“I didn’t write that,” Teresa snickers after having a few champagnes in quick succession. “Not enough Scott Dangers for you.” She winks at me and then laughs out loud.
I smile at her but get serious. “But honestly, this is because of you guys. It was your hard work, busting your asses and putting your faith in me and my crazy ideas that brought us here, enjoying the fine gourmet fare of cupcakes and champagne as we embark on a new phase of Danger Enterprises. So don’t congratulate me. Instead, look around and congratulate each other for a job well done and a reward well deserved. Please, let me be the first to say thank you. For everything.”
The room’s quiet for a moment before Robbie starts the serenade of applause. It feels genuine, not the polite business applause I’ve gotten used to, but the real clapping of people who honestly appreciate what I said. Robbie comes over, offering a handshake. Behind him, the door opens and Dad’s secretary enters. “Mr. Danger? Your presence is requested in the board room.”
I nod, adjusting my tie and looking at Robbie. “How do I look?”
“Lose the frosting by your lip,” he says, smiling. “Go, man, go. And thanks for what you said.”
I head upstairs, but I still feel so empty. This is what I’ve wanted, what I’ve worked for, what I’ve dreamed of, but right now . . . I don’t care. And that is a punch to my gut as I stand outside the door, taking a last moment alone to school my features.
Entering the board room, I nod respectfully to the assembled men and woman before taking my usual seat.
Dad, sitting on his throne at the head of the table, stands up. “This morning, after much discussion and hard negotiating, the board made a majority vote decision that Danger Enterprises will be moving forward with the proposal Scott’s team put forward.”
There’s muted applause, and the board members shake my hand. Liv looks genuinely happy for me as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, Scott. You deserve it.”
“Thank you,” I echo for what feels like the thousandth time as Chase comes forward. “Chase.”
“Good job, lit . . . Scott,” he says, still a hint of a smirk on his face.
Chase offers me his hand, and we shake, and I’m surprised when he pulls me in for a hug, speaking quietly in my ear. “I think you were right. We can be better, do more. Danger Enterprises is lucky to have you. Me too.”
Chase leaves with the rest of the board, and I blink, stunned. I think my relationship with my siblings just took a considerable turn for the better, even more so than our apologies a few days ago. But more than that, I’m astonished the board actually backed my play.
When it’s just Dad and me, I see the pained look on his face as he steeples his fingers below his chin. “Well . . . it appears you were right.”
I nod, and he slumps down in his chair, looking older all of a sudden. “The board went against me,” Dad says, rubbing at his jowly cheeks. “They’ve never done that. I’m not sure how to take it. How to react. But this is still my company. You just got your way on this one deal.” His gaze narrows on me, and I can see the evaluation . . . what I have that the board sees that he doesn’t, if I manipulated my way into this win, and how he can circumvent me and take the reins as his own over this deal.
I look back at him, and I realize something. He’s got nothing other than his reputation as a win-at-all-costs businessman, the façade of a strong, powerful man. The reality is very different. His children practically despise him, his wife left him, and his girlfriend is a pretty obvious gold digger. And to top it off, he backed the wrong horse. I still find it hard to feel sorry for him because he created this life of image and pride, not caring about the emotional consequence to anyone else. “You can say congratulations like everyone else.”
Dad snorts and looks out the window, where the stars are gleaming in the evening sky. “You’ll be wanting a better office now, elevation to a chief executive job. Guess you deserve it.”
I nod. That is what I wanted. Before.
I thought it would finally make me worthy in my dad’s eyes, but I can see that nothing will ever make that happen. It’s not a flaw in me. It’s one in him.
But I’ve worked so hard, we all have, to reach this point. I try my damnedest to focus on work. “Actually, the title . . . yes, that is warranted. The office space? We predict that we’ll need a larger in-house team for support of AlphaSystems, so in lieu of an office on a higher floor, my team will take over the floor below mine when their lease is up.” It’s not a question. It’s decisive and not up for debate.
