Just Deserts Read Online Free

will still be here, in this small job, wearing that same cheap suit. And for that, I am truly sorry … for you.”

CHAPTER THREE
    I WALKED ACROSS THE CAMPUS , my back straight, my pace unhurried. I wanted to convey the impression that I was leaving on my own terms and taking my own sweet time. And really, since I was the one who’d made the decision to drink and do all the other things I did, in a way I had chosen to leave.
    There weren’t many people around to see my exit—most kids were in class—but I didn’t want anybody to think I was skulking away with my tail between my legs, especially not the guys who’d set me up. I was trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone, but trying even harder not to make it look like I was trying. I worked at keeping my expression neutral with a slight hint of amusement. That was the hardest. I wasn’t amused. Upset, with a dash of disturbed and a side order of anger, would have been more accurate. But I didn’t want to betray any of those feelings. Anger would have shown that I cared. And I didn’t … not really.
    Anyway, if first impressions are important,sometimes last impressions are even more important, and this was the last any of these people would see of me. Unless of course they ended up working for my father’s company— my company—in the future. Then I’d get my revenge on those little toads.
    Waiting for me at the curb, directly in front of the office, was my ride—my limousine. I gave a sideways glance toward McWilliams’s window. I wondered if he was watching. He probably was.
    The chauffeur opened the back door and I started to get in, then hesitated. I couldn’t decide whether I should wave to McWilliams or blow him a kiss or flash my middle finger. Probably best to do nothing. Let him—and anybody else watching—see me getting into the big black chauffeur-driven limousine, cool, collected and calm, as if none of this fazed me. And really, why should it? This was actually a good thing.
    I slumped down into the leather seat and the driver closed the door behind me. Grateful for the tinted windows, I looked out, but nobody seemed to be reacting. Evidently the show was over and I hadn’t given them anything memorable. I was grateful for that, and for the fact that I could just get away. On cue, the car started moving.
    The few belongings that meant anything to me had already been quickly gathered and put in the trunk of the car. It hadn’t taken long to say my goodbyes, either. Maybe McWilliams was right and nobodythere liked me very much. Fair enough. I didn’t like anybody there at all.
    What those jerks who’d set me up didn’t realize was that they had actually done me a favour. Because of them, I got to go home, back to New York. At least until my father plotted his next move. I’d make sure the next school was at least as expensive. Who knows, maybe I could get the price set so high that he’d have to keep me around instead. No, that was wishful thinking. He had far more money than he had time for me.
    I pushed the button that lowered the glass between me and the driver. Silently it glided down.
    â€œWhere are we going?” I asked.
    â€œNathanial International Airport—it’s a private field. Your father has arranged for you to travel on his jet.”
    Great! Not only was it the only way to travel, but it meant that he wasn’t too mad at me. If he’d been really angry, he would have made me take a commercial flight. Thank goodness I wouldn’t have to be slumming it with the regular folk.
    â€œHow long before we get to the airport?” I asked.
    â€œLess than an hour.”
    â€œAnd when we get there, do you know how long we’ll have to wait for the plane?”
    â€œThe jet should be there when we arrive,” the driver said.
    That surprised me. If McWilliams had called my father first thing that morning, as