Page 55 of Vexatious Queen

“Yeah, you know, like Jack Be Nimble and Rub-a-dub-dub. That kind of thing.”

My pulse picked up, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. My eyes darted around the old library that suddenly didn’t feel so safe.

Rory opened his notebook and then looked at me.

“Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I could feel Ivy staring at me, but I suppressed my initial fear and looked Rory over. How well did I really know him? How well did the guys know him?

“I’m good, sorry,” I said, forcing a smile. “What teacher is that?”

“Mr. Martelli. He is always assigning us strange stuff, but I enjoy the class. I want to write scripts for television or movies one day, but who knows? I’ll most likely end up getting rejected and delivering DoorDash for all the luck I have.”

“How big is that class? I hadn’t considered it, but it sounds interesting,” I said, trying to keep the conversation casual while getting as much information as possible.

Rory shrugged and clicked his pen. The noise sounded like gunshots in the otherwise silent library.

“There are about twenty people in my class and three senior classes. So I guess around sixty.”

He smiled, and there didn’t seem to be anything off about him, but my nerves were shot and my judgement…wasn’t the best.

“It’s too bad you didn’t choose it. I think you would’ve had fun.”

“Yeah, too bad. Anyone doing anything with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?”

He tapped the pen off his chin and then shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure someone will. We have to write four, and there are only so many nursery rhymes or uncopyrighted children’s songs available. Why? Is that one special to you?”

“No, just curious.”

Ivy touched my leg and mouthed, “What’s going on?” when Rory wasn’t looking. I responded, “Later.”

Turning my attention back to my homework, I tried to focus on what I needed to do, but now I couldn’t stop thinking about that text message. And worse, I kept staring at Rory, wondering if it was him. I hated that I was so suspicious of everyone.

No matter how hard I’d tried not to let it happen…Wayward had changed me, and I wasn’t sure it was for the better.

JANUARY 19 – MONDAY 11:00 PM

Edmundo

Flipping the pages of the agreement, sent over from the Mancini family, I searched every line for a hidden agenda.

Aldo Mancini had never been a fan of mine, so a deal between our two families had seemed impossible. But Aldo had gone and gotten himself caught up in a mess and was killed for his stupidity.

Things looked promising now that Romeo had taken the lead in the North American markets. Cesare…well, that was another story. But I had it on good authority that the father and son did not always agree on the best way to proceed, and that boded well for me.

This contract was the first between our families in four generations, but I planned to make it the first of many. I finished reading and scribbled my name across the bottom.

Grabbing my phone, I hit Romeo’s number, and he answered on the second ring.

“Mr. Genovese, good to hear from you. I assume you’ve had a chance to look over the contract I sent?”

“I did, and I find it to my liking.”

It was incredibly generous and gave me a higher percentage than I would’ve asked for myself, but I wasn’t going to tell Romeo that.

“I’ve already signed off and will have it delivered to you tomorrow.”