But right now, all of it . . . the office, the promotion . . . it seems meaningless without Madison. She should be the one I’m sharing this with, holding her in my arms as we celebrate and knowing the world is at our fingertips. Instead, I’m sitting here feigning attention in the boardroom while Maddie is probably working her ass off and rightfully hating my guts.
I asked her once if she was happy at Stella’s and she’d told me she was. I didn’t believe her because I couldn’t imagine it. But when she’d asked me if I was happy at work, I don’t think I even knew what happiness actually felt like. But now I do. I was happy with her.
Sure, the old saying is, if you love someone, let them go. If they return, it was meant to be. But goddammit, I’m not leaving it up to fate. I’m going to fight for Madison, and if afterward, she still walks away . . . well, I’ll accept it knowing I did everything I could. But right now, I need to apologize, see if there’s any chance she can forgive me.
I turn and head out of the board room, not stopping when Dad calls after me. “Where the hell are you going?” He’s pissed I’m walking out even though he’s hardly saying a word, just staring off into the skyline mid-existential crisis, like it’s my duty to hold his hand while he contemplates how this could’ve happened.
“There’s something I need to do,” I call over my shoulder. He thunders something about how there’s nothing more important than this, but I ignore him. In fact, I ignore everyone as I head downstairs, going through the team area toward my office.
Robbie, who’s had a few more glasses of champagne while I was upstairs, calls out. “Hey, Boss Man, where you off to?”
“Madison,” I call, heading into my office and grabbing my keys off my desk. When I turn, Robbie’s there, a look of glee on his face.
Robbie nods and steps aside. “Party on, dude. I’ll take personal care of your share of the bubbly. Go celebrate with your girl.”
I don’t correct him. He doesn’t know about the stupid stunt I pulled because I’ve been hiding in my office all day, sullen and pouting.
It’s late when I get downstairs, and traffic’s hell downtown. Unbeknownst to me, there’s a fucking concert, and I crawl through bumper to bumper traffic. I’m almost tempted to just jump out and start running, but I finally get clear of the stadium.
Just when I think things will start to move, I see flashing lights and I growl, slamming my hand on the steering wheel. Honestly, a re-route? What the fuck is going on?
It’s like something, everything is preventing me from getting to Madison. But fate can fuck off. I’m making my own, snapping my fingers and making her my bitch. Well, or pleading with her to please let me get to Maddie, to somehow make this all right again.
I need her. I love her.
My Madison.
Chapter 28
Madison
Daily Horoscope, November 3rd
Libra – Echoes of the past threaten your future.
I rinse the dog hair and stench from my hands in the big stainless-steel sink, watching the bubbles swirl down the drain, wishing they’d take my broken heart with them. I think an empty void, a wasteland where my heart used to be would be preferable to this deep aching.
Yeah, Marie. Thanks for the heads-up about the suffering. Spot on, bitch. I wish I’d listened, believed her. But even if I had, I still would’ve fallen for Scott. I still believe that. I couldn’t have resisted his charms.
“Maddie,
baby . . . really, just go home and get some rest. I can handle the dogs today,” Aunt May prods me, handing me a handful of paper towels and flicking her head at me, telling me without words to shoo.
She’d been relentlessly loving all day, listening as I’d told her everything. She had even promised to take Stella a casserole first thing tomorrow morning, which I know will be appreciated.
“Are you sure? I know you had help all weekend,” I start but can’t finish the sentence. I breathe, steeling myself. “You had help while I was with Scott this weekend, but I’m scheduled to help today. I’m fine. Or fine enough.” The implied ‘see, I even said his name without crying’ is silent but understood.
Aunt May scoffs. “Girl, you’re about useless today . . . for good reason. Go home, take a nap, and get ready for your shift tonight. I have volunteers coming in later today, but Stella needs you at one hundred percent.”
I nod, giving in because I know she’s right. I toss the paper towels in the trash and grab my purse from the office as she watches me with worried eyes. Right before I leave, she calls out. “Hey, Maddie, you might be a sparrow again right now, but I’ve seen you fly. You’ll be an eagle again.”
