I was watching a master at work, a playful, effervescent genius who strung together international mergers on his cell while tossing Cheerios into his mouth with his other hand. It reached the point where he and Caleb unofficially moved into Madison’s house, so the four of us could live and work together to stop the bleeding, to repair the damage Robert had incurred on the company. We worked so diligently, turning deals so quickly that business school students would be studying the James Cross methods of mergers and acquisitions for years to come.
We became a well-oiled team, every one of us falling effortlessly into our roles as we moved the pieces slowly around the board. Each play started with Madison; she was the bait, the hook, the line, and the sinker. She reeled in new clients with that Montgomery charm that made grown men melt or cry with just a flutter of her lashes. Caleb and I handled everything else, hammering out the actual language for each and every deal. We created massive international mergers between bites of Chinese takeout, our fingers flying so fast over the keys of our computers that Caleb swore he was getting cramps.
James was our closer, the man who pulled together everything we did and knocked it out of the park. It was as if no one could say no to him, even if some part of them wanted to and even it if made better practical sense. That spell he put on me the first night we got together was by no means a rare thing; it was universal, like flying too close to the sun. Sooner or later, that gravitational pull sucked everyone right in.
What was even stranger about the immense and important work we completed was that we accomplished none of it at the office. James and I took to avoiding the place like the plague, and when Madison and Caleb realized they had to work with us from the house, they called David, our supervisor, and made sure the telecommuting was cleared. Caleb stopped in at Cross Enterprises once a week to appraise and update everyone on our progress, but other than that, we were a work-from-home team, achieving greatness strictly within the confines of our house.
THREE WEEKS FLEW BY in a blur, yet they seemed to stretch on forever, each more surreal than the last. Every moment earned a permanent place in my memory, and part of me couldn’t believe it when it was finally over.
“Well, that’s it.” Madison packed the last file in her briefcase and looked around the empty kitchen table in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. Look what we’ve done.”
“Believe it.” Caleb stretched his arm around her shoulders and let out a wide yawn. The first night he stayed over, he slept on the couch, but he’d spent every night since in her bedroom, and I was sure neither of them got much sleep. “I have the carpel tunnel to prove it.”
“All for someone else’s team.” I flashed him a grin as I wandered into the kitchen in my office best. We hadn’t been to the office in almost a month, and I wanted to dress for the occasion, but I actually felt a bit unsteady on my heels after walking around in sneakers and slippers for so long. “All that work, just to help Madison and me win the competition. We’ll make sure to get you a t-shirt from the Alps.”
“It wasn’t just for the competition,” James interjected quietly from his chair in the far corner as he watched the three of us get ready with a thoughtful kind of reflection. “This will fix things, put the company back on track.” He bowed his head and ran a finger absentmindedly around the rim of his empty mug. “This will make things better.”
As the others headed out the door, I hung back with a curious smile. “Aren’t you coming?”
He glanced up suddenly, then stretched out his arms and shook his head. “No, go on. This is your moment to shine. You certainly earned it. You’re smart and brilliant. It’s what I love about you.”
“We earned it?” I stepped toward him in surprise, because it had never once occurred to me that he wouldn’t join us for the celebrations and accolades. “You earned it. It was all you, James. It wouldn’t have happened without you, and you deserve credit for that. You should really come.”
His face softened as he gazed up at me with a gentle smile.
Over the last few weeks, James had taken to sleeping in my bed too, but it wasn’t that we did much besides sleeping. Most nights, we fell onto the mattress around three in the morning, only to get up again at five. It was not exactly a situation conducive to lovemaking, but it was sweet and tender somehow. There was something wonderful about just falling asleep together and waking up in each other’s arms.
Still, that unanswered question hung over our heads.
“You go on,” he said again, pushing to his feet. “I have something to take care of, a visit that’s long overdue.”
My eyes flickered over him curiously, but I headed out the door with a smile. “Okay. Will you meet us afterward somewhere? Maybe at a bar, to celebrate.”
“Perfect. I’ll call you.” He kissed me swiftly on the lips before tossing a jacket over his shoulder and walking me to the door. “Enjoy all this, Della. You really deserve it.”
I flashed him a grin, then piled into the Town Car to join my waiting friends.
“See you soon.”
The door slammed shut, and a moment later, we were barreling down the streets of London, ready to find out if we won that illustrious competition after all.
Chapter 20
I READ ONCE THAT IT is ten times harder to be a gracious winner than it is to be a gracious loser, but apparently, Madison and I never learned that lesson. “Victory!” I screamed from the elevator the second the door opened in the lobby, throwing my arms in the air and strutting like a model on steroids across the tile floor.
A chorus of laughter sprang up from every corner of the room, followed by a spattering of applause. News in the building traveled fast, quickly trickling down from the sixtieth floor, and for the next few weeks, Madison and I would be hailed as warrior queens. The rest of them simply had to fall in line behind our greatness.
“That’s right, bitches,” Madison said with a smirk. “You should be scared.” Unlike me, she decided to express her celebratory spirit in a rather dark way, one that predictably suited her just fine.
Caleb followed behind us like an obedient puppy, smiling to himself whenever our antics got too dramatic and theatrical to ignore. It wasn’t until Madison leapt up on the receptionist’s counter and started challenging random people to arm wrestle that he threw her silently over his shoulder and walked us both out into the sun. “Perhaps you are forgetting the little people,” he murmured, setting Madison down on her feet with a grin. “Surely you two champions had some help on this endeavor, a little...wind beneath your wings.”
Madison shook her head, looking confused. “Hmm. I don’t think so,” she lied.
Meanwhile, I wrapped my arm around Caleb in a giant hug. “We couldn’t have done it without ya, buddy.”
Madison jumped up on his shoulders, unable to control her energy. “That’s right! Without you, we’d just be ordinary peasants, wandering nomads, worthless and weak. But now?”
I threw my arms in the air again as I perched atop a bench at a nearby bus stop. “Now we’re the kings of the world!”