Devil in a Suit

“I worked my ass off after he ditched me. I was sure to tell some of our supporters what he pulled. Most of them chose to support me instead of him, so he had to scramble around for support while I got Ashland Consulting up and running,” I explained to her. I had a jumpstart on Brandon, but it didn’t take him long to catch up.

“I knew he was a terrible person, but I had no idea that he was that bad,” Madison said as she leaned against me more.

I lifted my arm and slid it over her shoulders, tucking her into my side. It was nice to have her on my side. Brandon had still tricked plenty of people into thinking that he was a good person. I didn’t want her to be one of them.

“I want you to do whatever you want to do. Obviously, I would hate it if you worked for Brandon, but I know it’s hard to pass up an offer like that,” I told her as I rubbed her arm gently.

Madison turned so that she could wrap her arms around me. She pressed her cheek against my chest, and I could tell that she was peering up at me.

“I would never work for Brandon. He’s awful… and I wouldn’t do that to you,” she said.

My heart jolted slightly at her words. She sounded so sincere, so kind. She had no idea how much those words meant to me. Honestly, their drastic effect surprised me too. It was nice not being used or betrayed for money or success. It seemed like she genuinely cared about me.

“Thank you,” I found myself saying. I moved my head down until my lips touched hers in a gentle kiss. I held the touch, merely feeling her lips against mine. Even if it wasn’t as intense or chaotic as our usual kisses, this one made me feel warm all over. When we broke apart, a smile lingered on my face.

“Besides, I even turned you down,” Madison pointed out with a small laugh.

“For your own business, which I completely support. You’re smart enough to lead your own charge instead of following someone else’s,” I told her as I held her close to my side. I didn’t want her to work under anyone, following orders and letting her own creative ideas go to waste. She could do so much more as the boss of her own company, even if she shared the responsibility with her friends.

“So, I’m wasting my time working for you?” Madison asked, her smirk evident in her voice.

I playfully picked her up, squeezing her body against mine as a shrill giggle burst from her. I set her down as our quiet laughter mingled. Even the air around us felt warm. When I was with her, things just felt different, like I was in some warm, fluffy haze. It was the strangest thing.

“You’re learning very valuable things from me,” I told her, feeling her hand graze mine before holding it.

“Like how to skip out on business conferences and have sneaky sex?” Madison replied, sounding amused.

I supposed that I wasn’t being a very good boss right now since I had dragged her away from valuable opportunities and information to have sex with me. I told myself to treat her like I was her boss, not her boyfriend.

“Alright, you made your point,” I muttered. We had to split apart for the rest of the conference so that she could make some connections. Meanwhile, I would be having conversations that I could sleep through. I had been to too many of these events.

Madison leaned close to my ear. “I enjoyed the lesson,” she whispered.

Feeling her soft lips brush my ear nearly made me shudder. I swallowed hard, telling myself to actually behave for the rest of the conference. We had already disappeared for too long. We needed to show our faces again, acting like nothing had happened.

“We have to make it through at least another hour. Can you do that?” I asked her. I wanted to leave this conference as soon as possible, but I wasn’t going to make myself look even more suspicious by dipping out too early. People made it a point to hunt me down at these conferences to chat me up about their businesses. They would notice if I made a run for it abnormally early.

“I’ll try to behave,” Madison said, running a finger down my chest. Her footsteps sounded throughout the room until she opened the door, letting light flood inside. She fixed her hair before stepping out into the hallway, leaving me alone.

I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I watched her go. I lingered for a few minutes, not wanting anyone to see us leave this room together. That was too obvious. This girl was going to get me in trouble, but I hardly cared. She was a thrill, an adventure. I never saw any other woman or even another person like that before.