Bayside Opposites

by Stacy Claflin

  He drew in a deep breath and held it. It was the perfect night for a walk. Lucky for him, he’d chosen to walk to work. Nate stretched his neck and cracked his knuckles, trying to work out some of the soreness from his honest day’s work.

  Footsteps sounded around the corner, near the parking lot. Nate ran his fingers over his short hair—he still couldn’t get used to the length being gone.

  Reese Rutherford rounded the corner, rolling up the sleeves of his fancy silk shirt. Nate headed for the road to cross to the other side, but Reese stopped in front of him, his nostrils flaring. Nate stepped to the side. Reese did the same.

  “I need to get by,” Nate said.

  “We need to talk, Nathan.”

  “It’s Nate.” He narrowed his eyes at the too-tan, arrogant jerk. “And I have nothing to say to you.”

  Reese clenched his fists. “That’s too bad, because I have plenty to tell you.”

  “Don’t push me,” Nate warned. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

  “Oh, I know plenty.”

  Nate arched a brow and glanced around. The only people around were those inside the karaoke bar. “Oh?”

  “You’re not good enough for Madisyn, and you know it. Just leave her alone and let a real man take care of her.”

  “Go away, Reese.”

  “Her father doesn’t want you with her. I don’t want you with her. Give it up. You’re in too deep.”

  “What business is it of yours? She can spend time with whoever she wants.”

  “She belongs with someone who can take care of her.”

  Nate crossed his arms. “Are you saying I can’t?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying! You work at the Snake Pit—you can’t get much more pathetic than that.”

  Anger surged through Nate, but he refused to let it show. “If Madisyn had a problem with it, she’d have told me. She was happy for me when I got the job.”

  Reese stepped closer, furrowing his brows and cracking his knuckles. “Look, Roberts, she was supposed to start seeing me the moment she came home from college. Our parents set us up the very first night she got back, and yet somehow she already had a date planned with you at the charity gala. Seems like odd timing, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Not my fault she has good taste.”

  Reese’s face contorted and he swung his fist at Nate.

  Nate blocked it with his palm just before the jerk made contact.

  Reese’s eyes widened and he gave Nate a double-take.

  “I’ve been in more fights than you know, pretty boy.” Nate shoved Reese’s fist away. “Don’t mess with me. I’d be more than happy to wipe that smug expression off your face.”

  “Go ahead and try it, you poor good-for-nothing loser. I’m an attorney at one of the state’s most prestigious law firms. But you should know that—since your old man, the lowly, thieving paralegal, was fired from there.”

  Fury tore through Nate. He raised his fist but stopped himself from punching Reese’s lights out. “How about you leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone? Then we can let Madisyn decide for herself who she wants to date?”

  Reese stepped closer, his face reddening. “Or we can leave it up to her father—it’s his decision, anyway.”

  Nate laughed. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! It’s up to her.”

  He snorted. “You think Clyde Steele is going to pay for a wedding to you? He despises your entire pathetic family. Madisyn would have to give up all of his financial support. Enjoy your stupid little fling while it lasts. As soon as she realizes what’s at stake, she’ll come running to me. I can provide for her every need and desire. She won’t have to work a day in her life, nor will she have to lift a finger—ever!”

  “Do you realize she wants to work? Why do you think she got two degrees?”

  “Because it gives her a trophy to show off! She doesn’t need one, much less two. Speaking of her education, doesn’t that make you feel inadequate? Emasculated? Stupid?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re uneducated, and like you said, she has not one but two college degrees.”

  Nate stared at him, dumbfounded. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but I could’ve gone to college if I’d wanted. I chose the school of life.” Actually, it hadn’t been so much a choice as a lack of funds. Even though he’d earned some scholarships due to his grades, it hadn’t been near what he’d needed—not with his dad being a paralegal and his mom being a substitute teacher.

  “I don’t care. Just don’t encourage her to keep looking for work. No woman of mine is ever going to work. She’ll join her mother in organizing charity events. That’s Madisyn’s future.”

  Nate just shook his head. Just when he’d thought Reese couldn’t sink any lower, he had. “You think she’s your woman?”

  “You got that straight, weasel. The sooner both of you do, the better it’ll be.”

  “Wow. I didn’t realize people like you existed anymore. I thought they all died out a hundred years ago.”

  “It’s too bad your family didn’t. Leave her alone. Or else.”

  “Or else what?” It took all of his self-restraint not to hit Reese. I’m turning my life around. I’m turning my life around.

  Reese narrowed his eyes. “You’ll sorely regret it.”

  “Yeah, and so will you if you don’t leave her alone.”

  “You’d dare threaten an attorney?”

  “If he threatens me.” They stared each other down until Nate walked around him and stormed down the street. Anger pulsed through him. How dare Reese threaten him? Even worse, how dare he claim to own Madisyn?

  His anger calmed the farther he walked. A question wiggled its way to the surface.

  What if Reese was right about one thing? Short of going back to work for Vinny, Nate had no way of giving Madisyn the life she was used to. He shoved the thought aside. She didn’t want more of that life—she was going to save for her own place and get out of her parents’ house as fast as she could. Besides, she couldn’t stand Reese, and she clearly liked Nate.

