Reed's Sex Academy 2: Hush Hush

REYNA

When I woke up, Mom’s worried gaze bore into mine from the edge of the bed. I shifted upright, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palms.

“What’s wrong?”

The puffy bags under her eyes told me she hadn’t been sleeping. The way she was breathing—deeply and erratically—could only mean one thing: something had been boiling in her blood for a while.

“Do we have to do this right now?” I sighed.

“This isn’t right,” she countered, ignoring my plea to postpone.

“Mom…”

“No, Reyna. I’m sick and tired of hearing you come home at the hours of dawn. Tell that man you’ve done enough. Tell him we’ll take a loan from the bank. Tell him we’ll try to pay him back.”

So, she’d heard me sneak back into my room late last night. Most likely, my brother, Theo, had heard me too.

I cursed under my breath, pain clawing at my heart as my mom leaned forward to put her palm above mine.

Having to do Arthur’s dirty work wasn’t the bad part of the damned deal. It was having to see my family suffer in silence, seeing me as his pawn. It was seeing the bags under Mom’s eyes. And Theo’s paralyzed body on the living room couch every time I left the house.

Me? I could handle myself. It was them. It was my family I was worried about.

“I’m okay,” I told her, squeezing the hand she’d placed over mine. I smiled, but her brows didn’t release the tension they were holding. “I’m okay, and I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. I’d ask for help if I needed it. Please, believe me,” I lied.

A loan was out of the question. With Theo’s nursing bills added on top of our mortgage and part of my tuition, the only thing a loan could’ve done was to bury any chance of this family ever recovering after Dad’s disappearance. And she knew that too, of course. I hated her for suggesting it but reminded myself that she meant well.

“Please, get some sleep,” I cooed. Her mouth pressed into a thin line. I could see that she was fighting back words.

I draped my legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up to go brush my teeth. Behind me, Mom’s voice seared down my spine with the force of a dying fire.

“Just…be careful,” was all she said back.

On my way to the Academy that morning, I picked up two coffees to go and then waited for Calvin on the steps outside.

Yesterday, I hadn’t played the shadowing game too well. I could’ve asked more questions. Could’ve appeared more interested.

But instead, I’d freaked out.

I’d let him maneuver me in whichever direction he wanted. I hadn’t had a clear strategy, and this job gave me no room for mistakes.

The brief chat with my mom this morning made sure I remembered that.

A few minutes later, Calvin’s Bentley pulled into the driveway. I swallowed but got up and straightened my shoulders as the gravel crunched under his polished black shoes.

“Good morning…” I fumbled for a way to address him. Should I call him by his name? Would that be inappropriate? Fuck it. What else could I call him? He was only a few years older than me, anyway. “Calvin,” I added, and handed him the coffee.

But he didn’t seem to have any intention to pick it up. Instead, he tucked his hands in his pockets and smiled down on me.

“Last time I checked, I was technically your boss,” he said, pure delight spreading from his lips to his forest-green eyes.

Damn him.

Unfortunately for me, I knew exactly what word he was expecting to hear from my lips.

“Are you serious? We’re only a few years apart,” I argued.

“This is a workplace, Reyna darling. I can’t be seen playing favorites.”

I inhaled and exhaled sharply.

Do this job right, and you’ll be free.

“Good morning, sir,” I repeated. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Excellent.” He nodded. “What a perceptive little pet. Follow me.”

His coffee remained in my still extended hand. And before I could say anything to remind him of it, the gravel crunched under his steps as he departed.

I rushed to catch up with him.

“So, then, what’s the plan for today?” I asked, trying not to spill coffee on my white shirt.

“An impatient pet, too.”

God, I hate this man already, I thought to myself.

“What would it take to stop calling me that?”

He turned his head toward me, wanting to answer, before two men walked in front of us. As if forgetting about my existence, he brisked forward, and they made a beeline after him into what looked like Calvin’s office.

I practically ran to get in before they could close the door and lock me out.

Still, I wasn’t fast enough. The door closed shut, and the last image I had was that of Calvin’s amused eyes staring into mine.

Bastard.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into half an hour, where the only thing I could do was think of all the possible ways to murder a rich asshole.

He was toying with me. Again. And I wasn’t doing anything to stop it.

Get it together, damn it.

The first to get out were the two men whose names were Clayton and Sebastian, from the way I heard him address them.

Good. At least I got that.

After they left, Calvin remained in the door frame, looking down at me on the floor.

“You locked me out,” I sneered.

“Be faster next time.”

“No. Listen to me, sir,” I scoffed. “The only reason I’m here is for my class report. And since you agreed to take me in, shadowing you implies ~being~ next to you when you’re in meetings. You can’t lock me out. And you ~can’t~ call me your pet. My name is ~Rey-na~,” I yammered, fury simmering under my skin. “I’d hate to have to tell Iris about all of this when she asks me about our time together.”

There! I said it. And yes, I practically threatened to rat him out to his sister. But it was a calculated risk.

If I was to complete this job successfully, I couldn’t let him decide which meetings I was listening in on and which ones I was missing. I needed to be there every time he spoke with someone. Every time he spoke on the phone, even.

“For someone who’s sitting down in front of me and calling me sir, you sure do make a lot of demands,” he mocked, and I immediately rose up to face him.

“Will you stop calling me your pet?”

He clicked his tongue. “No. But you can join my next meeting.”

A new message popped up on my screen, and I looked down at the phone in my hand for a short second. This is not the time, Arthur, I hissed internally.

“Unless, of course, you’re here for an entirely different reason. Lots of people like to stick their noses where they don’t belong. Are you one of them, Reyna darling?” Calvin asked, and my whole body went taut instantly.

There was no fucking way he suspected anything at this point. No, it was way too early, and I hadn’t done anything to raise suspicions.

He was playing with me. Again.

“I have a question for you, too, sir. Do you stay awake at night coming up with what you consider to be amusing remarks?”

To my relief, Calvin threw his head back and simply laughed.

“I didn’t think having a pet would be this fun. Come,” he said, “let’s introduce you to someone very dear to me.”