Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,69

I know why Cooper told me to bring a bathing suit.

He wasn’t interested in seeing me in a bikini. We were never going to hang out at the pool together.

Nope. He just wanted to make sure Dante got his money’s worth.

Victor approaches me while I’m waiting on the other girls to change into their bathing suits. “You OK?” His words are soft and filled with the right amount of concern.

And I want to like him. I don’t think Victor is a bad guy. But he’s been a part of the summer rush for three years. Four, actually. This is the fourth time for him. So four times he has shown up here for money.

I get it. It’s one hundred percent total bullshit. I am living at the height of hypocrisy right now. In fact, I’m worse. Because I wasn’t actually paid to come here. I was paid before I came here.

It feels like an out right now.

And I also get that Cooper’s father runs this shit show. So his offer of concern was dirty. I can’t quite fit all the pieces together yet, but I am starting to understand. Behind that clean-shaven face and well-coiffed silver hair, underneath that expensive suit and hidden behind that massive executive desk up in his high tower of an office—lives the worst kind of monster.

It’s one thing to come face to face with the Devil and know what you’re dealing with. It’s quite another to realize the beast is stalking you from the shadows.

And right now, Victor feels very much like one of the beasts stalking me from the shadows.

So I smile at him. “Fine. Why? Something wrong?”

“Cadee.” He kinda laughs my name. “Come on. Nothing is fine.”

“Hey.” I shrug. “I got my pile of money. I’m good.”

“It’s not yours. It’s Mona’s. They’re not going to let you keep it. They’re not gonna let you keep anything. Not until you’re all the way in. That’s how this works. Valentina can show off her diamonds all she wants, but they’re not really hers. It all belongs to them until she commits.”

Commits. Hmm. What does that mean, exactly? She’s already in Fang and Feather. How much more commitment do they need?

I wish I could ask Victor, but I just don’t trust him. I don’t trust anyone right now. “So? I can wait it out. You have, right?” I try to keep my tone neutral. But I don’t really succeed. And Victor isn’t a dumb guy. I don’t know what his real story is, but he’s not a nobody.

Everyone at High Court is somebody.

There’s just a very tall scale that measures them up. And he’s down at the bottom, for sure. But compared to me? Yeah. I’m somewhere down in the negatives.

And he’s in, Cadee.

He’s in ‘till the end.

Or he wouldn’t still be here.

He’s so close to that sweet prize, he can practically taste it.

Victor’s eyes flash dark for a moment. Anger? Is that anger? Or shame? I can’t tell, but I’m gonna go with anger, because that’s the typical reaction to shame anyway, isn’t it?

He doesn’t get the chance to answer because Valentina comes out of the dressing room. “Get back to work, Victor. Now.”

He sucks in a deep breath and mutters, “Be careful, Cadee,” on the exhale. Then he turns around and goes back in the kitchen.

I’m not sure if that was a warning or a threat.

I guess I’ll go with both to be safe.

“Don’t talk to him, Cadee.”

I turn to Valentina. She’s wearing a bright yellow bikini with crystal patterns sewn into the bra. And her skin is brown to begin with, so she doesn’t need a tan to make that suit look great. Her long, black hair is piled on her head like Mona wears. Her makeup is perfect—her lips glossy and pink, eyelashes long and lush and cheekbones glowing. Her body is well-toned with curves in all the right places. She’s an athlete. Played baseball on the boys’ team when she was younger. And she’s smart too. I do remember that much about Valentina. Valedictorian her senior year at Prep. I was in the central gardens helping my father the day of the ceremony so I heard her speech.

She is gorgeous in every measurable way.

Before this moment I might’ve made myself feel better by imagining her as ugly on the inside. And three days ago, I’d have believed it.

But she’s not. She’s just playing a game like everyone else. She’s… acting, I realize. It’s just a role she needs to master.

“Why shouldn’t