18. Maddie
18
MADDIE
My heart gave a little leap as Ian helped me out of his car and handed his keys to the valet. We'd gotten through today’s client meals without anyone so much as glancing at the huge rock on my finger, but now that we were back at the hotel and about to walk into the summit’s first big mixer, I had a feeling that things were about to ramp up. Margot would be in the same ballroom as us, and even if we didn’t actually end up interacting with her face to face, she could be watching us at any moment, and I needed to be convincing in my new role as Ian’s fiancée.
Ian glanced over at me, his mouth pulling into a small smile as he took my hand, a spark of confidence settling in his eyes. "It’s showtime, my darling,” he murmured, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. And even though I knew it was all just for show, the butterflies fluttered around in my stomach from the gesture.
Ian’s hand was strong and warm, and though I’d tried so hard to be a strong, independent woman through the years, there was something comforting about holding his hand. Like maybe, even if it was just for tonight, I didn’t actually have to handle everything on my own.
The ballroom was filled with a warm, golden glow when we walked in. String lights were woven throughout the decorations. Little tables dotted the room, each one perfectly set up for a private conversation or a cozy gathering, and two bar stations offered a variety of drinks, including the evening’s signature drink—a watermelon margarita.
My mouth practically watered at the thought, partly because I loved watermelon margaritas and partly because a little social lubricant wouldn’t hurt to help me settle into this night.
"Shall we get our drinks?" Ian asked, nodding toward the line at one of the bars once we were inside.
“Sure,” I said, glad he was happy to make it our first stop.
As we queued up, Ian turned to me, his tone suddenly playful. “So, are you the type of fiancée who wants her man to order her drink for her? Or do you prefer to order for yourself?”
“Honestly?” I asked, scrunching up my nose. “I don’t think anyone has ever offered to order for me before.” Jaxon certainly never had. “But I guess I’ve sometimes thought it might be nice to have a guy take charge—in a respectful way, of course.”
“Of course.” Ian winked. “Respect is a must.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I usually order my own drinks, too.” Ian tilted his head, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Oddly enough, my dates haven’t offered to order for me in the past, either.”
“Very funny.” I rolled my eyes, nudging him. “You know what I meant.”
“Oh, you mean if I like to order for my date?”
I nodded, curious despite myself.
“It depends on the woman, I suppose.” He shrugged. “If she likes it, I’ll go for it. If not, that’s fine, too.” Leaning in, he added, “But tonight, I’d be happy to do it for you.”
And I didn’t know why, but the way he said that, with his shoulder gently brushing against mine, sent a rush of warmth all throughout my body.
Yeah…I was pretty sure I wouldn’t mind having Ian Hastings take care of me for an evening, if for no other reason than to just have a night off from constantly being on watch for my own safety and security.
We made it to the bartender, and after placing his arm around my waist, Ian ordered two watermelon margaritas, sending a warm tingle through me.
The entire day we’d been keeping things low-key, almost businesslike. But now that the sun was slanting through the windows, the day transforming into night, he was leaning into his fake fiancé role, committing more fully to our little ruse.
With our drinks in hand, we strolled deeper into the ballroom, Ian guiding me by the hand around the tables and nodding at familiar faces until we stopped in front of a tall, dark-haired guy whose green eyes lit up at the sight of him.
“Drake Prewitt!” Ian said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Ian, my man, it’s been ages!” Drake said, pulling Ian in for a quick hug.
“It has been,” Ian said, patting his friend on the back. “Much too long.”
“And who is this?” Drake glanced over at me when they stepped apart, curiosity in his eyes.
“This is Maddie.” Ian set his hand on my waist again, pulling me close.
“Nice to meet you, Maddie.” Drake extended a hand, his expression warm.
“Likewise,” I replied with a smile, shaking his hand.
Ian’s gaze lingered on me, and I thought I caught a flicker of hesitation, as though he was considering whether or not to introduce me as his fiancée.
