Stepbrother Bastard (23 page)

“
He
is,
”
Allie replies,
“
He
works long days at his bike shop, but he said he could take a few minutes to
answer a couple of initial questions. He
’
s
expecting a representative from our agency later this afternoon.
”

“
Is
he local?
”
Brian
asks.

“
Not
quite,
”
Allie shrugs,
“
But
he
’
s
worth the trip. We could just do a phone interview, but if you guys are already
sold, I think a face-to-face meet would be preferable.
”

“
Agreed,
”
Carol says,
“
That
’
s
what you two excel at
—
face-to-face interaction.
Maddie, you should take this first meeting, since you already know Mr.
Hawthorne.
”

“
Oh.
But,
”
I stammer, looking back
and forth between my bosses,
“
Allie could totally take
this one, too. She
’
s the one who reached
out, after all
—”

“
No,
no,
”
Carol cuts me off,
“
It
should be you. Take the afternoon and pay a visit.
”

“
But
it
’
s
the middle of a workday,
”
I protest weakly.

“
Which
is why I
’
m
asking you to
work
on this assignment,
”
Carol replies, out of
patience with my pussyfooting.
“
What
’
s
the problem, Madeleine?
”

“
No
problem,
”
I rush to assure her, my
heart hammering against my ribs,
“
I
’
ll
just
…
go
and pay Mr. Hawthorne a visit. See if he
’
s
interested in
…
working with us.
”

“
Super,
”
Brian smiles, clapping
his hands together.
“
What a stroke of luck
that you happened to run into this guy! How did you two meet, anyway?
”

“
He
’
s
…
Uh
…”
I splutter, searching for
the right words,
“
A friend of the family.
”

“
Excellent,
excellent,
”
Brian
goes on, nodding his head,
“
You know what they say,
‘
Keep
it in the family!
’”

I
wrangle my face into a placid smile, despite the fact that I want nothing more
in this moment than for a trap door to open up beneath my chair and swallow me
whole.

“
You
can head out right away, Maddie,
”
Carol tells me,
“
Allie,
why don
’
t
you keep researching potential candidates? Brian and I will discuss some more
logistics while you two get to work.
”

“
Sounds
good!
”
Allie chirps, walking
around the table toward me.
“
Come on,
”
she says,
“
We
can chat on the way to your car.
”

I
pull myself numbly to my feet, feeling as though I
’
ve
stumbled into some alternate reality. My real life and the backwoods fantasy of
last week are racing toward each other, set for a collision course. Will I even
be able to handle these two separate parts of my life coming together? Or will
I be leveled by the wreck their meeting is sure to cause?

“
Allie,
what the hell are you doing?
”
I hiss to my evil genius of a friend, the
second we
’
re out of earshot.

“
At
the moment, I
’
m walking you directly to your car to
make sure you don
’
t bolt,
”
she replies smoothly,
taking me by the elbow.

“
You
know what I mean,
”
I shoot back, hurrying toward the front
doors of the office. A little fresh air sounds pretty good right about now.

“
Oh,
you mean the whole
‘
making sure you don
’
t
blow it with the one guy you
’
ve actually cared for in
years
’
thing?
”
Allie replies.

“
Yes,
”
I breathe, pushing open
the front door and rushing out into the overcast afternoon,
“
That
is exactly what I mean.
”

“
Maddie,
I admit that what I did back there was
…
unorthodox,
”
my best friend allows,
laying her hands on my shoulders.
“
But
I couldn
’
t
just let you watch as your chance with this guy slipped away. I had to step in.
”

“
You
should have asked me,
”
I reply, exasperated,
“
Or
at least
warned
me. Now I have to drive halfway across the state and
confront the man I
’
ve been pining away for
—”

“
Aha!
You admit it!
”
Allie
roars triumphantly,
“
You
have
been
pining.
”

“
I
’
m
not
—
I
didn
’
t
—”
I stutter,
“
Goddammit,
Allie. This isn
’
t funny. This is my whole
life you
’
re
interfering with, now. My career, my family
—”

“
What
does your family have to do with it?
”
she cuts me off.
“
I
thought your parents were friends? So what if it
’
s
a tiny bit awkward, they
’
ll get over it. I still
don
’
t
understand what the problem is.
”

“
Let
’
s
just say there
’
s
…
.some
history,
”
I reply, averting my
eyes.

