Maddy Collated: The Complete Trilogy (5 page)

“Sorry,” she said, “but
Maddy
has an urgent call.”

“Can't it wait?” Rick said.

Jennifer bit her lip. “I don' think so. It's from Mr. Lake.”

A whisper raced around the room, and
Maddy
stared at Jennifer, shock ricocheting through her system. She was used to guys not calling her the day after. Hell, she was used to guys pretending they'd never met her before after getting
laid,
since no one wanted anyone to know he'd banged 'the fat chick.'
Maddy
told herself she didn't want anyone to know she'd banged 'that douche' whenever something like that happened, but it still hurt.
And Sam Lake?
She wouldn't have expected him to even remember her name, even if she had been a size zero with a face like
Salma
Hayek.

“Well?” Rick said. “Don't keep him waiting!”

Maddy
shot him an irritated glance. If her mother had been dying, Rick would have begrudged her the call, but since it was from the CEO, well!
Mustn't keep him waiting.

Still, any port in a storm.
Maddy
stood and tottered out of the conference room, trying not to keel over and have a hangover-induced stroke as she walked as quickly as she could to her desk. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and tried to ignore the fact that every ear in the office was listening in.

“
Maddy
Marcos,” she chirped.

“
Maddy
,” Sam replied, and the way he said her name sent heat curling down her spine. “You left something behind last night.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. “Did I, sir?”

He chuckled. “You did.
A pair of nylons?”

“Oh.” That was what he wanted to talk about? “Just... throw them out. I don't think they're in the best condition anyway,” she said,
then
she realized what that had sounded like, both to Sam and to her busybody coworkers.

“Oh?” She could tell he was smiling. “I noticed. We weren't very careful with them yesterday, but I thought we might meet up over lunch and see if we could find... another use for them.”

Images of Sam flashed across her mind—Sam moaning, Sam smiling, Sam laughing, Sam fucking—and
Maddy
felt faint.

“Uh, well, if you want to, I don't think I have anything else scheduled...”

A tap on her shoulder cut her off. “Just a minute,” she breathed, then turned in her chair, prepared to curse a blue streak at whoever had dared to interrupt her conversation, and damn the consequences.

Chet stood there, brooding at her.

Her words died in her mouth, and
Maddy
had to grope for more. “Just a minute,” she squeaked into the receiver and covered it with her hand. Clearing her throat, she managed to force out, “Sir?”

“Miss Marcos,” he said formally. “I wanted to drop by and tell you I thought our meeting yesterday was very... fruitful.” His lips pursed on the last word, and
Maddy
realized that she hadn't kissed him yet. And that she wanted to. Well, who wouldn't?

Down, girl.
He was still speaking. She struggled to focus.

“I wanted to go over your various ideas,” he was saying.
“Perhaps over coffee?”
A faint smile graced his face. “I could use someone who knows how to... take a memo.”

Maddy
was almost certain that he wasn't talking about typing into his phone. She met his gaze, and then she was absolutely certain of it. Blue eyes smoldered at her.
Maddy
licked her lips.

“Yes, sir,” she said, and almost managed to keep the husky tone from her voice. “I'd be happy to oblige you.”

“Good.
How about now?”

“Now?” she said.

Her thoughts raced. She looked at the phone in her hand. Then she looked back at Chet.

“Well,” she said, “my schedule's filling up fast, but I think I can fit you in.”
Oh god, oh god, oh god.

“I sure hope so,” Chet replied.

Maddy
brought the receiver back to her ear. “Lunch sounds good. I have to go now...”

“I'll see you then,” Sam told her and hung up.

Maddy
replaced the phone and smiled.

Meetings as far as the eye could see, and she couldn't have been happier.

* * *

Maddy
Calls a Meeting

Chet Taylor had two problems.

This was not ideal, as usually Chet Taylor only had one problem, and that was enough for him. Chet Taylor did not like problems. Chet Taylor only liked solving problems, generally in the most efficient and ruthless way possible.

His newest problem sat across from him, playing with her Fall Spice latte and pretending he hadn't been balls-deep in her luscious ass a scant eight hours prior. Her name was
Maddy
Marcos, and he had awoken from a short, drunken sleep with her on his mind.

This was different. Usually he woke with only one problem on his mind, and that problem was Samuel Lake, also known as Chet's best friend and fellow co-founder and CEO of
Embra
Enterprises. And, though Chet tried to pretend otherwise, also the only man Chet had ever wanted.

Currently Sam was doubling down on his status as problem by refusing to look Chet in the eye. This was a
big
problem, because they ran the company together, and that goal was going to be compromised if one party was unable to meet things head-on. It made Sam look weak, and Chet hated it when people were weak.

Still, in a corner of the heart Chet liked to think of as black and withered, he knew that the Sam Problem was his fault.
Because he couldn't stop wanting Sam.
Because he and Sam had drunkenly shared
Maddy's
generous body last night in the limo.

Oh, and because Chet had fingered Sam's ass and rubbed his cock during the proceedings.

Yeah. That probably had something to do with it.

