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Madison casts me a nasty look, before she turns to the guy and happily accepts one of the champagne flutes.
“Thank you, Max,” she pipes, as she beams at him. I watch as they happily clink glasses, seemingly now oblivious to my presence.
They both take a sip of their champagne without looking at me, and as Madison makes no attempt to introduce me, I’m hit with an unpleasant assumption.
Is this her boyfriend? The guy who can make Madison smile with such ease?
Do I really want to know?
I swallow the bitterness and turn around, striding away from them both, my footsteps echoing in the hollows of my own thoughts. I don’t know why, but I expect her to call after me, to iron out this bothersome suspicion that could turn everything into ashes before it even begins. No part of my plan will work if Madison has a boyfriend who she is committed to be loyal to.
A boyfriend who makes her smile like that. A boyfriend who makes her forget I even exist.
A taste of bitterness lingers on my tongue, as I walk away, an uninvited guest refusing to be ignored.
Of course a woman like that would have a boyfriend. It was dumb of me to assume otherwise. Still, there was a small part of me that believed she was flirting with me, despite her snappy attitude. Or that, maybe, this snappy demeanor is her way of flirting.
There’s no way of knowing now, but I will know when the evening is over—I’ll make sure of that.
Chapter 16
Madison
“And who was that yummy man who just walked away with that incredibly handsome but sulky face?” Max wants to know. “He looked like we took his favorite toy away from him.”
I produce a chuckle, trying to ignore my trembling nerves. Seeing Chase here rocked me back on my heels. Of course, he’s right. We work in the same sector and this event is one of the biggest opportunities to network with people of distinction and to be recognized as such. It was dumb of me to assume that he wouldn’t be here. It may have been wishful thinking, considering the spotlight will fall on me in a few minutes and I hate the thought of seeing him in the crowd with that condescending smile on his annoyingly handsome face and…
“Madison, hello-oh!”
Max moves his hand in a waving motion in front of my face, and I startle as he rips me from my musings. I hadn’t even realized that my eyes had been locked on Chase’s back the entire time.
“Wait, don’t tell me…” Max ponders, still void of a response from me. “It’s him, isn’t it?!”
I can feel his hand close around my upper arm now, and find Max excitedly craning his neck as he gazes after Chase.
“Yes, that would be Chase Keaton,” I say in a low voice. “The guy who wants to buy my father’s company.”
Max releases a long “Damn,” before he empties his champagne.
“What a delicious piece of man,” he adds. “Yeah, I get it now.”
“Get what?”
He laughs and looks at me with a furrowed brow as if to indicate he thought me deliberately obtuse.
“Why you’re so unraveled by this dude. I mean, look at him! He looks good enough to eat! Too bad he’s straight.”
I shrug. “How do you know he’s straight?”
Max laughs, even louder this time, and shakes his head, as he moves his hand on my shoulder. “Trust me, I know. The way he looked at you, and then at me? That guy is not only straight, he’s also very much into you, Madison.”
“He’s not!” I object, raising my voice enough to receive a few looks from the people surrounding us. Heat rises to my cheeks, and I’m pretty sure it’s not due to the champagne. “He’s just…”
I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
“Jealous,” Max concludes. “He was jealous when he saw me with you.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. The only thing that guy wants from me is my company.”
