All I've Never Wanted(5)
"Fine." Adriana looked inexplicably smug. "Give me until the end of this semester. If you don't like the girl that I choose enough to ask her to be your girlfriend, I won't ever bug you about it again."
"Well, that's just one less thing I have to worry about next semester then," Roman said cockily.
"You guys are ridiculous," Zack groaned.
"Well, I'm all for it," Parker drawled. "My question, though, is how are you going to find the perfect girl when you haven't even been here for the past four years?"
Adriana smiled. “Parker, dear, never underestimate the power of female determination.”
CHAPTER 2
Adriana was on a mission. If there was one thing she lived for, it was a challenge, especially when the challenger was Roman.
Even though she had been at boarding school for a while, she still knew Roman a lot better than he thought. After all, they were both children of the Founding Four families, who themselves had been friends for generations. He might say he didn't want a girlfriend, but it was only because a) he was under the impression girls only liked him for his looks and/or money, which is fair, since most of them did, and b) he hadn't met the right girl yet. Adriana was sure there had to be at least one girl in the world who was right for him, and she was going to make damn sure she found her. After all, Roman was like another brother to her, and she hated seeing him so cold and emotionless all the time when she knew he was sweet guy deep down inside.
Way, way deep down inside. He just needed someone to trigger that part of him, and what better way to start the search for the Perfect Girl than at Valesca itself?
The sound of her Manolo Blahnik kitten heels echoed loudly in the empty halls, but she was so deep in thought she barely noticed.
As the sole heir to the largest private fortune on the planet, Roman had been spoiled beyond comparison in terms of material means, but his parents were a bit lacking in emotional affection. As a result, Roman had never really known what love was or how people in love were supposed to act or, let's face it, that there were people truly in love in the first place. The walls he'd built up against the opposite sex were layers thick, and whoever wanted to break them down needed to be tough.
Adriana ran through the requirements of the perfect girl in her mind. Physically speaking, she needed to be attractive enough to at least capture Roman's temporary interest, until he got to know her better. Physically, she knew his type—he tended to prefer exotic brunettes over all-American blondes. That wasn't a problem. What the town's female population lacked in sincerity, they more than made up for in looks.
Personality-wise, Perfect Girl needed to be able to speak her mind but at the same time not be too aggressive; intelligent; able to carry on a real conversation, and possess a lack of superficiality or pretense.
Now, that ruled out a lot of girls in Valesca.
Well, I'll just have to focus on the easy part first, Adriana decided, changing direction mid-stride and heading towards the administration wing of the school instead of the DC.
The student affairs office was pretty quiet when she arrived, which was a good thing. Unlike her brother and his friends, she didn't particularly revel in flaunting her power in front of others. That was the good thing about boarding school; she didn't have to worry about others treating her differently just because she was a Perry.
Then again, there were definite perks to the title, especially when she needed a favor. Like now.
"Hi!" the office assistant simpered, immediately standing up when she saw who just came in.
"Hi." Adriana was careful to keep her voice neutral. She glanced at the assistant's name tag: Teri.
"What can I do for you today?" Teri asked eagerly.
"I need a draft of this year's yearbook," Adriana said authoritatively. Zack had filled her in on how yearbooks worked here. The students' pictures were taken over the summer by a professional photographer hired either personally or by the school, to eliminate any potential of bad lighting and poor angles. It also gave students a chance to rally their team of professional hairdressers, makeup artists, stylists, aestheticians, and plastic surgeons. All the pictures were then sent to the school two weeks before classes started so that year’s yearbook editor could put together a mock-up and hit the ground running on the first day of school. The draft was supposed to be top-secret and seen only by yearbook committee members.
Luckily, Adriana had studied up on every aspect of her new school, and she knew the draft was locked in the storage room of the student affairs office.
Teri blinked, not looking quite as eager now. "Oh, well…" She swallowed hard, obviously nervous. "But only the Director of Student Affairs has the key to the storage room," she admitted meekly.
Adriana didn't even blink. If there was one thing she learned from being around the Scions so much, it was how to get what she wanted in the least amount of time. "Well, then, I'll just have a chat with her," she declared, trying not to sound too imperious. She didn't enjoy being so commanding most of the time but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
Without waiting for a reply, she stepped around the front desk and made her way to the back, where the DSA's office was located, leaving a speechless Teri behind. Thank god Zack and Parker had given her an all-access tour a few days ago.
DR. WENDY WOLLENSKY, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS, the bronze plaque mounted on the door read. Adriana gave one quick knock before twisting the knob and stepping inside.