For the first time in days, I was able to take a deep breath.
Aiden was waiting for me when I entered our office building. He had wanted to drive me earlier, but I insisted on going alone. I took a cab instead, as a precaution, not knowing what would happen while I was at the hotel.
“Are you tracking me?” I asked, swiping at the oozing cut on my face.
“Yes,” he replied. “I have all our cell phones tracked. I knew you were on your way back.” He eyed me warily. “She got you good.”
I nodded as we stepped into the elevator. “She did. Hurts like a bitch.”
“It went well. Other than the blood,” he stated.
I laughed dryly. “You should know. You were recording it.”
“Yeah. We got it all. Insurance. Although, I doubt we’ll need it.”
The elevator doors opened, and I hurried toward my office, hoping to bypass Sandy. My attempt failed. She looked up, her expression aghast as she stood.
“Maddox Riley. What on earth!”
“Nothing,” I assured her. “It’s nothing.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. I’ll be in your office in a moment.”
I sighed. “Sandy, please. I need to get out of these clothes, and I want a shower.” I wanted to get the scent of that hotel room, her, out of my nose. Her touch, albeit brief, lingered on my skin like a festering sore, and I wanted it gone. “If you have to look after I’m done, fine. But I need that first.” I met her gaze, silently pleading for her to understand.
“You have fifteen minutes. The dry cleaner was here earlier and dropped off a load of shirts and two of your suits. They’re in your closet.”
“Thank you.”
Aiden followed me into my office and settled on the sofa. He stretched his arm across the back.
“I’ll be waiting. Be sure to remove the wires before you get in the shower.”
“Thanks.” I snorted. “I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“Yep,” he said, inspecting his nails. “It’s what I do.”
The shower was as hot as I could handle. The water burned as it hit my torn skin, but after a few minutes, the ache faded. I soaped up twice and finally stepped out, feeling more in control and less tense. I studied my face in the mirror with a wince. She had come really close to my eye with those talons of hers. The two superficial slashes in my skin would heal, but they still stung. In my dressing area, I dried off and tugged on a fresh shirt. Too exhausted to bother, I pulled on a pair of dress pants, forgoing a tie or jacket. I had no plans to see anyone today.
Except, my office was full when I pulled open the door. Aiden, Bentley, and Reid were all waiting. Sandy stood by my desk, her arms crossed and her foot tapping.
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“Sit down,” she ordered.
Knowing it was useless to argue, I complied. She grabbed my chin, turned my face to the light, and studied it.
“Maddox Riley, I expect this of Aiden or even Reid. But not you.”
I winced as she dabbed at the scratches with antiseptic. I felt as if I were eight, being reprimanded for playground antics.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I didn’t plan on it.”
“You’re lucky she missed your eye!”
I lifted my eyebrow. “How do you know it was a she?”
“Oh, I told her the whole story,” Reid piped up. “She wanted the hotel address so she could rip a strip off the bimbo, but I said no.”
The back of my neck prickled with embarrassment, my mortification now complete. “Well, at least you held back that piece of information.”
Sandy tsked. “I made him tell me. I swear the three of you are trying to put me in my grave. Kidnappings, stalkers, and blackmailers. The trouble you keep getting into! Seriously, all of you need to stop that madness.” She smeared some ointment on my skin a little too aggressively, making me grimace. “Now you look like you’ve been in a street brawl. Messing up your good looks.” She made a strange noise in the back of her throat. “Can we try to stick to making money and building things? Is that too much to ask, boys?”
I met her eyes, my annoyance evaporating. Only concern met my gaze. She had always been a rock for all of us. I wrapped my hand around her wrist, squeezing it.
“Yeah, we can do that, Sandy.”
She patted my cheek in one of her motherly gestures. They were rare but expressed her feelings. She leaned closer. “Nothing has changed, Maddox. We all make mistakes. You should be grateful for good friends.”
“I am,” I assured her. “And for you.”
