The Prince and the Plant Whisperer

The Enemy

Income - Monthly Fees: ...

Then Lukas's attention turns to the next section:

Prospective Members:

George Davenport

Nadia Au

Lucy McKeogh

Samantha Ulster

Kaia Bei

.... Kaia Bei...

Lukas stops. He re-reads the list of names.

Keeping his voice calmly uninterested, he asks:

"Are these students... people who've expressed interest?"

Lost in thought, Tom takes a sip of his gin. He stays quiet, as a waiter approaches, setting a gold-flecked bowl of macadamia nuts down on the Danish teak side-table between them. Then Tom continues. His voice is gravelly and deep:

"Those students are the first wave of invites—we'll make sure they all want to join. We'll waive membership fees. They're the ones who set the tone. You know, the ones who entice others."

"Oh."

Tom adds: "I didn't presume to add your name, since we were meeting today. Obviously, you're welcome to be a member."

Lukas smiles a dangerous-looking smile. "Thanks." He falls silent. His jaw is working. Then he says: "Your business model—it assumes all these students will join."

A nod from Tom.

Lukas reflects, "But a few of them... might not want to be members."

"Really." Tom challenges Lukas. "Like who?"

Lukas keeps his voice steady: "Like... for example. This student— Kaia Bei."

Tom grins. "You think she wouldn't be interested? But she's already been here."

Lukas freezes.

What!?

She's already been here?!

Startled, Lukas glances at Tom's smug, confident face—at the guy's mop of scruffy hair, which falls around his jawline.

Lukas himself keeps a poker face. She's already been here? Why'd she come here?

The tall, brilliant student's mind suddenly does a U-Turn:

You're here to gather intel now. This has become an espionage operation.

Saying nothing, he keeps his gaze fixed on the paper in front of him. Sometimes silence is best for drawing out prey.

"Yeah," says Tom. "She stopped by. We have—a family connection. She's close with my brother—"

"You have a brother?" says Lukas, keeping his voice nonchalant.

"Yeah, Barry. A useless kid. But they're close—"

Barry! That thin kid with glasses who's always around Kai and Lilly. Ah.

"Plus," Tom grins to himself, swirling his gin a bit, "Kai and I have a bit of a connection too. A growing one."

He's calling her Kai! Lukas thinks. Not Kaia. Kai—

His body entirely still, Lukas's glance flickers over to this smug, ambitious man.

With glee, Tom continues on. "In fact, she's exactly the sort of person we'd waive membership fees for. She'd make the perfect wife for a future politician," he says. "Degree from a good school. No drunken hookups. No drug history. No sloppy scandals that'll take down her future husband in twenty years."

Lukas listens to Tom talk. There's something surreal about hearing Kai described by a man with such a different perspective in life.

Tom continues, "She has an innocent vibe, but you can't mess with her. She doesn't give a damn what other people think. And with her looks—voters eat that shit up."

Lukas weighs his words carefully: "My sense is, this student is not interested in politics. From the little I've heard."

"Exactly!" Tom says. "Call me conservative. But sometimes a powerful guy just needs a woman whose dream is to stay at home and water her plants."

Incredible. Lukas stares at the guy across from him in disbelief.

This guy can't understand at all: She's not just staying at home and "watering" her plants. She's on her own mission.

Tom continues: "Plus: Kai looks the part. Well, she will look the part. I just have to convince her to dress up a bit better."

Taking another sip of his drink, and letting the gin roll through his mouth, Lukas clinks his glass down on the small table between them.

Has this male student with the steely blue eyes... fallen for Kai?

It would seem so.

But he has to talk about her in the most toxic, conniving way possible. Like she's a pawn in his life.

If Tom had just admitted he was head-over-heels for the girl, Lukas would've maybe even felt a twinge of empathy. They could've even been brothers, of a sort. But...

What kind of childhood did he have? Lukas wonders. To think that he has to act this way? He almost, almost feels a burst of pity for Tom. But any pity is quickly eclipsed by a different, much stronger desire—the desire to crush the man under his fist.

They both sit for a moment in silence. Eyeing each other.

"I'll need more time to look through all this," Lukas finally says.

"Take your time," says Tom. "I suppose it's too much to assume you'd want to join as a member?"

"I keep to myself," replies Lukas.

"So I've heard."

. . * * * * . . . . . .
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. . . . . . * * * * . .

Lukas stands up to leave, a wry smile on his face. By the front door, the two men shake hands, with a bit more aggression than necessary. Over the past half-hour, a slow, subconscious understanding has grown between the two men:

Maybe, just maybe, they are not going to be allies.

As Lukas bikes back to his dorm, the hairs on his neck stand on end. A new kind of energy's coursing through him.

He tries to picture Kai sitting across from Tom Levay. In that strange, dark club with the polished brass wall sconces. How had she reacted? Had they met? Many times?

He just couldn't picture it. Lukas wishes he could've seen her face. He'd understand much better if he'd seen her reactions.

He'd understand how to prepare for the war ahead.

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