CHAPTER 13
Maddox couldn’t believe that Mila had up and quit as promised. No notice, no nothing. She was just gone.
And he should have immediately carried out his threats, but he didn’t. He didn’t even want to, which was more puzzling.
Worse, Mila was still on his mind a few days later as he arrived at a cocktail party hosted at a business associate’s house. Maddox should either have carried out his threats or forgotten about her by now. So, he tried to push that aside and focus on the task at hand.
As he mingled, moving from room to room, his eyes fell on the silhouette of someone he recognized immediately. Even from behind.
He marched over to Mila, ignoring everyone else, while she chatted in a corner by the stucco fireplace with a man he knew too well.
“Wes,” Maddox said, completely interrupting them. Wes was one of Jalen’s friends and a notorious playboy.
Wes met his eyes with a puzzled look as he took his outstretched hand. “Maddox,” he said, imitating Maddox’s flat tone. Wes smiled at Mila and put his arm around her as they faced him. “Have you met Mila Nelson?”
Instead of noticing Mila’s reaction, all he could see was Wes’ hand on Mila’s bare arm. “I heard someone was looking for you,” Maddox told Wes tersely.
Wes stared at him as Maddox motioned with his head as subtly as possible for Wes to scram.
Wes stared him down but finally dropped his hand. His jaw flexed, but he smiled brightly at Mila. “Sorry to abandon you but I should go talk to them. I’ll see you this weekend.” He cut Maddox a look that told him he wouldn’t forget this before leaving.
Once rid of Wes, Maddox said, “Whatever he said to you, he probably said to ten other women before you tonight.”
Mila narrowed her eyes as she focused on him again. “As if you should talk.”
Maddox ignored that. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“A favor for my mother.” Mila gazed around. “You’re alone?”
It was a strange question but there was no reason to lie. “Yes.”
Mila registered surprise.
“Anyway,” Maddox continued, unsure what to make of that, “you’re awfully relaxed for someone who’s about to be the center of a scandal.”
Mila lifted her chin. “What of it? Do you think I’m going to run or something?”
Maddox smirked. “You act tough, but you agreed to the terms, so I assume underneath, you’re scared.”
She didn’t even blink. “I decided it’s not worth it.”
“Not worth what?” His eyebrows knitted together.
“This.” She waved her hand in his general direction. “It’s one thing to order me around and tell me I’m too slow. It’s quite another to engage in slimy locker room talk about me with your colleagues as if I’m the company floozy and not a legitimate employee.” Her eyes hardened as she spoke. “Then, you fire a perfectly good employee for no reason. Why should I bother?”
It took a moment to remember, but then a recent conversation with a few of his colleagues came back to him. Maddox cleared his throat. “That conversation wasn’t what it sounded like.”
“Oh, so I didn’t hear you imply that the assistant bit is a ruse for what’s really going on?” Mila folded her arms.
Maddox moistened his lips. He knew he should’ve ignored them that day. “What do you want?”
Mila inhaled. “Give Parker his job back.”
“And?” He quirked an eyebrow. There was no way that was all she wanted.
“And in return, I’ll stick to our original agreement. But”–Mila aimed a finger at his face–“if you ever suggest to anyone again that I’m more than your employee, I will make you regret the day you were born.”
He thought of his round with the laxative and decided to take her seriously. “Fair enough.”
Mila slowly dropped her finger. “Fine. Then I’ll see you at work on Monday.”
She started to leave, but Maddox grabbed her arm. She spun back toward him and lost balance. As he put his arm out to stabilize her, she tilted forward and crashed against him.
As she stood up straight, still leaning against him, their eyes locked. “Let go,” she whispered.
“Why?” He noticed she was still letting him support her weight. “If they’re gossiping about us, they won’t have a chance to notice your history with a certain person.”
“What about your girlfriend?” She looked puzzled.
“What are you talking about?” Maddox wondered what rumors were going around about him now.
“My mother is upset because she heard you have a girlfriend.” Mila’s eyes looked sincere.
Maddox shrugged. “So? It’s just a rumor.”