Adler | The Aces of St.Sinclair BOOK 1.

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When I'd informed both Ashton and Liam about Garren trying to 'recruit' me, they were extremely nervous. Specifically the part about how Garren was not so thrilled about me turning him down.

"Saying no like that might not have been such a good idea,” Liam had said. "What if he's petty and starts picking on you for it?"

"What? No way." I shook my head. Until I gave it more thought and considered his childish irrationality. I turned to Ashton for a second opinion. "... Could he?"

She shrugged her shoulders, apprehensive. "The bloke's filthy rich and a knobhead, it's possible."

"Then what was I supposed to do? Say yes?"

The two exchanged glances with no words. I envied the deeper rooted 'friendship' they shared. The pair had known one another since nursery. They had this link only time could build and I couldn't intercept it.

"No, Steves. You were honest and said how you felt. That wasn't wrong,” Liam assured me.

"If those cunts try anything, I'll send them to the emergency room alright? We've got you,” Ashton proclaimed and we pulled into a group hug.

I was still fearful of the next day but when it came, nothing problematic happened. Well, if you left aside Garren staring at me intensely each time I crossed his path which was often, thanks to joining the club. Other than that, he didn't even try to approach me all week but the looks were visibly bugging Amina more than me and when she asked what the deal was, I'd shrug.

I perceived that she wasn't a fan of The Aces and I didn't want to bother her with their antics. To me, Garren was a child throwing a fit because he didn't get what he wanted for once. I was gladly prepared to wait for him to move on and realise life was not a freaking board game. His words still lingered in my mind, however and so did Will's. I also for some reason felt like I was receiving unfriendly stares at times in the corridors.

Then there was Archie, who would use every chance Ashton wasn't around to hassle me about the incident in front of the school gates. Since so many students were there to witness the 'abduction' by the Aces, he caught wind of it and was determined to get the story.

The only good thing out of the days was the short but worthwhile chats with Shaun after class. I'd learned he played on the rugby team, he had two dogs; a Golden retriever and a chocolate Labrador and he was a huge fan of classic books like me. I'd already gathered this from snooping around his social media prior but it was lovely to hear it from his lips, too.

I grew ecstatic when the weekend was less than twenty four hours in duration and I could get away from everything else that was stressful.
On Friday morning, I got called in to the headmaster's office first thing. Reluctantly, I stepped in and was greeted by that same gentle smile as the first time. I took into account the new lamp on her desk.

"Stevie, lovely to see you again. I just wanted to speak to you about your little trip on Saturday to visit your parents."

I frowned. "How did you know about that?"

"That's not important, dear,” she replied. "I'm completely fine with it, so long as I'm assured you're not planning to tell them anything about our deal."

"You mean your threats and everything?"

"A young woman shouldn’t speak so distastefully. Let’s refer to it as strongly influenced."

I held back an eye roll. "No, miss. I'm not planning to tell them anything."

"You promise?"

I gave a tight lipped smile. "Yes, I promise."