But seeming to decide against it, he instead explained to me, “Drake and I go way back. Met in high school and then continued on to Yale together.”
“Practically grew up together,” Drake said with a chuckle.
“That we did.” Ian’s brown eyes sparked, like he was remembering something from their past before he asked, “So, what brings you here? I don’t think I’ve seen you since college.”
“I’m here with my mom’s company.” Drake gave a casual shrug. “Trying to pick up a few nuggets to help us level up.”
“Nice,” Ian said.
“Yeah, just trying to be half as successful as you.” Drake smirked, and I got the feeling that there had always been some healthy competition between the two. “But all that aside, I’ve got to say that I’m really looking forward to your keynote tomorrow.” Drake’s expression turned into admiration. “I still remember how you wowed everyone in Professor Calhoon’s class with your presentations. You were the king of persuasive pitches back then.”
“Glad you’re looking forward to it.” Ian laughed. “I’m hoping it’ll be decent.”
“I have no doubt it’ll be awesome,” Drake said, clapping him on the shoulder. Then looking at me, Drake added, “I always tell everyone that Ian has the Midas touch because every idea he’s had seems to be golden. But I’m sure that since you seem to be close, you already know that.”
I was just trying to come up with a response when I caught sight of a familiar woman with polished blonde waves approaching us from the corner of my eye.
Margot.
Okay. Looks like it is really showtime now.
“Well, isn’t this a blast from the past?” Drake said good-naturedly when Margot stepped into the space between himself and me. “All of us here at the same event—it’s like a mini-college reunion.”
“Yes—” Margot’s gaze flicked from Ian to me, her eyes sharpening when she seemed to catch a glimpse of the ring on my left hand. “But with one big addition—Ian’s beautiful fiancée.”
The comment landed like a spark. “Wait—” Drake’s eyes widened, darting to Ian and me. “You two are engaged?” He looked genuinely surprised. “Congratulations! That’s… Wow, that’s amazing.”
Ian pulled me in closer, his warmth grounding me as he spoke with practiced ease. “Thanks, it’s still pretty recent. We’re still getting used to the idea ourselves.”
“That’s fantastic. It’s about time you finally settled down. I remember back when…” Drake trailed off, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face as his gaze instantly darted between Ian and Margot, as though he’d been about to mention something about their own previous engagement.
“I figured I’d take a note from you, Drake, and try settling down a bit.” Ian gave my waist a little squeeze, his voice smooth and warm as he took control of the conversation. “My dad used to tell me that marrying my mom was the best thing he ever did for his career—said it helped him focus and kept him from always chasing the next fling. Until this past year, I thought he was just saying that to keep me from using his jet so much, but it turns out…finding the right woman actually does a lot for a guy.”
“It’s true.” Drake grinned, nodding in agreement. “Marrying Cassia has been a game-changer for me. Nothing like finding the right person to keep you grounded.”
“So, how did you two meet, anyway?” Margo asked, an almost challenging look in her eyes. “I mean, we usually find these things out on social media since Ian’s always had such an exciting following. But he’s been surprisingly quiet about this.”
She was asking me? Instead of Ian?
Ugh.
But since Ian and I had known this question would come at some point tonight, I reminded myself of the story we’d practiced earlier that morning. “It’s nothing too exciting, I’m afraid.”
“Oh?” Margot asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yes, so basically, I applied for a job at his company several months ago and when I was leaving my interview, I ended up in the elevator with the most charming man I’d ever met.”
“Me, of course.” Ian winked playfully, playing along with the story.
“Of course,” I said, chuckling lightly like I was remembering how enchanted I’d been that first time I’d supposedly seen him. “Anyway, the elevator was apparently having issues that day and we ended up getting stuck between floors for a while. Ian, being the gentleman that he is, noticed that I was on the verge of a panic attack since I’m quite claustrophobic. And to keep me from getting too anxious, he struck up a conversation to distract me from what was going on.”
