“You’re right,” I said, my voice softer now. “I’m sorry, Leo. I shouldn’t have slapped you. That was wrong.”
He shrugged it off. “Meh, it’s okay. I’ve had that slap coming for some time now.”
“We were both caught in a horrible situation. Neither of us asked for this.”
“Just born into it,” he said with a chuckle.
“So … my dad caught you with Victor?” I asked, my curiosity piqued despite the turbulent emotions inside me.
“Boy, did he,” he said with a chuckle.
“How?”
Leo took a deep breath before answering. “It was the summer between junior and senior year. You were throwing a pool party for all your friends,” he began, a hitch in his voice. “Victor and I managed to slip away together. We snuck into the staff quarters, found an empty room, and had a little moment to ourselves—or so we thought.”
“What happened? Did someone walk in on you?”
“No … no one walked in on us. We did our thing and came back to the party like nothing happened and no one was any wiser.”
“Then how’d you get caught?”
“The estate’s security cameras showed Victor and I entering the staff quarters together. After that, Sal kept a closer eye on me.”
“So when did you know you were caught?”
“A couple months later, when your dad sat me down for a talk.”
“But why’d he wait so long?”
“Because your dad likes to gather evidence. Build a case. He waits for the right moment to make his move.”
“Which was?”
“Well, once he had compromising material on me and Victor, of course. From that day forward, whatever Sal wanted from me, you better believe, Sal’s gonna get.”
“That’ssickening,” I said. “He’s manipulating you by holding a personal secret over your head.”
“On one hand? Yeah, I guess it is kinda fucked up. On the other hand?” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s not so bad.”
“How can you even say that?!”
“Your dad has a lot of money and he’s incredibly generous with it. So what if he has you under his thumb? If you just stop fighting him and go along with what he wants, he’ll make sure you’re taken care of. It’s really not so bad.”
“Right. As long as you do exactly what he wants.” I tutted. “That’sblackmail,Leo.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“No, not maybe. That is the literal definition of blackmail.”
“Fine. Call it whatever you want, but that’s how money and power work at the highest levels of society.Everyonedoes it, Tavi. Everyone.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” I rolled my eyes. “So Dad has this compromising material on you. And what does he want from you, exactly?”
“He only wants me to follow in my dad’s political footsteps, so I’ll be ready to run for President myself when I’m eligible.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst out with laughter. “President?You?”
“And ideally, with you by my side,” Leo said, offering a sly grin. “Your dad wants to make you the First Lady, Tavi.”