  But could he be good enough for her?

  Seventeen

  Madisyn checked her reflection in the mirror by the front door.

  Sally appeared behind her. “You look lovely, Miss Madisyn. Have another interview?”

  She spun around, pressed her palms down her skirt, and smiled. “I do. I’ve decided to check out the Chateau. Dakota’s beside herself.” Madisyn beamed, thrilled with the idea of working for Dakota and Clay.

  “Oh, wonderful. Did you hear back from the last one?”

  “They offered me the job, but I realized it wasn’t what I’m looking for, so I turned it down. This one sounds a lot more like what I want, and I’d be working with family.”

  “Good for you. Best of luck—not that you’ll need it. Even if it weren’t family, I know you’d get an offer.”

  “Thank you so much.” Madisyn practically skipped out the door and to her car.

  An unfamiliar black sedan was parked next to hers. She wasn’t aware of any guests inside the house—both of her parents were out for the day.

  She tilted her head, trying to see inside the tinted windows.

  The door opened, and Reese stepped out.

  Her heart sank. Madisyn stepped back and glared at Reese. “My dad’s at the office.”

  “Oh, I know.” He slammed the door.

  Madisyn jumped.

  Reese sauntered toward her. “I’m not here to see him.”

  Madisyn’s mouth went dry. The look of determination on his face sent a chill down her spine. “Well, I’m off to an interview. I can’t be late, so I have to run. Bye.”

  He came around to Madisyn’s car and put his hand over the driver’s side door, making it so she couldn’t open it. “That’s cute. A job interview.”

  “No, it’s not cute. I worked hard for my degrees, and I’m excited to use them.”

  “We need to talk first, sweeth
eart.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “No. You need to move. Now. And I’m not your sweetheart.”

  Reese shook his head. “I’m not budging until we talk.”

  Madisyn stared at him, trying to figure out what to do. She’d given herself a time buffer, but if she used it up trying to get him to move, she’d be late if she ran into traffic. And that was a real possibility during the lunch hour. She hated giving into him at all, but she couldn’t even get into her car. “Fine. You have two minutes.”

  “Cute. Now you’re trying to tell me what to do.”

  Her stomach twisted. “One minute and fifty seconds.”

  “Does your dad know you’re this insolent?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Does he know you’re here, keeping me from entering my car?”

  “He doesn’t want you to work, don’t you realize that?”

  “Does anyone care what I want? Look, I need to go. Please move.” Madisyn clenched her jaw.

  “You know, I didn’t want to tell you this, but I’ve done some digging on Nathan Roberts.”

  “That’s pretty rude.”

  Reese flinched. “What?”

  “He hasn’t done anything to you. Why are you bothering him?”

  “Because he’s trying to take what’s mine.”

  “Excuse me?” Madisyn’s jaw dropped.

  He puffed out his chest. “You heard me. Sweetheart.”

  “I am not yours. Move, before you make me late for my job interview.”

  “Do you realize he’s involved in criminal activity?”

  “Leave now, before I call the police. My cousin is a sergeant in the department.” Nico was technically her cousin’s husband, and he might have been promoted to a higher rank, but none of that mattered.

  “He could still go to jail if caught.” Reese’s gaze bore into her. “You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”

  “How dare you make threats?” Madisyn struggled to breathe normally.

  “It’s true I’m somewhat limited at this point. I haven’t found anything that would directly get him in trouble, but given the people he’s been working with, I know I’ll find something. Nobody hangs out with those thugs and stays within the bounds of the law long.”

  “Just leave him alone! Leave us both alone. He’s not doing anything wrong now.”

  “We just went over that. He’s trying to steal from me. That’s theft and adultery for starters. I’m sure we can add more to that. But we don’t have to. Not if you cooperate.”

  “You don’t own me! Are you crazy?”

  Reese stepped closer and narrowed his eyes. “Here’s the deal. Stop seeing him, and I’ll drop my investigation. Don’t, and risk having him sent to jail for a very long time.”

  Madisyn stepped back. He may as well have slapped her across the face. She stared at him, trying to figure out her best move.

  “I’m giving you one chance, Madisyn. That’s it. I guarantee I can find something that’ll put him away.”

  “Blackmail isn’t going to work on me.”

  He shrugged. “Have it your way. Probably better warn Nathan about what’s coming, because I always get what I want. Always.”

  She stared at him, fear tearing through her. There was no way she could put Nate in harm’s way, but at the same time, Reese had lost his mind if he thought she would ever consider him after this. Not that she would have before.

  “Well?” Reese managed to fill one small word with a scary amount of hostility.

  “I’ll meet with you to discuss this after my interview. Let’s meet in three hours.” That would at least buy her some time to figure out what to do, but she’d have to cancel the interview she’d been so excited about. “But you have to promise not to do anything to Nate.”

  Hopefully, Dakota would understand that something had come up and she needed to seek legal counsel from the oldest Hunter sibling.

  “I need to meet with a client, anyway. See you at Abelard’s in three hours. I’m in the mood for German food, so we’ll meet there.”