“He’s a proper knight in shining armor, yes,” Margot said, an almost impatient tone in her voice. “And I assume he swept you off your feet immediately and then gave you the job you’d interviewed for earlier that day.”
“Actually no,” I said.
“No?” Margot’s eyebrows knitted together, clearly taken aback.
I nodded, giving her a polite smile. “I mean, I was pretty enamored with him from the start, but the job I originally interviewed for was in a completely different department. And, unfortunately, I didn’t get it.”
Margot’s mouth opened, then snapped shut as she processed this. “But I thought you—” She stopped herself abruptly, her gaze flickering between me and Ian with renewed suspicion.
And it made me wonder if she’d done some digging in the past twenty-four hours, and perhaps discovered we actually did work together, leaving her confused by my story.
Which, of course, was why Ian and I had crafted this carefully laid-out backstory. If anyone did want to dig into my employment with Hastings Industries, they’d find out I’d indeed originally interviewed back in March but didn’t get hired until a few weeks ago.
“Anyway,” Ian interjected smoothly, picking up the narrative, “once the elevator was finally back in service, I knew I wanted to see Maddie again—soon. So I got her number and arranged to meet up. It was a little tricky, since she lived a few hours away. But we managed to have our first date shortly after, and made it work whenever we could.”
I nodded along, caught up in the story we’d rehearsed. “Eventually, I decided to apply for another position at Hastings Industries just to be closer. This time, unbeknown to either of us, it was actually for the position of Ian’s executive assistant.”
“And, of course, she got the job,” Ian said, giving me a proud smile and a quick wink. Like our working together had been inevitable.
“Well…” Margot’s expression twisted into something sly and almost condescending. She looked at Ian and said, “This girl certainly moves fast, doesn’t she? Sees the Hastings prize and doesn’t waste any time locking it down.”
But Ian chuckled, unbothered by her jab, and with a hint of mystery in his tone, he said, “Actually, that’s the real twist in our story. I’d been so burned in the past by women just looking for a piece of my family’s money that I never told Maddie I was a Hastings. She thought I worked for a different company in the building. She didn’t find out that I was a Hastings until her first day at work when we both got the huge surprise that she’d been hired as my assistant.”
“Are you serious?” Drake asked with a chuckle, his eyes wide like he found the coincidence as amusing as we had since at least that part of the story was true. “That’s almost too crazy to be true.”
“I know,” Ian said. “We were shocked, to say the least.”
“Yeah,” I said, joining in. “I’d planned to surprise him with getting a job in New Haven, since the long-distance thing wasn’t sustainable with how deep our feelings were for each other. But man, did we both get the shock of our lives that first day.”
“That we did.” Ian glanced at me, his eyes sparkling as if remembering our true origin story. “A very happy surprise, though.”
“So your whole relationship was based on lies and deceit?” Margot asked, not nearly as excited about our story as we were. “What a great foundation for a future marriage.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Ian quickly cut in, his gaze steady. “We knew all the things that mattered. The only thing she didn’t know was the family I came from. But everything else between us was real. We knew each other’s hearts…” His voice dropped to a pointed calmness, before he finished by looking straight at Margot and adding, “Unlike some relationships I’ve had in the past.”
And I had to resist the urge to smile, because seeing Ian take a subtle dig at Margot felt oddly satisfying.
He turned to me then, his eyes warm. “And to be honest, I’m just grateful it was Maddie who was in that elevator with me that day.” He squeezed me closer, brushing his thumb along my hip in a way that sent a thrill through my system. “From the outside, I get that it might seem fast, but I’ve never been happier—and I can’t wait to start our future together.”
Margot’s smile grew tight, her gaze darting between us, clearly feeling the weight of Ian’s attention on me. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Well, I should say hello to a few other people. It was great seeing you again, Drake.” She nodded toward him, a smile on her lips that didn’t reach her eyes. Then glancing back to Ian and me, she said, “Enjoy your evening, you two.”
With that, she excused herself.