Billionaires Dollar Series

But then she takes her hand back. “In truth, it’s relationships I’ve put a pause on,” she says. “They’re too much work.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“At last, something I can agree with.”

“When was your last relationship?”

“What constitutes a relationship, exactly?”

I grin, unperturbed. “Four or five years ago, probably. It lasted for two years.”

“That’s the thing, too,” Maddie says. “You work and work and work, and you put in effort, but then the relationship falls apart anyway.”

“Mhm,” I say, taking a sip of my drink. “What was the reason you and Jason broke up?”

She shakes her head, her glance sliding from me to the mingling guests. Whatever the reason, she’s not about to tell me tonight either. An unexpected flare of jealousy burns through me.

What is his hold over her?

Does she want him back?

“Oh, look. Albert’s here!”

I catch sight of him talking to Cole on the other side of the bar, and sitting in a leather sofa with his thick, gray mustache, he looks like he could be part of the decor.

Apparently, Maddie is thinking the same thing, because she stands on her tiptoes to reach my ear. “He looks like he should be signing a declaration of war or sitting in the Oval Office.”

My mouth tugs into a smile. “He does.”

And despite my initial frustration with the man’s high-handedness, with the distrust for investors, his long-drawn game of cat-and-mouse…

Now it’s begrudging respect and thankfulness I feel for him, because if it wasn’t for him, Maddie wouldn’t be here to make me laugh. I press another kiss to the top of her head, her hair silky smooth under my lips. “Will you come join us in about five minutes?”

“You have a plan?”

“I do.”

She squeezes my arm, smiling. “I’ll join you in five.”

Albert and Cole look up at me when I advance, both nodding.

“Good to see you again,” Albert says.

“Likewise. Thank you for last weekend-it was more fun than I’ve had in a while.”

“Judging by your aim, though, you need a bit more practice.”

I chuckle, raising my tumbler. “You’re right about that.”

“This is a good man you’ve hired,” Albert tells Cole. “I’ll admit that I had my doubts in the beginning-he’s all slick, like a greased-up New York banker.”

Cole Porter lifts an eyebrow at me, looking pretty slick himself, I think. But he’s worked with Albert for years, exclusively sourcing steel from Walker for his building projects.

“We had the exact same fear,” Cole says. “That’s why we hired the man and put him to the test.”

I raise my glass. “And have I passed?”

“With flying colors,” Cole assures me, but it’s really Albert he’s talking to.

And Albert leans back in the sofa, eyeing us both. “I have to say, I think I’ve decided to give you lot a chance.”

My lip quirks up, but I let Cole be the one who responds. Because while I’ll be at the helm of the investments, the money I handle is Cole’s-a third of it, at least.

“Happy to hear it, Albert.”

“Truth be told, it’s time. We need outside capital to grow, and you’ll provide us with that.”

“That we will,” I say. “I’ll be happy to meet with your office in the coming week to hammer out the details.”

“Like a shark, isn’t he?” Albert comments to Cole. “Going in for the kill.”

But he’s grinning, and when he reaches for my hand, we shake. “Where’s your lovely fiancée?” he asks. “I have a message from my wife to relay.”

“Oh, she’s here somewhere.” I make a show of looking over my shoulder. “Maddie’s always making friends.”

Cole raises an eyebrow at me, but I give him a cool look. One I hope he interprets correctly as mind your own business.

“I have to tell you,” Albert says, “that Rita was the one who put the final straw in the coffin of this investment, here.”

“Let’s not liken it to death, shall we?”

He laughs, good-natured. “She told me that if a woman like that loved you, you couldn’t be too bad of a fellow, even if you had worked on Wall Street.”

An unfamiliar pang hits my stomach, an acid taste in my mouth that I haven’t felt in years.

Guilt.

“She’s too kind,” I say.

Maddie takes that moment to appear on my left side, right on schedule. Her smile washes over all of us like a warm wave.

“There you are, darling,” Albert says. “We were just talking about you.”

She glances up at me, a soft question in her eyes. “All good things,” I reassure her, my hand sliding to her lower back like a magnet finding its source.

“Seems your man here has been successful,” Albert tells her.

“He has? That’s wonderful!”

“Wore me down in the end. I meant to tell you-Rita tried your venison recipe yesterday.”