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I couldn’t believe he’d so quickly turned on me.
I wanted to ask him about his promises to protect me, to make sure that Jacob would never hurt me again. If this was just a job and I was nothing but his employee, why did he promise me those things? Why did he toy with me?
The waiter arrived with our food and I kept my gaze on the table. I clenched my hands into fists to stop the shaking. Everything I thought was happening between us was not. It had been the thinking of a very naive and very stupid woman.
I was nothing more than a high-class hooker as far as he was concerned, even now. Even after everything that had gone on between us.
The waiter slipped away silently and I sat without moving. Madden picked up his fork and took a bite of his eggs benedict as if nothing were wrong. After his third bite he finally noticed I wasn’t eating.
“I thought you were hungry.”
Red-hot anger burst apart inside me. More at myself for thinking such foolish thoughts, but at Madden too, who made it seem like her really cared about me.
“You’re paying me for my presence, not to eat. Tomorrow I want my money first thing and then I never want to see you again.”
He sighed and set his fork down. “It’s ridiculous not to eat when there is food right in front of you, Skylar.”
He sounded like he was chastising a child and I wanted to grab my crepes and throw them at his head.
“It’s equally ridiculous to treat someone like they’re disposable trash,” I snapped back. How had I ever thought that he was a caring human being?
A deep growl of dissatisfaction came from him and he narrowed his eyes on me. “I have never treated you like garbage. Didn’t I buy you expensive clothes…didn’t I make sure that every need of yours was taken care of before you even asked?” he said through a clenched jaw.
I lifted one eyebrow. Fury boiled in my veins at how dismissive he was being. “You had to create a fake engagement because you are so afraid that some stupid rumor is somehow going to tarnish your sterling image. God, are you really that arrogant to think anyone cares if you copied some paper in college? No one cares, Madden, so get over yourself.”
“Enough.” Steely undertones wrapped around Madden’s command and I hesitated. His eyes had gone black, but not from desire. “If you’re not hungry then we’re leaving.”
With barely restrained tension rolling off him, he stood and held out a stiff hand. I pushed back my chair and got to my feet without touching him. No way was I going to pretend that everything was okay. His jaw clenched. “Put your hand on my arm and walk out with a smile on your face or your not getting a damned cent, Skylar.”
I sucked in a breath. He was blackmailing me now? I laid my hand on the crook of his arm. “You’re an as**shole.”
To my surprise, he laughed but the sound held no humor. “When I need to be, Skylar. When I need to be.”
We left the restaurant together and when we stepped outside, the cameras started clicking. I smiled until my cheeks hurt, and when the car arrived, I smiled until I climbed inside. As soon as the door shut, I yanked my hand away from Madden and pushed myself as far away from him as possible.
“Home Jeff,” Madden said.
I sat up straight. Did he actually think that we were going back to his place and do everything he’d whispered in my ear this morning? “No.”
Madden pinched the bridge of his nose and then exhaled. “I’ll give you your money tonight. There is no reason to draw this out until tomorrow. You’ve fulfilled your side of the bargain and you’re free to go or do whatever you want now. I’ve had your car brought there as well as your things from the hotel.” He turned so that he was looking right at me. The anger was gone, replaced by his usual mask of control. “I meant what I said earlier. You are free. I’ve put measures into place to as**sure that Jacob will never come near you again. I hope that at least, offers you a measure of comfort wherever you go.”
Emotion clogged my throat and my tongue felt thick. How could he be such an as**s one minute and the next, act like a decent human being?
I hated the constant back and forth. I wanted to hate him, but he didn’t owe me anything. I pushed him at the restaurant because I thought there was a connection between us. A chance at something.
But whatever had been there between us last night—even this morning—had been an illusion created by a master magician.
It seemed a lifetime ago already.
We’d driven out of the city and I realized that I didn’t even know where we were going.
“You live outside the city?” Somehow I figured that he would be at the top of some high-rise in the penthouse apartment lording over the city.
