I opened the door to see a large room lined with bookshelves and art. A dark mahogany table stood in the center of a huge Persian rug, and eleven girls were seated at it.
Each seemed more beautiful than the last, and simply standing within ten feet of them made me feel wildly inadequate. I had no idea how Adam could think I was in the same league as them.
I knew I was attractive when I made an effort, but these girls literally looked like Victoria’s Secret Angels. All of them had perfectly-applied makeup, shiny hair, and glowing tans.
I’d love to look like that, but I also loved to go to rowing club in the mornings, and that didn’t leave much time for hair, makeup, and fake tanning before class.
“We’re so glad you could make it, Laney,” said a dark-haired girl at the head of the table. “I’m Camila Valmont, the president of the society, and this is Kiri Tamagi, my VP.” She pointed to the girl next to her before going around the rest of the table. “That’s Penelope, Layla, Riley, Hazel, Lillian, Alison, Paisley, Madelyn, and our newest member Dayna.”
“We don’t expect you to remember all of those names right away,” Kiri said, giving me a warm smile. “Anyway, take a seat!”
“Help yourself to some food if you’re hungry,” Camila said, gesturing toward a large antipasto spread on the table.
“Thank you.” I sat down and demurely folded my hands in my lap, back ramrod-straight. I usually slouched a lot, but I felt like I shouldn’t while I was in here, surrounded by such beautiful young women.
“You’re probably wondering why we invited you here,” Camila said with an enigmatic smile.
I nodded. “Yes, I’ve been wondering all morning.”
“Well, we’ve had our eye on you since you started at RFA, and we’ve been hoping to recruit you,” she said. “But before we get into all of that, you should probably know what we’re about. I assume you’ve heard some rumors here and there?”
“I’ve heard a few things about your group, yes.”
“Don’t worry, we aren’t Satanists, and we don’t sacrifice children,” Kiri said with a giggle. “We’re just a normal club with a mission.”
“What’s that?”
“Our main goal is to return women to their rightful place in society,” she said, lifting her chin.
My brows rose. “Um… that sounds kind of sexist,” I said in a small voice.
Camila laughed. “This is why I’m meant to do the talking,” she said, playfully elbowing Kiri. “Sorry, Laney. Kiri isn’t always the best at wording things.”
“I meant to say we’re all about female empowerment,” Kiri added, blushing an adorable shade of pink. “Starting with our name. Do you know who Medusa was in Greek mythology?”
“The Gorgon,” I replied. “She had snakes for hair and turned men to stone if they looked at her.”
Camila nodded. “That’s right. Since ancient Greece, she’s been portrayed as a monster. But she was actually a rape victim who was punished for it. Did you know that?”
“No.” I shook my head, brows knitting.
“It’s true. So to us, she’s a symbol of feminine rage and injustice. Not some crazy, murderous monster.” She leaned forward, entwining her fingers. “In our club, we believe in elevating girls and women despite all the people trying to keep us down in society.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Did you know that most societies used to be egalitarian?” she asked. “Thousands and thousands of years ago, before city-states were created.”
“No, I didn’t know.”
“It’s true,” she said with a slight nod. “Then a whole lot of stuff happened—too much to get into now—and the majority of societies decided to put women down instead. Treat them like second-class citizens. We still see it in countries all over the world.”
“We see it here, too,” another girl interjected. Penelope, maybe. “Even though we have fully equal rights now, legally-speaking, we still have to deal with a ton of backward cultural attitudes.”
“Not to mention a serious lack of opportunity in a lot of cases,” Camila said. “I’ll give you a tiny example. My mom is smart as hell and extremely qualified for the job she does. She worked at a company for years, and she was constantly praised for her hard work, amazing ideas, and great team-player attitude. Everyone loved her and looked up to her, and when a promotion opportunity came up, they all assumed she’d be a shoo-in. She was given the chance to apply, of course… but guess who got the position in the end?”
“Who?” I asked.
“The CEO’s completely unqualified son,” she said, lips tightening. “My mom did everything right, but she still lost out because she wasn’t a rich man with the right father.”