  She wanted to slap him for being so controlling. Instead, she clenched her fists. “See you then.”

  Eighteen

  Nate stared at his phone, tempted to call Madisyn again. She should’ve been done with her interview at least an hour before, but she wasn’t answering his calls or texts.

  Maybe it had just gone long. She’d had high hopes for it the night before when they’d talked. Dakota had practically already said the job was hers if she wanted it.

  Nate had wanted to bring up Reese’s confrontation, but he couldn’t bring himself to when Madisyn had been so happy about the interview. But she might not want to hear about it afterward either—whether it went good or bad.

  Maybe he needed to just try and forget Reese. It was hard—his mind kept replaying the whole scene over and over. Only in his mind, Nate had punched the jerk at various points in the conversation.

  Nate put his phone down on the kitchen table and finished his lunch of reheated casserole from a couple nights before. He focused on the peas, carrots, and chicken, but Reese’s words echoed in his mind.

  Poor.

  Uneducated.

  Inadequate.

  Pathetic.

  Stop!

  What he needed was some exercise. That always made him feel better. He could head over to the high school and run around their track or the football field.

  Nate put away the food and changed into his old workout clothes. They were outdated, but he didn’t care. They were clean, and he’d feel a heck of a lot better after a good run. He grabbed a water bottle and headed outside. The late afternoon sun beat down on him, but it was better than Reese’s words berating him.

  He walked down the street, picking up his pace as he went. By the time he made it to the high school, Nate was jogging and already sweating. He stopped, drank the entire bottle of water, and burst into a run. Between the run and the heat, there wasn’t any space for Reese in his mind.

  After six or seven laps, Nate couldn’t go any farther. He leaned against a tree and gasped for air, enjoying the feel of his released endorphins. Finally, he was in a good state of mind again. Memories of all the sweet things Madisyn had said to him ran through his mind easily.

  That was the only thing that mattered. It didn’t matter what Reese or Clyde thought. Besides, Nate would find a way to keep bettering himself until those two had nothing bad to say about him. And that would start with getting to his shift at the Snake Pit karaoke bar. He glanced at his phone to check the time. Unless he wanted to be late, he’d have to get back home and shower off right away.

  Nate took one long breath before heading back. He followed the shade, which wasn’t the quickest route home, but the most comfortable.

  He paused in front of Abelard’s German restaurant to catch his breath again. Two customers inside caught his attention.

  Reese and Madisyn sat at a table with plates of food, and she was dressed to impress.

  Reese and Madisyn?

  Nate stared, trying to make sense of it. Madisyn had been avoiding Nate’s calls all afternoon. Both Clyde and Reese thought she belonged with Reese—what if they’d convinced her that Reese was better for her than Nate?

  That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense. She’d figured out that Nate would never be able to provide what she was used to.

  He ran back home, but this time the endorphins did nothing to help.

  How had he been dumb enough to think that he could win over Madisyn Steele?

  Once home, he called into work sick—he felt like vomiting, so it wasn’t far from the truth. He packed a couple bags and climbed into his car to get out of Enchantment Bay as fast as he could.

  Nineteen

  “Aren’t you going to eat?” Reese arched a brow and took another bite of his roasted goose.

  Madisyn wanted to roast his goose.

  She picked at her salad. Just having to look at Reese Rutherford a second time that day was e
nough to make her nauseated. But she needed to confront him in a public place, where he would be forced to behave. After he’d kept her from getting into her car, there was no way she could trust him to keep his cool when he heard what she had to tell him.

  Reese gulped down some of his beer and rambled on some more about what a rotten person he thought Nate was. Madisyn did her best to tune him out, nodding occasionally as it seemed appropriate. Not that she agreed with him, but if he got it all out of his system, he’d be lulled into a false sense of security that she had heard him. And for the time being, that meant letting him think she was on the same page.

  “He’s terrible, I know.” Reese set his fork down. “I’m glad you’re beginning to see the light. It’s him who’s the bad guy, not me. I’m merely showing you the truth. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but that’s how it worked out. I’m only looking out for you.”

  She held back a laugh. He was showing her the truth all right—the truth about what a jerk he was. Madisyn stuffed salad into her mouth to prevent her from needing to respond.

  Reese wiped beer from his mouth. “So, do you still want me to drop everything I have against Nathan, or should I turn him in? You don’t want a criminal walking around Enchantment Bay, do you?”

  Madisyn set her fork down and leaned over the table. “I certainly wouldn’t. In fact, I’ve done some digging of my own and discovered another criminal in our midst.”

  “Really?” Reese leaned forward with an annoying Cheshire cat grin. “Do tell.”

  She nodded. “I had an interesting conversation with a few former employees of the law firm.”

  His smile faded. “What do you mean? My law firm?”

  “Our fathers’ law firm,” Madisyn corrected. “Between the three former employees, they had some interesting—and very colorful—stories to tell. It would appear that not everything in the Rutherford & Steele Law Firm is above board.”

  Reese’s expression tensed. “What else would you expect from former employees? Disgruntled ingrates. They’d say anything. The jealous losers.”