Chapter 18
The Fallout
Logan didn’t knock.
He never knocked.
He burst through the executive elevator doors, already halfway to boiling. His black shirt was half untucked, a healing bruise along his jaw from the deal last night, and his phone clenched tight in his fist.
Rumors.
Photos.
Flirting in the lobby.
This wasn’t just messy, it was Creams dynasty destroying.
And then he saw her.
Maddison.
Strutting out of Lucas’s office with a file in one hand and a smugness that practically dripped down the walls. Red hair bouncing. Eyes too damn satisfied.
She smiled at Logan.
“Morning, boss.”
Logan’s eyes twitched.
He didn’t even acknowledge her.
“Lucas’s office. Now.”
Maddison kept walking like she didn’t hear him, but the smirk on her face said otherwise. Logan shoved open Lucas’s door, already seething. His twin looked up slowly, perfectly blank. Too blank.
“What did you do?” Logan growled.
Lucas didn’t answer.
“You think I wouldn’t find out? You think Penny wouldn’t smell it on you? You’re trending, Lucas. People are talking. Our enemies are talking.”
Lucas rubbed his temples. “Logan ”
“No,” Logan snapped, stepping closer. “You don’t get to calm voice me. Did you sleep with her?”
Silence.
“Lucas.”
“It’s under control.”
Logan laughed sharp, humorless. “Under control? She looked at me like I was a damn inconvenience. You gave her power, Lucas. You let her in.”
Lucas finally looked up, steel in his voice. “She’s not just some assistant.”
“Exactly. She’s a problem.”
“She’s mine.”
That shut Logan up for a beat.
Then he swore under his breath and turned away, pacing.
“Bonnie finds out, she’ll suggest removing her.”
Lucas’s jaw clenched. “She won’t.”
“You sure? Because Maddison’s not subtle. She's marching around like she already runs this place. One wrong move and Penny hell, the whole damn internet will figure out who Helmet Daddy really is.”
Lucas stood. “I’ll handle it.”
Logan glared. “You better. Or I will.”
And with that, Logan stormed out, no goodbye, no warning.
Maddison was gone from the hall. But her perfume still hung in the air like a promise of chaos.
***
“We need to talk,” he said, voice like gravel and broken glass.
Maddison didn’t blink. “About your brother’s coffee order? Already got it covered.”
Logan didn’t smile.
He stepped closer, looming, heat and fury radiating off him.
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” he growled, “but you’re a fucking assistant. You don’t get to walk around here like you own the place.”
Maddison tilted her head. “Funny. Lucas didn’t seem to mind.”
That hit. Logan’s jaw flexed, his fist curling at his side.
“You think this is funny? You think sleeping with the CEO of the most dangerous company on the continent is a power move? Because I promise you, sweetheart Bonnie doesn’t do power games. She cleanses.”
Maddison stepped forward, toe to toe with him now.
“You going to cleanse me, Logan?” she whispered. “Or just growl some more until I sit down and behave?”
He glared, furious. “You don’t get to come into our family and cause chaos. Lucas is already spiraling. He’s distracted, reckless, he's not thinking straight.”
“Because of me?” she asked, mock innocent. “Or because he’s finally feeling something?”
That silence between them stretched thin and sharp.
Logan dropped his voice. Dangerous now.
“I don’t know who you think you are ”
“I’m the woman who’s been in his head for years,” Maddison cut in. “And guess what, Logan? I’m not leaving. So you can scowl, threaten, throw your big scary fits all you like. He chose me.”
A flicker passed through Logan’s eyes, something uncertain, almost impressive.
Then it was gone.
“You hurt him, you disappear,” he said flatly. “Nobody. No press. Just gone.”
“Noted,” Maddison smiled sweetly. “You done?”
He stepped back, just slightly. “For now.”
Maddison watched him stalk away, her heart thudding but her spine held straight.