CHAPTER 9
DRAKE
All morning, I couldn’t get Olivia’s pained voice out of my head. She was suffering because I thought sending her to Astor Prep was for the best.
I struggled to focus during every meeting and phone call. My thoughts kept drifting back to Olivia and then to Tate. I could already hear him yelling at me for letting him down. For being the reason she cried in my ear.
At least Tate wasn’t home.
That was my only saving grace.
I had to fix this for her, although I wasn’t sure how. Other than to visit the fathers of the mean girls or threaten Astor Prep’s headmaster, I didn’t have many options. And both ideas would only stop the bullying. They wouldn’t make the rest of her school year bearable.
I dialed Carmella.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello, darling.”
“Carm,” I groaned. “We talked about this. No pet names. I’mnotyour boyfriend.”
“You’re no fun.” She laughed. “Anyway, what can I assist you with, Mr. Battle?”
My relationship with Carmella Chatsworth was unconventional, to say the least. The daughter of a hedge fund manager, she looked and acted the part. She could blend in my inner circle and knew the rules of the game.
I hired her as my personal assistant four years ago. Her father had mentioned her in passing. He said she was a fan of my work and that I should give her a shot. Samuel Chatsworth thought a boy my age needed a headstrong woman to guide him.
I didn’t know what he meant.
So, I said yes and dove headfirst.
I was only seventeen at the time and had a massive crush on Carmella. A few days after I turned eighteen, we were both drunk and horny. One thing led to another, and we fell into bed together.
I hadn’t planned it.
Hell, I never thought a hot chick like Carmella would ever be into a nerd like me.
But it was a mistake.
Things had been strained between us ever since. She wanted a relationship, and I only wanted an assistant. I thought that by now she would have left me. But she was loyal to a fault and probably in love with me.
“Did you talk to Olivia this morning?” I asked her.
“Of course,” she lilted. “I did exactly as you asked. Why?”
“I spoke to her before classes started for the day. She was crying. A girl tripped her in the hallway.”
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I told her to call me if anything happened. I would have come back for her. I even did as you suggested and tried to give her some tough love to prepare her.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I confessed.
“That’s a first for you.” I could already hear a smile forming on her lips. “You know everything.”
“Not how to handle bullies or mean girls. This is not my area of expertise.”
“Well, it’s mine,” she said in a cold, unaffected tone. “Leave them to me.”
I leaned back in the leather executive chair, tossing my legs onto the desk. “What can I do? Tell me how to help her.”
Carmella sighed. “I have an idea. But you won’t like it.”