“I would think so.”
We exchanged a smile. Her face softened for a moment, then she straightened up.
“Okay. I’ll let you get on with things.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded, knowing I was thanking her for more than a dab of antiseptic cream or her help. Her assurances meant more than I could ever express. She meant more to me than she knew.
“All right. No more shenanigans. I’m ordering lunch, and we’re going over your schedules for the week. Richard is here tomorrow, so you need to be on your best behavior and not acting like a bunch of brawling hoodlums. I have to order in some bagels for him. He loves those.”
She swept out of the office, and I laughed.
“Well, we know who her favorite is now. And it’s not one of us.”
“Brawling hoodlum,” Bentley mused. “Never been accused of that one until now. Thanks, Mad Dog.”
“Glad to be of service.”
“I don’t know why she said she expected that sort of behavior from me.” Aiden pouted. “I thought I was her favorite.”
“No way, man.” Reid smirked. “I am.”
“I can fire you, you know,” Aiden warned him.
Reid leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. His new shirt was almost wrinkle-free, but still casual. “I don’t think so.” He grinned. “My ass is perfectly safe. Maddox and Bent are on my side.”
I regarded him, serious. “I owe you, Reid. I don’t pretend to understand or know all of what you did, but I’m eternally grateful.”
He hunched forward, resting his arms on his knees. “I helped a friend,” he replied. “What I did doesn’t matter. What she did was wrong. I shut her down. Simple. I can explain it if you want, but I think it’s best left alone.”
“No, I’m good with being in the dark.” I hesitated. “Should I have taken her laptop? It was in pieces on the floor, but to have been sure she couldn’t get something off it?”
Reid shook his head. “Nah. It was scrubbed. I checked every angle. She had only ever copied the video to her USB drive once and made those stills she showed you. She never even printed herself a copy of them. They’re gone.”
My relief was so profound I sagged in my chair.
“Thank you,” I stated sincerely.
“Anytime.”
“For fuck sake, I hope not,” Bentley interjected. “I can’t take much more.”
Internally, I agreed with him.
Reid stood, scratching his stomach. “I’ll let you get on with the dull side of this place. I’m going back to my programs.” He paused in the doorway with a grin. “I’d love some pizza for lunch, if you were, you know, offering.”
“Tell Sandy it’s on me.”
He winked, lifting his shoulder. “I thought so.”
He left with a wave, and I heard him calling to Sandy. I had no doubt a tremendous amount of pizza would arrive shortly. I didn’t care either. He could have anything he wanted.
He now owned Bentley and me.
Totally.
Even more surprising was I was all right with that. I trusted the kid, because I knew why he did it.
He trusted me.
Bentley cleared his throat. “You okay, Mad Dog?”
“I will be. I hope there are no repercussions.”
“If there are, we’ll deal with them. The way we do everything. As a team. As long as we’re clear on something.”
> “Which is?” I asked, already knowing his answer, yet somehow needing to hear the words.
“That you’re done with this shit about leaving.”
“Yes. If you still want me here.”
“I never wanted you to leave.”
“I didn’t think I had a choice, Bent. In hindsight, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was reacting—and I panicked.”
He stood, tugging on his sleeves. “I understand why you felt the way you did. I appreciate the fact that your first instinct was to protect me and our company. But you missed one key point. It is our company. The three of us. BAM. Without you, we’re just . . .” He shrugged, at a loss for words.
“Sheep,” Aiden said.
“Sheep?”
“Yeah.” He smirked. “BA—like sheep, you know? BAA-BAA.” His eyes twinkled. “Not anywhere near as cool as BAM.”
Bentley’s lips quirked. I felt a chuckle building in my chest. Aiden began a loud braying noise, scrunching up his face as he imitated a bunch of wooly animals.
I gave in and began to laugh. Bentley followed, with Aiden laughing at himself the loudest. We all needed it after the past days of tension and worry.
