by Dakota Rebel
Fuck!
“Am I getting fired?” I asked, glad that my voice was calm and didn’t betray the panic that was exploding in my head.
“Laid off,” he corrected, as if that was really any better. “It’s a budget thing. I’m sorry.” He slid an envelope across the desk toward me. “I was able to get you a decent severance package. And of course, I’ll provide a great reference for you when you find something new.”
I took the envelope and stared at it in my hands. They were only trembling slightly, and with a deep breath, they fell steady again.
“I really am sorry,” he said.
When I looked back up at him, he did look apologetic. But that didn’t really help me. I nodded, not trusting that my voice would continue to hide my distress. I stood up and shook his hand, then walked back to my office to get my stuff, head held high so no one knew that I was about ten seconds from crying…or barfing.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“You knew?” I asked Tonya as she flung herself into my arms the second I stepped into our shared space.
“He told me right before I came to get you. Baby, I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry seems to be the word of the day,” I said with a sigh. “I’d better clear out.”
“Promise me you’ll call me,” she said, rubbing her hands up and down my arms for a second before letting me go. “We’ll get drinks and figure out your next move.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Definitely.”
I packed up the few personal items I kept in my desk, grabbed my purse and smiled tightly at Tonya before walking out. I waved to everyone else, who was staring at me then went to my car.
For a few minutes I sat behind the wheel, waiting for the flood of tears that I thought for sure would come the minute I was alone. But they didn’t. I just felt sort of numb. The shock would probably hit later.
Opening the envelope, I was surprised to see a check for three months salary. That seemed pretty generous, and it definitely eased the sting. If I budgeted carefully, I might even be able to stretch it to six months if I had to. The job market in Michigan wasn’t exactly stellar, so it might take me that long to find something that didn’t involve a drive thru.
I pulled out of the bank parking lot and headed straight the library. Using their computer, I updated my resume and spent hours applying for jobs. Most of them preferred a degree to experience, but it wouldn’t hurt to try anyway.
By three o’clock, I was starving and exhausted. I had no idea what time Boone wanted to go out, and honestly I wasn’t sure if I was up to it anyway. I decided to grab something on my way home to hold me over, since I knew my kitchen was empty.
As I pulled out of the parking lot to turn onto the main street, I didn’t see the massive pothole near the curb, and half my car seemed to be swallowed into it.
Fuck. Fuck. Double Fuck. Fuck.
This was not my day.
I flipped on my hazard lights and got out of the car, walking around to see the damage. My tire was bent in on itself and the rear of the car was actually lifted off the ground. Just perfect.
I pulled out my phone and called for a tow-truck. Then, I texted Boone.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Nothing, really. What’s up?”
“Can you come get me?”
“Are you okay?”
“Not really…”
My thumb hovered over the keys, not sure how much I should say in a text message. But then my phone rang. It startled me and I dropped it, the sound of the glass bouncing off the hood of my car making me cringe.
When I picked it up, the screen was shattered. What in the fuck was going on today?
I was able to answer the call and when I heard his voice, I absolutely lost it.
“I’m on Woodward in front of the library,” I said through a sob. “My car is toast, my phone is broken, I lost my job and I need a drink. Or a cake. Or both.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said. “Lock yourself in the car and don’t get out for anything.”
“I have a tow truck on the way,” I told him. “If he gets here first I’m going back into the library.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “I won’t be long. I promise.”
I hung up and got in the car, tossing my cracked phone into my purse and laying my head on my hands over the steering wheel. Now that the tears had started, they wouldn’t stop and my whole body was shaking with emotion when a knock on the window made me jump.
Looking up, I saw Boone standing there. The concern in his eyes made me start to cry harder, and it took me a minute to unlock the door because my hands were shaking so badly.
He pulled me out of the car and into his arms, his hand going to my head to hold my face to his shoulder. He made useless shushing sounds and he petted me and told me everything was going to be okay.
“I don’t know how you can say that,” I told him, sniffing softly. “I’m going to be homeless.”
“I’d never let that happen to you,” he argued. “There’s the tow truck. We’ll get your car taken care of then we’ll get you that drink, okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed. What else was I going to do?
Boone took care of everything, telling the driver where to take the car and insisting on putting the charge on his credit card. I tried to fight him, but I was too exhausted and scared to make much of an argument.
“Are you hungry?” he asked me, walking over to where I was standing on the sidewalk and pulling me into his arms.
“Yes,” I admitted. The tears had stopped but I could tell my face was red and puffy and I just wanted to bury my face in a funfetti cake.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand and walking me toward the library parking lot. “I’ll take you out.”
I followed him, staring down at the ground as he pulled me along behind him. When we stopped, I looked up to see that we had paused in front of the most ridiculous car I’d ever seen in my life. It was a two door, matte black monstrosity with a big rear spoiler and slanted headlights that probably cost more than my whole car to replace.
“Whoa,” I said. “Where’s Nightrider?” He laughed, then opened the passenger door for me. “Um, excuse me?”
