Page 83 of Can't Stop Watching
"What? You hadn't mentioned that." Tessa sits up straight. "Who?"
"Some investor hotshot named Brian Langford. After the interview, he cornered me with that classic 'I-can-help-your-career' bullshit. Stood way too close, kept giving me a creepy look."
Tessa's wineglass freezes halfway to her lips. "Brian Langford? From Rockwell Blackstone Capital?"
"Yeah, that's the one. How'd you know?"
"Holy shit, Lila." Tessa sets down her glass with a sharp clink. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
I shrug. "Just another day in the life of a woman with a pulse? I've dealt with worse behind the bar."
"No, you don't understand." Tessa leans forward, her eyes wide. "I've met him. At one of my parents' charity galas last year."
"Let me guess… total creep to you too?"
"Actually, no. He was there with his wife—this gorgeous woman who looks like she walked out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. Super polished couple. But..." She pauses, frowning.
"But what?" I press, refilling my glass.
Tessa lowers her voice like we're at a country club instead of her apartment. "There were rumors about him. Something his family swept under the rug when he was a freshman at Yale."
"What kind of rumors?"
She leans closer. "The kind that involved a girl from a local college who suddenly no one saw again. The kind where campus security reports mysteriously disappeared."
"Jesus." My stomach tightens. I've heard this story before. Hell, I've lived this story before.
"His family has the kind of money that can make entire human beings disappear from the public record," Tessa continues. "They could probably buy Connecticut if they wanted to."
"That's saying something coming from you," I laugh, but it feels hollow. Tessa's family is New York money going back a few generations, but even they have limits. "Your parents own half of Manhattan."
"No way. A tenth, at most." Tessa waves dismissively. "The Langfords are different. Old, old, old money plus new tech investments. They donated an entire science building to Yale after the... incident."
"And everyone just forgot about this girl?"
"Pretty much." Tessa nods grimly. "The story only circulates in certain circles. My mother heard it from someone on the Yale board."
"Do you think… she's dead?"
"Hell if I know."
I set down my wine, suddenly not in the mood. "And this is the guy who cornered me after my interview."
"Lila." Tessa grabs my hand. "If they offer you that internship and he's involved?—"
"I'll be careful," I promise, though my mind is racing. How many predators get to walk through life consequence-free? How many girls learn the hard way that no one will believe them?
"Maybe you should tell Dane," Tessa suggests. "He's protective of you… in a good way."
I picture Dane's face when I told him about Mr. Colton. That cold calculation in his eyes when he offered to 'educate' him.
"Speaking of Dane," I say, glancing down at my phone. "I kind of want to see him tonight."
"Kind of?" Tessa arches an eyebrow. "You mean desperately need to see him, right? Your face does this whole glowy thing every time you mention his name."
"Shut up." I feel my cheeks flush as I open my text thread with Dane. "I don't glow."
"You're literally glowing right now."