When the amusement settled, I wiped my eyes, careful of the tender spot on the left side of my face. I huffed out a long exhale and stood, rounding the desk. I extended my hand to Bentley.
“Seriously, Bent. I apologize for all the shit. I appreciate everything. Your—” my voice faltered and I cleared my throat “—your friendship would have been a terrible thing to lose.”
He came forward, shaking my hand, then shocked me by yanking me hard and pulling me in for a hug. “Not happening, Maddox.”
Before I could react, Aiden jumped up, wrapping us both in his thick arms.
“Group hug!”
I knew they expected me to push them off. But for one instant, I basked in the moment, letting it wash away the negative emotion of the day. I stretched my arms.
“You’re crushing me, Tree Trunk.”
Aiden stepped back, flexing. “I was being gentle.”
“Whatever.”
I sat, flipping him off. Bentley watched us, amusement written on his face. He walked toward the door as I grabbed my laptop, flipping open the lid.
“Okay. Let’s get some work done. Oh, and Maddox?”
I looked up. “Yeah?”
Before he could speak, Aiden started to laugh and pushed past him, disappearing down the hall.
“He told you I spilled my guts to VanRyan.” I groaned. “Can’t he keep his mouth shut about anything?”
“I’m not upset. I spoke with Richard, and he told me he basically forced you to talk.” He paused, his hand drumming on the door. “It’s sometimes easier to talk to a stranger. I’m grateful he convinced you to talk to us before you did something stupid. And so we are clear, what you were planning was stupid.”
“I know that now.”
“Okay then. The subject is closed.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
He met my eyes, nodded, and shut the door behind him, leaving me with my thoughts.
Maddox
I COULDN’T GET hold of Dee. I texted her, tried to call, and even knocked on her door. She didn’t answer and I didn’t hear any sounds of her moving inside, so I left it alone.
Worry wriggled at my mind all night, and I was tense and unable to sleep.
I tried again the next morning and finally got a reply.
Sorry. Worked late. I will see you tonight. Tacos? We’ll talk after.
I sighed in relief. Tacos were normal for Tuesday. Tacos were us.
I replied.
Yes.
I set down my phone and went about my day, feeling more settled.
Richard was his usual larger-than-life self. He was all over the mock-ups, blown away by the concept model, and he spent a long time talking to Liv, who was helping design the show model. As she discussed the elements, pointing out the different aspects of the designs and choices, I watched his concept come to life. He asked Reid a hundred questions, often shaking his head in response to the technical jargon Reid responded with. Richard made notes, sketched, and jotted down ideas. He used his hands as he visualized something. His voice rose, and he paced as he threw out captions and additions to the campaign, planning the various stages as we grew closer to completion of the project.
During the morning break, he sat beside me, took a bite of bagel, and washed it down with more coffee.
He ate a lot of bagels, charming Sandy into extra cream cheese. I noticed mine didn’t get the extra helping. Aiden noticed it too and complained.
Sandy ignored Aiden, other than a cuff to the back of the head. I laughed at his shocked expression.
“This is going to be off the charts,” Richard exclaimed. “The more I see of your plans, the more excited I am. You’ll sell out before you break ground on the first building. We’re going to hit hard and loud. We’ll have them lining up for the second one.”
“Then what?” Bentley queried.
Richard grinned, swallowing the last of his cream-cheese-laden bagel. “You build more and I’ll sell them.”
Aiden grinned. “I like that idea.”
“I know,” Richard shot back. “We’re a great team.”
He was correct. We were.
Later that night, I reclined in my chair, sipping a beer. The cold liquid soothed the burn of the jalapenos that had been liberally scattered on the nachos and the mounds of hot salsa I had used on my tacos.
Richard relaxed beside me, wiping his mouth. He lifted his beer to his lips. “Great place.”
I was surprised when Richard asked to accompany us to dinner. He didn’t seem like a taco kind of guy, but we assured him he was welcome, and he seemed to enjoy himself. He certainly gave Aiden a run for his money with the number of tacos he ate.
