Page 162 of Savage Bosses

M

adison Montgomery was trying to mind fuck me, and I was falling for it. Her digs bore under my skin, but I couldn’t fault her professional recommendation. Her tactics worked, consistently surpassing expectations. Who was I to challenge her methods?

A knock on the door drew my attention from the militant gleam in Madison’s dark brown eyes. Their depths drew me in on more than one occasion during our meeting, bewitched where they should have repulsed.

Omar opened the door, and I reluctantly turned to face him. “Your 10:30 appointment is here.”

I nodded and stood, ready to leave, until I caught the smile Omar sent Madison’s way, although it was her reaction that froze me in place. Her face relaxed and although she wasn’t flirting with Omar, her warm reception rankled.

“Omar, set up a space in my office for Madison,” I said when I stood in front of the door.

“But I thought you wanted her as far aw—”

“That won’t work any longer. Make sure she has a desk, computer, and office phone by the end of the day.” I left them feeling their unvoiced questions slamming into my back.

Even if I had an answer, I wouldn’t give them one. I curled my fingers into a fist, squeezing my hand since I couldn’t punch my frustration out. All during my meeting, I kept picturing Madison, smiling at the employees, accepting their compliments, and charming my staff in ways I hadn’t.

The urge to kick myself grew every time I saw some comments on that website she showed me. I should have memorized usernames, one in particular. What had she called herself? Now that I was her client, did she plan to comment in the chats?

“I’m sorry to say,” the words spoken by a prospective investor I’d been wooing for three months finally penetrated my self-absorption. “As long as this cloud hangs over your head, we can’t move forward with our talks.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but you should trust that this case will be closed by the time we’re ready to announce our alliance. My and the company’s names will be cleared. And if we continue now, we’ll finish due diligence once that happens and can make a public announcement.”

“Kent, our board is sensitive to your plight, but we have our image to worry about. We’ve recently survived a scandal of our own and we’re not ready to expose ourselves to another so soon. I’m not saying we’re completely closing the door on working together. We’ll be more open once you come back to us when you’re on the other side of this. Until then, we don’t have a deal.” He stood to shake my hand.

With more calm than I felt, I returned the gesture and bid him farewell. Alone in the conference room, I breathed in and out to refocus my anger. It was pointless to expect it to disappear. For the past eight years, fury has been my constant companion. Since losing my Lola, I haven’t known peace.

Nothing worked. Not when I exacted my vengeance on the piece of shit that drove her to run the red light. Not the doctors who delayed treatment until they realized who her husband was. And not the dreams. No, they made everything worse. After all this time, they still did.

Lola’s voice grew fainter as the years passed, but the circumstances surrounding her death still haunted me. She still haunted me. That she wasn’t with me today amplified my rage for the smallest provocation.

“Kent,” Omar’s voice reminded me where I was. “I have maintenance and IT here to set up Madison’s desk.”

Madison… another woman who incited my anger was about to work feet across from me and I was at fault. Why had I insisted on her being in my space when I’d initially told Omar to place her twenty floors below?

“Send them in.”

As the people filed in, one person was missing.

“Where’s Madison?” I barked at Omar.

“Mal took her for an early lunch to commemorate her first day.” The easygoing attitude fell away once Omar clocked the storm brewing around me. “He took her to Kori’s Food Truck.” Omar fiddled with his phone. “You’re in luck. She’s in front of City Hall. Ever since Douglas’ First Lady named them in The Douglas Times’ article, Kori appears there regularly.”

I nodded and stormed past Omar. Sloane De Luca may have put Kori on the map, but Mal was trying to seduce Madison with her food, and like hell would I let him succeed. I didn’t bother questioning why the thought of Mal making moves on her bothered me. I’d just lost a valuable investor, and she needed to answer for that.

When I arrived at City Hall, finding Mal and Madison wasn’t hard. A beautiful, dark-skinned woman and a handsome Asian man weren’t typical in Colorado.

As I drew closer, their proximity recharged the irritation I’d held onto since Madison’s arrival. Those two needed a few more feet of separation for me to calm the rage building inside me. Although calling what I felt rage rested on my shoulders like an ill-fitting suit, there was no other plausible emotion I could name.

Instead of wasting time to figure out my situation, I rushed to interrupt Mal and Madison’s intimate lunch.

“Now you know I’m going to tell everyone that we’re the new M&M. Just look at how good we look together.” Mal stretched his hand forward and snapped a quick selfie shot. But that wasn’t what stopped me cold.

Madison’s laughter as she tilted her head back and let the sun sprinkle its rays against her skin held me transfixed. My gut clenched, and I tried to swallow, but doing so was a challenge. I wasn’t blind. I could recognize a beautiful woman while feeling nothing for her. That had been my state for the last six months, so why now?

The gentle smile slipped from her lips as she caught sight of me. I immediately missed the way it softened her face.

“What are you doing here?” She asked me.

---