"You're wrong," I say and quickly write down the answers I remember in my notebook.
"You have little experience, Ana," Gray says calmly.
I chuckle.
"Maybe you loved the wrong people?" I smile.
"I doubt it, Miss Still. I have no heart, I'm always driven by lust and calculation. I take what I like and don't think about others. It's a great strategy in life," Christian smiles, "and I see you're a smart girl. Don't ruin your life with booze and guys. Study, prove that those who think you're a loser are wrong.
"I'll figure it out myself," I stand up, hide my notebook and pen in my backpack, "don't get caught by the cops. I have no doubt they'll show up after my article.
- I'll pay him off, like always, - a pompous asshole.
Yes, he's a handsome old man, but still an asshole. I proudly throw my head back and leave his office.
I quickly call the elevator and enter it, not even looking at Gray, who came out after me. Ugly man. Cynic, I hate him... His words about love, what does he know about it? Yes, he talks interestingly about Darkness and Light, his voice is soft and warm... And damn, I think I know whose name I'll be playing with a vibrator with after midnight tonight. So, Steele, you're a sick pervert, just like your mother. She also liked older businessmen. Genes, motherfuckers...
- How did it go? - Dad is standing by the car and smiling at me. I hug him and tell him everything.
- Don't worry about it, Ana. People like Gray come across us at every turn in life. You'll never see him again. And about studying, I ask you to improve your economics and law. Miss Blancher has been driving my mom and me crazy at the parent-teacher meeting Dad is taking me to Kate, to whom I will give the notebook and forget about Gray, like the Americans about Hiroshima.
Kavanagh meets me at her house, wrapped in many layers of sweaters, windbreakers and hundreds of other warm clothes.
Gray is an asshole, I say, giving her the notebook. Kavanagh shrugs and nods sympathetically at me.
Christian s POV
Bitch Miss Still has been fighting off my attacks quite well. Smart, pretty, sharp-tongued. Creature, she got me to open up! I growl and hit the table with my fist. What an impudent woman! First she humiliated Andrea, laughed in my face She stood up for love. And at the same time she is very pure, a little naive, with childish dreams of an owl and a cat. These grey pools are enchanting. She's probably the most beautiful girl in school. And she clearly doesn't notice it. Oh, no, girl. I won't let you ruin yourself with beer and parties. I'll make you study, make a lady out of you, and come what may.
I dial Alex's number.
"Welch, I need all the information on the Still family. Ray, Carla and Anastasia. All of it! The boundaries? There are none, as always! And yes, check out Ms. Kavanagh and Ms. Jones," I growl into the phone. "And find an owl shelter in the city. And a ginger kitten.
I hang up and dial Joan's number.
"Joe? Are you still in the States? We need to meet. Bring your walking circus with you; we'll meet in the park tonight. There's business. A legal one this time," I purr into the phone.
POV Anastasia
Two weeks have passed since that ill-fated interview. It rained almost every day, and I couldn't leave the house and hang out with Jack and Jose. Damn this weather! Out of boredom, I started doing my homework, and damn, it turned out to be an interesting activity. Now I understood the nerdy Kavanagh and Jones. But despite the homework, I wasn't going to change myself. Luckily, my parents allowed Jack and Jose to come over and hang out with me in the pool room. The guys laughed at Kate and Gray's assignment.
"What did Kavanagh expect? That the old man would have a heart attack from your antics? You were great, of course, that you turned him down, but if he had died, you would have been sued," Jack said, taking a sip of beer.
"Hyde, my parents would have gotten me off the hook. Moreover, Gray is a strong man, you can t take this idiot with sarcasm, - I giggle and hug him. If Jose is like a brother to me, then Jack has always been something more to me. Sometimes we went on dates, kissed on the river bank and in the park, and I was always waiting for him to say the cherished words to me and my heart to tremble. But no, Jack did not see in our relationship what I saw. He was more interested in motorcycles and other crap. Yes, being a cynic, I dreamed of experiencing love. I wanted to understand what all the fuss was about, why it makes people idiots and pushes them to wonderful madness. I wanted to do something crazy myself, in the name of feelings. But, apparently, ugly ducklings are not destined to love. However, who in our cynical world needs this vanilla bullshit that the poor came up with when they wanted free sex?
- By the way, - Jose sat down on the pool table, - our old hag Miss Blancher says that Rowling's mom herself will be coming to us on Halloween with the Potteriana cast.
I drop the cue. I always dreamed of seeing her in person, talking to her, getting an autograph. But why is she coming to us?
- Who is organizing this event? - I ask incredulously.
- They say the board of trustees. Although, they don't have that much money, - Rodriguez answers and drinks beer from a bottle.
I chuckle. Yes, wealthy children study at our school, but for Joanne Rowling to come to us, connections and money are needed. Moreover, she will not come alone, but with three main actors of the film. Something is wrong here.
My thoughts are interrupted by my mother, who enters the billiard room and motions for me to follow her.
I follow her into the hallway, completely at a loss. A black woman with dreadlocks in a robe stands at the threshold of our house. In one hand she holds a carrier cage with a ginger kitten, and in the other a cage with a large snowy owl.
- Uh, there's some kind of mistake here. I didn't... - I look at my mother in complete shock. She smiles and takes the cages into the house.
- You wanted a cat, Annie. And you've been crazy about owls since 2001, - Carla beams and, opening the carrier, strokes the kitten.
- Mom, who's going to take care of them? You're at work, and so is Dad. I study half the day. - I can't take my eyes off the owl. She's the spitting image of a curl, and I feel like Harry Potter.
- We'll think of something. The owl will sleep during the day, and you'll let it out at night. As for the kitten: I think I can handle it. Or dad. We don't work on the same day, honey, - Mom hugs me and I smile at her.
But who found and, most importantly, sent me this damn menagerie? Of course, I'm happy with the gift, but if my guess is correct, then I'm screwed...