Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
annalise
Nausea swells in the pit of my stomach when I think about how my privacy will be violated.
I knew it was only a matter of time before the secret was out.
Maddox is a world-famous basketball star and almost everything he does is documented.
Those private, intimate moments we shared really helped us rebuild our relationship, and I wanted to savor them with him for a while longer.
Loud gasps ripple through the crowd as Zoey reveals the photo.
“I know—I was shocked, too. I’m sad I’m not the one he’s settling down with.” Zoey sighs and the crowd roars with laughter.
“Maddox has never been seen traveling with another woman, so it must be serious. Sources are saying the girl in the photo is his high school sweetheart, Annalise Monroe.”
“Oh, this is a fucking disaster.” I lean back, scrubbing my hand down my face. “You don’t think it was anyone from your cabin crew, do you?”
Maddox flicks off the TV. “I hope not. It took a while for me to find a good crew. I’d hate to fire them. But it could’ve been anyone… People are aware that I have a private jet. I’ll talk to my publicist to see if she can find out who’s behind this.”
“What if we were followed on our other dates, too? What if they took photos of us skinny dipping?” My pulse races, my palms slick with sweat as the possibility of those photos being leaked crosses my mind.
Maddox shakes his head. “I don’t think so. We were in the middle of nowhere. Plus, those photos would’ve been leaked a while ago.” He reaches for my hand, giving it a squeeze. “You have nothing to worry about, Rosie.”
“Nothing to worry about?” I stare at him in disbelief. “I have everything to worry about. I could lose my job.”
Veronica’s warning rings in my ears. “Mr. Kamado is our client and having a sexual relationship with him is strictly prohibited. So unless you want to be out of a job, I highly suggest you refrain from getting involved with him.”
After Raven posted the viral video of the clothing she got from my shop, the number of orders I received tripled. But I still wasn’t making enough to quit Dauntless—especially after subtracting the cost of the materials.
If I increased my prices, I would make a whole lot more, but I want my clothes to be affordable to everyone.
“I don’t think Veronica will fire you over this. She needs an assistant, and I don’t think anyone else could last as long as you have. It takes a special kind of person to be able to put up with her bullshit daily.” Maddox grins.
I let out a small chuckle. “True. Ivy did say Veronica’s previous assistants never lasted longer than a month.”
Leaning forward, he kisses my forehead. “We’ll get through this. It’s us against the world.”
“Hopefully it’ll blow over soon.” I sigh.
“Until it does, stay off social media. And no more watching The Scoop.”
I did the opposite of staying away from social media.
The moment I woke up, I grabbed my phone and scrolled through Instagram.
Photos of us from high school have resurfaced, and the hashtag maddalise is currently trending.
There are some positive comments talking about how we make such a cute couple, but amongst those are negative ones.
“What does he see in her? She’s not even that pretty.”
“She’s probably a gold digger.”
“Why is he with her? She’s a nobody.”
Heat rises in me as I scroll through all the comments.
Maddox stirs next to me and rubs his eyes. “Good morning, beautiful.” He kisses me softly on my lips.
“Ugh, people are so rude!” I groan.
He peeks over at my screen and sees the comments.
“Annaliiise,” Maddox groans. “I told you to not look at those things.” Grabbing my phone, he tucks it under the pillow.
I chew on the inside of my cheeks. “I can’t help myself. I hate that people are saying these things about me.”
“Don’t pay attention to those trolls. They’re nothing but losers hiding behind a keyboard,” he says, trying to reassure me.
But all of those negative comments are getting to me. Maddox’s hard work and talent is what made him famous, and I want the same for me, too. I want to be recognized for being a fashion designer, but now I fear that people will only ever see me as a famous basketball player’s girlfriend.
They’ll probably think that the only reason I become successful is because of him.
Everyone’s eyes are on me, and indistinct whispers fill the room when I step into the office. Ever since our relationship leaked over the weekend, I’ve been dreading coming back to work.
I clear my throat and avoid their gazes as I walk to my desk.
“I’m kinda upset I found about this out online, and not from you,” Ivy pouts. “I thought we were work besties.”
“I’m sorry. Only a handful of people knew about it. I was still figuring things out between us and wanted to keep things private.”
“I get it. But I kinda suspected there was something going on.”
I raise a brow, intrigued. “How so?”
She smirks. “Well, for starters—he’s hot as fuck.
It was only a matter of time before you gave in.
And don’t act like I haven’t seen the way you two sneak glances at each other when you think no one’s watching.
Pluuus”—she draws out the word, giving me a knowing look—“you’ve been in a much better mood lately.
So, I figured it has to be because you’re getting some good dick. ”
Blush creeps across my cheek. “Ivyyy…”
She lets out a laugh. “I’m very observant.”
Veronica’s door swings open, and my stomach twists into knots when her eyes land on me. I can feel the heat of her stare from across the room.
“Ms. Monroe. My office. Now.”
Wiping my palms on my skirt, I try to focus on my breathing to prevent myself from losing it as I walk toward her.
When I enter her office, she slams the door behind us.
“I specifically told you not to have any kind of relationship with Mr. Kamado and you went and did it anyway!” Her face reddens with anger, the vein on her temple pulsating.
“I’m s-sorry, Ms. Zhang.” I stare at the ground, unable to meet her eyes. “I can’t help how I feel about him. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “So, what you’re saying is that this job isn’t important to you?”
“No, of course it’s important to me! I am very grateful for this job and to be able to work for this company. You have been such a great boss.”
Hearing my own words makes me want to throw up. Kissing Veronica Zhang’s ass is the last thing I want to do.
“I should be firing you for insubordination,” she snaps.
