She pulled me down by my arm, forcing me to sit with her so she could show me her phone. A list on her phone was shoved into my face. “See? Montgomery is number three. That means you’re the third richest family of, kind of, everyone. Number one is my boyfriend, Brent Vaughn. So having the two of you associated with BKP will keep us a living legacy for years to come, marking us down in the history books. We don’t normally allow sophomores, but you’d be an exception.

“Then there’s the issue of getting you coupled up with someone. I’ll have to do a little digging in the gossip and chatter, but I think Alexander Fitzgerald might be up for the taking.” She grabbed some of my hair and pushed it around a bit, eyeing my face. “I think with a little work and some training you’d make such a little hottie. Do you wear much makeup at all? Some light contouring could make all the difference and make those blue eyes pop. Right girls?”

Again, they all nodded and agreed with her, creeping me out like I was in a horror movie about a cult.

If one thing terrified me, it was cults. And I was sitting right in front of one.

Wait.

Did she just say her boyfriend was Brent Vaughn?

Kelly half-watched me from afar, leaving me to teal with these vultures on my own. Hell, James didn’t look like he wanted to intervene with Sloane. Kelly looked amused while she leaned against the wall, typing away on her phone. Her attention was on something else, but I was sure she’d want to hear what this was all about later.

For a chill girl, she was very into learning all the gossip and secrets.

“Anyway,” she continued, “you need to rush with us. It will rebrand you away from that piece of shit Garrett and his family. Did you hear his father was being investigated? They’re going to be blacklisted for, probably, ever, and you do not need to be anywhere near that dumpster fire. Did you know that they were shady?”

Everyone leaned in simultaneously, eager to hear what my response was.

“As everyone knows, I’ve kept my head down. I was oblivious to a lot, and I thought he was just being nice to me. We met over the summer and went on dates and stuff...but we never talked about family businesses. Do you think he knew who I was?” I was genuinely curious. She seemed to be on top of the latest information. I just got the feeling Sloane was nosey.