16 I stood on the sidewalk, staring at the eight-figure supercar parked at the curb. I looked at the car, then at the muscular arm draped casually out the window, the hand belonging to a man in dark sunglasses trying way too hard to look cool. Leo. My voice was heavy with suspicion. "...Did you rob a bank? Or join the mob?" Leo's mouth twitched. He took off his sunglasses and gave me a long-suffering look. "Has your mouth alwa- ys been this poisonous? Can't you just believe I earned it myself?" He swung open the door, a ridiculously long leg emerging first. He walked around and opened the passenger door for me with a flourish. I slid into the seat, eyeing him doubtfully as I buckled my seatbelt. Leo sighed. "Look, I may not have been a great student, but I've been working my ass off building a business these past few years, you know?" A business? I blinked, speaking before I could think. "Weren't you in jail?" Screech! Leo slammed on the brakes, expertly drifting the car to a stop at the side of the road. He took a deep breath then turned to look at me, his face a perfect deadpan. "Who told you that? And you believed them?" Uh... well..." I avoided his gaze, trying to remember where I'd heard that rumor. And then, it all clicked int ›lace. Leo seemed to guess what I was thinking. He looked torn between anger and amusement, but he couldn' oring himself to be truly mad at me. He just gently poked my forehead with his finger. "You believed that old creep? Have you forgotten how he spread all those nasty rumors about my family after my mom rejecte im? What were you thinking?" A wave of guilt washed over me. I'd been so wrong. I couldn't even look at him. Thinking back, I couldn't beli eve it myself, I knew what a good person Mrs. Peterson was. I knew Leo had protected me when we were Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!