“Get in,” he said, nodding toward the car.
“This is your car?” I turned and stared at him. “Boone…what the fuck?”
“I told you there were things I needed you to know about me,” he said with a shrug. “Please get in.”
“Tell me now,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and narrowing my gaze.
“Maddie, get in the car.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Please. I promise, I’ll tell you everything.”
Fuck. Today was just getting better and better.
Chapter Eight
~Boone~
“Are you okay?” I asked Maddie as we pulled into the parking garage of the apartment.
“Fucking peachy,” she said.
She’d been staring out her window the entire ride back. I’d asked her a dozen times what she wanted to eat, but she wouldn’t answer me. I figured that when she decided she wanted food, I’d just order anything she wanted.
I got out of the car and ran around to open her door. She murmured a thank you as she passed me, then went straight to the stairs without looking at me.
When we got to her apartment, she didn’t slam the door in my face, so I took that as permission to follow her in. She stood in the middle of the living room, her gaze pointed at the book that was still covering the smashed bug carcass from the previous night.
“Did you really kill the centipede?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, confusion plain in my tone.
“Well, you’ve obviously been lying to me this whole time,” she snapped, turning her glare on me. “I just thought I’d check.”
“Okay look,” I said, holding my hands out defensively. “I didn’t exactly lie to you. I warned you were things I couldn’t tell you yet.”
“
Yeah, like you’re fucking Batman!” she yelled. “What the hell even is that car? I live in Detroit and I have never in my life seen a car like that.”
“It’s an Audi,” I said. “Does it matter?”
“I don’t know, Boone. You don’t seem to be a very good judge of what does and doesn’t matter.” She blew out a sigh and dropped her gaze again. “You should go.”
“No.” I walked toward her but she took a step back, not allowing me to reach out and touch her. “Maddie, please. I can explain everything.”
“Oh, I am all ears,” she said. She walked over to the sofa and perched on the arm, staring at me. “Let’s have it.”
Okay, well this wasn’t exactly how I thought this would go down. She’d had a horrible day and I wasn’t sure she was going to take it well. Hell, I hadn’t even said anything yet and she was already pissed at me. Not a good start.
“I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with you,” I said honestly. “I never would have done any of this if I had.”
“Are you a mob boss? Oh God, you said you were in finance. Do you launder money?” She worried her lip between her teeth. “Are you a mob accountant?”
“No,” I said, trying not to laugh. “I’m a businessman. A very successful businessman.”
“That’s all?” she asked. “Just a corporate lackey?”
“Not exactly,” I said. Damn it, the words were stuck in my throat. They sounded so stupid in my head, I just knew she’d laugh in my face when I finally spit it out. “Maddie, I’m a billionaire.”
“A what?” she leaned forward as if she thought she hadn’t heard me correctly.
“I own Davis Holdings. We’re a media company—”
“Oh. My God. I know what Davis Holdings is,” she said. She slid to her feet, her gaze never leaving mine. “No one who lives here doesn’t know the sight of that building on the skyline.” She shook her head slowly. “You’re a billionaire. Like…with a B? Billion.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because I’m trying to talk to you,” I said.
“No. Why are you living in this shithole apartment building?” She gave me a look like I was a moron, which of course I was.
I blew out a sigh. How had I been so fucking stupid with all of this. I was going to sound like a child admitting this to her. Fuck, why did I let Brock bring out the worst in me all the time?
“I made a bet with my brother,” I admitted. “To live like an average person for a month.”
“Right,” she said, nodding. “Of course. How fun!”
“Maddie—”
“Shut up,” she snapped. “You and your brother have been playing a game this whole time. You thought it would be fun to live for a month, the way me and my friends live every day of our lives?”
Shit.
“Was I part of this bet, Boone? Is that why you couldn’t tell me? Hey, see if you can get your broke neighbor to spring for bodega sushi.”
“No!” I rushed forward, resting my hands on her shoulders. “God, Maddie, no. I just wasn’t supposed to tell you until the time limit was up. I’m an asshole. I know. I honestly didn’t think of it the way you do.”
“Obviously,” she said, knocking my arms away. “What are you losing? By telling me now, I mean. What did you lose?”
“Um, just some property,” I answered, hoping she wouldn’t push. But her gaze told me I’d better fully fess up. “A vacation house in Hawaii, and Brock won’t do a talk show for one of my networks.”
“Bummer,” she said. “I’ll bet that stings. I think you should go.”
“You need to eat,” I reminded her, hoping she’d let me stay long enough to feed her.
“I can take care of myself,” she snapped. “I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’ll manage.”
“Let me take care of you,” I pleaded.
“I think you’ve done enough,” she said. “I’ll pay you back for the tow. Thank you for helping me out today.”
“Maddie,” I begged. “I love you.”
“That’s the worst part.” She met my gaze and my heart broke at the sight of tears pooling in beautiful eyes. “I know you do. But this isn’t how you treat people you love, Boone. I’m not a game.” She shrugged. “I love you, too. But I need you to not be here right now.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I kissed the top of her head then turned and walked back to my apartment.
