Duke Kingsley is the reigning President of Goldwater Academy. He made sure everything was done in perfect order and only the highest standards were allowed to be portrayed by students.
He was Immaculate.
And I, Norah Saunders, am about to turn his...
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It seems my destiny with Duke Kingsley wasn't limited to him simply offering protection against Noel Carson on school grounds. Now the future of my father's company depends on him and his family and by extension me.
To say I was annoyed was an understatement, but then, I understood the responsibility. I just have to develop the mindset to tackle this situation in the best way possible because, at the end of the day, it's all business, nothing more, nothing less.
"What are you reading?" Walker asked, glancing at me from the driver's seat.
I squinted my burning eyes on my phone screen, scrolling through the lengthy New York Times article. "I'm searching for a loophole," I mumbled. My throat felt dry.
"Loophole? What for?"
"My freedom," I whined, resting my head against the window. "I spent the whole night researching everything I could about Kings Enterprise."
"You're really taking this seriously."
I scoffed. "I kind of have to! Duke hates my guts and I need to figure out how to make him want this deal with our company."
"Either way the last decision is his father's. There's no need to lose sleep over the fellow."
I sighed, still discouraged. Walker didn't understand the level of influence Duke had. He didn't understand just how much he could ruin my father's hope if he wanted to.
After our misfit last week, I'm sure he'll be brooding when I see him again and that made me nervous. Just when we got on good terms, I had to ruin it again. I just need to figure out the best way of convincing him by the time our session begins today.
Walker left me at the school's entrance, and I took notice of the darkening sky. I frowned, not liking how the weather matched my current mood, even though Google did warn me about it this morning. I tightened my jacket around my body and entered the main hallway tiredly.
Everyone seemed so carefree, walking in. While I was simply paranoid half the time. I was either always fearful that Noel will be around the next corner, or that Duke would catch me doing something I shouldn't. It was exhausting, to say the least.
"Hey, Norah, right?" someone asked from behind me. He appeared at my side before I could turn and face and him, and he greeted me with a smile. He was African American, with coily hair that was groomed with a fade on both sides of his head. He also had similar brown eyes like mines, and I noticed then that he didn't have to look down on me, we were the same height.
I mirrored his smile, immediately remembering who he was. "Zander, right? We met on orientation day."
"You have a great memory."
As we walked through the hall, we passed Rosalind and a group of her friends approaching the stairs that led to the third floor and I scoffed at the irony. "Some would say otherwise."
