Page 679 of Filthy Elites

Dr. Osborne’s office was directly off the lobby on the first floor, so he would just make it. He strolled up to the receptionist’s desk and gave her his best cocky smile. “Morning, Mrs. Carroll.” He noticed her name plate was decorated with flowers around the edges and it sat on a white lace doily.

The older woman took her time glancing up at him, but only for a second. Her focus returned to her computer screen. “Are you Adrian Colton?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Adrian got closer to the counter to see what had her so riveted. Mrs. Carroll was watching some sort of show with the volume either off or she had earbuds tucked under her gray hair. He waited a minute for her to respond, but he lost her attention again. “Mrs. Carroll?”

She huffed and clicked the mouse. “Wait here.” She pushed up from her desk and went to the vice president’s door, knocking lightly before entering.

Adrian leaned over the desk to look at her screen. Whatever show the receptionist was watching was stopped at what she probably considered a good part since there were two partially dressed people in an intimate embrace. Chuckling, Adrian wandered closer to the door.

She returned quickly and motioned for him to enter.

“Cutting it close, Mr. Colton.” Dr. Osborne motioned to him. “Shut the door.”

Adrian wisely said nothing as he pulled the door behind him. He wanted to tell the vice president that he would have been on time if his receptionist could have torn herself away from the video that had enthralled her.

Dr. Osborne moved around his desk and perched on the edge. “The student life office is going to oversee your community service hours. They have several others who are also volunteering their time the same way you will be.”

Adrian rolled his eyes. Yeah, he was volunteering. Of course, Blackstone University would want to pretend his punishment was voluntary. The elite school had already been embarrassed enough.

Dr. Osborne stared at Adrian. “I wanted to meet with you before you went over to student life. I know you think the council’s ruling was unfair and in a way it was. We needed to make an example of you so that nothing like this happens again. Even though you didn’t purposely harm anyone, you were a part of the group that got out of control. The Onyx Society has been a part of Blackstone since the university began. It’s launched the careers of hundreds of powerful individuals and has built alliances between businesses, countries, and organizations. Your group’s little coup attempt almost destroyed three hundred years of history and prestige.”

Adrian didn’t have anything to say to that. The side group of the Onyx Society had been Parker’s idea and the guy had made it seem like forming a smaller group to take over was the best thing in the world. When Parker wanted something, there was nothing that would stop him from getting it. He also had a way of being able to convince anyone to do anything he wanted.

Most of the time Adrian ignored Parker’s antics because that was what they seemed like. He had no idea the guy he had hung out with had a devious and deadly hidden side. He couldn’t call Parker a friend; Adrian didn’t allow anyone in. His father had made sure that Adrian didn’t have any friends. Coltons had acquaintances who benefited them. They never let down their guard or allowed anyone to get too close.

Dr. Osborne folded his arms across his chest. “We know it was Parker’s idea to use a scorpion sting as the initiation. Were you aware he selected one of the deadliest scorpions in the world?”

Adrian couldn’t keep his mask of indifference. His eyes grew large, and he felt sick. “No. It was all supposed to be an act. A big show pretending it was a deadly insect. The scorpions should have been the ones people keep as pets. Their sting would only cause a mild skin irritation for some people.”

Dr. Osborne’s gaze never left Adrian. “You had no idea people were getting poisoned?”

Adrian paced in front of the desk. “No. Alcohol was always involved so no one thought anything of it. The few people who had passed out were brought home to sleep it off.”

“What about the girl who died?”

“I have no idea. I had only attended two initiations with scorpions, and both were men. The first guy made it through fine, but he didn’t participate in any society business. It got a little carried away with Drew Maxwell. I assumed he was drunk and passed out. I knew Parker was going to dump him somewhere to sleep it off. I had no idea he was thrown into the woods.”

“But you knew about the antivenom?”

“It was supposed to be a shot of cheap vodka. Tastes like crap but wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Dr. Osborne blew out a frustrated breath. “Parker and Eric performed eighteen initiations with scorpions. Five students died directly as a result of not having enough antivenom or having an adverse reaction. Why weren’t you included in those? You want me to believe you only participated when your group was targeting Drew Maxwell?”

“Look, the guy’s a dick, but I didn’t want him dead.” Adrian shrugged. “He could have dealt with a little humiliation.” His father had compared Adrian with Drew his whole life.‘Why can’t you be more like the Maxwell boy?’He’d heard that sentence, and ones like it, thousands of times growing up. It had gotten to the point where Adrian started to hate even hearing Drew’s name.

Adrian stopped in front of Dr. Osborne. “I’ve been all through this with the campus security, local police, FBI, and a bunch of other feds. I don’t have anything to hide. I told them everything. I’m not rotting in a jail cell with the others becauseIdidn’t do anything! All I want to do is finish school and get the hell, I mean heck, out of this area.”

“Have you been in contact with Parker or Eric?”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “No and I don’t want to.” He wondered where the vice president was going with these questions. Why was he fishing for information?

Dr. Osborne sighed. “You need to take this time away from the rowing team to evaluate your life. Community service will be good for you.”

“Yeah.” Sarcasm dripped from Adrian’s lips.

“Be careful, Adrian. We’ll be watching you.” Dr. Osborne stood. “You can report to student life before your first class.”

As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted Gwen coming around the corner of the building. He had been a dick to her. “Hey, Gwen,” he called out as he jogged over to her.

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