Chapter 5

Cedric meant to flatter Lilith, but she merely rolled her eyes at him and snapped, "Employee? There are better candidates for the role than him. He's no better than a dog who mooches off me!" The others in the lounge drew sharp breaths. Perhaps none of them had expected my position in the Storm family to be so low. Cedric glanced at me again. "Well, I suppose you're right. With the way he's so shamelessly leeching off you and your family, I'd think he likes you." At once, everyone else burst into a raucous round of teasing. "Oh, you could be right, Cedric! Why else would the most handsome guy in our faculty stoop so low?" "I bet he struggled through his university days just so he could marry rich!" "Ha! That's a good one." They threw contemptuous looks at me while they mocked me openly. It was as if I gave them a reason to feel better about themselves. I should be used to the mockery, but I couldn't help feeling awkward as they appraised me. I had gone to school with them, after all. I lowered myself to speak with Lilith, showing her every bit of deference I could. "Ms. Storm, I'll wait outside if I'm not needed here." "Who said you aren't needed?" Lilith rolled her eyes. "Come here and drink up!" She gestured to the three glasses filled with foreign hard liquor on the table before her, all containing what should be lethal amounts of alcohol. I had never drunk in the three years I spent watching over Lilith, and I was a lightweight. I wasn't sure what to do now that Lilith was forcing me to drink. "Ms. Storm, I'm afraid I don't have the stomach for this. You know that as well as I do," I said patiently. The others laughed. "What a loser!" "Only a loser could stand the idea of mooching off a woman!" Another familiar face inched forward, and I realized it was Owen Peterson, an old classmate from Melrose University. He and I were on bad terms after we got into a disagreement back in the day. I could practically sense his glee now that I had become the laughingstock among old friends. "In that case, why don't we incentivize Mr. Hotstuff here to down the drinks? I'll give you a thousand dollars for every glass you take!" Owen said, taking out a stack of bills from his wallet and sliding a thousand dollars under each glass. At once, the others in the lounge applauded him for his show of wealth. "Drink up, Leon," Owen sneered, fixing his wicked gaze on me. Cedric's smile was equally fiendish. Lilith stared at me silently, which said enough about what she wanted me to do. "You have three seconds," she said, the threat laced in her voice. "I'll drink them," I conceded, taking up a glass and downing it in one swift gulp. Lilith had set me up to be humiliated tonight, and I was humiliated thoroughly. The liquor burned the back of my throat, the sharp scent of alcohol overwhelming my senses. By the time I downed the third glass, my stomach was churning. It felt like there was a fire burning my insides. "Not bad," Cedric drawled. "None of the liquor had any mixers." Owen's eyes glittered with cruel amusement. "Lilith, you trained your dog well. He should get paid for his tricks!" While my head throbbed, I felt a stack of cash hitting me squarely in the face. It felt like a slap, and I went down with it. "Get on your feet," Lilith ordered sharply. "Yes, ma'am," I mumbled, covering my cheek where the cash had struck. I tried to heave myself up, but my head spun. The floor felt like it was moving under me, almost like I was walking on cotton. "Excuse me," I managed to say. "I need to use the restroom." I half-crawled and scrambled to get on my feet, then shoved the door open like I was making a great escape. But Lilith's icy voice sounded from behind me, "Who said you could leave?" I ignored her, for I knew if I stayed a moment longer, I would hurl my guts up. The burning sensation deep in my stomach was worsening. Through sheer will, I stumbled toward the restroom. When I finally reached the sink, I could no longer help it. I started to retch. Nothing came out, and while trying to purge the liquor from my stomach, my head spun. I collapsed the next second. My mind was slipping into darkness, and the lights overhead were growing dim. "Leon?" a surprised female voice cried out. It was a voice I had never heard before, and it sounded silvery. Before passing out, I vaguely registered a pretty, delicate face hovering close to mine. It was familiar, but I could not put a name to it. "Leon!" I felt something or someone holding me up. Whoever the woman was, she sounded frantic.