Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,82

Kennedy and I’ll be right back. It’s a bathroom emergency.” It seemed like no one had any intention of letting me get away. But adding that it was an emergency silenced the room. Awesome.

Yes, it was nice that Mr. Pruitt had asked Justin to help Kennedy get ready too. But that didn’t take away the fact that he sent Tiffany up to clean up a mess she hadn’t made. Right before he was going to fire her for that very same mess. He had some explaining to do. I hurried out the door before anyone else could stop me.

Chapter 25

Saturday

Miller caught my wrist right after I made it into the hallway. “There’s a bathroom attached to your room, Brooklyn.”

God. Stupid rich people with fancy bathrooms in their bedrooms. I’ll never get used to this stuff. “Oh. Right. Well, I’ll just use the downstairs one now since I’m already on my way.” I actually didn’t even know where the downstairs bathroom was. But there were probably several. I’d eventually find one.

He looked down the hall to see if the coast was clear and then pulled me to his chest. “You can tell me the truth. You know that.”

I breathed in his familiar scent. “Isabella said it was Tiffany’s fault for not watching Sir Wilfred better. Mr. Pruitt is going to fire her.”

“Who is Sir Wilfred?”

“Isabella’s stupid new dog. But that’s not even the point. Isabella did it. The clothes weren’t ripped by a dog. They were cut with scissors.”

Miller shook his head.

“But I’m going to go fix it. I’m going to go talk to Mr. Pruitt now.”

Miller tilted his head down to mine. “You’re amazing, you know.” It looked like he wanted to kiss me.

I smiled up at him. “I’m not amazing. But I am going to try to save her job.” I looked down the hall to see if anyone was looking, but Miller grabbed my jaw and kissed me. Every now and then when I’d climb in his bed and talk his ear off, he’d kiss me. Maybe to make me stop talking so he could sleep. Maybe because sometimes he just wanted to be closer to me. I didn’t know why sometimes he did and sometimes he didn’t. Maybe it depended on what I was talking about. But this kiss didn’t feel sleepy. Or convenient. It felt a lot more real than all the others. He pulled away far too soon.

“I want to make sure you know how I feel,” he said. “I’m not a grand gestures kind of guy. But I’m here for you. I know you’re confused right now. But I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

He smiled. “Not even a little.”

“You’re going to get yourself fired,” I said with a laugh.

“Maybe so. But I don’t care as long as you come with me wherever I go afterwards.” He pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“I thought you didn’t want me to run away from here anymore?”

“The unselfish part of me. But the selfish part? I want to get you as far away from these people as possible.”

Something about the way he said it made me remember what Mr. Pruitt had said. “Do you watch me 24/7?”

His eyebrows pulled together. “What?”

“Mr. Pruitt said that it was your job to watch me 24/7.”

“Yeah, technically that is my job.”

I stared up at him. “What does that mean? Like…are you…are there…” I looked up at the ceiling. “Are there cameras somewhere?”

“There are cameras everywhere, Brooklyn. Their locations were listed in detail in the contract you signed. Remember?”

“Oh. Right. Yeah.” I definitely didn’t remember. Since I hadn’t actually read the contract. “Wait. So you watch me when I…change?”

He shifted away from me. “It’s not like that. I’m not staring at the screens nonstop. I don’t watch you undress. I’m not a creep.”

It felt a little creepy to me. Suddenly the feeling of being watched made so much more sense. “Who else is watching me?”

“Each of the security detail is assigned one person.”

“Then don’t they see me coming downstairs to you at night?” My heart was racing. And I wasn’t sure if it was because I was mad that he was watching me. Or I was worried that someone else was.

“There aren’t any cameras around the staff floor. Or anywhere near the door to our floor for that matter. There’s no reason for them.”

I nodded, not feeling all that convinced. “Is someone watching us right now?”

“You’re the only one living in this wing.” He pulled out his phone and brought up a screen