Page 38 of Mad Rivals
I don’t know what to say to that.
And even if Ididknow, I’m not sure I could possibly speak right now since my entire mouth just went completely dry.
“Can you at least tell me what your dad said about my family that made you hate me?” he asks.
“I don’t hate you,” I admit quietly. Especially not after what he just said. “I just don’t trust you, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved beyond what we have to do in the office.”
“I get that,” he says. “But can you let me try to prove you can trust me?”
I glance over at Clem, and I notice for the first time that she’s studying me. She can probably hear every word he’s said to me, and she’s nodding at me. “Go for it,” she mouths.
I sigh. She’s no help. “Fine.”
He pauses for a beat as if he can’t believe I just said that. “Fine? Like…you’ll meet me for a drink in, say…a half hour?”
A half hour? I’m supposed to make myself presentable and arrive at some unknown destination ina half hour?
Clem is nodding her head nearly violently.
“Fine,” I say reluctantly. “Do you know Dot’s Tavern?” It’s just around the corner from my parents’ house, so I can walk home.
“Yep. See you in a halfhour,” he says.
“Bye.” I hang up before I change my mind.
Clem squeals. “You have a date with football star Madden Bradley?”
“It’s not a date,” I mutter.
It’s totally a date, though, and I need to figure out what the hell to wear.
CHAPTER 16: Madden Bradley
Aligning Values
I drive to the bar and figure I can take an Uber home if I need to, and I head inside once I arrive. I don’t see her, so I slip outside and wait near the door for her. I’m wearing a hat since I’m dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt, and I’m more likely to be recognized when I’m not in businessman mode, and I keep my head down as I wait for her.
I’m surprised when I see her approaching on foot, and I study her for a beat. She hasn’t spotted me yet, and I’m not sure how I’ve lived in this city for my entire life and never run into her. If I had, out of the context of business, would things be any different?
Would she have given me a second glance if I had nothing to do with Bradley Group?
Somehow I think her dad still would’ve warned her off me, something that feels incredibly unfair to us both. We should be able to explore what we want without our fathers’ mistakes hanging over us, and yet…she won’t.
Which is highly unfortunate. My eyes fall to the way the jeans she’s wearing hug against her body, and I imagine that body moving beneath me.
I blow out a breath as I try to collect myself, and I kick off from the wall to head over to meet her on the sidewalk.
“Did you do something different with your hair?” she teases, and I can’t help it. I laugh. She’s funny as hell, usually because she’s being all demanding and uptight, but somehow being around her makes me feel this sense of joy that’s been missing from my life.
Maybe it’s the challenge, but maybe it isn’t.
I lift the hat from my head, and she tilts her head and pretends to study me.
“Ah, yes. There he is,” she says as I set the hat back into place.
“Less chance I’ll be recognized in a hat,” I say with a shrug, and I gently rest my hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the door.
She glances back at me as if she’s surprised by my touch, and I know this isn’t a date, but it’s also not a business meeting.