“You eat a lot,” I goaded him. “Almost as much as Aiden, which is impressive.”
He grinned. “Carbs. My weakness. I try to watch it, but I can’t resist bagels, and I love Mexican. Katy isn’t a fan, so when I can get some, I grab it. Besides—” he paused, taking a sip “—it gives me a chance to hang with your crew.” He lifted an eyebrow. “You have great friends. You’re a lucky man.”
I knew what he was saying. “I do. And thanks to you, I’m still part of the crew.”
“Nah. You would have figured it out. I just gave you a push.” He picked at the label on his bottle. “So you got it, ah, sorted?”
“In a manner of speaking. I think the problem has been dealt with.”
He tapped his eye. “I assume she wasn’t overly impressed. She got you bad.”
“Ah, no. She was pretty pissed. Not that I cared, to be honest.”
He smirked. “I imagine not. Your genius was a big help, I assume?”
“He was.”
“You still seem tense.”
I glanced across the table at Dee. She was listening to something Aiden was saying, a smile playing on her lips that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked like Dee, but I felt her reserve toward me. Her eyes had widened when she saw my face, but she simply asked in a low voice if I was all right. I had assured her I was fine and it looked worse than it felt. She had sat beside me during dinner, but her attention had been elsewhere, and she had been quieter than usual. The truth was, so had I.
I wanted her alone so we could talk, but before I could suggest leaving early, she had moved to sit next to Cami. The distance between us felt like three miles rather than three chairs away.
He followed my gaze. “Your lady not happy?” he asked, turning in his chair to give us a little privacy.
“I haven’t seen her alone since things, ah, came to an end, so to speak, so I’m unsure,” I confessed. “She seems a little off.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, every time I look over, she’s watching you,” Richard assured me. “I’m sure she’s waiting until you’re alone. Maybe she needs some reassurance. As I have discovered, women often do.”
He smiled indulgently with a wink. “I enjoy reassuring my Katy. It does us both good.”
“You are spending too much time with Reid. You’re oversharing, Richard.” I shook my head in amusement. “I really don’t need to hear that.”
He laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. “Your resident genius does suffer from TMI overload. I find him amusing and highly entertaining.
“I’m going to bring my wife with me one of these trips, once Heather is a little older. I can’t get Katy to leave her when she’s still so young.” He lowered his voice, showing a slightly softer side to his personality. “I can barely stand to leave them myself.”
“We’re happy to do this via video,” I offered. “Bentley would be fine with it now. We know Becca arrives soon, and I think we have it all under control.”
“I appreciate that. I already spoke with Bentley, and he said the same thing. I wanted to come see the models myself and speak to our other client. Now, I think I have things going, I’ll be using video more, but I’ll still come out on occasion. Katy would enjoy a trip here. She likes visiting Toronto, although she prefers the quiet of home.”
“We’d all love to meet her. We’re looking forward to working with you.”
He drained his beer and stood. He extended his hand. “Me too, Maddox. Me too.”
Richard left, shaking hands and promising to be in touch soon. I stood not long after he departed and said my goodbyes.
“It’s been a long couple of days. I’m heading out.” I hesitated a moment, then held out my hand. “Are you ready, Dee?”
For a brief second, I thought she was going to refuse, but she kissed Cami’s cheek, said her goodbyes, and gathered her purse and jacket. She slid her hand into mine and we walked in silence to the car. I opened her door and waited until her seat belt clicked into place, then climbed into the driver’s seat. I sighed as I started the car, feeling the exhaustion creeping in.
“Tired?” Dee asked.
“Yeah, I am.”
“I could drive.”
“No, it’s fine.” I pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward the condo. “I didn’t know you could drive.”
“We can’t afford a car . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat. “I mean I can’t afford a car, but I do drive.”
Maddox ~ Melanie Moreland Page 16