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  My family, my friends and everyone else in our country, including me, were descended from people who sat back and did nothing while millions suffered and died around them. This dirty little fact had been well-hidden. All the way back to when our country was first born. It wasn’t indentured servants or criminals that were brought here as slaves, but Africans who had been stolen from their homes. The information was mindboggling and stomach-turning. Even more of my life and everything I had been told was a lie.

  I couldn’t throw these books away. They needed to be protected and saved for a day when our country was ready to know our true history. But even just storing them was dangerous. If the wrong person stumbled across them, whoever had them would suffer the consequences. So for now I sealed the box they were in and shoved them back into the storeroom. I’d have to figure out a safe place to hide them, but right now I didn’t have the time. I had to get back to the apartment and get ready for my date with Avery. I needed to know where Byron was.

  When Avery picked me up that night, I was wearing one of my sexiest tops and my best fitting jeans. Wendy had a theory that the hotter I looked the more agreeable Avery was. I had my doubts, but was willing to try any advantage to get him in the right mood to find out about Byron.

  At least the effort didn’t go unnoticed. When I greeted Avery at the door he took his time absorbing the view before finally speaking up.

  “You know, we don’t have to go to Slade’s party if you don’t want to. We could always go somewhere a little quieter.” He slid an arm around my waist and pressed himself against me.

  “Actually I think a party is just what I need after a long, busy week.” I also knew that by a little quieter, Avery meant secluded and private so he could try to get more than a peck on the cheek from me.

  Stepping onto the tram, Avery said, “I’m sorry we fought.”

  Reminding myself to be nice, I refrained from pointing out who started it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my clubs sooner.” I grabbed Avery’s hand and gave it a squeeze. As I hoped, Avery took it as a sign of affection and not a redirection of his hand, which was slowly dropping from my shoulder towards my breast. “Will you come with me to the grand opening?” For his benefit I tried to look anxious that he might say no. In reality I couldn’t care less at this point if he attended or not.

  “Of course I’ll come. Even if it does mean I’ll have to slum it in the blue district for the night.” He laughed as if what he said was actually funny. Obviously he had forgotten I was from the blue level.

  Ignoring his slight, I said, “I know how upset you were the other day, and I just want to let you know how much I appreciate you getting Byron transferred despite how mad I had gotten you. It just shows what a great guy you really are.” I knew I was laying it on thick. I even batted my eyelashes for the extra effect.

  He usually ate up the compliments, but tonight he just stared back at me. Uh oh. This was what I’d feared. “It was you, wasn’t it? I saw a new garbage collector the other night and assumed you had something to do with it?” I somehow managed to sound calm, even though my heart was pounding and all I wanted to do was scream.

  Avery finally snapped out of his daze. “Oh, well yeah, I asked my dad about it. He never actually gave me an answer though. Hmm. I guess he decided to be nice after all.” He let out a breath of air as if he was relieved.

  “Could you find out where he was moved to? I’d like to let his family know what he’s up to. He doesn’t talk to them anymore.” I tried to make the request sound nonchalant, but inside my stomach was twisting itself in all sorts of directions. I was relieved that Byron was fine, but the idea that I wouldn’t see him again and just might have lost track of him for good was tearing me apart.

  “Sure, I’ll ask my dad when I see him next,” Avery said. He sounded as if it was no big deal, but I felt the muscles of the arm he had draped over my shoulder tighten.

  I attempted to change the subject. “I’m not planning on inviting anyone else besid Autumn to the opening. I don’t need too much of an audience in case it’s a total flop.” I was worried about a poor turnout, but that wasn’t the real reason I didn’t want any other fast-trackers there. I simply didn’t trust them. I didn’t want them taking over the place and mistreating the blue level customers.

  Chapter 19

  All that was left to do for the grand opening was wait. Mico was confident of Josie’s and Toby’s training, and the club was fully staffed, fully stocked and ready to go. So we directed our full attention onto The Bookworm. Mico had brought in two of his relatives. His cousin Irina, a tall and wiry brunette that looked like she would sooner squash than take crap from anybody, would run the club at night. His uncle Clive was physically Irina’s opposite: stout and plump with a belly that entered the room before he did. He had run a bakery most of his life and apparently enjoyed eating as much as he did baking the goodies. Clive’s warm-hearted, good-natured personality would suit the café well, while Irina’s cold, hard, strictly business attitude would get things done for the good of the club.

  While Wendy and I had been busy overseeing the remodel, Clive and Irina had hired all the necessary staff. As a result, the club was ahead of schedule and could be opened on the twenty-fourth. So while we waited for The Rivers’ opening, we promoted The Bookworm’s. It was a good distraction for my mounting anxiety over Byron and my recurring vision of only a few people showing up at the opening. In my vision the few people there had only shown up to laugh at how lame an idea a teenager night club was.

  Finally the night of The Rivers’ grand opening arrived. I must have tried on ten different outfits before Wendy finally rolled her eyes and snapped, “Enough! Do you want to blend in with the crowd or stand out?” She snapped her fingers at me demanding a response. Now that Wendy trusted me and believed in my long term plans, all traces of the shy scared girl I had first met were gone.

