Chapter 18
“Yes, Nicky Bloom. The one who got Shannon’s spot. The girl we worked so hard to get in here. We totally screwed up on that one. We practically handed her the opening on a silver platter, and this is how she repays us.”
Kim was half-way down the drive in front of the mansion, holding a phone to her ear, weaving in between the array of stretch limousines parked all around.
“You’re saying the new girl wore black to Homecoming?”
“Yes, Daddy. The new girl. The one you and all your investigators thought was the safest bet. The only girl from all the applicants that you were certain would have no interest in Coronation. How much money have you thrown around to make sure you knew who was entering? How could you miss this?”
“Interesting.”
Interesting? What the fuck was wrong with him? This wasn’t interesting. This was disastrous.
As a girl wearing black, Kim’s limo was parked close to the mansion. She opened the back door and stepped inside. Her driver turned back to see if she needed anything. She slammed the privacy screen closed.
Rockwell Transport had a fleet of stretch limos they kept on reserve just for Thorndike events. Fifty of them in all, custom made to cater to the unique needs of the girls in Thorndike’s senior class.
While the guys could come to Homecoming in whatever transportation they desired (and most of them selected more flashy ways to drive about than stretch limos – it was not uncommon for their parking area to be full of Italian sports cars) it had become tradition for the girls to arrive in limousines. A single limo for every one of them. The backs of those limos were designed to serve as mobile dressing and storage rooms between Homecoming and the after parties. There was a rack on which to hang their clothes, automatic blinds to cover up the windows, a vanity area with a large mirror and a complete supply of makeup, a locking jewelry chest, and, most importantly, a combination safe where the girls could put their masks during the after-parties. In addition to all this, the drivers of the limos were professional security and ex-cops. They were armed and ready to defend the property inside, a necessity since the value of the gold and diamonds in some of the masks exceeded a hundred grand.
“How does this girl seem?” Kim’s father asked.
“Like a total bitch,” Kim said.
Her father laughed.
“I don’t know what you think is so funny.”
“Kim, you’re telling me that a new girl who isn’t even from town has just waltzed into the Homecoming masquerade wearing a black dress and is acting like a total bitch. I don’t understand why you’re even upset. This might be a good thing. Clearly, this girl doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. She does know what she’s doing. They’re all talking about her. She’s messed up everything. Don’t you get it? Nobody wants me to win. They’re only supporting me because they think I’ve already won and are scared of what I might do to them once I’m immortal. But this new girl already has everyone excited. People are talking about going to her after-party rather than mine.”
“Where’s her after-party?”
“At the Hamilton. Jada Razor is performing there.”
“I find it hard to believe--”
“Believe it! Jada Razor is performing at Nicky Bloom’s party. Why didn’t you get a pop star for my party?”
“Kim, we got you the White House.”
“Who gives a flying fuck about the White House?”
“People aren’t going to skip your party just to see Jada Razor.”
“No, but when they hear she’s coming to Nicky’s they wonder, don’t they? Hell, I wonder. Who is backing Nicky Bloom? Where did she come from? And if she can get Jada Razor to perform at her after-party, what else can she do?”
“That’s a good point.”
“Damn right it’s a good point! I swear, I’m the only one with my eyes open. You and mom and all your investigators and lawyers and other bullshit and you didn’t even see this coming. It’s clear as day what’s happened here. We thought we had this whole contest wrapped up because nobody was challenging us…in the open. But all this time, there’s been this secret group with their own candidate, and they got her in right under our noses.”
“Who is it? Who’s behind her?”
“How should I know? That’s your job. The problem, Daddy, is that you and mom got lazy. The problem is you got all cozy with Daciana and thought it meant--”
“Kim, you need to stop. You’re panicking over nothing.”
“Easy for you to say! You don’t get locked in a cage if you lose!”
“If you lose, I’m just as dead as you are. The way I’ve behaved these past ten years, anything less than first place for you and I’m a dead man. Whoever wins would make sure of it. So don’t speak to me like I’m not as vested in this as you are. I have just as much to lose.”
