Page 13 of It's Never Not Been You

“Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” Raddix replied, ripping my heart down the middle all over again.

“I just want to know who will be offered the free services, so that I can incorporate that into my marketing strategy,” I lied.

Staring into my eyes, he said, “I’ll get you a list of the stipulations.”

“Uhm…that’ll be a great idea,” Brooke said after clearing her throat. “That will…uhm, also help weed out…uh, people trying to take advantage of…of the program.”

“It also…for legal purposes, too…” Ashford muttered, everyone clearly beside themselves with how stifling it felt in here.

Troy leaned forward in his chair. “Well, that’s where I come in,” he announced. “So, how about I get with Mr. Simpson to give him of an idea of where we stand legally, Caspian can work with you, Ms. Singer, to give you an idea of what we’re looking for in our marketing budget, and Raddix can work with Madison on presentation.”

Brooke scowled. “Well, that’s not how we normally do-” Raddix shot her a look, shutting her down. “Oh…uh, of course,” she quickly stammered. “Whatever works for McKay Engineering.”

Even if Eris hadn’t dished everything that she knew about Raddix last night, the way that Brooke had backed down was enough to tell me that Raddix’s last name held some serious weight in this city now. His millions weren’t a myth, and a part of me wondered if he’d sold his soul for that kind of success so fast. It was nearly unheard of for a company to reach that kind of pinnacle in only two years.

“Well, now that we’ve settled all that, I think it’s time that we let you good people get back to your day,” Troy said as he stood up, signaling the end of this messed-up situation.

I stayed seated as Troy gave Ashford his card, and Caspian did the same with Brooke. I sat, staring at Raddix, my stomach rolling into itself, hoping that he didn’t pass me his business card. Unless Raddix had changed his phone number, I didn’t need his card. I knew his phone number like I knew my own, something that I’d wanted to forget over the past twelve months. During those first few weeks, when the lonely nights had been the worst, it’d been so hard not to call him and ask him why. Even blocking him from my life hadn’t erased his phone number, address, or face from my memory, and I had tried my best; for twelve months I had tried.

Finally standing up, Raddix looked down at me. “You already have my number,” he stated unnecessarily. “I think it’s about time you unblock me, don’t you think?”

No one else said a word as the three men exited the room, no ‘thank you’ handshakes in sight. They hadn’t come here in good faith, and there was no denying that now. This had been personal, and I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to keep my job without letting Brooke know what was going on.

After a few awkward seconds, Brooke said, “Ashford, can you give me and Madison a moment, please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he rushed out, and if my emotions weren’t taking a beating right now, I’d laugh at how quickly he gathered his stuff, then raced out of the conference room.

As soon as Ashford cleared the door, Brooke asked, “Do you want to tell me what all that was about?”

Knowing that there was no way out of this if I wanted to keep my job, I told her the truth. “Raddix McKay and I used to date.”

“Date?” she echoed, arching a brow suspiciously.

“Used to be engaged,” I corrected. “A year ago.”

“Jesus Christ,” she muttered, running a hand through her perfectly-styled blonde hair. “That’s just freakin’ great.”

I kept my mouth shut because we both knew that this was anything but great.

Chapter 9

Raddix~

Caspian and Troy had wisely kept their mouths shut after leaving House Marketing yesterday, and they were wisely avoiding me today. I hadn’t been prepared to see Madison, no matter how I had tried to convince myself that I’d been. I hadn’t been prepared to hear her voice, see that stunning face of hers, or to feel just how much she hated me still.

As for Maddie’s Pet Place, everything was set to go, with or without the marketing ideas from Brooke, Ashford, or Madison. I hadn’t made millions by being unprepared or stupid in business, so we were ready to launch the program, and all the legal Ts had been crossed and all the moral I’s had been dotted. However, if Madison wanted me to make all the services free for everyone, then I’d do that. Right now, everything was going to be determined by a credit check, but I could easily change that up for Madison. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her that I’d do anything that she wanted.

After leaving House Marketing yesterday, I’d gone back to work, choosing to do my job over getting drunk. Though I wouldn’t consider myself an alcoholic, it’d be easy for me to become one. The first few weeks after Madison had left me, I hadn’t been able to cope without drinking every night. I had needed a numbing agent to get through the torturous nights, and I had chosen alcohol over drugs or meaningless sex. When my parents had finally stepped in because they’d been worried, I had turned all my energy to building McKay Engineering into what it was today, but that didn’t mean that I still didn’t need a numbing agent to get me through certain days. The anniversary of that high school party and the day of our wedding had been brutal for me, and I wasn’t looking forward to the dates ever again.

So, in choosing to be productive over choosing to drink my regret away, I was back at House Marketing, knowing that Madison hadn’t unblocked my number from her phone and probably never would if I left her with the choice. While I didn’t have an appointment, I knew that Madison couldn’t turn me away and still keep her job. By now, Brooke Singer had to know all about our past, and I hadn’t gotten a call this morning to cancel our business together, so that told me all that I needed to know about who had the upper hand here.

When I reached the receptionist, she immediately recognized me from yesterday. “Hello, Mr. McKay,” she greeted. “How may I help you today?”

“While I don’t have an appointment, I was hoping to be able to speak with Madison Amber,” I answered. “She’s working on a marketing plan for McKay Engineering.”

“Oh, of course,” she replied happily as she reached for her phone.

Five minutes later, Madison was exiting one of the elevators, and she looked pissed, but still very beautiful. In fact, she always looked like sex-on-wheels whenever she’d been pissed at me. Madison had never been the meek type, and our make-up sex had always been worth whatever fight that we’d been having. Madison had always had a fiery personality, and the woman didn’t lack sexual confidence.

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