Aunt May’s Dolly-isms. Even now, they give me a smidge of comfort, a hint of a smile. It’s a start, but before the spark of flame catches, it dies out, leaving me cold once again. “Thanks, Auntie. I’ll be by tomorrow if I can.”
I don’t even pet Maple and Syrup as I walk out, a zombie unaware of the life surrounding her.
By that night, I’ve forced myself to rally. Not able to smile and be my usual self, but at least finding distraction in the busy work of running the bar.
My new helper, Dana, isn’t half bad, and she keeps the beer flowing smooth and suds-free with a smile. She looks great too, her dark hair and smoky eyes giving her a sultry exotic look. Thank God she’s eye candy for our tip jar tonight, because I’m definitely not holding up my end of the bargain there.
Tiff had done our last-minute tweaks for me, finally throwing a knotted bandana around my rat’s nest of hair and forcing three thick layers of mascara on my lashes because I flat-out refused to put on makeup.
Funny to think that only a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been seen without a full face. But Scott made me feel comfortable in my own skin and appreciated the flaws I hated, like my freckles and the little birthmark on my jawline. When he kissed and licked them, appreciated the beauty in them, I could finally see it too. And now, without him, I just don’t give a fuck. Am I masked? Am I exposed? Not my concern. I’m just here to help Stella and serve drinks. Everything else is unimportant, trivial shit, easily dismissed.
Hustling along, setting out drink after drink, I get lost in the repetition. I still have moments where Scott takes over my mind . . . when a customer ordered a Snow Queen martini, I’d thought they were fucking with me at first and almost came over the bar. Or when a drunken college guy flirted with me, I had a flashing image of Scott white-knighting me again . . . and sometimes, I look up and down the bar feeling like I’m missing something to realize it’s not a drink order. It’s him.
I’m swirling a white rag though a pitcher, setting up for the next round, when I hear it.
“A whiskey shooter, Wild Turkey, with a half-finger of water.”
I slowly turn, trying not to drop the pitcher, and it’s him. The same shit-eating grin, with the dimple on the left side that I thought was so fucking sexy when we first met. Those same devious-looking, psycho-killer eyes that I thought were just naughty before I realized just how deep the crazy went. It’s Rich, my ex-ex-boyfriend.
“What are you doing here?” I demand.
“Trying to get a drink, but the service here sucks,” he says with a smile, like it’s a private joke. My jaw drops at his gall.
I clack my mouth closed, disgusted with him.
“Please leave,” I say with as much forceful strength as I can inject into my voice. I will not cower to him, not ever again.
“Why?” Rich asks, leaning on the bar and grinning more, his five o’clock shadow crinkling as he chews his ever-present bubblegum. “I haven’t done anything to anybody.”
I look for help, recognizing in one sweep of my eyes that my bar knife is way at the other end of the bar, Tiffany is in back, taking her break, and Stella looks like something that the cat dragged in after it got run over in the street. I’m on my own. But I can do this. He doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. “What do you want?”
“A Wild Turkey, finger of water,” he says again. I grab the cheap booze, pouring it for him and setting the tumbler in front of him. Rich takes it and sips his drink. “So . . . hear you been dating a big shot.”
“That’s none of your business,” I reply automatically, not wanting to give him any ammunition. A beat later, I realize he said it not to get information but to let me know that he already knew. It sends a chill down my spine that he knows anything about my private life at all. “How’d you find out? Have you been following me?”
“Maybe,” Rich says faux-casually. “A man has to have hobbies, after all.”
My heart freezes, and I nearly turn to call 9-1-1, but the cops will just make him leave the bar. A stressful scene is the last thing Stella needs. And in some twisted way, I want to handle Rich on my own. Aunt May was right. I can fly like an eagle. I might be broken right now, but it’s not because of a pussy like Rich. With him, I can handle myself. A tiny voice whispers in the back of my mind, and if not, there’s a roomful of people who might jump in to help if it gets ugly.
