Chapter 4 Late Night Confessions
Late Night Confessions
“I got the job!” Maddison shouted, bursting into her apartment, barely kicking the door closed behind her.
“Tell me everything,” Remy said, already on video call, eyes wide with curiosity. Maddison collapsed onto the couch, unzipping her boots with a satisfied grunt.
“Okay, first of all, I was late. Walked in like a hurricane. There were all these blonde Barbie clones in the waiting room, all tiny and polished and silent.”
“And you?”
“Sat down, legs wide, tits up, red lipstick, and dared someone to say something.”
Her friend snorted. “Icon.”
“But the CEO of Lucas Creams? He was… weird. Shy. Tall. It looked like he belonged in GQ but panicked when I spoke. Like I short circuited him just by existing.”
“God, I love when rich men crumble.”
“I think I like him,” Maddison said, smiling. “I don’t know why, but it felt like he saw me.”
***
Lucas was supposed to be reviewing contracts.
Instead, he was scrolling.
Again.
He’d pulled up her Instagram, her old college Tumblr, even her Goodreads. He wasn’t proud of himself or maybe he was, just a little. The rabbit hole had a name now:
Maddison Parker.
But what gnawed at him was the feeling.
The way she smirked at him. The timing. The tone.
He'd felt it five years ago, in his DMs.
booklover69.
God, the name. It had started as a joke. He read every single message. Every thirst trap. Every confession. Every filthy line about the man she thought he was.
He clicked open the inbox.
Hundreds of messages.
One stood out the very first one.
***
FLASHBACK – 5 YEARS AGO
The city was quiet, wrapped in frost. The kind of late winter night where even the stars seemed to hold their breath.
Lucas Creams sat alone in his penthouse, lights off, shadows stretching across marble floors.
His tie was loose. His sleeves rolled. A half empty glass of bourbon sat untouched on the table beside him.
He’d just returned from another boardroom soaked in bullshit.
Everyone talked to him like he was power, like he was danger, like he was legacy.
No one looked at him like he was Lucas.
So he opened the app.
@helmetdaddy_xo.
Still anonymous. Still new.
His third shirtless video had just gone up hood over his eyes, the flex of his jaw lit only by a flickering candle. He’d whispered into the mic like a confession:
“Some of us were built to be watched.”
A hundred likes. Twenty DMs.
Most of them are thirsty. All of them empty.
Then he saw it.
@booklover69.
“So, you’re the problem my vibrator warned me about.”
Lucas choked on his drink.
He opened her profile.
No real name. Just a cartoon avatar and a bio that read:
‘Size 16, big mouth, bigger imagination. I write things that could get me arrested.’ Her first photo was a cleavage shot. The second was a book next to a wine glass with the caption: “This wine tastes like bad decisions. Like texting you.”
He stared at it too long.
And then
Ping .
“I’m not usually into mystery men. But you’ve got villain origin story energy. I’m into that.”
Lucas leaned back in his chair.
And for the first time in what felt like forever…
He smiled.
He typed back, hesitated , then hit send.
“You should be scared of what I’d do to you.”
Within sixty seconds:
“Oh, I am. I’m also extremely turned on. So, what now?”
He didn’t sleep that night.
He stayed up rereading her messages, watching her stories, stalking every word she’d ever posted. It wasn’t just the way she flirted, it was the way she saw him. Like he wasn’t just some empty rich boy with a body and blood on his hands.
She saw the man underneath the empire.
And Lucas Creams was hooked.
***
PRESENT
He leaned forward, squinting at her Instagram again. Her captions. The emojis. The way she typed.
Could it be her ?
Was it insane to hope ?
Lucas opened her employee file. Middle name: Elizabeth.
He typed:
“What was booklover69’s real name?”
He searched.
Nothing.
Still.
His gut whispered yes.
And his cock agreed.
Lucas slammed the laptop shut and swore under his breath. “Don’t be stupid.” But even as he paced the room, the name echoed in his head.
Maddison fucking Parker.