Deception's Game (The Misses Book 2)

Him

The crowd waited with baited breath to hear the young woman's speech. Cameras flashed repeatedly as the school photographer tried to get the most impact filled picture of the teen. Her classmates' eyes shot daggers of hatred at her. It wasn't her fault. "If only they knew who I was." she whispered to herself. She was someone they could never measure up to in brains and in beauty. She was what their parents desired but got them instead.

She took a deep breath. She was confident in who she was and they weren't. She worked hard not to smirk, not to seem smug. It was hard. As she gave her speech as valedictorian, she couldn't see her future past her mother and her boyfriend's naked bodies. Of all things interrupting her day were the images of the night before. After she finished speaking, the crowd clapped, some gave her a standing ovation.

It was to be understood. She was the only 16 year old graduating from one of the best universities in Lagos.As she exited the stage, a handsome dirty blonde haired graduate caught her eye. He had this naughty glare in his eyes as he watched her. Like he was doing something that would get him in a lot of trouble. Reeza turned forward and grinned.

Her mother was not waiting for her, nor her mother’s boyfriend. Only her nanny, Debbie. She was crying like Reeza had imagined her mother would be. “That slutty drunk bitch.” Reeza whispered under her breath. She was alone as usual. Her mother had been dating her boyfriend long before she was born. Reeza believed he was the reason her dad didn’t come around.

She took her seat and waited for the ceremony to complete. For the first time since she started school there, and for obvious reasons, she was invited to go out with some of the people from her class. A small graduation party of sorts. Debbie had pleaded with her before the ceremony to let her accompany her as a friend but she was not a child and did not need a babysitter.

The dean continued calling people down from the stands, one after the other. Unlike all that came before him, when his name was called there was complete silence in the room. It was eerie to say the least. Reeza watched his tall muscular body bounce to the stage. He was gorgeous. His green eyes looked like emeralds that would be found in the most expensive rings. His dusty blonde hair was just the icing on the cake.

“Grayson Lucias the 3rd. What a majestic name.” Reeza thought to herself. She was as intrigued with him as everyone in the pavilion was. But he would be her prize and no one else's. After he left the stage their eyes met once more. Even though Grayson was handsome, his smile put him on a level with the wittiest super villains. Nothing about him gave off the impression that he was a standup citizen. He was clearly in the mafia.”Possibly a mob boss's son.“ Reeza presumed. Debbie nodded in agreement. She blushed; she didn’t realize she had spoken aloud.

After everyone had finally walked the stage and started exiting the building. Reeza texted Riley to make sure that they were still meeting up. Her driver took them to a karaoke studio on the outskirts of the campus. Reeza helped herself out of her limo the moment it came to a stop. She did not want to give Debbie any chance to come in with her.

Beep. A text came in from Riley.

“Room 24.” Reeza read out loud then made her way in the direction.

The sound of people enjoying themselves singing and rapping popular songs filled the establishment. She could feel herself getting annoyed already. She walked into room 24 and was met by 15 students, only a handful looked familiar. So she smiled and greeted everyone.

“Aren’t you a young beauty!” A guy sitting in the back yelled.

“Right! I thought she had to be a model or something.” Reeza's classmate Riley agreed. Riley patted the empty area next to her. Reeza took a seat quickly and every new person in the room came into perspective. She was sitting in a room full of thugs.

“Riley, are you in a gang?” Reeza asked without hesitation.

The music went silent and everyone stared at Reeza like she had yelled out top secret information.

“Do we look gang-related to you, Princess?” A low seductive voice came from the corner.

Reeza’s eyes grew large. She didn’t expect such a man to be among the crowd of poor hoodlums.

“Well...Yes?” Reeza answered with a questionable inflection in her voice.

The group were silent for a moment again and then burst into laughter. Reeza giggled with them. Riley was not laughing. She had pools of sweat coming from her brow. She looked nervous like she could vomit from the stress of Reeza’s question at any time.

Before she could reassess her situation, there was a light knock on the door. Servers came in with bottles of wine and trays of shot glasses.The food quickly followed, which included hot wings, french fries and a variety of finger foods.

“Bring a glass of tea for the young lady.” Grayson said to the server. The party kicked back off with singing and dancing. Reeza tried to focus on the music but she found herself sneaking peeks at Grayson.

“You like him, uh?” Riley asked.

“I think. He seems peculiar.” Reeza honestly responded.

“I would avoid him, if possible but I have known you for 2 years, so I doubt you will listen.” Riley said then laughed and bumped shoulders with Reeza.

“You wanna take a shot?” Riley offered.

“Can I?” Reeza was excited to taste alcohol for the first time. She quickly downed the shot of tequila. The warm feeling in her chest scared her momentarily. After it subsided, she could feel the difference already. Her eyesight was a little blurry, her heart rate had increased. It felt good. She continued drinking her tea. Before she knew it Riley had her dancing and singing karaoke.

It felt like hours had gone by. After 4 shots, she could barely keep her eyes open.

“Aye Riley. Did you give her something to drink?”

Riley held her breath. She couldn’t lie. “Yes. Just a little.” Riley said.

Grayson jumped up from his seat and grabbed Riley’s neck at what seemed like the speed of light. Everyone in the room fell silent again and watched him hold her convulsing body in the air. “Please..please..I’m sorry.” Riley pleaded.

While her lips turned blue, Reeza could not focus on the situation. She was unsure of whether she was losing consciousness or falling asleep, either way darkness was going to take her. The moment Grayson saw Reeza’s body swaying, on the verge of collapse, he dropped Riley.

He caught Reeza’s small body before she fell forward onto the table.

“Lee, bring the car around.”

A guy from the small crowd stood up and made his way to the door.

“Continue. I will take her home.” Grayson said to the other students then he looked at Riley, “I will deal with you later.” He growled. All of the hairs on her body stood up in response to his threat. She was dead or she would wish she was. “Who is this girl to him?” Riley thought to herself.

Once Grayson received the message that the car had been pulled around back, he picked Reeza up in his arms and headed out the door. She stared up at him through glossy eyes. She wished she could muster some words or even adult actions but she couldn’t move. Her stomach was turning and she just wanted to sleep.

Grayson placed her in the backseat then got in on the other side of the car. By the time he was settled in his seat and buckled Reeza in, she was already falling over against him. Every time her head touched his shoulder, she would jump up. Being an adult was proving to be terrifying.

Before the vehicle had reached the end of the block, she was out cold.

“Take us to ‘Du Lys’.” Grayson commanded. After driving for 30 minutes, they had finally arrived at his father’s least prominent hotel establishment. While it wasn’t the highest end of the Lucias Hotel chain it was still ranked top 10 in the world. They took a service elevator to the penthouse suite with Reeza in tow.

Once they entered the room, he called for medical treatment. Grayson had had his share of scuffles and sometimes barely walked away with his life. Having a specialist at his beckoning call was his life line. The doctor lived on the floor below him, all bills paid. He just had to be available when Grayson needed him.

He inserted an IV into Reeza’s arm, “She will be fine. This should keep her stable until she wakes up.” The doctor stated, then bowed to Grayson before taking his leave. Grayson found himself staring at the young woman’s beautiful skin and pitch black hair.

“f**k no...she ain’t gonna f**k up my life.” He muttered to himself and left the room.