Chapter 29 #2
“I am sorry for causing ye and Maddox so much grief. I hope to stay in me position. If ye give me a chance, I can prove dat I can set me jealousy aside. I will do me job as well for ye, as I ever did for Ray. I did care for ye deeply and still do. I understand that ye chose Maddox, and I wish things were different, but dey aren’t so I will accept dat.
I can’t say I’m all good, but I can say dat it is done interfering wit me job and life. ”
“First thing, I want you to understand that Maddox had no bearing on my decision to not continue the relationship with you. I know you desperately want to believe that, but it is simply not true. The relationship between us wasn’t going to work.
It was going to keep interfering with the ability for both of us to do our job to the best of our ability.
Aside from that, I was hoping you would say something to that effect.
I didn’t want to lose you as my advisor. ”
“It makes me happy to know dat ye didn’t want to get rid of me entirely.”
“Initially I did. I had time to cool off, and I understood what you were trying to do. Whether I agree with it or not. I am going to say that nothing like that better ever happen again. You will respect my decisions in every aspect and if you do not. You will keep your mouth shut. You can tell me what you think, but once I tell you how I wish to proceed, the discussion is closed. Are we clear?”
“Crystal. Thank you so much, Joslyn.” He stood up from the table.
“You can let yourself out,” I said, picking up my phone from the table.
I texted Maddox to let him know that Ronan had left.
Then I returned to the email so I could finish it before Bonnie arrived.
The morning after I meet everyone, brunch is scheduled for eleven in the morning.
Smart woman; this one was. These seemed to be creatures of the night.
I know that’s when Maddox seemed to come alive.
I kept reading as the door opened and Maddox entered.
“How did it go?” he asked, as he stood behind me and started massaging my shoulders.
“It went well actually. He apologized and promised not to let his jealousy affect his ability to do his job.”
“Well, that sounds exactly like what he should have said. Smart man.”
“Well, I sure in the hell hope he isn’t stupid.”
I continued reading the email on my phone screen.
It looks as though she simply stated that a meeting would take place at three o’clock on Wednesday and Thursday.
Dinner Wednesday night will be in the library at nine.
Thursday morning breakfast was going to be delivered to the guests' rooms, and that evening Bonnie had planned a farewell gala that was set to begin at eight o’clock.
“Did you read the email from Bonnie?” I asked, wondering what his thoughts were.
“Yes, I did,” he said. “What questions do you have?” he asked, still rubbing my shoulders.
“The farewell gala? Do you think that is a good idea? I mean, essentially, we will have just put someone in jail,” I asked concerned that it would be in bad taste.
“Most cryptids aren’t as sensitive as humans. They will not care; they also love any reason to have a party.”
I didn’t personally care either way because I hadn’t known either of the men long and neither made a great first impression.
“Can you get a hold of Bonnie and let her know whenever she is ready, she can meet us here.”
I checked the time on my phone, and it read 8:55.
There was another knock on the door, and Maddox was already there before I could even make a move.
Christina came in wheeling a larger cart than normal.
He shut the door behind her. The girl began uncovering dishes and placing them onto the table.
There were tortilla chips with guacamole, salsa, queso, and spinach artichoke dip.
There was chicken salad with five types of crackers and a horseradish cheese spread.
A whole charcuterie board and an array of vegetables with two different kinds of dip.
“Thank you, Christina. This looks wonderful,” I said, smiling at her. She bent over and pulled two bottles of wine from the second shelf of the cart, setting them in the center of the table. She added three wine glasses.
“It’s so nice to see you again. We tried to give you an assortment but not anything too heavy. If you would like something more substantial, we can definitely do that.”
“It’s perfect. This will do just fine.”
“I’m certain I will see you in passing over the next few days. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” She nodded at Maddox, and he opened the door for her.
She wheeled the cart out of the room and disappeared down the hall. As he was starting to shut the door, a voice stopped him.
“Hi, I’m here. Maddox, how are you?” The petite blonde asked cheerfully.
“I’m great Bonnie. How have you been?”
