Page 58 of Interview with a Sadist
I scoot past people and say, “Excuse me,” more times than I can count, but by the time I make it back inside, the woman I thought I saw is gone, replaced by two teenagers making out like they’re not in public. I look around to see if I can find her, but it’s no use. Whoever I thought I saw is no longer there.
When I return to Octavia, she frowns. “You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I’m good,” I answer. “I think my mind is just playing tricks on me.”
“Oh, okay. What do you say we get something to eat before we end our evening?”
“Yeah,” I say, still struggling with the image of the woman in the mall. “That sounds good.”
ChapterThirty-Five
“Okay, this is your last chance to make it as clear as possible, because today’s the day I start writing this story. Final warning, Nolan,” I say in a joking voice as I secure the final button on my blouse.
I only have until Wednesday to get a first draft to Chase before he loses it and burns my career to the ground. Missing deadlines is not an option with Chase. I’ve never done it before, and this story won’t be my first time. So, when I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was call Nolan to let him know that this was it. I have no choice but to start, and if he wants to take back what he said about me writing whatever I want to write about him, now is the time to tell me.
“Nothing has changed, Princess,” he says, making me smirk as I do one final makeup check in my bathroom mirror. “I’m not ashamed of my club or anything I’ve done, and I’m certainly not ashamed of you. You're a part of my story now, so whatever you choose to write about is up to you, but I’m good—just the devilish BDSM club owner who met a journalist and grew a very serious attachment to her. Unfortunately, in this shitty society we live in,I’mnot the one who’ll be judged if you decide to write something about us in your story. That’s the part you have to think about.”
“Sadly, that’s very true,” I say on an exhale. I approve of my makeup job and leave the bedroom on my way to the kitchen. “But, one of the many things I’ve learned from you is that the truth is the only part of the narrative I can control. How people react to the truth isn't my responsibility, so I can’t let that decide my path for me. All I can do is inform them. After they have the info, the rest is up to them.”
“Ah, so you actually were listening during our Q&A,” Nolan jokes.
I scoff. “Of course. What did you think I was doing?”
“Fantasizing about bending over my couch.”
I suck in a breath as a smile completely takes over my face. “Oh, well you got me there.”
The two of us laugh as I finish my morning routine in the kitchen. I fill up a small travel mug full of coffee and grab a banana on my way out, before stepping out of the apartment and striding down the hall.
“All right, I’ve got to go now. I’m about to get in the car,” I tell Nolan.
“Okay,” he replies. “I’ll call you later. Please drive safe.”
Again, another smile. “I will. Talk to you later. Bye.”
“Bye,” Nolan says.
I hurriedly drop my phone into my purse and head for the exit. The second the door opens, I nearly fall down the stairs from utter disbelief and shock.
Maddy stands at the bottom of the steps with her hands in the pockets of her black hoodie. The makeup around her eyes is smudged like she’s been crying, and her curly blonde hair is in tatters. She looks like she just dropped out of bed and drove here without a single care about her appearance.
I think to call her name, but it gets lodged in my throat as I stop at the landing and look at her. She glares at me, her face devoid of all emotion but her eyes blazing with intensity. Men think that enraged women are frantic and emotional, but the truth is that a woman with bristling rage in her gut looks exactly the way Maddy does right now—frighteningly calm.
It takes a while before I’m able to bring myself down the stairs. With each step, thoughts form in my head and burst like bubbles all around me. The last few times I’ve been around Nolan, Maddy has been trying to talk to him about something, but he hasn’t done it. It could be about work, but the look on her face would suggest otherwise, and being denied access like that can lead to a problem. Also, Maddy’s hair reminds me of what I thought I saw as I left the mall this weekend. That curly blonde hair stood out to me in the middle of the food court, and looking at it now only makes the memory clearer.
It was her, wasn’t it? But that doesn't make any sense, because how would she know Octavia and I were going to the mall? How would she know we were going to Barnes & Noble? As much as I want the question answered, it still makes no sense, leaving me flustered as I reach the bottom of the steps and come face to face with her.
“What are you doing here, Maddy?” I finally force myself to say. I clear my throat and speak again, hoping my words don’t sound so petrified this time. “Better yet, how do you know where I live?”
“I followed you home from the mall,” she answers as nonchalantly as if she’d just told me the sky is blue. She has no shame or concern that I’d freak out about the admission. There isn’t an ounce of care in any of the pores on Maddy’s face.
“Youwereat the mall. I knew it,” I snip, and the fact that I was right satisfies me and fills me with terror.
“Followed you there, too,” Maddy goes on without moving any part of her body other than her mouth. She’s a robot in a trance. “I’ve been following you since you left the club on Friday night—you know, when you spent all that time in Nolan’s office. Yeah, I knew you were in there, and I’ve practically been outside your apartment since you came home from the mall. You didn't leave yesterday, staying in to enjoy your Sunday while probably sexting Nolan all night. I only left to get food and come back. Even slept in my car last night.”
My eyes bulge. That explains why she looks so distraught right now. This woman has been sitting in a car outside my apartment since Saturday night like a detective on a fucking stakeout. My heart begins to pound like a drum, but I’m also quickly filling with anger that fuses with my fear.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I bark, stepping back like a weapon just suddenly appeared in Maddy’s hand. “Why? Why are you stalking me?”
