We were the people who didn’t matter.
These men, they did.
And they knew it.
No one here would dare say a word. That was one of the advantages of Clermont Bay Country Club. Allie had made it clear that the secrets of these men lived and died within these walls.
There was no judgment, at least none that was voiced, and there were very few rules.
Secrecy was number one.
Break it and you were gone. Break it and you would never have the privilege these men shared again.
We were several hours into our shift when the sound of laughter caught my attention. I turned toward the entrance to watch a group of teenagers walk in. They were dressed far more casually than the rest of the members, but they still reeked of money.
“Who are they?” I whispered as Allie grabbed a fresh pitcher of water.
I watched them sit at the large table in the center of the room like they owned the place. They didn’t care who sat around them or the type of power they possessed.
They feared nothing.
“Those, my dear, are your new schoolmates.” I tensed as the words left her mouth. “The one in the corner, that’s Carson Hale. He’s a total playboy.” Allie rolled her eyes, and her hands tightened around the pitcher. “He has a new girl on his arm every time you see him. I don’t even know that girl’s name that’s with him today.”
I could see why. He was handsome in a way that screamed money. His blond hair was perfectly coiffed but still somehow reminded me of a surfer. His shirt stark white and not a wrinkle in sight. His arrogance fueled by the idea that no one could touch him.
“The one sitting across from him, that’s Olly Warner. His family is crazy rich. He’s never going to have to work for anything. He’s never worked for anything in his life.”
I could barely see him from where I stood. He looked like a mess of light brown curls, and I imagined what they would feel like slipping through my fingers. He was fit, probably an athlete, and I found myself eager to get a look at his face.
Allie looked like she was eager to get as far away from them all as possible.
“Who’s the girl sitting next to him?” She was gorgeous. Her body slender, her hair so dark it was almost black, and I couldn’t help noticing how Olly watched her every move.
“That’s Frankie Clermont.” Allie practically growled out her name. “Her parents own this place.”
“Oh.” My gaze snapped back to Frankie, and I took in every detail of her again. My heart raced as I watched her smile. She seemed so much kinder than her brother.
She didn’t seem anything like him outside of the similarities in their looks.
Her tan skin and dark hair reminded me so much of Beck, but her smile, that belonged to her father.
“You don’t like her?”
“It’s not that.” Allie shook her head. “They’re all just so different than us.”
I didn’t tell her that my father was just as rich as them. Even if it was the truth, it didn’t matter. That fact didn’t make me anything like those people.
I looked back to the table just as he walked up. Beck grinned as he pulled out a seat next to his sister, and he looked so relaxed. I felt anything but.
My hands began sweating and my pulse crashed against my skin. I should have listened to Lucas. I never should have taken a job here.
“That one there.” Allie grinned and fanned her face dramatically. “That’s Beck Clermont.”
My gaze swung to hers, and she giggled.
“Yeah,” she answered before I could even voice my question. “He and Frankie are siblings. He’s the heir to all of this.”
She thought I was impressed by his last name. She thought that I cared about him at all.
I looked back to where he now sat, and my breath caught when my eyes met his. My stomach tightened as Allie placed one of the water pitchers in my hand.
“They all run this damn town.”
I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his long enough to even spare a glance at the rest of them. I had no idea who the others were, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was here, and I had made a mistake.
She laughed before bumping into my shoulder. “You ready?”
I jerked my gaze back to her, and I tried to calm my racing heart. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Allie laughed, and I knew she probably thought I was being dramatic. These people were going to be my peers, and that was enough reason for me to fear going out there.
I didn’t have to tell her that Beck hated me.
I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to give voice to the fact that I cared about him at all.
“Come on.”
I avoided his side of the table as I followed Allie’s lead. She had a large smile on her face that didn’t look one bit forced, but I knew I looked nothing like her. I chewed on my bottom lip as my hands shook around the pitcher.
“Good evening. Can we start you all off with some water?”
Someone grunted a noncommittal yes, but I didn’t dare look to see who. I kept my head down, and I grabbed the first glass off the table.
“You must be new here. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
I looked up at the one who Allie told me was Olly, and I was right. He was just as good-looking from the front as he was from the back. Especially when he was smiling at me like that.
“I am.” I nodded but didn’t volunteer any other information. I didn’t care if that made me rude. I didn’t need these people knowing anything about me.
I was sure Beck would tell them everything they needed to know. He would tell them everything he thought he knew about me.
“You look familiar though.” This time it was Frankie talking, and when I looked at her, I could have sworn there was something about her that didn’t make her anything like these other people. “What’s your name?”
“Josie.” I cleared my throat as I grabbed the next glass, and I stupidly let my gaze snap to Beck for only a moment. He was still staring at me, and he looked so damn angry.
He was motionless and eerily calm, and I hated that I felt like I was waiting for him to explode.
He was a bomb, and I would be the one to feel the effects of him. I would be the one he destroyed.
“Josie what?”
I didn’t want to tell her my last name.
“Josie Vos.” Beck’s voice was soft and rich as my name rolled from his lips, and I thought I was going to break the glass as I tried to calm my shaking hand around it.
The table was harshly quiet for a moment, and I knew that whatever Beck’s reason was for hating me was widely known among the rest of them.
“You’re Lucas Vos’s sister?” This time it was the girl with Carson that spoke.
I hated how she said his name. “Stepsister.”
“Holy shit.”
I had no idea who said that. I placed the glass back down on the table with a still trembling hand and grabbed another. The sooner I could get away from this table, the better. I could feel them all staring at me, even Allie, but it was him who finally made me look up again.
He was staring at me again, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob.
He picked up his glass, and I watched as he brought it to his full lips. Lips I had tasted before I knew who he was. It felt like everyone in the entire room was watching him, but he was still watching me.