“
Well,
fuck history,
”
she
says adamantly, taking me by the hand and leading me over to my car.
“
You
can
’
t
change anything that
’
s happened to you or your
family, Maddie. You only have control over what happens right here, right now.
You only get to make so many choices in your life. Usually, things are out of
your hands, and you just have to take what you
’
re
given. But you have a choice with Cash, Maddie. You can choose to go get him,
or choose to let him go. Now, I may have gone too far, getting in touch with
him, but it
’
s only because I can see how much you
want him in your life. You can be mad at me all you like, but I won
’
t
let you spend the rest of your life being mad at yourself for fucking this up.
I can
’
t.
I love you too much.
”

“
Allie
…”
I breathe, resting my
hands on the roof of my car in an attempt to steady myself,
“
How
can I be sure that he
’
ll even want me now?
”

“
You
can
’
t,
”
she says gently, laying a
hand on my back,
“
But you can at least be
sure that you tried, this way.
”

“
I
know you
’
re
right,
”
I whisper,
“
I
know
, but
—”

“
No
more buts, Missy. You
’
re on the clock,
”
she says, pulling my car
keys out of my purse and placing them firmly in my hand.
“
So
go bag a stud, would you? We
’
ve got some denim to
hock, and you
’
ve got a fuck buddy to get
reacquainted with.
”

“
I
’
m
sure I
’
ll
thank you for this some day
…”
I say bemusedly,
“
Or
else I
’
ll
never forgive you. It could go either way.
”

“
You
know what? I
’
ll take my chances,
”
she grins,
“
It
’
s
better than risking having another Paul on our hands. One more boring, lame ass
boyfriend from you and I would have had to toss your ass anyway.
”

“
Your
confidence is ever-so-touching,
”
I drawl, yanking open the drivers side
door and sliding inside.
“
I
’
ll
let you know how this goes, I guess.
”

“
Take
your time,
”
she
tells me, turning toward the office,
“
True
love and contract negotiations both happen in their own time.
”

“
What
a romantic,
”
I
mutter, starting the engine and peeling out of my parking space. Allie waves
cheerfully from the front door, totally unaware of how high the stakes are for
this little visit.

With
my hands clamped firmly on the steering wheel, I turn the radio up full blast
and set off once more toward Cash Hawthorne
’
s
turf. I guess I was bound to see him again one way or another
…
Our
parents are cohabitating now, for god
’
s
sake. What
’
s the real harm in speeding up our
reunion? The real question is, what will he have to say when I arrive? Will he
scoop me up in his arms and shower me with
“
I
missed you
’
s?
”
Or tell me to get back in
my car and leave him the hell alone? At least I
’
ll
know one way or another before the day is out. That
’
s
one tiny shred of comfort in this otherwise bonkers situation.

I
’
ve
barely made it onto the highway when the sprawling mid-day sky goes dark with
storm clouds. Heat lightning crackles along the horizon, heralding a nasty
downpour. Sure enough, the sky cracks open with a shattering peal of thunder.
Buckets of rain slosh against my windshield
—
and
I
’
ve
got hours to go before I make it to my destination.

I
wonder what Cash thinks about my impending drop-in? Does he think I
’
m
totally pathetic, having had my best friend reach out to him instead of doing
it myself? I can see how this stunt could come off as totally pathetic. I can
’
t
show up without knowing where his head is at. I reach into my purse, hunting
for my phone so I can shoot him a preemptive text
…
but
I can
’
t
seem to find it. My stomach sinks as I remember shoving my phone into at my
desk drawer before the team meeting. I have no way of getting in touch with him
before our surprise reunion.