Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
annalise
The elevator door slides open and Maddox steps through, looking like he just walked off a magazine cover.
He’s wearing a forest-green button-up shirt with black slacks, and his signature gold chain.
The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms and the tail end of the dragon tattoo.
Everyone in the office—including myself—turns their heads to steal a glance.
There are only two men that work here—Reginald, who’s fabulously gay and dresses better than anyone I know, and Henry, the sixty year old maintenance man for the building. It’s safe to say the women in this office have been dying for an attractive man to come through the doors.
So when Maddox is here, everyone seems to find an excuse to talk to him or be near him. I don’t blame them. He’s gorgeous. It’s like God took extra time and care when creating him. But I hate the way my stomach flips every time I see him.
“Remind me why you haven’t banged him again?” Ivy asks, resting her hand on her cheek as she stares at him with heart eyes.
“Because he’s my ex, and a million other reasons.”
“You can be exes with benefits.” She winks at me, nudging her shoulder against mine.
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. No matter how good he is in bed, I’m not going down that path.” Even if the space between my legs is begging me to repeat history.
Maddox walks by and my stomach does a full-on somersault.
“Good morning, Maddox!” Ivy chirps.
“Good morning, Ivy. Morning, Monroe,” he says, flashing me his dimpled smile.
“Good morning, Kama—ah!” My vision goes blurry and my lower abdomen twists with pain. You’ve got to be kidding me… Why now?
Since I’ve been on this birth control, my periods have been super sporadic. I can never tell when it’s coming, and when it does, I’m hit with the worst cramps that make me want to curl up in the fetal position.
Maddox’s brows pinch together, lines of worry etching his face. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” I flash him a weak smile before my lips twist in pain.
“Ooh, fuck, that hurts,” I hiss, clutching my stomach as I turn my back on Maddox.
I reach into my purse for the bottle of ibuprofen that I usually keep there, but it’s nowhere to be found.
I must have forgotten to put it back after I took it the other day for my headache. “Ivy, do you have any ibuprofen?”
She sifts through her purse and shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry.” She hands me a pad and tampon instead. “I’ll add hot water to a bottle so you can use it as a heating pad.”
“Thank you.” Pushing myself up, I hobble to the restroom with the pad and tampon. The first two days are usually heavy, so I always use both.
“Damn it,” I groan when I get into the stall. There’s a small stain on my underwear, so now I have to spend the next eight hours feeling absolutely disgusting.
I wipe up as much as I can before heading back to my desk.
“Here, put this on your stomach.” Ivy hands me the hot water bottle and I place it under my shirt. The warmth lessens the intensity of the cramps, but it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.
“If I have some free time, I’ll stop by the store to get you some meds,” she says.
“Thank you.”
Veronica walks out of her office, her head swiveling around the room. “Has anyone seen Mr. Kamado? I thought he would be here by now.”
“He was here earlier, but just left. Said he had to take care of something and will be back later,” Reginald tells her.
“Oh, I see.” Her eyes flick to mine and her expression immediately changes. “I need you to go to the storage room and organize the materials. I want everything in there neatly organized by the end of the day.”
“I’ll get it done.” I give her a tight-lipped smile and drag myself to the storage room, bringing the water bottle with me.
I open the door and nearly faint when I see the mess inside.
The fabrics are supposed to be organized by color and type of material, but they’re all jumbled together.
There are scraps of fabrics all over the floor, along with threads that have been unraveled or tangled up.
I have a feeling Veronica purposely created this mess to make my life harder. I wouldn’t put it past her.
As I reach for the stack of fabrics, a sharp stabbing pain shoots through my abdomen. I double over, gripping my stomach tightly as sweat drips down my forehead and a groan of agony escapes my lips. The water bottle has already cooled off, so it isn’t providing much relief.
Crawling over to the thread section, I attempt to roll them up neatly and organize everything while sitting down.
I’ve managed to get a few done when there’s a knock on the door. I huff a sigh. It’s probably Veronica coming to ask me to do another ridiculous task.
Using the wall, I push myself up and smooth down my skirt. “Come in.”
The door swings open and Maddox walks in, bags in hand.
