“What is going on in Onyx House that I don’t know about?”
“There’s nothing going on,” Roman says. “Noah, don’t stir a pot that doesn’t exist.”
“It’s just little things,” Noah says. “You know Vance Brown, who graduated last year?”
I nod. “Of course I remember Vance. He interned for my father two summers ago.”
“Exactly,” Noah says.
“We don’t need to do this, Noah,” Roman says.
My stomach does a little flip.
They reallydohave a secret from me.
“Tell me,” I say in a louder tone. “Now.”
“Vance…hintedat the idea that your father may have actually paid off some of the execs for last year’s dinner.”
I feel like I just missed a step on the stairs.
Like the wind is knocked out of me, just for a moment.
No.
It can’t be true.
“Bribery?” I ask, my voice coming out dry.
“Like I said. He only hinted at it,” Noah says. “I think he didn’t want any of us to be implicated, or to fully know what was going on. But you saw what happened last year.”
“Only Onyx guys got offers,” I say.
“Vance is gone now. But if what he said was true, then…”
“Then it means the Daggers guys’ suspicions arefucking right,” I interject.
“So you can see why we need to be delicate,” Roman says. “Delicate about what happens at this year’s dinner.”
For a moment I think I’m going to be sick.
I sit down on one of the armchairs in the room, but it’s too close to the fire and the heat instantly feels cloying. I move to the side sofa where Niko is silently sitting, and I put my head in my hands.
“My father is dead and he still has his claws in our lives,” I say, scrubbing my palms over my face. “Fuck.Fuckthis.”
“This is why I didn’t want to tell him,” Roman mutters to Noah.
“He deserves to know,” Noah volleys back.
I stand up again, pacing around the room. “We have to do something about it.”
“We already know what we’re going to do,” Roman explains. “Relax, Weston. Please.”
Part of me wants to snap at Roman for even suggesting I could calm down right now. But I listen to him anyway, because I need to know that someone else is trying to fix this problem with me.
Roman explains some things that he’s apparently been discussing with Noah already. Using his family connections, Roman somehow found a way to do what my father did last year, but in reverse.
Roman wants to make sure that the offers this year only go to Double Daggers and Luros Sorority members.