Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,54
ran his thumb along my palm, sending shivers down my spine. His touch was a lot better than a signal. But the signal would have to do in public.
“Stop the hand holding for a moment,” Mr. Pruitt said as he walked into the room with a huge pile of papers.
I pulled my hand out of Matt’s and stared at the papers as Mr. Pruitt plopped two stacks down in front of me. So the noise that scared Tiffany away earlier wasn’t the heat coming on. It was the printer whirring to life. “What are these?”
Mr. Pruitt snapped his fingers and Tiffany rushed out with his salad. “These,” he said as he placed his napkin on his lap, “are a relationship agreement for the two of you. As well as the list of rules for the household for you, Brooklyn. Matt already signed the guest rules years ago. But I’ll need his signature on the relationship agreement. And your signature on both of them.”
“A relationship agreement?” Why did Mr. Pruitt have any say in my relationships?
“The two of you are in a relationship, are you not?” Mr. Pruitt asked and started to eat his salad.
Matt looked at me and then back at the document. He looked so uncomfortable.
What could we possibly say here? Mr. Pruitt had already seen us together. He might let something slip to Isabella. Signing a freaking document seemed like a bad idea. And I knew Matt loved me. I didn’t need his signature on some kind of weird relationship document. “Actually, Matt and I are taking it slow. We’d rather not let anyone know about our relationship just yet.”
Mr. Pruitt wiped at the corner of his mouth. “Is that true?” he asked and turned his head to Matt. “You’d rather keep your relationship a secret?”
Matt looked up from the document. “We’re just not ready to share it yet.” Something about the way he said it made me sad. I was ready to share it.
“Are you embarrassed about dating someone from the wrong side of the tracks?” Mr. Pruitt asked.
“No. That’s not…”
“Brooklyn is a Pruitt now. And I expect you to treat her like a Pruitt. Sign the papers or you can leave.”
I didn’t even know if Mr. Pruitt realized he was standing up for me. It was all I tried to say on Friday when Matt and I broke up. I just wanted Matt to acknowledge that I wasn’t invisible at school. But none of this was his fault. I don’t know if it was Kennedy’s pep-talk about being brave, or the weed in my system, but I was suddenly tired of all the secrets. “Matt and I have to be a secret because Isabella is blackmailing him.”
“Brooklyn…” Matt started, but I kept talking.
“She’s trying to make both of our lives a living hell.”
Mr. Pruitt nodded like he wasn’t at all surprised by my words. But his eyes were focused on Matt. “And what is she blackmailing you over?”
“I can’t say,” he said. “It doesn’t just involve me.”
Mr. Pruitt clasped his hands together and sighed. “But you can confirm that my other daughter is doing what Brooklyn said? Blackmailing you? Trying to ruin both your lives?”
“She’s certainly not making my life any easier,” Matt said.
Mr. Pruitt sighed. “Interesting. Well, I will have to look into that for you as discretely as possible. I’m assuming she threatened you with my assets?”
Assets? What is he talking about?
“Yes,” Matt said. “But I wasn’t worried about that. I’ve only ever been concerned about Brooklyn’s safety.”
Mr. Pruitt sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve had this conversation with Isabella before and I guess I need to have it again. Go ahead and sign the papers and Isabella won’t know. And I’ll make sure to look into this inconvenience without putting either of you in danger. Isabella knows better.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “My safety? Danger? What else did Isabella threaten you with, Matt?” I asked.
Matt didn’t respond.
“Oh, she threatened to have him killed,” Mr. Pruitt said like it was nothing. “You too I presume. But she knows the rules. She’s not allowed to escalate anything to homicide. It’s actually in that document there,” he said and nodded toward one of the stacks of papers. “I expect you to have that signed and back to me by the morning,” he said and started to eat again.
“She was going to kill me?” I asked. I remembered her friend Charlotte saying how easy it would be for them to make me disappear. She’d been freaking serious.