My brows shoot up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
He strides over and hands me the bags. “I went to Target to buy you some things,” he says, blush creeping on his cheeks. “Hopefully they’ll make you feel better.”
I open the bags and examine the contents.
It’s filled with different types and sizes of pads and tampons, a bottle of ibuprofen, bananas, chocolate bars, and a large bottle of water.
He even threw in five pairs of seamless panties and a wearable portable heating pad.
Warmth spreads through me, settling in my chest.
I said some harsh words to him the last time we saw each other, but his attitude toward me never wavered. He continues to be as sweet as ever, which only makes hating him even harder.
I lift my eyes to his and I’m so happy I could cry. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
A grin pulls at his lips. “You’re welcome. I remember how bad your cramps can get.”
When we were together, Maddox would always take care of me when I was on my period. He would run to the store to get what I needed and buy me whatever food I wanted to satisfy my cravings. Even as a teenager, he was never embarrassed to walk in a store and purchase feminine products.
I sit down on the ground and pop three ibuprofen in my mouth, swallowing them down with water. Since I don’t want the medicine tearing up my stomach, I peel one of the bananas and take a bite.
Maddox plops down next to me and pulls out the heating pad. “Do you need me to help you put it on?”
I nod and pull my blouse out of my skirt, lifting it up to expose my abdomen.
His fingers skim along my side while he secures the heating pad, sending goosebumps racing through me. “What setting do you want it on?”
“The highest, please.”
He presses the button three times and warmth slowly spreads through my stomach.
“Oh my gosh, this feels amazing,” I say, leaning my head back on the wall.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asks, glancing around the room.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll get it done eventually.”
“Come on, Annalise. You can barely stand for more than a few seconds, and you’re as pale as the walls.”
Shaking my head weakly, I lick my lips. “Don’t you have to go meet with Veronica and Trang?”
“They’re in a meeting right now. Veronica said it would take about thirty minutes. Tell me what you need to do and I’ll do it.”
I point to a pile of fabric. “You can help me organize that. Separate it by material and color. The type of material should be labeled at the top. If there’s no label, just set it to the side and I’ll figure it out.”
“Got it.” He smiles, his dimples pitting his cheeks slightly. “Just relax for a little while until you’re feeling better.”
Maddox manages to organize a decent amount of fabric in the span of thirty minutes. We don’t speak much, but I sneak glances at him when he’s not paying attention. There’s still more work to be done, but Maddox has definitely lightened the load.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Much better. The meds are starting to kick in, and this heating pad is a lifesaver. Thank you.” I shoot him a smile and blush spreads on his cheeks.
“I gotta go meet them, but I can come back and help you when I’m done.”
“No, no, I’ll manage. Plus, if Veronica sees you in here, she’ll probably call me lazy and accuse me of forcing you to do my work.”
A small laugh escapes him. “True. I want her to stay off your back as much as possible today.”
“You and me both. Thanks again, Kamado.”
“Anytime, Monroe.” He gives me a wink before stepping out the door.
Maddox doing what he did today is exactly why it’s so damn hard to hate him.
“Are you excited about your date tonight?” Mazi asks.
She’s sitting on the bathroom counter with a huge grin on her face while I apply my makeup. When I told her I ran into Lucas and that we made plans for dinner, she squealed with excitement and begged me to go shopping with her for an outfit.
She is definitely more enthusiastic about this than I am.
“It’s not a date. We’re just grabbing a bite to catch up.” I shrug and swipe a coat of mascara on my lashes.
“He’s taking you to the best Brazilian steakhouse in the city. It’s a damn date. Plus, he always had a crush on you. I remember he used to follow you around like a puppy dog in high school.”
“Oh, please.” I laugh, rolling my eyes. “He did not have a crush on me.”
“Yes, he did. And so did half the guys at our school. You were just too oblivious to notice.”
I never paid attention to anyone else because I only had eyes for Maddox. I dated a few guys before him, but it never developed into anything serious. He was my first real relationship, and the one I gave my everything to.
When I transferred schools, he was the only person apart from Mazi who was kind to me. Maddox always hung with the popular crowd, but he was different from the rest of them. He was genuine and always stood up for anyone being bullied. It was one of the things that made me fall for him.
