Page 62 of Recklessly, Wildly Yours

I glance up and find him studying me. Of all my brothers, Hayden’s the one who manages us, ensuring no harm comes to anyone. He’s the one who pays attention to all the details and sees things others don’t. It’s why he’s one of the top lawyers in New York; nothing gets past him. “You’re trying to figure out what Madeline means to me.”

“No. I’ve already figured that out.”

I sit back. “What is it then?”

“I’m thinking about how relaxed you seem. Compared to before you left for Europe.”

“I was a mess when I left. Anything would seem relaxed compared.”

“Well, you could have come home in the same mess.” He wears no smile and his voice is tight.

“You’re pissed off. Why?”

“I’m not pissed off. I’m just working through my frustration with you.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, his gaze intense with emotion. “I was worried about you, Ethan. Dad found you in a state, coked-up and fucked up over Samantha, and you took off before we had a chance to get you through that. I understood why you needed to go away, but you shut us out. You didn’t let us help you.” His voice is thick with the same emotion that blazes in his eyes, which is highly unusual for Hayden. Out of all my brothers, he’s the one who keeps his feelings locked up tight. “I swear, if you ever pull that shit again, I’ll hunt you down myself and drag you home, kicking and fucking screaming if I have to.”

He has every right to say all of this to me. I did shut my family out when Samantha betrayed me. I did lose myself in drugs and booze for a while. And I did refuse all the help they offered. I was an asshole and there’s nothing I regret more in my life than the way I treated them over the last fifteen months.

“I’m sorry,” I say and I’ve never meant it more. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have shut you out.”

He watches me for another few moments before settling back against his seat, satisfied with that part of our conversation. “So, Madeline. Her ex is a piece of work. And her manager is even worse. How is she?”

“She’s holding up.”

“But?”

I release a breath, angry now that I’m thinking about those assholes. “No but. She’s stronger than I think she realizes.”

He nods slowly, thinking. “Good. She’s going to need that strength today. It’s going to get nasty with her manager.”

There’s something in his tone. “What doesn’t she know here?”

He picks his briefcase up and stands. “Let’s go up to her. I think she should be the first to hear what I have to say.”

Ten minutes later, after he meets Maddie and they chat for a bit, he turns serious and, after we all sit, says, “The contract you signed with Darren is a shitshow. And that’s being generous. But my job is to get the best outcome for you here and that’s what I’m going to do.”

It’s unlike Hayden to speak so plainly with anyone but his family and friends.

Maddie takes a deep breath and holds her composure. “Okay.”

Hayden details the appallingly high percentage Madeline’s lawyer allowed her to agree to when she signed the contract with Darren, as well as the termination clauses that aren’t in her interest, including a hefty penalty for early termination. He then goes on to tell her all the ways Tucker and Darren have screwed her over with poor royalties for the songs she collaborated on with Tucker, in particular the sync royalties for a song of theirs that was used in a movie. Rather than the same royalty split, Tucker took seventy percent, and since the movie was one of the highest grossing movies of the last decade, the income she’s missing out on is significant.

Maddie doesn’t crumble in the way I think many people would when given bad news like this. Instead, she sits tall and says, “Right, so that’s where we are. How do we get from here to where I want to be?”

Hayden looks at her with respect. “Good question. The answer relies on my determination of a few things first.”

“What things?” Maddie asks like she expects this question to be easy to answer. The way Hayden takes a moment to reply, and the way he doesn’t rush his words, tells me this isn’t going to be the case. In fact, he appears quite hesitant about it all.

“You have a few options,” he starts with. “This exercise could cost you millions if you just want to pay the penalty to terminate, or you could choose legal action to challenge the contract in court, which would likely be lengthy and expensive . . . or it could cost you a lot less. It just depends on how aggressively you want me to negotiate on your behalf.”

Maddie appears confused. “Well, I guess I just assumed you’d be as aggressive as needed. Am I wrong?”

Fuck, I know where he’s going with this and what it tells me is that he really does understand that I have strong feelings for Maddie. He wouldn’t be about to offer what he is if he thought she was just casual sex to me.

“You’re not wrong,” Hayden says. “But there are varying levels of aggressive.” He pauses before finally revealing his cards. “It’s come to my attention that Darren and Tucker are heavily into illegal gambling. They’ve made a lot of money from it that they’ve funneled into offshore accounts. I imagine Darren would be amenable to terminating his contract with you if I were to mention this, and that we could negotiate a better contract with Tucker for your royalties.”

Maddie stares at him, stunned. “You want to blackmail them?”

Hayden holds her stare without so much as a blink. I’ve watched many people underestimate my brother over the years simply because he’s a nice guy. The thing is, underneath that niceness is a ruthless and calculating lawyer who doesn’t hesitate to act when the situation calls for it. Most people think Gage is the Black brother not to be fucked with, but I know better. Hayden is the one not to be crossed. And when it comes to his family, and by extension, the people his family care about, he will do whatever it takes to help them when they’re crossed.

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