of ten million do not recommend.”

I calmly remind her, “You weren’t a Trium companion. You were Pax’s companion. He and I are not the same.”

“Is that what this is? You think it’s your turn? And when you’re done with me and moving on to your forever girl, will Holden be ready to give me a spin?”

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