Joselyn needs a job.
Penelope needs someone to keep an eye on her boyfriend while she's gone.
It's the perfect match.
But, add in said boyfriend's charismatic side-kick and a troubled past desperate to resurface, and Josie's surveillance may be i...
AN: thank you for all of your support for chapter one! i'm so excited to hear what you think, and what you're hoping for in the story 🧡
big thanks (and belated happy birthday!) to tahliepurvis for the cover she made above above 💖🎉
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It wasn't like I hadn't scrolled through Cole Kensington's Facebook profile before.
He was just one of those people who catch curiosity. He was the kind of person that seemed to know a loophole in the system, a bypass to the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people. His demeanor oozed a confidence that told me he never doubted himself, and never would. He was basically royalty. He sat in the center of a group of people—guys and girls who he laughed with and boasted to. His smile was wide and bright, and made even my knees weak—and dating boys wasn't even on my radar right now.
In conclusion, Cole was everything I wasn't. He was someone who's eyes would barely skim me in lectures or who would ignore my comments in workshops. Finding a way to observe his life would not be easy.
I clicked on the most recent of his tagged photos—parties of course. Frat parties. The people around him were always different, except for one boy. His best friend, Felix. If Cole's features were angelic, Felix's were devilish. Dark and handsome.
I shut my laptop and sighed. I'd had enough of this. I was already starting to feel Penelope's paranoia creep into me. The last person I wanted to be was some creep stalking the popular boy.
I rolled over in bed, the springs creaking. Penelope's business card was sitting on the bedside table. I still hadn't signed the contract. There was still time to get out.
And get out of here. At least temporarily.
The sparkle of her apartment key caught my eye.
I closed my eyes for a moment. I could hear my roommate and her boyfriend obnoxiously through the wall, and the smell of rotten food travelled in through the window from the trash below.
The temptation was strong. She said I could go there anytime, anyway... maybe if I got an insight into her apartment, I'd have an insight into what I was really getting myself into.
I pulled on a jacket and grabbed my purse, already trampling down the peeling staircase to the bottom of my building. I'd learned in the early days not to make too obvious of eye contact with my neighbors, and so my gaze stayed at my feet as I made my way to the bus stop outside.
Penelope Aldgate lived in Candard Heights, which was hardly surprising for a girl like her. The streets were wide, framed with clipped lawns and blossoming trees. Her apartment was in a three-storied building, nestled in a well-landscaped garden, which even had a pool. Though I wasn't exactly familiar with sneaking into someone's apartment when they weren't home, I was familiar with the luxury of Candard Heights. I spared a glance over my shoulder just to make sure nobody could see me. Sometimes it felt like Sebastian was always watching.