  Thrown off guard, I blurted, “Blend in.”

  Wendy scrounged through the pile of clothes on my bed and came out with the very same jean and blouse outfit I had worn the first time I visited Club Night. I explained the amused look on my face to her and wondered out loud if Avery would notice. Wendy immediately bet that he wouldn’t before I ushered her out of my room so I could finish getting ready.

  When I emerged, I discovered that Wendy had opted for tall boots and a black skirt, paired with an emerald green blouse. It took me a second look to confirm they were actually my old clothes. It always amazed me the combinations she came up with that I had never considered when they were my own.

  We were both so anxious that we ran for the door and opened it the moment we heard footsteps. Avery and Autumn looked at us surprised. Mico just gave us an amused smile. Out of the three of them, he understood best how we were feeling.

  We arrived with plenty of time to spare before the opening. I gave Avery and Autumn a tour while Mico and Wendy gave everything a final check. The playful furniture and the DJ booth amused Autumn for a total of five minutes. Then she was complaining how boring waiting was. Luckily Josie was right there to give Autumn the VIP treatment. She had a special corner marked off as reserved just for Autumn. Well, actually it was for our whole group, but Josie knew better than to point that out to her. Once Autumn was seated, Josie kept her busy picking out different fruity mixed specialty drinks and munchies for the night.

  “So you really did all this?” Avery sounded impressed, causing a warm rush of relief to flow through me. Up until that moment I hadn’t realize how much I had wanted his approval.

  “I had help.” I motioned toward Mico and Wendy.

  “This is amazing. You’re amazing,” Avery purred in my ear.

  I tried to act humble, but my ear-to-ear grin kind of ruined that. “I just hope everyone else thinks so.”

  “Of course they will,” he said as he lifted me up and twirled me around on the dance floor.

  I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that tonight would be the greatest grand
opening ever. And it would only get better tomorrow when his dad arrived home and told us he had transferred Byron to a great job closer to home so he could visit his family. I knew it was a stretch, but it’s what I had been telling myself all week to get through the long wait. I thought his father’s rule that when he was away he could only be contacted if it was a life or death emergency was completely asinine. I’d been silently cursing him for it all week.

  But for now I forced those thoughts out of my mind. Tonight I needed to focus all my positive thoughts on the club and the fantastic opening night we would have. I was encouraged to see that a line had already started forming outside – and we still had another thirty minutes until we opened.

  Of course when I verbalized this to Autumn, she insisted that all the truly hip places had people waiting days in advance. I stated to argue with her but she held up her hand. “All I’m saying is you’re going to owe me big for making an appearance.” She laughed as if it was a joke, but with Autumn I knew better: at some point she’d expect to be repaid.

  I pushed Autumn and her diva behavior out of my mind as Mico opened the front doors. Droves of teenagers filed into the club. Our bouncer Wade actually had to rope off the door before everyone entered. We had reached capacity in our first five minutes of being open. I tried to look calm and collected, but I knew I was doing a terrible job of it. I reminded myself that a good opening was great, but it didn’t guarantee success.

  To calm myself and get rid of my goofy clown-like expression, I focused on the customers and their reaction to the club. The novelty of the chairs grabbed a lot of people’s attention, but once they claimed their seats with their coats and other belongings, they headed for the dance floor. Soon, it was very crowded.

  I also noticed one odd thing that I hadn’t expected: some of the girls actually recognized Autumn. Confused, I slid into the seat next to her. “Do you know them?

  “No. But they know me.” She laughed at my dumbfounded expression. “Obviously you weren’t much into celebrity and fashion media in your old life, were you? The more powerful and rich your parents are the more of a celebrity you become. My parents are at the very top – plus I’m attractive, so everyone knows me. They look to me for direction in figuring out what trends and styles to follow. You can thank me later.” She smiled and laughed like I had just told an amusing joke and intentionally ignored her fans. It just seemed to intrigue them even more.

  Instead of keeping all my fast-tracker friends away, I may have to make a habit of randomly inviting one or two of them to join me. I wasn’t above taking advantage of their celebrity statuses.

  By nine o’clock Autumn was again insisting she was bored. She wanted to leave and get an actual dinner instead of all this finger food we offered. I pointed out that we were in a night club, not a restaurant, but that didn’t deter her whining.

  Wendy surprised me by offering to stay behind with Mico and insisting I go celebrate with my friends. When I gave her a strange quizzical look she jerked her head towards Autumn. Now I understood. She wasn’t trying to be nice as much as trying to save her sanity. Autumn was the one person she liked less than Avery, and Wendy had reached her quota of tolerance for the night.

  With a little more encouragement from Mico, I decided to go. It wasn’t as if my actual presence was making any difference. In fact, I was keeping one more customer on the other side of the rope, cursing us for being at capacity.

  “So where to?” Avery asked once we were outside in the night’s cool fresh air.

  “Why don’t we see what the blue blood considers fine dining?” Autumn pulled out her tablet and began searching around. “The Bistro is listed as the most expensive restaurant in the area.” She made the statement sound like a question.

