Caleb flashed me a wink, and I smiled in spite of myself.
“At any rate, it doesn’t matter who sits in the chair. We still have to do what we do down here.” Madison closed the subject with her signature flash, dropping a heavy stack of files on the center of the desk. “This company was built upon a loyal clientele, and that, gentlemen, is up to us.” She then opened a file with a dignified smirk on her face, as if that shining bit of wisdom settled things.
Tom grinned back at her and followed suit, but not everyone was so instantly appeased.
“That may be true, but it still doesn’t explain why you wanted to break into Robert’s office.” Caleb leaned back and cast me an inquisitive smile, looking me up and down. “Nor does it elaborate as to why in the world you assume Madison has a key.”
My face blanched as Madison leaned across the desk with a teasing smile on her face, making her look like a picture of innocence. “That’s right, Della. Why in the world do you think I might have a key? I’m not a janitor, after all.”
No, you only stole the janitor’s ring of keys.
My eyes narrowed with sarcasm as I answered, “I guess it was just wishful thinking. I’m all about bribing the upstairs elite by leaving baskets of muffins and bouquets of flowers lying around for them.” I caught Madison’s eyes with a pointed stare. “This morning, I actually thought of a great new idea, but it’s a little...time sensitive.”
Her eyes widened slightly, as if she was trying to pry the answer telepathically from my brain. Knowing Madison the way I did, I feared that might actually work, but Caleb halted her efforts to mind-read by leaning between us with a curious frown on his face.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
The moment shattered, and Madison threw a pencil at him.
“Mind your own business, Caleb,” she snapped bitterly. “Not everything’s about you.”
Much to my great surprise, he not only caught it but also threw it back. Even more amazing, it landed right in her coffee mug, and he smirked in triumph. “Oh! So sorry, Madi. That just slipped.”
She seemed to almost lift off the ground in her rage, and I dropped my eyes to the desk with a secret smile, waiting for the drums of war. Caleb only cocked an eyebrow and donned a taunting grin, and Tom merely shook his head toward the heavens and let loose with a longsuffering sigh.
“And this is why I told David it was a bad idea to put you on the same team.”
Really? Wasn’t somebody just telling me how fun this is gonna be?
Chapter 16
Five hours later, Madison’s phone screamed with the alarm tone, alerting us that it was time to break for lunch. It had already been a grueling day, and it would do us some good to step away, caffeinate ourselves to oblivion, and take a moment to clear our heads.
Never in my life had I worked so hard, nor had I ever encountered such a complicated system in terms of corporate clientele. Fortunately, though, Madison had risen to the top of the game for a reason, and with her files and comprehensive notes as a guidebook, the sky was the limit in terms of what the four of us could do.
“Okay, tell me the truth,” I demanded, leaning back in my chair as I nibbled on the end of a pickle. “Did you hire a private eye to stalk these guys or something?”
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“I was wondering the same thing,” Tom said as he set down the file he’d been holding. “You have everything in here, Madison,” he remarked with a deep level of respect. “No wonder they signed on.”
Madison wasn’t exactly the type to shirk a compliment, but the food had just arrived, so she was done talking about work for the time being. Thus, instead of boasting and basking, she waved it off with a dismissive shrug. “I just aim to be thorough.”
“Thorough?” Caleb shut his own file. “Madi, you have the number for the guy’s dry cleaner! How the fuck does a person get hold of something like that?”
She leaned forward and stole one of his chips, which was really a French fry to me, never losing her little grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, actually, I would.”
I threw a napkin between them, hoping it would serve as a white flag of peace. “And I would like to know when it became okay for you to call her Madi,” I said, my eyes twinkling as I darted them back and forth at the two. “I might be new here, but everyone I’ve come across gives her the same wide berth you’d give a rogue tiger. Not only does no one use a nickname, but they also don’t go around throwing pencils in her coffee.”
Caleb scoffed dismissively while Madison leaned back with a shrug.
“We used to fuck.”
I spat out a mouthful of coffee, and Caleb dropped his sandwich, looking at her in dismay.
“Madison!”