HATING McKenzie MASON

LEX

The glaring blue light of the tablet screen on the marble breakfast island was practically blinding.

"F, Alexander . An F in Advanced Microeconomics," my mother said, her voice dropping into that chilling, measured tone reserved for university disciplinary boards and disappointing sons. She slid the tablet across the granite, the online grade portal displaying my end-of-semester transcript in crisp, unforgiving black and white. "You tanked the final paper. Deliberately, I assume?"

I didn't answer. I just dragged a piece of toast through a pool of egg yolk, keeping my posture slouched, lazy, and completely unbothered.

"I am the Dean of Academic Affairs at this university, Alexander," she continued, standing over me in her crisp white blazer, smelling of expensive espresso and total authority. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to sit in faculty reviews while my own son treats his degree like a joke?"

"You could always stop looking at my grades, Linda," I offered, giving her a tight, sarcastic smile. "Save yourself the headache."

"I expect excellence from you!" Her palm slapped the marble, sharp enough to make the silverware rattle. "Look at McKenzie Mason. Margaret called me yesterday—McKenzie just wrapped her end-of-semester finals with a 4.0 GPA. A 4.0. She’s doing distance learning, working two jobs to put herself through school, and she hasn't given her family a single minute of trouble. Why can’t you be more like her?"

There it was. McKenzie Mason. The golden ghost that had haunted my entire life. Ever since we were kids, whenever I stepped out of line, my mother rolled out the Mason girl like a shiny, perfect trophy to rub in my face.

Before I could fire back, my mother’s phone buzzed against the counter. She glanced at the caller ID, her tense expression instantly smoothing into a warm, cultured smile.

"Margaret! Speaking of the devil," my mother’s answered, stepping toward the high-arched windows overlooking our manicured back lawn. "I was just telling Lex about McKenzie's incredible semester..."

I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the leather barstool, ready to tune out the endless lovefest. But as my mother listened, her smile slowly wavered.

"Oh, no... Really? The university housing board canceled her on-campus accommodation ?" Linda frowned, pacing. "That's absurd. She's transferring from distance learning to full-time on-campus this coming semester, they should have prioritized her... And off-campus rent in the city is astronomical right now."

I froze mid-bite. A strange, uneasy prickle ran down the back of my neck.

"Margaret, absolutely not," my mother said, her voice taking on that unyielding, problem-solver tone. "She is not staying in some sketchy, cheap motel. We have an entire guest bedroom sitting empty. McKenzie is staying here with us."

My head snapped up. "What?" I mouthed, glaring at my mother.

My mother completely ignored me, gesturing dismissively with her hand. "It's settled. It’ll be wonderful. Honestly, having McKenzie in the house might even be a good influence on Lex. Heaven knows he needs a reminder of what real ambition looks like."

MCKENZIE

"Mom, please tell me you didn't."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, pressing my phone tighter to my ear as I balanced a heavy stack of textbooks against my hip. The ambient noise of the coffee shop roared around me—clinking mugs, screeching espresso steamers, and students celebrating the end of exams.

"McKenzie, honey, it's a godsend," my mother’s voice chirped through the speaker. "Linda was so insistence! You know how expensive apartment deposits are near campus, and with your distance-learning transfer finally approved, you need a safe place to stay for the new semester."

"I could have found a room with roommates, Mom. A basement. A closet. Anything else." I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat.

Stay in the Lawson house? Under the same roof as Lex Lawson?

The mere thought made my stomach churn. I had met Lex a handful of times at family dinners over the years, and every single interaction had left me wanting to scream. He was an arrogant, spoiled, reckless jerk who threw away every advantage handed to him on a silver platter. He drove fast cars, got into trouble, tanked his classes out of spite, and treated the world like his personal playground.

And secretly... it infuriated me.

It infuriated me that he had a safety net, a mother who lived and breathed for his future, and enough family money to burn—and he chose to waste it all being a rebel. I was out here pulling eighty-hour weeks between my two jobs and online coursework, terrified that a single missed deadline would ruin my life, while Lex Lawson got to glide through existence without a care in the world.

"It's just for the semester until housing opens up," my mother pleaded gently. "Please, Kenz. Do this for me. Linda is family."

I let out a slow, defeated breath, closing my eyes. "Fine. I'll pack my things."

LEX

My mother hung up the phone, turning back to me with a look of supreme triumph.

"McKenzie will be moving her things into the guest room tomorrow afternoon," she announced, picking up her leather handbag. "I expect you to be on your best behavior, Alexander. Do not ruin this."

She walked out of the kitchen, her heels clicking crisply against the hardwood until the front door clicked shut behind her.

I sat alone at the island, staring at the empty doorway, the F on my grade portal still glowing silently on the tablet screen.

A good influence. She was bringing the pristine, untouchable McKenzie Mason into my house to play the role of the golden child in my own front yard.

A slow, dark smile crept onto my face as I pulled my keys off the counter. McKenzie thought she could just waltz into my life, sit at my dinner table, and let my mother parade her around like a saint?

She had no idea what she was walking into. If McKenzie Mason wanted to live under my roof, I was going to make sure her stay was absolute, unadulterated hell.