His voice was higher than normal; it made me smile. He did have a soft side with other people than me. I already liked her. She was chipper and it was obviously genuine. If I had to guess, I would say she was in her mid-fifties, in good shape and definitely enjoyed the finer things in life.
“I have been fantastic and even better now that I get to meet Joslyn. This has to be her,” she said as she swept into the room and approached me with open arms.
I didn’t normally hug people, but I was not about to offend this ray of sunshine. I embraced her and a smile instantly spread across my face.
“Yes, this is Joslyn,” Maddox said as he smiled at me, while still holding the door.
“You, my dear, are gorgeous. I have so many pretty things picked out for you to try on and pick from.” She looked at what I was wearing. “You do have excellent taste. This is going to be fun.”
She turned around and motioned to a man standing in the doorway that I hadn’t noticed before. He was carrying a box. Walking over to a vacant chair, he set it down.
“Thank you, Marc. You can go now.”
The gentleman exited back through the door and Maddox shut it behind him. Bonnie opened the box and began pulling out color swatches and folders. I took a seat, and Maddox grabbed a bottle of wine and went to find the corkscrew.
When she had finished emptying the contents of the box onto the table, she set the empty box on the coffee table to get it out of the way. She picked up an empty plate and put a few items on it and sat down adjacent to me.
“Well, sweet girl, are you ready to go over menus and nail down color options for place settings?”
Maddox returned with an open bottle of wine and filled the glasses well past a standard pour.
“Let’s get you the answers you’re looking for.”
We spent the next three hours talking about Beef Wellington, popovers, whether we needed an omelet station or not, and the color aquamarine.
We ate the food and drank all the wine. Maddox even disappeared and came back with more wine.
We decided we wanted couches and high-top wooden tables with wingback chairs for the cocktail party in the library.
Together, we concluded that waiters serving hors d’oeuvres among the partygoers would be more elegant than an appetizer table.
The same was decided regarding the gala.
I agreed to meet with her tomorrow to look at clothing options and table settings.
This woman knew how to leave a room a little brighter than she found it.
Before she left, she gave us both a hug and she whispered something in Maddox’s ear.
“I will see you tomorrow, Joslyn. Does two o’clock work for you?” she asked from the doorway.
“Sounds great,” I replied as Maddox opened the door and let Marc in to collect the box of samples for Bonnie.
They were out of sight, and Maddox was shutting the door in a matter of moments. He picked up the phone in the kitchenette and called the desk to have someone come collect the dishes.
“I am going to go take a shower and put something else on,” I said as he hung up the phone.
“Okay, I’m going to get this stuff taken care of.”
I disappeared into the bathroom. When I finished showering, I realized that I hadn’t grabbed anything before I came in here.
I pulled a towel from the rack and put it around me.
Opening the bathroom door, I walked into the bedroom to find clothes.
Maddox entered the bedroom as I was getting pajamas out of a drawer.
I opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of cotton panties.
I turned around to toss the things onto the bed and Maddox blocked my path.
“I don’t think you really need these,” he said as he grabbed the clothes from my hands, holding them over his head.
“I absolutely need those,” I said, jumping up, trying to grab them from his hand and failing miserably. I jumped again and his other hand snatched the towel from my body.
“You don’t need that either,” he said, smiling mischievously.
“Is that all you want from me? Sex?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me.
His smile disappeared immediately, and I felt bad.
I knew that wasn’t all that he wanted, but sometimes I didn’t play fair.
He held my clothes out and I snatched them out of his hand.
I pulled on the panties, slipped the tee over my head and quickly slid the shorts on.
I turned around and he was standing there looking ashamed of himself.
I approached him and slid my arms around his waist. I slowly looked up at him and let a smile spread across my face.
“All’s fair in love and war, right?”
His smile was back—me and my stupid mouth. He bent down and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. He smacked my ass and then squeezed it; walking to the bed he tossed me onto it.
“See, you got dressed for no reason.” He began crawling toward me.
“No, seriously. We are not having sex tonight.” He stopped and stared at me to see if I was joking. Then he stood up from the bed.
“Okay, we don’t have to have sex. Are you tired and just want to get some rest?”