Chet gritted his teeth and studied
Maddy's
pretty round face. Her lustrous dark hair fell around it in flattering layers, but it was the way her breasts strained against her blouse that had him shifting in his seat. There was something about her, something that must have drawn him to her. She wasn't like any of the women he usually dated. He wanted her in a way that bordered on hedonistic.

And Sam
really
wanted her. Chet could tell. In fact, that was the whole reason he was here. He knew Sam was about to throw himself wholeheartedly into the mission of fucking
Maddy
Marcos in as many ways possible before he fucked her over like he always did with his conquests, and Chet... didn't want that to happen.

He
liked
Maddy
. Entirely aside from her beautiful curves, each of which invited him to take the day off and drag her to a hotel and spend the afternoon eating room service and fucking like rabbits, she actually piqued his interest.

It had been a long time since any woman had done that. For the longest time, it had been only Sam on Chet's mind. He didn't like this change.
Two problems instead of one.
And more problems if she and Sam started fooling around together.

Weird emotions drifted up at the thought, and Chet stomped them down. He had to warn her off. And also get her out of his system.

He glared across the table at
Maddy
, who was currently sucking whipped cream off a straw in ways that would make the head of HR have a heart attack.

Knowledge was power. There was something about
Maddy
Marcos, and he intended to figure out what it was, and neutralize it.

*

Dear Penthouse,
Maddy
thought.
I never thought it would happen to me, but there I was in the limo getting it from in front and behind from two of the hottest guys in the world. And they were my bosses! Then the next day I went out to coffee with one of them and he stared at me like a creeper for—
she checked the clock on the wall—
eight minutes and seventeen seconds. It was grand.

Maddy
had never had a threesome before—as far as she was concerned it was hard enough to get one guy to fuck her let alone two at once—so she wasn't sure of the etiquette of the morning-after coffee, but she was pretty certain even Emily Post would say that it was totally rude to glare without a word at the woman who gave you anal a scant few hours before. She didn't really have any idea how to broach the topic, though.

Maybe he was regretting asking her out for coffee. Maybe she had been a bad lay, though the amount of cum she had to clean up sort of
belied
that thought. Maybe he was annoyed with himself for picking such a public place as the second floor coffee shop, even though they were the only two people here and the barista was stoned and playing Bubble Bobble on his phone. Or maybe there was something she should have done last night that she hadn't and he was, like, totally mad at her for it and giving her the silent treatment.
Because that was something
grownass
men did.

Okay, maybe not. Things were getting unbearable, though. She had to say something.

“So you're looking creepy this morning,” she said.

Ah. Smooth. Good going.

It seemed to do the trick, though. Chet started slightly and his eyes focused on her face instead of her boobs. “I beg your pardon?”

“You asked me out to coffee,”
Maddy
said, “but you've been glaring at me for almost ten minutes without saying a word. It's creepy.” She took a sip of her coffee and another thought struck her. “And I actually don't
have
stuff like break time, so I need to get back, you know,
soonish
. Rick might dock my pay.”

His frown deepened. “Not for talking to the head of the company, surely?” he said.

Haha
.
Oh, you.
“Yeah, you don't know Rick.”

“He sounds awful from the way you speak about him.”

Realizing that she might be holding Rick's future job security in her hands,
Maddy
paused. Then, reluctantly, she admitted: “He's just doing his job.”

“Mm,” he said. He leaned back and tented his fingers in front of him. He really
did
look like a Bond villain.
Most of the time.

Probably not when he's got his cock in your ass, though,
Maddy
thought, and blushed, the space between her legs heating at the memory. She shifted uncomfortably.

“Anyway, why'd you ask me out to coffee anyway?” she asked. She couldn't quite keep the tiny note of hope out of her voice.

Chet didn't seem to notice it. “I wanted to talk to you about Sam.”

Maddy
deflated.
That
was what he wanted to talk about? How... depressing. “What about Sam?” she forced herself to say.

Reaching out, Chet ran a finger over the rim of his coffee cup. Had that finger been inside her last night?
No, no! Concentrate!
Maddy
forced herself to notice that while he had ordered coffee he hadn't drunk any of it yet. Glowering seemed to be his chief occupation.

“I've known Sam a long time,” he said. “I wanted to speak to you before he does. Has he contacted you yet?”

Maddy
blinked, confused. “I don't... I mean, yes, but... We're going out for lunch later... wait, that's not any of your business!”

His icy blue eyes flickered to hers. “Sam is my closest friend,” he told her. “I know him better than anyone else.”

“So?”

“So I knew he would contact you again. He will want to... go out with you.
And more.”

Her spine stiffened. She knew exactly what was going to come next. “Are you warning me away from your friend?” she said. “Going to let me know he doesn't need to be seen with a fat girl?
That it'd be bad for his reputation?”
She'd heard it. She'd heard it several times.

Hurt every time, too.

To his credit, Chet looked shocked. “What?” he said. “No! Of course not... I mean,
yes,
but not because...” His eyes swept over her, but this time instead of feeling sexy,
Maddy
felt embarrassed. She wanted to cover herself up with her hands, but she forced herself to grip her coffee instead. High in her nose she felt the traitorous sting of tears. Clenching her jaw, she closed her eyes and pushed them back. When she opened them, Chet was staring at her again, but this time his eyes were full of pity, which was even worse.