I shake my head and press my lips into a hard line. “Nope. Not even close, but it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it.”
“Mmhmm,” Milo hums. “You just gotta roll with the punches, or you can be a weak bitch and I can take your ass home.”
I groan and fall back into my seat as he parks his car. “Have I ever told you how your ability to inspire me is astounding? You’re simply one of a kind.”
Milo grins wide, knowing damn well that I’m being sarcastic. “What can I say?” he laughs. “You’d prefer me to be a mean bitch than a fake one.”
I groan again. “Fuck you. I hate it when you’re right.”
“Really?” he laughs. “I kinda like it.”
The Aston Martin comes to a stop and I watch as all the students turn and start heading toward us. “For fuck’s sake,” I mutter under my breath as I grab my bag and slip my phone into my pocket. “This is going to be a shit show.”
“Just be glad the press isn’t here,” Milo says, reaching down to the floor space at my feet and grabbing his bag. “It was a fucking joke trying to drive through them this morning.”
“I know, but unfortunately, I think it’s only going to get worse until they get the answers they’re looking for.”
“Yeah, but they’re not going to find them by stationing themselves outside the front fucking gates. You know, I saw someone had set up a tent. They’re sleeping out there, Ocean. It’s ridiculous. The last time I saw something like this was when Judge Mackeby was caught with a teenage girl and then dared to claim he thought she was a prostitute. For such a smart man, he is pretty fucking stupid.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “Are you serious?” I gasp, wide-eyed. “What kind of messed up perverts do you have living in this town?”
“Trust me, every fucker in Bellevue Springs has the worst kind of skeletons hiding in his closet. The trick is not letting them out, but you know what they say about secrets …”
I nod. “They always have a way of coming out.”
Milo scrunches up his face. “Nope, they always have a way of coming back and fucking you in the ass.”
I swing my door open and grin as I look back at Milo. “Seeing as you’re already in the closet with all of your secrets, maybe you should let one of them fuck you in the ass.”
Milo rolls his eyes and steps out of his Aston Martin. “Ha ha,” he says bluntly, looking at me over the roof of his car. “You’re so fucking funny, Ocean. I don’t know why I haven’t kept you around more.”
I scoff and meet him around the front of his car so we can start walking up together. “Shut up. You love it.”
Milo laughs and throws his arm over my shoulder before leading us up to the massive front gates of Bellevue Springs Academy for boys. The nosey students fall in behind us, waiting to see if I know something and will accidentally slip up, and I have to admit, I’m impressed. Usually, when there’s a secret around here, the guys forget that they’re human beings and get in my face like fucking animals until they get what they want. Maybe they’ve finally learned to stop messing with me, or maybe they just assume that the help wouldn’t know what she’s talking about. After all, we are in Bellevue Springs and just as the cops made perfectly clear, my statement and opinions mean absolutely nothing in this world.
Milo and I fall silent while being obnoxiously aware of the crowd gathering behind us. They whisper between themselves, keeping to themselves but it won’t be long before one of them grows a pair of balls.
Milo gently knocks his shoulder into mine and keeps his voice low. “Did you see Colton?”
I shake my head. “Not this morning,” I say, not ready to hash out the details of last night’s rejection. “He’s really not taking it well. He’s all messed up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he locks himself away for a while.”
“He can’t do that,” Milo mutters. “The boards of Charles’ businesses will be going crazy searching for ways to get rid of him. I doubt they want an eighteen-year-old kid pulling the strings. He’s going to have to get his shit together and show them that he can do it, otherwise, he’ll lose it all.”
My brows shoot up into my hairline. “Are you serious? Can they even do that?”
“They sure as hell can, and if Colton isn’t careful he’s going to fuck up a good thing. I know he doesn’t want to be the big guy in charge of Daddy’s companies, but it’s also an opportunity that will never come around again. If one of those board members gets their hands on his position, they’ll never give it up and everything that Charles had been working on and had built will be gone.”