“And now that I think about it,” Mila added, “did you bring my aunt just so she could be an alibi?”
Maddox stared ahead of him. “I have no idea what you mean by that.”
Mila made a tsking noise. “You think of everything.”
“I have to.” Maddox leaned forward on his desk. “Things will change after the gala though. I promise.”
“I hope so.” He could picture her pouting and it made him smile. That was also new since the vacation, and it made her even cuter. “This seemed fun at first but now I’m tired of it. And when I talked to my mom, she mentioned these rumors that you’d been seen with a woman on your yacht, and I had to act like it wasn’t me. Or that I didn’t care.”
“And do you care?” Maddox genuinely wondered if that would bother her now.
“Of course I care!” She sighed again in exasperation. “It was so hard not to tell her it was me. And it was irritating hearing her talk like you were wining and dining some other woman.”
Maddox’s lips curved up. “I would never do that.”
“No?”
“Of course not. I value my life. I can’t even imagine what you’d do to me if that happened.” He tried to sound casual, but he meant it on some level.
After a pause, Mila said, “You’re so annoying sometimes.”
“I try.” He grinned. “After the gala, I can annoy you in public.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Mila grunted. “Are we still on for tonight? Cathy’s getting takeout.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Maddox liked her aunt. She didn’t expect him to act like a billionaire and take them to extravagant restaurants and it was kind of a needed break from society life. And since Mila was close to her, it was nice to spend time with someone Mila cared about.
When they ended the call and Maddox got up to wrap up for the day, he thought he heard someone right outside the door.
It was shut and no one was outside as work had ended for most people. Still, Maddox wondered if anyone heard his conversation with Mila. His mind replayed the conversation, but he couldn’t recall if he said her name or gave away whom he was talking to in some other way.
He tried to shake it off. He was just paranoid because of the secrecy. And it wouldn’t matter soon anyway.