Chapter 3 STAY AWAY

Leslie’s smirk deepened and that curl of his lips that made her stomach tighten.

"I’ve planned a lot for tonight,” he murmured, leaning just enough closer that she could feel the faint warmth of his breath. “Would you… Be mine then?”

Ruby’s heart raced at his words. Her mouth almost dropped with disbelief, anger, and yet an unspoken attraction twisting inside her.

For a moment, all she could do was blink at him, caught off guard by the audacity and intensity in his eyes.

Ruby’s brow furrowed and then a flash of disbelief crossed her face. "Yours? Leslie… what are you talking about?"

His smirk never wavered and that dangerous glint in his eyes dared her to challenge him. "I’m asking. If I cancel the date… what do I get in return? You can be mine then."

Ruby instinctively took a step back, her head tilted up to meet his gaze. "I’m not… I don’t—" Leslie straightened just enough for his built to tower over her again, making his presence almost suffocating. "I'll pretend as if I never heard that."

"Look, Ruby," he started.

"Ms Allaire," she corrected. How long had he been switching to calling her by her first name? What in the audacity? Was this the guy her sister wanted to hang out with?

Leslie smiled. "I planned a lot for tonight. You want me to cancel for your sister… you’d be mine. Just for the period of time she was supposed to please me."

Ruby almost swallowed at how close he felt. Her pulse thudded in her ears. His confidence and the audacity to even clarify what he had stated. It all made her chest tighten. She wanted to snap and tell him he was insane, but a part of her remained calm because his audacity wasn't ordinary.

"And if I say no?" she asked.

Leslie’s smirk widened. "Then you let her go on her date, I'm just tryna have fun while in school." His eyes sparkled and Ruby huffed.

"What? You pissed Leslie?" Mrs Ola gasped, dropping her coffee carefully on the desk.

"I didn't okay? I called him out. He is so fucking rude. How did you deal with him?"

"Deal? I never spoke to him a day in my life. That guy is fucking smart to be taught. His family just wants him to have a degree to continue the family business."

Ruby lowered her drink carefully, staring at Ola, curiosity flickering through her green eyes. "Family business? What business?"

Ola froze with disbelief. She glanced up and down at Ruby, and scoffed with utter disbelief. "You don't know Leslie Meyer? You don't know who he is?"

"The mighty Leslie? What the fuck is he mighty for?"

Ola gasped. "His parents— oh, shit. His family has been sponsoring this university for almost twenty-five years. They are basically history..." Ola glanced around, even feeling unsafe in the closed office. She moved closer. "Old money," she whispered, but Ruby only blinked. Ola shook her head. "Wealthy. Billionaires. He is an heir to fortunes!"

Ruby remained silent. She was right that the kind of audacity flaring from him didn't come from someone with no back support.

"His father passed away early, leaving his brother, mother and him. People say he lost his mind because he was in the car crash with his father and was the only survivor."

"No wonder," Ruby whispered.

"Be careful, girl. Stay away from him as much as you can. The last time a junior professor got fired because of him..."

Ruby raised her brows. Her curiosity is now growing. "What did she do?"

"Although it's a rumor, they claimed she slept with him. A female student got transferred for throwing herself at him."

Ruby frowned, not knowing what to feel. Anger? Disbelief? Irritation? Or pity for those girls. But she had one thing clear. Stay away from Lesile Meyer. Zahra... She needed her to stay away from Leslie too. Zahra's grades were dropping so bad. There was a chance she wouldn't graduate with her peers if she continued having distractions.

Ruby parked her car in front of her house, exhausted, dragging at her shoulders. All she wanted was silence, maybe tea, maybe a long shower to scrub away the memory of Leslie Meyer’s smirk and the audacity of his words. But as she pushed the front door open, voices drifted down the hallway, and made her pause before entering the living room.

"Lucy, I told you I don’t want to go through with it!" Zahra’s voice cracked with frustration. "You knew what the dare meant. You knew the price. Three thousand dollars! How could you?"

Ruby froze in the hallway, her hand tightening on the strap of her bag.

"Oh, come on," Lucy shot back. "You agreed, Zahra. You wanted this. Don’t act like you didn’t."

"I didn’t agree with him," Zahra snapped, her voice rising. "And don’t you dare say I wanted this. My sister is already drowning in debt. I can’t ask her for that kind of money! She’s paying for everything as it is."

Another friend chimed in, her voice coaxing. "Just do it, Zahra. It’s not that deep. Vivian will be pissed if you back out now. Do you really want her in your case?"

"I don’t care about Vivian," Zahra bit out, though her voice wavered with the weight of fear. "I don’t want to be with him. I don’t care about the dare anymore."

There was a pause, then Lucy’s voice softened. "Well, it’s too late. He already texted the address. Meyer Hotel. Room number included. He’s expecting you."

Ruby’s blood ran cold.

She didn’t wait to hear more. Quietly, she turned and stepped back out the door, careful not to let it slam.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary as she drove.

The sign of the Meyer Hotel came into view a few minutes later. Ruby pulled into the lot, her throat tight, her palms damp. Her heart pounded so loudly it seemed to echo inside the car.

She sat there for a moment, breathing fast, staring at the glittering entrance. Ruby breathed. "Just talk. Pay and talk. That's all we are gonna do."

Ruby swallowed hard, pushing her door open.