Kim didn’t argue. It was true, of course. There wasn’t a soul in Washington who wouldn’t love to see Galen Renwick go down in flames. It was only their fear of him, of what he could do, that kept the Renwicks safe. If people began to believe there wasn’t reason to be afraid, it was over for all of them.
Thinking about all this made her feel better. Not that she was any more confident in her daddy’s ability to fix this mess. It just felt good to know that she wouldn’t be the only one killed.
“We will adapt, Kim. You may have thought this would be an easy road from start to finish, but I’ve always known otherwise. Nothing is easy in Washington.”
“So what do we do?” Kim asked.
“We start with this after-party. We make sure people come to your party rather than hers. You’re going to get back in that ballroom and work it. Anybody you think might ditch your party – you confront them directly. You ask them if they’ll have a drink with you at your party. Make them give you a commitment, right to your face. These kids are drunk and confused tonight, but they know enough not to insult you outright.”
“Okay. I can do that. What are you going to do?”
“I’ll get started on Nicky Bloom. We’ll find something eventually, I’m sure. You just relax, Kim. Now more than ever it’s time to show confidence. If the others sense you’re afraid...”
He was right. She had allowed Nicky Bloom to rattle her, which only made things worse. It was time to take back control. She was Kimberly Fucking Renwick, for God’s sake, and she was allowing some no-name nobody to mess with her. Not anymore.
She hung up with her daddy and walked back up the driveway, finding Art and Rosalyn standing on the stoop. Art had removed his wine-soaked jacket. Rosalyn, whose outfit was ruined, had covered up with a trench coat and was sobbing.
Pathetic.
“Kim, I’m sorry. She twisted--”
“Shut up Art before you bury yourself even further. What’s the use of all that time in the gym if you’re so weak a girl can spin you like a top?”
“She caught me at a weird angle. Let me--”
“Shut up I said! I don’t want to hear your voice.”
Rosalyn let out a whimper. It occurred to Kim that right now she was now doing the opposite of what her father had suggested.
Whatever. Rosalyn and Art were coming to her party regardless. As were Amy, Pauline, Josette, Brian, Andrea, Colin, Otis, Remy, and twenty-some others. All the richest kids in school, whose families were either indebted to Kim’s dad or compelled to behave because of some dirty secret in their past. Even the worst case scenario left Kim with all the power players.
Including Ryan. That was her ace in the hole. Clearly, the new girl thought she had Ryan all wrapped up. Surprise, Nicky Bloom! At Thorndike, you can bat your eyelashes at the pretty boy all you want. That kind of stuff might have worked at whatever Podunk high school she came from, but in DC it was about the dirt. It was about the trade. You want something from me, I want something from you. And what Ryan wanted from Kim was to keep her mouth shut about a certain secret that she and only sh
e knew.
It made Kim happy to think about how she’d already spoiled what was probably a big part of Nicky Bloom’s strategy. But she couldn’t get cocky. There were many others who wouldn’t hesitate to back the new girl if they thought she had even the slightest chance. Those were the people she had to talk to.
“What time is it Rosalyn?”
Rosalyn perked up at the question, as if in a few words all might be forgiven.
“Four minutes after ten,” she said.
Six minutes of intermission left. Enough time to get started on what her daddy suggested. Enough time to find some important people, people who might be thinking about going to Nicky’s after-party, and make sure they remained loyal to Kim.
The doorman allowed Kim back into the mansion. Right away, she saw someone to approach.
Marshall Beaumont was someone Kim expected to support her even though she hadn’t really expended any effort on him. He was exactly the sort who might leave her given the chance. She would start with him, then, one by one, she would get in the faces of every student who was a flight threat, and she would make them promise to her that they were coming to her party.
“Kim, oh…hi, how are you?” Marshall said.
“Wonderful, thank you,” said Kim. “Will I see you at my party tonight?”