Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,27
again.
“Mr. Pruitt insists on locking everything down once he retires for the night.”
I almost screamed. I hadn’t heard Miller sneak up behind me. “Miller, you scared me half to death.”
He smiled. “I’m sorry. I was trying to find you, but you left the dining room before dessert.”
I just stared at him for a moment. Had he heard the argument? He must have. Or he must have at least seen the red wine on the wall and the shattered glass.
He cleared his throat. “A young man stopped by while you were eating dinner. Felix Green. Here’s the message he left.” He handed me a folded piece of paper.
I opened it and read the short note.
I was hoping to surprise you. But apparently the Pruitts don’t do surprises. Pretty lame if you ask me. And the guy that answered the door said I needed to be on the approved visitor’s list? I requested to be put on it, but then he said it would take a few days to run the necessary background checks. What the hell is that all about? I’m pretty sure he just didn’t like me. Call me. Or better yet, get the hell out of there and come over. I live in 24C.
-Felix
“Boyfriend?” Miller asked
I didn’t even realize I was smiling until the corners of my mouth fell. “What? Oh. No. Just a friend. Why didn’t you let him in?” It couldn’t have been the background check that Felix had mentioned. That was clearly a joke.
“Mr. Pruitt has rules about these things.”
Or maybe it wasn’t a joke. “Background checks for visitors? Really?”
He shrugged but didn’t offer any details.
“So…instead of letting Felix in, can you let me out?” I gestured to the keypad behind me. “Or give me the code?”
“Locking everything down when Mr. Pruitt retires extends to everyone in the household.”
Okay. “But Felix invited me over.” I waved the note in the air. “He lives in this building. I’ll be back in just a few hours,” I lied. I was never. Ever. Coming back to this place.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you out.”
“You’re…that’s…isn’t this kidnapping?”
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “If I was allowed to let you out or give you the code, I would. But I can’t. And I almost forgot, I have about ten missed calls and a voicemail for you on my phone from…Matt?”
Oh God. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Why was he so interested in whether or not I had a boyfriend? “No.” My voice came out harsher than I meant for it to. But I didn’t want to have this conversation with him. I wanted to be on the other side of the door.
“Pretty sure he thinks otherwise. Mr. Pruitt will want a full disclosure on all your relationships.”
Ew. No. I stared at Miller. “What did Matt say in his voicemail?”
“Something about needing to talk. And that his lawyer is having trouble finding a loophole. He said he was sorry like ten times.”
I knew I’d asked him what Matt had said in the message. But the fact that he’d listened to it was a little invasive. I was too defeated to care though. A part of me had been holding out hope that Matt’s lawyer would come through, even though Matt never seemed to. Matt had promised I wouldn’t have to stay here. But another broken promise added to the list was no surprise. And honestly, he probably didn’t even care anymore. If the rumors about him were true, he was probably getting over me by working his way through the cheerleading team a second time.
“Are you okay?” asked Miller.
I nodded even though I was anything but okay.
“I’ll mention to Mr. Pruitt that you need a phone.”
“No, that’s…” I let my voice trail off. Honestly, getting a phone would be really nice. Especially if I was trapped here. “That would be great actually. Speaking of which, is there a phone I can use in the house?”
“You can use mine again if you’d like.” He pulled it out of his pocket.
I wasn’t sure why, but this felt like a trap. Was someone going to jump out from behind that antique vase and punish me for accepting the cell phone? “Am I allowed to use your phone?”
“No, not really.”
“I don’t want to get you in trouble.” That was the last thing I wanted to do. Miller was the only one in this house that seemed capable of a genuine smile. I didn’t want to lose that.