I head down to the other end of the bar, where I get a couple of locals a microbrew. Tiffany comes out, and I give her a little look, and she glances and sees Rich, her eyes narrowing. “Should I get Stella?”
“No . . . but keep your eyes open and watch my back. I don’t want Stella to be stressed out if she doesn’t have to be,” I whisper.
I go back to work, hoping Rich will leave, but after twenty minutes, he’s still there, obnoxiously rapping his tumbler on the bar. “Another Wild Turkey!”
Sweat dots my forehead, but I head down the bar. “Rich, I don’t think—”
Quick as a snake, his hand shoots out to grab my wrist. “You dumb bitch, you don’t think. That’s your problem. I want to talk.”
“Let go of me!” I hiss, trying to keep my voice down. None of the other patrons notice anything, and I try to pull away, but Rich’s grip is iron hard.
I look at his hand wrapped around my wrist, like he did so many times before. Sometimes gentler, sometimes more forceful, but that last night . . . it’d been different. He’d been testing me to see where my boundary was. He didn’t think I’d push back. He was wrong then, and he’s sure as fuck wrong now.
“We’re over and I have nothing to say to you.”
“Over?” Rich growls, pulling me closer to the bar. “You walked out on me. I never said it was over. I fucking own you,” he snarls. “You wouldn’t be shit without me. Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Fury fills my body, and before I even think about what I’m doing, my free hand swings out, slapping him across the face. In the moment of shock, both his and mine, I twist my wrist, jerking away. “Let me go!” I yell, stumbling back. The bottle of Wild Turkey tumbles and shatters on the floor like a bomb, freezing everything in the bar.
Rich laughs, shaking his head. “You stupid bitch. Just like you to—”
I don’t let him start up with his gaslighting insults, interrupting him to yell, “Get out. Now!” as patrons stare with dropped jaws and wide eyes.
Every bit of anger I felt each time he hurt me, emotionally and physically, pours out of me in waves of hot resistance. He made me weak, drop by drop, bit by bit, so subtly I didn’t even notice it at first. But I see it now, hear the countless manipulations he put me through echoing in my head. And they wash away in the tide of my strength. I am powerful. I am capable. And the people in my life, especially the men, need to fucking realize it.
Stella
is suddenly next to me, the mama bear out of her hibernation and her hand trembling with rage as she grips Slugger, our steel-core baseball bat. “Get the fuck outta my bar!”
Rich looks unconcerned, brushing off his jacket. “I was just leaving anyway. See you around, sweetheart.” The endearment that had once seemed loving sounds ominously sinister.
Rich retreats, and as the door closes, my shakes start. Tiffany rushes over to hug me while Stella strokes my back, and the patrons give us a little bit of space. “Are you okay?” Stella asks. “I didn’t see him come in.”
“I’ll . . . I’ll be fine,” I whisper, staring at my hands until they stop shaking. “I was hoping I’d never see him again.”
“You keep the bat near you under the bar, you hear?” Stella says. “Take that thing straight to his head if he comes back in here. If I see him, I’ll do it myself.”
I nod and set Slugger near my station, where I can get it quickly. I’m proud of the way I stood up for myself, so much different from the times before. But as the adrenaline wears off, my hands keep shaking. For the rest of the night, I try and concentrate, but by the time last call comes, I’m weak and shaky.
Tiffany notices, coming over after she shoos the last customer out. “You okay, hun?”
“I don’t feel good,” I admit. “Stomach feels like I had too many Devin burgers.”
“I heard that!” Devin growls, but Tiffany ignores him.
“I don’t blame you. After that fucker came in, I’ve had my head on a swivel all night. Here, you go on home and let me finish up with Stella. You’ve done that enough for us, and tonight, we can return the favor. You just get home, lock the door, and try to sleep. Text me when you get there, ‘kay? We’ll be fine here.”
I know I should decline. But I feel off-kilter, and curling up in my bed and hiding away from everything sounds like a relief.
Power Play: A Romance Collection Page 66