Devil in a Suit

“Doing what?” Tyler asked, lifting his eyebrows slightly.

I stifled a laugh, trying not to draw attention to us. I wanted to linger here for as long as possible. I knew that I needed to be making connections, but I wanted to have a little fun too.

“Everything,” I replied, shooting him a wink over the magazine stand.

“Careful. Don’t think I won’t drag you off somewhere and have my way with you,” Tyler warned me in a low voice.

Honestly, that sounded like a dream right now. I considered teasing him some more just to spite him and make him act on his words, but I stopped myself. I didn’t want to risk us getting caught.

“A girl can dream,” I told him, smiling at him briefly before walking away. I had to force each and every step.

I needed to find someone else to talk to. There were loads of connections that I could make here. I glanced around, searching for a group to infiltrate. I had to blend in like I did at the gala. With Tyler’s advice in mind, I approached a group, listening in on their conversation and trying to find a moment to jump in.

“Everything is online nowadays. You can talk to doctors, get prescriptions, anything!” one man said to the three other people in the group.

“Therapy is online too,” a woman added.

I stepped closer to the group.

“I feel like that accessibility can really help certain groups of people,” I spoke up, drawing their eyes to me. My entire business idea was built off of the building block of accessibility. Resources needed to be easier to find and access so that more people knew about them and used them.

“What groups of people?” the man asked, giving me a curious look.

There was my chance.

“College students and recent graduates, for instance,” I said with a determined smile. “In fact, I’m working on a business plan with some colleagues that focuses on creating accessible avenues to important resources for people in that group.”

“Huh, what an interesting idea,” the man replied, his eyes widening slightly out of interest. He reached his hand out to me. “I’m Spencer Jenkins.”

“Madison Palmer,” I introduced myself, keeping my giddy smile at bay as much as I could. I believed that I successfully found a way into the conversation, allowing myself to plug my own business as a result. This was how business worked. “What’s your business?”

“Health insurance,” Spencer told me once our hands broke apart.

“Oh, wow. Interesting!” I replied as a smile quirked up on my face. “We actually wanted to dedicate a portion of our platform to connecting college students and graduates to affordable insurance plans.”

As Spencer launched into his own pitch about his health insurance business, I couldn’t help but feel determination strike me. A lot of uncertainty and anxiety shadowed me when I thought about my future and my business idea. Who knew what was going to happen or if I was going to amount to anything? However, moments like these made me realize that I did have a chance at doing what I wanted to do if I put my mind to it.

It also helped that I had Tyler in my corner. I didn’t see him as an asset. I saw him as a motivator, a guide. It meant a lot that he tried to help me, but he also gave me enough space to grow on my own. Even if he had some room to grow as well, he was a good businessman to look up to.

Before I could further dive into my conversation with Spencer, I felt someone step up next to me. I turned to look to my right, feeling an arm brush mine. I thought it was Tyler at first, but I couldn’t mistake the cocky expression that belonged to Brandon Krouse.

“It sounds like your business is booming, Spencer. Odyssey has been seeing similar results as of late,” Brandon commented as he flashed his bold grin at Spencer. He then turned to look at me, his eyes drifting up my figure without any shame. “It’s nice to see you again, Madison. I just had a talk with your lovely friend, Sara.”

Plenty of combative words rested on the tip of my tongue as I forced myself not to glare at Brandon in front of Spencer.

“Nice to see you as well,” I replied, waiting a moment to see if Brandon was going to go off and bother someone else. When I realized that he was here to stay, I decided to pick up this conversation with Spencer at a later time. “Spencer, it was great talking to you. Let’s connect soon, okay?”

“Of course,” Spencer said with a polite smile and nod.

I turned and walked the other way, wanting to get far from Brandon. I would rather spend my time with literally anyone else besides the cockiest person in the room. That was saying a lot since Sara was also here. I only made it a few feet before I felt a hand on my arm.