Madison
My best friend and neighbor, Piper, is trying to arrange a blind date for me. I agree because she doesn’t take no as an answer. But why won’t she tell me his name? Anyway, it is just for tonight and I want to have some fun?   
Liam
I managed to stay away from her for years because I’m no good for her. Will I have the strength to keep my hands off her one more time?
 
********
 
When Madison left her secure and stable job in the financial industry for an uncertain position within a startup, she regretted nothing. Well almost nothing. She regretted that she will not be seeing her CEO Liam Carver anymore.
Liam is a big player both in business and in private affairs. He is a billionaire, always on the move for the next new venture.
She knew she was not his type but catching a glimpse of him while he passed through her section on the way to his next meeting, was more than enough to make her day.
Three years later Madison has a new life and new friends and life couldn’t be better. But she never forgot the gorgeous looking ex CEO.
Liam can’t believe his luck when he discovers that the mysterious neighbor is Madison. She worked for him a few years ago, but that is not the reason why he remembered her. Madison was the most beautiful woman he ever saw and the only one he will not let himself touch.
Torn between his inner demon and the desire to see her again, the pull towards her makes him accept Piper’s matchmaking offer to hook him up on this blind date.
Well not so blind for him because he exactly knows what he is getting into…
Or doesn’t he?

Out of Time

Entire drive back to the city I wanted to turn around and get back to her. Every minute with her was intoxicating and addicting. 


All my rules don’t apply with her.But I do need to focus. I have Adele to deal with, Taylor and the investment for her company so I get back home and go straight to my study. 


Finding the investment documentation and Madison’s business plan in my inbox I decide this will be my priority. Good this is just the material I need to return to my normal setting. Being distracted is the exact thing worked so hard all these years to avoid and I can’t let it spiral out of control. 


Materials are good, well prepared and detailed in all the right segments, clearly giving answers to most of my questions. 


I couldn’t find a flaw to the overall package, which is in opposite of what Adele used to tell me about Madison. She painted her as a superficial and lazy, not the best employee. I didn’t have much contact with her apart from one occasion where we prepared for a presentation, and she was the only one there who wasn’t prepared. I was sincerely concerned that the entire thing will flop. But on the day of the client meeting, she came through beautifully. Presentation and data – everything was on point. Like this investment pitch I’m reading. Writing style of much of the documentation is familiar, certain phrases and the way of structuring the information as I have seen it before. Especially the business part. Then it hits me. This reads like the documentation Adele used to submit to me. The reason why I promoted her and recommended her for even a better position after we started having sex. 


I fish out a project proposal from three years ago. The last thing Adele did while working for me. Scanning the document quickly I find it. Language fillers are usually unique for a person, and they use it unconsciously. Madison uses basically and actually as her fillers, Adele does not. And those find their way into her documents as well. She edits but never manages to clean them all out. She also has a specific tone of writing. 


Is it possible that Adele used the work Madison did to submit it as her own? There was no doubt in his mind she did. Proof was right in front of him. Shit! We got involved right after Madison left. I was distracted, Adele was nearby. 


The very thing I was so careful to watch out for, the very thing because of which I didn’t want to have anything with Madison, happened with Adele. She used me to climb up the social ladder and it was all on my fucking terms and rules. 


I find my phone and dial Adele. This stops now. 


“Two calls in a day – It most be my lucky day,” she answers. 


“Meet me for dinner this evening,” I tell her coldly not even bothering to ask her if she had any other plans. I know that even if she did, she will change it. 


“Wow, what did I do to deserve such attention today,” Adele responds. 


“We will meet in our usual restaurant at 07:00 pm” I continue not even hearing. 


“No Adele, I will meet you there.” I answer and we end the call.


Chapter 20