Page 3 of Big Bad Boss: Mated
“Except, I am.” I shift her in my arms, so she’s straddling my waist, and I press her against the elevator wall. I need to be inside her. Again.
It’s ridiculous how much I need my mate.
“I’ll take him out to the Berkshires where he can practice on the back roads.”
“That would be fun.”
“Wait.” I press my hips against hers. “Do you know how to drive?”
“Nope.”
“I’ll teach both of you. Aubrey, too, if she wants.”
Some of the light goes out of Madi’s face. “I don’t know if she would want to.” There’s a vague sense of defeat in Madi that I don’t like.
The elevator opens onto the ground level, and I carry her out to the Jag. “Does she hate me?”
“No.” Madi’s not entirely convincing. “I mean, she doesn’t like you. But I don’t think it’s quite that. I think…we miss each other.”
My brow furrows. I’m completely out of my depth here. Female relationships are beyond me. Human female relationships are even farther out of reach. Then it dawns on me. “I’m monopolizing all your free time.”
“It’s not just that.” The defeat is present in her voice again.
“What is it?” I reluctantly lower my mate to her feet and open the passenger door for her.
She sighs as she slides into the car. When I climb into the driver’s side, she says, “We’re growing apart. She thinks I’ve changed. Which, I guess I have with the Luna thing and all. But I can’t tell her about that. I can’t tell her anything, and it means we don’t have all that much to talk about anymore. I’m now this rich COO of Torrent Cosmetics, living with my billionaire boyfriend. I’m the kind of person she stages protests against. I’m sure she thinks she doesn’t even know me. I hate it.”
I hate that she hates it.
The wolf in me wants to tear someone’s throat out. The CEO wants to fire someone. The billionaire wants to throw money at the problem to make it go away. Of course, none of those actions would help.
My phone rings, but I ignore it as I drive out onto the street. “So I guess inviting her to the Berkshires wouldn’t help.”
“Not really. She’s like my mom. Highly suspicious of wealth.”
“Text her and see if she wants to hang out with you tomorrow night.”
Madi gives me a glance. “Like, at our place?”
My phone rings again. I ignore it. “At hers. You guys can watch an eighties movie or whatever it was you did together.”
She pulls out her phone, but before she can text, it lights up with a call. Her eyebrows pop in surprise. “It’s Billy. That must’ve been who was calling you.”
She hits the speaker button as she answers. “Billy? What’s up?”
“Is Brick there?” I don’t like the tension in his voice.
“What is it?” I growl.
“We have a problem.”
Chapter Two
Madi
“Here’s the problem.” Billy paces in front of us. We’re all gathered in a private meeting room in the billionaire row building that houses our city residence. The mood is tense, reflected on the faces of the guys. “The king of Manhattan reached out. He wants to see you.”
“What for?” Brick growls. He’s at my side, standing rigid.