Bile rises in my throat and my chest tightens. I feel like I’m suffocating.
“But I’m not going to.”
“You’re not?” I stare at her, stunned, the words leaving my mouth before I can stop them.
She quirks a brow, cool and composed as ever.
“I don’t think Mr. Kamado would be too pleased if I fired his girlfriend.
And the last thing I need is for him to pull out of this collaboration.
” Her voice is sharp, every syllable a warning.
“Consider yourself lucky, Ms. Monroe. Because if it weren’t for that deal, I wouldn’t have even let you through the front doors this morning. ”
“Thank you. For, um… not firing me.” I manage a weak smile, scratching the back of my neck.
She doesn’t return the smile. Instead, she leans forward slightly, eyes narrowing.
“Now that you’re in the public eye, please avoid any scandals.
If you do anything to ruin the reputation of Dauntless, I won’t only fire you, but I’ll make damn sure you never work in fashion again. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Ms. Zhang,” I reply, the oxygen finally returning to my lungs.
“Now, go and fetch me my coffee before I change my mind.” Veronica shoos me off.
Nodding, I exit her office and pull my phone out to shoot Maddox a text.
Good news. I still have a job.
Maddox
That’s great! I knew it wouldn’t happen.
She warned me not to get into any scandals or she’ll fire me.
Maddox
Damn. So I guess we can’t fuck in her office again, huh?
Lol def not.
Maddox
My flight lands soon. Do you want to get some Italian tonight? I’ve been craving the pasta alla Trapanese from Louisa’s. It’s a bit far from my place, so it wouldn’t taste the same once reheated.
You sure it’s a good idea?
Maddox
It’ll be fine. It’s a mom-and-pop shop. I’ve been there before and no one pays me any mind. They just let me eat in peace.
Me
Okay. I’ll see you tonight.
“See? I told you it would be nice and quiet here.” Maddox pops a forkful of creamy pasta in his mouth. “You should learn to trust me more.”
I thought our date would be full of interruptions—people approaching him for pictures or autographs—but, to my surprise, everyone keeps to themselves.
Occasionally I see a few people glance our way, but no one bothers us.
“I’m glad I’m able to fully enjoy my meal.” Twirling my fork, I take another bite of the delicious pasta. “So do you think y’all will be able to sweep Seattle, too?”
The Dragons won the last two games and will advance to the Western Conference Finals if they are able to win the next two—which would allow them more time to recover before the next round.
Maddox clicks his tongue. “I don’t know. We’ve been neck and neck during the last two games, and never really had a big lead.” He tilts his head back and groans. “I wish Chandler hadn’t gotten injured. I hate admitting this, but Lucas isn’t a bad player. It’s just…”
“You don’t trust him?” I add, finishing his thought.
“Yeah. There have been plenty of times when he’s been wide open, but I refuse to pass it to him.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, babe,” I say, my voice soft. “Anyone would act the same if they were in your position.”
He releases a sigh. “I know, but I gotta learn to work with him if I want to win.”
“So, what’s the update on Chandler? Did they ever find out who hit him?”
“Unfortunately not. It’s crazy that there was no camera footage from his accident. It’s a pretty busy street, so you would think there would be.”
I tear off a piece of bread and dip it in the pasta sauce. “Do you think maybe it wasn’t an accident?”
Maddox lifts his brow. “What, like someone purposely hit him?”
I shrug. “Maybe whoever is behind it doesn’t want the Dragons to win. I’m guessing whoever did it probably exposed our relationship too, in hopes that it would throw you off your game and make you lose.”
He lets out a laugh, nearly choking on his food, “Okay, I think you watch wayyy too much TV. Now, I can’t explain why someone exposed us, but I highly doubt those two things are correlated. Hit-and-runs are pretty common.”
“I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you,” I say, worry tightening in my chest. “Chandler got lucky, but it could’ve been worse.”
Leaning forward, he kisses me on the cheek. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Rosie. You and I are both going to live long and healthy lives.”
I offer him a smile but it doesn't reach my eyes. A gnawing unease twists in my gut, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the sense that something awful is looming just out of sight.
“How was everything?” Our waitress Gianna approaches, setting the check on the table.
“Oh, it was the best pasta I’ve ever had!” I gush. “I will definitely be coming back.”
She gives me a smile. “I’m so glad to hear. Thank you for dining at Louisa’s.”
Maddox leaves a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table as we exit the restaurant. When we turn the corner to head to the parking garage, paparazzi suddenly appear out of nowhere. The flashes from their cameras blind us as they bombard us with a flurry of questions.
“Maddox, is it true that you two are expecting?”
“What? Where are they getting this from?” I whisper to Maddox.
“Did your parents force you two to break up back then because she didn’t come from a wealthy family?” another reporter asks.
“No, now if you will excuse us…” Wrapping his arm around my waist, Maddox tries to push through, but they continue to crowd us.
“Annalise, are you only with Maddox for his money and fame?”
My fists clench at my side and heat spreads through me like wildfire. I want to grab their cameras and smash them on the ground, but I remember what Veronica said about getting involved in any scandals. I need to protect my image.
“Annalise, did you come up with a plan to win him back when you found out he’s in the NBA?”
“Enough!” Maddox shouts. His booming voice demands authority and they quiet down.
He grabs a microphone from one of them. “And to clear up this false narrative you all keep spreading, I was the one who pursued her. The moment I saw her again, I realized that I’d never stopped loving her, and that I had to win her back. Letting her go was the biggest mistake I ever made.”
His lips swoop down to meet mine, and the moment our lips touch, everything around us disappears. The shouts from the paparazzi and the clicks from their camera fade away in the distance.