Two Bar Mitzvahs (No Weddings #3)(20)

“Madison.” I stopped three feet away, dropping my hands in my pockets. I had no desire to touch her, and she needed to understand that fact with no room for misinterpretation.

The artificial smile that had been curved onto her face faltered. “No ‘hello’? Are we not able to be friends yet?”

I sighed. Did I really need to go through the motions of something I didn’t feel? “Not yet. I’m still trying to figure out how we’re standing in the same hallway.”

Her mouth tightened, spreading into a thin line. “It’s good to see you too, Cade. You look great.”

My jaw tensed, but I worked it loose, forcing myself to relax. “You’re here, I’m here. How do you propose we coexist in the same space professionally? That’s all I’m interested in.”

Her gaze swept down my body and back up. Her lips twisted into a smirk. “I don’t know, Cade. You tell me?”

The question was rhetorical, laced with heavy sexual undertones. Which pissed me the f*ck off. Yet in this game, I didn’t hold the cards, she did. Until there was no reason not to, I would play nice. Even though my gut told me she wanted to do everything besides, regardless of her request to be friends. “What’s your position here?” I needed to know what kind of minefield I had to navigate.

“General Manager.”

Fuck.

Impressive, and shocking. Either she’d fast-tracked her education and experience in the two years she’d been away, or she’d taken advantage of more efficient ways of advancement. The latter thought may have been callous, but I had no misconception about what she was capable of. And using her body to climb to the top wouldn’t have surprised me, sexual addiction or not.

Her official position, however, meant she would be as involved in our event at her club as she wanted to be, and likely already had been.

“Did you know I would be here today?”

She gave a slight nod as she crossed her arms. “I did.”

“But you had Suzanne give us the tour.”

The fingers of her right hand drummed onto her left bicep. “There was no need for me to parade you around the grounds. It’s Suzanne’s job.”

“Which is?”

Something electronic chimed, and it wasn’t my cell phone. Madison ignored the sound without so much as a muscle twitch. “Private event coordinator.”

“And who will we be working with on this event?”

Her brows raised slightly. “Who would you like to be working with?”

“I’m good with Suzanne.” The words were flat, not from force but by my lack of emotion in this negotiation. In her. Everything about her being here without my knowing didn’t sit right with me.

Disappointment flickered across her face before she took a deep breath. Then her eyes narrowed imperceptibly, like she was trying to read me. Her head tilted slightly. “Who was the girl?”

“What girl?”

“I know your sisters. The other girl, the pretty waif.”

I smiled. A genuine actual f*cking smile lit my face from the inside out, both in thinking about Hannah and in knowing how badly Hannah’s presence likely bothered Madison.

“That’s Hannah. She’s my girlfriend, and our baker.”

Madison countered in a matter-of-fact tone, “We have a baker.”

Transparent. But not unexpected. “She is our baker. The client hired Invitation Only, and we only work with Hannah. It’s a done deal; the ink is already dry on the contract.”

She gave a slight headshake. “Nothing happens here without my approval.”

Ah, power. There was the old Madison I remembered. She loved it, clearly got off on it. But power was a perception. And fleeting.

“Well, tell that to your member, our client. If they want the event in your country club and you don’t ‘approve’ of us running our show exactly as we want, you can tell them they need to find another event company. Good luck with that.”

I turned away to leave.

A heavy sigh huffed out behind me. “I suppose I could make an allowance.”

When I glanced over my shoulder, her arms had dropped, hands fisting at her sides. The concession was killing her. Good. A little pain would be healthy to someone who inflicted it so easily.

I stared hard at her, unblinking. Invitation Only’s business was at stake here, and I needed to define all the boundaries. “Remember, we work with Suzanne, and only Suzanne. We have free reign over everything regarding the event. It’s the only way we work. And no interference. If I even catch wind that you’ve had a hand in anything that goes wrong, I’ll hold you personally accountable. Oh, and our mutual client will be fully informed of our history.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re planning to tell the client about us?”

A wry smile twisted my lips. “I believe in full disclosure, Madison. Clients don’t like surprises. Neither do I.”

For an instant, her expression flashed mild amusement before hardening once again. Like none of my conditions fazed her. Like the obstacles were nothing more than a challenge, a game.

Yeah? Well, game on.

Unimpressed with her as a threat, I turned without another word and strode down the hall. I looked forward to the upcoming dual event going smoothly. In spite of the unpredictable five-foot-eight blonde.