My phone chimes with a text from Lucas stating that he’s here. I pull up the app to let him inside our apartment building.
Slipping into my favorite comfy wedges, I spray on some perfume before heading to our living room to meet Lucas.
I pull open the door and greet him with a smile. “Hey, Lucas!”
“Wow, Annalise,” he says, eyeing me up and down. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, these are for you!” Lucas grins, thrusting a bouquet of carnations into my hands, half of them already wilting.
“Oh, thank you… They’re lovely,” I say, doing my best to keep my smile from slipping.
I wasn’t expecting flowers, but the bouquet he chose feels like an insult—like I’m not worthy enough to get nice flowers.
Maddox’s voice pops up in my head. “Not only did he get you the cheapest bouquet, he gave you the worst-looking one. What a fucking tool.”
“Get out of my head, Kamado,” I mumble.
“What did you say?” Lucas asks.
My cheeks flush with heat. “Oh, I said I need to find a vase for these.”
While I search for a vase in our cupboards, Mazi comes out of the bathroom pretending like she hasn’t been eavesdropping this whole time.
“Hey, Lucas.”
“Hey, Mazikeen,” he says. “Good to see you again. How have you been?”
“I’ve been doing good! My photography business has been taking off lately.”
“That’s amazing! I’ve seen some of your work on Instagram. You’re so talented.”
“Thank you. Well, you two have fun tonight.” Mazi points a finger at me. “And make sure you’re back no later than midnight.”
“Got it, Ms. Rivera!” Lucas says, giving her a salute.
We arrive at the restaurant, and I feel out of place amongst all the rich people. Everyone’s dressed in designer clothing and decked out with expensive watches and jewelry.
I can’t help but feel self-conscious in the green satin dress I bought on sale at Macy’s.
The host looks me up and down before she leads us to our table. Round booths line the outside and long tables for larger parties are scattered throughout the middle.
A sax player fills the room with a soft jazz tune, really selling the romantic ambiance of the space. Couples are nuzzled closely together, staring deeply into each other’s eyes as they engage in conversation.
“So what was it like living in Colorado? Do you miss it?” I ask after our server takes our drink orders.
“Oh yeah, for sure. I loved living there. The apartment I stayed in had an incredible view of the mountains.”
“That sounds a whole lot better than the view I had. There was an old man in the building next to mine who would always walk around naked.” I shudder as the image flashes through my mind.
Lucas chuckles, shaking his head. “New York is something else.”
“Did you go snowboarding or skiing while you were there?”
He nods. “Snowboarding. I completely underestimated how difficult it would be. I didn’t take lessons, and I fell on my ass more times than I can count.”
“Oh no! Did you get better, at least?”
“Yeah. I made sure to take lessons when I went again. I haven’t gone down a black diamond yet, but plan on doing it next year.”
“Are you still playing basketball?”
“I am. I actually have some news.” Lucas’s eyes light up, a grin stretching from ear to ear. “I recently signed with the San Francisco Dragons. I’m going to be their sixth man.”
“Wow! That’s incredible. Congratulations, Lucas!”
He smiles shyly. “Thank you. I don’t know if you keep up with basketball at all, but Maddox and Elijah are on the team too.”
Great—now I’m back to thinking about Maddox and his stupidly handsome face.
“Is it weird playing with them? I know you guys didn’t exactly get along in high school.”
Lucas shakes his head. “There haven’t been any problems so far, but I’ve only practiced with them a few times. Kamado can be a ball hog, so we’ll see how it goes when I play a game with them in a few days.”
As if we spoke him into existence, none other than Maddox fucking Kamado walks into the restaurant flanked by Elijah, Santiago, and Andrés.
Just my luck.
I pull my phone out, pretending to check my messages.
Please, please sit them somewhere else.
The host leads them to the table directly in front of us and I curse under my breath.
“Here’s your table, gentlemen. Your server will be with you shortly.”
“Oh, shit!” Elijah blurts, eyes widening when he spots Lucas and me.
“What?” Maddox asks, giving him a puzzled look.
Elijah tips his chin in our direction and Maddox follows his gaze.
Fury ignites in his eyes. I can feel the heat of his rage surging through the restaurant.
“What the fuck are you doing with her, Hilton?”