Chapter 2

Clara's POV

"Humiliate you?" I walk out onto the balcony. "Ashley, you're the one who set yourself up for that. When did I ever agree to hold the retreat at Cresthaven?"

"We're all classmates, why are you being like this?" Ashley's voice comes through sharp and wounded. "Do you have any idea how much work I put into planning this? I already told my boyfriend and a bunch of my friends from other schools! You can't just pull the plug now, how am I supposed to save face?"

"That's not my problem." My voice stays flat. "If you want to make that happen, go ahead, go negotiate with the guests who already booked Cresthaven, and cover the few million dollars in cancellation fees yourself. Do that, and I'll let you have it."

"A few million dollars? Who do you think you're fooling?" Ashley lets out a cold laugh. "It's some run-down bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere, so quit acting like it's some big deal. Clara, don't think I don't know what you're really doing. You're scared that if we actually go, we'll find out your family's little hotel isn't worth anything, and your whole rich-girl act falls apart."

I don't bother wasting my breath on someone this dense. I hang up and block her number on the spot.

The night air is cool against my face, and I find myself thinking back to when Ashley first joined the club.

Back then she didn't know anything, always trailing after me, asking for help with everything, always trying to get on my good side.

Her family didn't have much money, she couldn't even scrape together enough for her course materials, so I lent her two thousand dollars out of my own pocket. When she was about to fail her finals, I stayed up all night helping her put together study notes.

Now she doesn't mention that two thousand dollars at all. Instead, because I turned down her attempt to get a free hotel out of me, she's turning around and stabbing me in the back.

No good deed goes unpunished.

The next day at noon, the club calls an emergency meeting.

The second I open the door, something feels off.

Tyler sits there, his face dark. Ashley sits next to him, her eyes red and swollen like she's just been crying. The other officers are giving me strange looks too.

"Clara, sit down." Tyler knocks on the table. "Ashley told me what happened in the chat yesterday. I think you took it way too far."

I pull out a chair and sit, staring him down. "Too far how?"

"Ashley was just trying to help the club save some money. As vice president, not only did you refuse to support that, you humiliated her in front of everyone in the chat. Do you have any team spirit at all?" Tyler says it like he's got some moral high ground to stand on.

"Is team spirit forcing me to hand over my private property for you all to trash for free?" I shoot back.

"Don't twist my words like that!" Tyler frowns. "It's not even your private property, it's just some hotel sitting there empty. Clara, we all know why you really won't let us use it."

He pauses, his eyes flicking to the ledger on the table, and his voice rises. "Are you scared that if we're eating and staying there for free, you won't be able to skim off the club's activity budget anymore?"

The room lets out a collective gasp.

Ashley jumps in immediately, her voice pitiful. "Clara, honestly, I noticed a while ago that every time you buy supplies for the club, you report prices higher than market rate. I didn't want to say anything, but this time, just to protect your little kickback scheme, you're taking away everyone's benefits too. I just think that's really unfair to everyone."

I watch the two of them play off each other. I don't feel angry, just embarrassed for them, like watching a bad play.

I'm Clara Sterling, heir to Cresthaven. The interest my personal account earns in a single day is more than this entire club's budget for a year. You think I'd care about skimming a few hundred dollars?

As for the whole overpriced supplies thing, I don't even bother explaining.

Everything the club buys goes through Cresthaven's suppliers at insider pricing, at cost, which comes in at less than half of retail. They don't know quality when they see it, they just compare it to the cheapest option online and somehow turn that into evidence against me.

"It just so happens the student activities office is doing an audit soon." Tyler, seeing me stay quiet, takes my silence for guilt and drops his ultimatum. "Clara, you're suspended for now. Ashley will take over as vice president and treasurer until further notice."

He thinks stripping my position will make me back down.

"Sure." I don't hesitate for a second. I slide the ledger, the folder of receipts, and the club stamp across the table to Ashley.

Ashley blinks, clearly not expecting me to agree that fast.

"If you all think I've been skimming money, go ahead and audit it. Every line is accounted for, every receipt's right there." I stand up. "But I should warn you, handling the books isn't for just anyone. Whoever takes this mess on deals with whatever comes of it."

I turn and head for the door.

"Clara, don't get cocky!" Tyler calls after me. "We'll pull off the retreat just fine without you!"

I don't look back. I just toss one line over my shoulder.

"Have fun."

After I hand over the ledger, I step away from the club entirely and mute the group chat.

That doesn't stop the messages from piling up anyway.

Once Ashley takes over as treasurer, she acts like she's suddenly been given free rein, bragging in the chat every day about how the retreat planning is going.

[Ladies, I already booked the bus! Meeting at the front gate eight a.m. Saturday!]

[This time it's all free, no venue fees at all, and we used the money we saved to buy a ton of good snacks and drinks!]

A couple of officers I've always gotten along with message me privately, asking what's really going on with Cresthaven, whether I'm actually the one blocking everyone like Ashley claims.

I only send back one line:

[Cresthaven is private property. No trespassing. Anyone who enters without permission does so at their own risk.]