God, I’d royally fucked up. I just hoped she could find a way to forgive me. Not that I deserved it. When she reminded me that this stupid game we were playing was actually how she lived her life…I mean, she could have physically torn out my heart and it would have gutted me less.
And she was right. I was such an asshole. And so was Brock.
Now that I’d lost the bet, I couldn’t care less about the stupid house, or the plane or the talk show. Maddie was more important to me than any of that shit. I just hoped I hadn’t lost her.
Chapter Nine
~Maddie~
It had been a week since Boone had dropped his bombshell on me, and I hadn’t left the apartment once. He’d texted and called and knocked on my door for hours, but I just couldn’t see him.
When he realized I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, he started sending deliveries to the apartment. Flowers and take-out and groceries. I’d accepted them all. One, I was pissed and he should be sorry. And two, I was broke and hungry and wasn’t really in a position to turn down free food, paid for by a fucking billionaire.
A billionaire.
That’s…I mean, that’s not even a real amount of money. He’d spent a month slumming it in this shitty apartment, to win a bet.
I’d known that I wasn’t part of it. But it had been such a terrible day, and I was so hurt, I’d hurled the words at him in an attempt to wound him back. It had been childish, but he was a jerk.
I just happened to be madly in love with that jerk and suddenly regretted shutting him out. Now, I didn’t know how to move forward.
He’d stopped reaching out to me in person, and there was no way I was going over there. I was the injured party in all of this. All I could do now was hope that he got frustrated enough to come try to knock down my door.
I didn’t have a television, or a laptop, and the screen on my phone was so smashed I couldn’t even use any apps. So, I’d spent the entire week cleaning and reading and pining over a guy that was six inches of cheap plaster away from me the whole time.
How pathetic.
Bored and depressed, I walked into the bedroom and stripped down, hoping a hot bath would help me think of a way to fix what had broken between us.
As I soaked, I sent a silent thank you to the new landlord for replacing the water heaters in the building.
I’d received a notice under my door a few days ago that the building had been sold, the last two months of rent had been forgiven as well as the next two and that renovations would be coming hard and fast.
It had been a godsend, considering I still hadn’t been able to deposit my severance check. I desperately needed a new car, since the shop had called to confirm that my tie rod was busted, and the car wasn’t worth repairing, so they’d totaled it with the insurance company. It had been a piece of junk, so it wasn’t like I’d had full coverage or anything. Basically, I was just out of a vehicle.
It had been the cherry on top of my week.
But today I had hot water and a clean bathtub, my biggest bill was covered for a little while, and I had a man to win back. Everything else just had to wait in line.
Leaning back against the lip of the tub, I let out a shaky sigh. I could just go over there. Knock on his door and tell him what a jerk he is. Though, we’d done that part already, and I was pretty sure he knew.
I certainly wasn’t going to apologize to him. I hadn’t done anything wrong. But then, I hadn’t accepted any of his apologies when he’d tried to give them. Maybe he’d given up. Maybe he believed there was no hope and he’d stop trying.
Damnit, had I stubborned myself out of any future happiness with the love of my life?
A loud banging sound made me jump, sloshing water out of the tub all over the floor.
What the fuck?
I climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around myself before rushing into the living room. I looked out the peep hole in my door, but no one was there.
The banging started again, rattling the wall so hard one of my pictures fell and crashed to the floor. Over and over the sound echoed through the apartment.
Watching in horror, I realized that someone was breaking through the plaster between mine and Boone’s apartments. Dust started spraying and then a hole was pounded through, the sight of the head of a sledgehammer making my heart jump into my throat.
I backed toward the bedroom, unable to stop watching as the hole grew larger, until finally, the banging stopped and hands reached through, pulling chunks away. Then, Boone’s face was there, looking at me.
“Hey, Maddie,” he said calmly.
“Hey, Boone,” I answered, clutching the towel around my body and staring at him in disbelief.
“I’ll be done in a second,” he said, then he disappeared and the banging started again.
In moments, there was a person sized opening between the walls and walked into my apartment, covered in dust, holding the sledgehammer in his hand.
“Are you out of your ever-loving mind?” I shouted. “You’re going to get us evicted!”
“Relax,” he said, tossing the hammer aside and wiping his brow. “I own the building. Didn’t you get my note? I told everyone to expect renovations.”
“You’re knocking down my living room wall!”
“Yeah, just like you wanted,” he answered.
I gazed at him, unsure if I should laugh or cry or run away because he was a crazy person.
“Hey,” he said. “You’re naked.”
“I have a towel,” I responded weakly.
“Barely,” he countered. He took a step toward me. “Damn. I’d forgotten how gorgeous you are.”
Yeah, I’d forgotten how hot he was too. He was wearing a black tank-top, liberally sprinkled with plaster dust. Sweat was dripping down his neck and his muscles were bulging from the exertion. The exertion of busting down my wall.