  “It has a dress code,” I pointed out while I looked over her shoulder at the information.

  “All the better. Dress codes are for regular people. Which we definitely are not.” Autumn interlocked her arms in mine and Avery’s and led us towards the restaurant.

  I shook my head at Autumn’s lust for attention, but followed her anyway. The plus side of her being an attention hog was that it diverted the spotlight away from me. I was looking for power and money, not fame.

  The moment we walked in the door the maitre d' hurried over and quickly pointed out the dress code requirement. Autumn simply scoffed, “Do you know who I am?” She held out her ID card.

  His eyes widened. “My apologies, Miss Autumn. If you would be gracious enough to give me just a moment, I’ll have a room prepared for you and your guests.” The maitre d' scurried off; as soon as he was out of sight he began barking orders to everyone.

  Autumn laughed in amusement and gave me a look that said, “See. Told you so.”

  I just rolled my eyes and smirked back at her.

  It was obvious that the maitre d' and the rest of the staff had gone out of their way to please us. We had our own room to ourselves, though it was big enough at least to host ten more parties. We each had our own waitress or waiter to serve us, and the chef came out to see if we had any special requests that were not on the menu. I was amazed at the treatment.

  Autumn acted as if they weren’t doing nearly enough. I looked to Avery for a bit of support, but he was too busy being amused by Autumn’s antics. After Autumn sent the third dish in a row back – this time for having too much parsley on the plate – I had had enough and needed a break. I excused myself and made a beeline to the restrooms.

  But I never made it inside the door. I had my hand on the handle when I heard someone say, “Thanks, man.” An eerie chill ran up my spine. It was a voice I’d recognize anywhere, and for the first time in a very long time it sounded carefree, almost joyful.

  Quickly I whipped around in the direction of the voice. I was already beginning to convince myself it was all in my head when I saw him. Walking out of the men’s room, wearing a black suit and a tie, was Byron. He still looked skinny, but the dark circles under his eyes were nearly gone, and there was a smile on his face – right up until the moment he saw me.

  “Lexi? What are you doing here?” He looked absolutely mortified to see me, which didn’t make any sense – but then again, his being here didn’t make sense. Not unless his status had been restored. But if that was the case, why hadn’t he contacted me and told me? Why had he let me worry about him for the last two weeks?

  “Lexi?” He repeated when I still hadn’t responded.

  “How? What are you doing here?” I stammered.

  Byron opened his mouth, but seemed unable to say anything. Just as a sound squeaked out of him, a deep voice floated over my shoulder, “You ready to head out, Byron?”

  All the color drained from Byron’s face. I turned around to find Hayden Winthrop standing behind me. Hayden was a fellow fast-tracker at my college, but I really didn’t know him that well. He never actually socialized with my crowd. Autumn had joked that the only thing Hayden had going for him was his parents. As cruel as Autumn tended to be, I could kind of see her point with Hayden. He wasn’t ugly, but had the kind of face that would never get called handsome or hot. Plus his ash-blonde hair was wispy at best. He was in decent shape, so I assumed he worked out, but he counteracted that with how he dressed, talked, and walked. He was just too effeminate. Autumn had once joked that the only thing he was missing was a beard, and she wasn’t referring to facial hair.

  Suddenly everything clicked. I made a mad dash into the restroom as everything in my stomach emptied out. The reason Byron had disappeared, the reason he was dressed up, and the reason he was here in this restaurant away from any other fast-tracker eyes were all the same reason. He was with Hayden now.

  Despite today’s complete intolerance for any social deviation, my parents had raised me to be accepting. I tried to remember my parents’ teachings in an attempt to understand. But this wasn’t a simple matter of two men being together because of romantic feelings. This was Hayden taking advantage of Byron’s situation. What I couldn’
t understand is why and how Byron was going along with it willingly. The idea of Byron with anyone else would have felt like a betrayal to me, but this, this felt worse. This wasn’t about him falling in love or even having feelings for another person. He was selling himself. I had been helping Byron; if it wasn’t enough he should have told me. I could have and would have done more. It didn’t have to come to this.

  “Lexi.” Byron knocked softly on the door.

  “Go away,” I spat in between gargles of water. My head was brimming with too many confusing thoughts. I needed some time and space away from everyone to sort them out.

  He tried again. “Lexi, please?” By the sound of his voice I could tell he was holding back tears.

  Good, I thought to myself as I splashed cold water on my face.

  I was patting my face dry when the door clicked open. Huh, I forgot to lock it.

  “Lexi, please let me explain; it’s not what you think,” Byron pleaded as he and Hayden barged in.

  “Do you mind? This is the girls’ room,” I protested. Not that it really mattered: I was the only one using it at the moment.

  Byron walked forward and reached out to me “Look, I know what you must be thinking…”

  “Zandria? You in here? I’m sorry, I know Autumn can be a bit much…” Avery peeked into the room. Then, when he saw the three of us, he came to an abrupt halt. “You!” he gasped.