Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
I pause. Concern spreading through my veins.
What’s that about?
My computer pings with a message that the meeting has ended. I click over to the meeting tab. Harland apologizes but something has come up and he’ll email once he’s available again. Irritation spreads through me but I remind myself: patience.
I click both windows closed, get up from my seat, and go to the floor-to-ceiling window. My only thoughts are of Madelyn and how to approach her again. It was expression on her face. There’s no way I can tell her I was watching her on the cameras—that would be an invasion of privacy, and she’d never want to fuck me again.
Which isn’t the only thing I’m worried about.
I’m worried about her. I’m worried that some serious problem worries her. I don’t care for it.
As I stare down at the bustling streets, I debate on how to handle her. I can go knock on her door and make sure everything’s fine. Maddie came to me with a problem. It would be a gentlemanly thing to do to check in.
There’s a quiet knock at the door. “Mr. Maxwell?”
“Yes?”
It’s my secretary, Miss Dawning. Her expression is slightly hesitant, the wrinkles around her eyes even deeper than normal.
“There’s someone here to see you. She doesn’t have an appointment, but I told her I’d see if—”
“Who is it?”
“Madelyn Cunnigham.”
“Of course. Send her in.”
“Oh!” My secretary blinks. No doubt surprised. I typically hate unscheduled meetings and simply decline. “Of course, Mr. Maxwell. Right away.” As she closes my office door, she holds the lone pearl dangling from her gold necklace over her white blouse, an amused look on her face.
A moment later, my secretary leads Maddie into my office. Maddie flashes her that same bright smile she used when she was crossing the street, then looks at me. The smile gets smaller…and hotter. Pink spreads across her cheeks. Her doe eyes take on a sensual heat.
This isn’t how she looked at the doorman.
I can’t help the pull of an asymmetrical grin at the sight of her reaction.
“Hello, Maddie.” The scent of her perfume has already spread lightly across the office. “I’m surprised to see you here during business hours.” The camera didn’t do her justice. She’s even more beautiful in person. My grip tightens on the desk as she makes her way in.
She laughs, a little nervously. “I just finished some errands, and you’re my next stop. Do you have a few minutes?”
I gesture to the chair across from my desk. “For you?” I pause, allowing a moment to pass while our eyes lock. “Of course I have time.”
Maddie blushes a deeper red and moves across the office. The modern lines of my office furniture are hard and sharp, there’s a coldness in its simplicity, and then there’s her. Warmth and beauty and femininity. I settle back into my chair and she takes her seat, balancing her purse neatly on her lap. I don’t know which I like more—Maddie in a bodysuit or Maddie in this classic dress.
She smiles hesitantly across the desk at me. “So…I have some bad news.”
My blood runs cold and I despise the worrying tone she has. If she were mine, she wouldn’t have to worry about a damn thing. “What kind of bad news?” I keep my voice calm, but I’m anything but. I don’t want to hear that she has bad news—if someone’s done something to her, like her ex-fiancé, it needs to be fixed immediately. My palms itch and it takes great effort not to let on every scenario that runs through the back of my mind.
“I may have…well, I did break a window in the apartment. Yesterday.” The corners of Maddie's mouth turns down. “It was an accident. My phone completely slipped out of my hand, and I never expected…” She takes a deep and steadying inhale. “I know repairs like that get added to the rent, so I’ve visited two different places to see if I could figure out a way to afford it, but—”
“Let me guess. It was the picture window?”
Maddie bites her lip and gives me an embarrassed nod. Fuck, my cock is so hard precum leaks from the seam. If I could have created a storyline for us to play, this would be fucking perfect.
“None of the companies would agree to work on a project like that. Too complicated with the large sheet of glass. Not worth the trouble,” I tell her. There’s no way in hell she’s going to find someone to come and fix that window. I have my contacts though; it’s not a problem in the least.
“That’s exactly what I found out.” Maddie leans forward, her lips parted, clearly trying to decide what to say next. “I didn’t want to…I don’t want you to think I’m making any assumptions about—”
“What kind of man I am?”