The Touch of a Villain: An Enemies to Lovers High School Romance (The Boys of Clermont Bay Book 1) by Holly Renee (best book recommendations TXT) 📕

“I haven’t forgotten.” He leaned forward, his nostrils flaring, and clasped his hands together. “I will never forget what that boy did. But she is not him.”

I had never seen my father as weak. Not until recently. Not until I saw the way he handled this.

But he felt weak now.

It was like I didn’t know him at all.

“Joseph said she has agreed to be on her best behavior, but she wants a job. He feels more comfortable about her working here than someplace he can’t control.”

“But he has all the control here, doesn’t he?” The tightness in my chest intensified as I snapped at my father.

“Watch your tone, Beckham.” My dad rose, and I hated the way he had to grip the desk to pull himself to his full height. I hated watching him wither away.

“I’m sorry.” I was sincere. I didn’t want to talk to my dad like this, but the thought of her being here was driving me mad. The thought of Frankie having to put up with it made me tremble with rage. “But you can’t expect me to work with her. You can’t expect me to just forget.”

“No one is asking you to forget.” He ran his hand over his hair that was identical to mine, except for the dusting of gray at his temples. “But you are going to have to learn to work with people you don’t want to.”

I opened my mouth to tell him this was different, but he didn’t allow me a moment to speak.

“You’re going to be getting all of this.” He held his arms out, but I knew he meant more than this place. “And you’re going to be getting it earlier than any of us expected.”

“We don’t know that, Dad.” I shook my head and my chest suddenly felt like it was caving in. He was telling the truth regardless of whether I wanted to hear it. He always had, whether it hurt me or not. The man would always be honest with me.

“I hate Joseph Vos.”

I looked up at him, shocked by his admission. The way they had worked together, the way they had swept everything under the rug like it didn’t fucking happen, made me think the exact opposite.

“I hate him, I hate his vile fucking son, and I hate that it is necessary for me to continue to work with him. But Joseph Vos is important. He invests in this place.” He pointed down to his desk. “He invests in this town. And we are far too smart to burn a bridge that we still might need to cross. If I hadn’t worked with him, your ass wouldn’t be here right now.”

I knew he was right. I knew that he did what he had to do to protect me, but it still made me feel like I was burning from the inside out.

“This girl has nothing to do with what Lucas did. She had no part in it.”

He was wrong though. She was one of them, and she would pay for the sins of her family. She would be the exact piece I needed to pay her brother back for every fucking vile thing he did.

I didn’t care what anyone else said. I didn’t care that my father wanted that bridge to stay intact. I would burn it to the fucking ground.

And I didn’t care if she got hurt along the way.

I hoped she did.

She was one of them, and no matter how innocent my father said she was, she couldn’t have come from a man like Joseph Vos and be completely sinless.

I just had to figure out her weaknesses, then I would use them to bring the Vos family to the ground.

Chapter Five

Josie

“You are going to a party with me this weekend.” Allie picked up another fork and wiped away the watermarks with a rag.

We were two of the only staff left after a slow Wednesday night, and it felt odd to be here without the normal hustle and bustle.

Allie had her feet up on one of the chairs, and there was a pile of silverware between us.

“There’s no way that’s going to happen. I told you what happened at the last party I went to.” I had. After she saw the way Beck had treated me in the country club, I had vented to her about the entire thing.

For a moment, it bothered me that she was so shocked by what I was saying. She had never seen Beck act like this before. She had told me that Beck had always been kind, even if he was always untouchable.

But I couldn’t fathom thinking of Beck as kind. He had been the farthest thing from kind that I had ever met.

Except for those few moments before I knew the real him.

“This party won’t be like that.” She dropped a clean fork in the bin and grabbed another. “This is a Clermont High party. None of those Prep boys ever show up.”

“Really?” Even as she said it, I knew it still probably wasn’t a good idea.

“Yeah. Even your brother doesn’t show his face around there.” She cut her hand through the air. “They draw the line in the sand of who they think is important or not. It’s all about money.”

I winced. Even though I didn’t touch my father’s money, I was still benefiting from it. I was living in his large home and driving one of his extra cars. I never worried about bills or meals, and I felt guilty for it.

Even though that was insane, I couldn’t shake it.

“So, it’ll be safe?”

“Yes.” She dropped her feet and turned toward me with a smile on her face. “Plus, there are some guys who I go to school with that I could introduce you to.”

I laughed, but my stomach tightened as I thought about Beck. “I don’t think having a guy should be anywhere on my radar right now.”

“You don’t have to date them.” She rolled her eyes, and I