At Leigh's insistence, a car chauffeured by the Courten's personal driver appeared at the Guildhall not half an hour later to pick me up. Hers was not a house I could easily arrive at via public transportation, and she demanded a prompt audience. Never before had her parents allowed her to exploit their personal driver for her own whims, but I supposed they accepted these were unusual circumstances. Her brother — miraculously alive! And me — similarly miraculously alive! Even they could appreciate why Leigh wanted to splurge just this once.
Another half an hour later and we pulled up to tall wrought iron gates eclipsing a residence that not-so-subtly screamed "Old Money," despite the Courten's wealth being only a relatively recent affair.
"Thank you," I murmured to the chauffeur after he opened the door for me to step out of the luxury sedan.
Despite wearing the best clothes my closet had to offer for the press conference earlier in the day, part of me still felt too woefully inadequate to touch the expensive leather seats, and I practically leapt out of the vehicle, lest I accidentally cheapen the material through osmosis.
"Lil!" Leigh screeched from halfway down the driveway. I couldn't help but match her jubilant energy, despite that not being an emotion I expressed, well, ever. "You weren't eaten by dingos!"
We collided in a bone crushing hug, only pulling apart in the first few moments for her to give me a thorough looking over.
"I wasn't in the Outback," I said through my laughter. As cross as I'd been at her for not answering my prior calls, I couldn't muster even a scrap of annoyance, especially in light of her own circumstances. "Where would I find dingos? Or, rather, where would they find me?"
"Shade could have taken you anywhere. For all I knew, he dropped you into a tank of man eating sharks, Bond villain style." Grasping my wrist, she dragged me after her into the foyer. "Let's go to my room. I have so much to tell you! And I'm sure you have even more to tell me. But, first things first..."
A phone materialized in her hand, and I internally groaned when the camera app came up. I barely managed to tame down my windswept hair and flash an admittedly pained looking smile before the shutter clicked several times in rapid succession. She began sorting out the good photos from the bad, editing while we walked.
"Tell me the truth," I said dryly as we crested the wide marble staircase leading to her room on the second floor. "Are you exploiting my abduction for likes?"
She didn't even have to think about it. "Yes."
"At least you're honest... I guess." Honestly, I didn't know how to feel about the matter. I was less upset than resigned. Typical Leigh.
"My parents have forbidden me from posting about my brother. Can you believe that?" she complained.
"Really?" I humored her, pretending to be shocked, when, in fact, nothing had ever surprised me less. "How unfair."
"Luckily, they didn't say anything about posting you."
"Poor me."
She swatted my shoulder as we entered her room and then fell back dramatically onto her King sized bed. "Don't be like that. You should be honored. I don't give just anyone free exposure."
I stared at her stonily until her serious expression cracked into a wicked smile. People could say what they wanted about Leigh's preoccupation with social media, but at least she was self aware.
"I really had you going, huh?" She laughed, kicking off her shoes and patting a spot beside her for me to sit. "Of course I'm not going to post anything." Holding up a halting finger, she amended, "Yet. Not until if and when you give me the go ahead."
YOU ARE READING
Super•Villainous
Fantasy"I've been looking for you." There was an unexpected rasp to his voice, a hint of desperation. He stretched out one hand, as if to brush it across my cheek, or perhaps wrap it around my throat. Oddly enough, I didn't know which option frightened me...
