Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Trent emerges, hanging his head with his security walking just behind him.
“It’s the prodigy,” Trent says, glancing at Madison.
“Keep your tone respectful,” I snap.
He flinches and nods. He doesn’t sit either. Instead, he lingers behind Clarissa.
“Aren’t you going to blackmail me?” I say.
Trent runs a hand through his hair, looking like a schoolboy in the principal’s office. The scarred man keeps glaring at me.
“Don’t be shy,” I go on. “Clearly, that’s the point of all this. Jesus, Trent, this was a clumsy plan. Get some photos of me and threaten to use them to hurry the deal along. The only thing the photos will affect is the deal.”
“You don’t think it will look bad?” Trent replies. “You with this…”
He waves a hand at Madison, and I have to clench my fists tight to stop from leaping at him. It’s the dismissive tone of the gesture, as though she’s an add-on to this meeting. She’s the only person in this room I care about.
“Woman,” he says, meeting my eye and reading the fire there.
“Maybe some people will give a damn,” I snarl. “Maybe they’ll think it’s their business, but I’m not ashamed of my girlfriend. I don’t care if there’s an age gap. We care about each other. We’re proud of our relationship.”
Madison stands and looks at me, her eyes glimmering. At first, I think she’s mad at me for branding her as my girlfriend without her permission, but when I see her smile, I know her tears are happy ones. She takes my hand, spins, and stares at Trent.
“People who think they understand our relationship based on our ages and nothing else are idiots.”
I didn’t think it was possible for me to be prouder of Maddie, but I am now.
“That’s the thing with PR,” Trent says. “It’s not about what you think. It’s about what the public thinks.”
“Let them think what they want,” I snarl, relieved he doesn’t know about the other layer to this. Veronica… Maddie’s mom.
“You’ve tanked the deal,” I go on. “It’s over. You did that, Trent, with this stupid plan.”
“Careful,” the scarred man says. “That’s my boss you’re talking to.”
“Call off your attack dog,” I say, staring at Trent, “or I might have to muzzle him.”
The man laughs, which pisses me off, but I don’t let it show. Or try not to.
“Are you really recording?” Trent asks.
“Unlike you, I don’t do cowardly shit like that.”
“The offer still stands,” Trent says. “Finish the merger. Stop delaying. This doesn’t have to be ugly.”
“Didn’t you hear him?” Madison hisses. “He said it’s over. You ruined the deal. You ruined any chance you had to—”
“Boss, let me know if you want me to muzzle her.”
The second the scarred man cuts her off, I’m walking around the table. I’m filled with thunder and lightning and a howling call to war ricocheting through me. Trent backs up behind the guards. The three of them form a wall in front of him.
“You’re never going to talk to my woman like that again,” I say, staring hard at the man.
He tries to laugh it off. He might have more muscle mass than me. He’s younger. He’s got backup with the two other guards. Neither of them is as burly as the scarred man, but they’re not weak either.
“Or what?” the scarred man says.
“Or I’m going to hurt you.”
“Is that so?” He steps forward. “So, if I called her a sad little gold-digging pig…”
I shove him in the chest. Hard. He takes a few stumbling steps backward.
Trent yells and leaps out of the way, Clarissa rushing from the table.
I could’ve sucker punched the rat, but I don’t want it to go down like that. He’s already recovering, but his backup gets to me first, throwing their bodies at me, fists waving. All I can think about is my woman. The bone-deep certainty that I’ll always protect her, that nobody ever gets to make her feel small.
Ducking aside, I jab the first man solidly in the nose. There’s no need for pushing now. The fight’s started, and I won’t stop until it’s finished. The man roars and falls back. I spin, landing a savage uppercut on the second man. The scarred one is on me less than a second later, landing two heavy strikes on my stomach, then aiming a hook to my chin that would probably lose me some teeth if it landed.
Madison screams, but I weave backward just enough to get out of his range. Then I throw myself forward, putting power into my punch. My fists crush into his ribcage with vicious force, enough to send him to the floor, wheezing and clutching his side.
“Enough!” Trent roars, running into the middle and holding his hands out.
I almost hit him too, but when Madison lays her hand on my arm, I stop. Her soothing touch saves Trent. The scarred security guard stands up, opening his mouth as if he’s going to say something else about Maddie.