Fated Series. Book #2
"Be possessive of me, own me, keep me, because if you do then nothing and no one else can." - Maddox.
My name is Maddox Vallero, and I'm dead.
Well, that's not quite true. I'm alive in the breathing, walking, talking sense-but...
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Chapter 30 Disastrous Interview Sophia.
"Snowboarding is off the table. Don't bring it up, okay?" I said, looking Maddox up and down before his interview. For a second, my eyes lingered on him, and I hated that I let them. Dressed in a casual black button-up—half undone, exposing just enough of his muscled chest—Italian-cut trousers he probably didn't even realize were Italian, and polished Chelsea boots, he looked effortlessly good. And of course, the gold chain and his ever-present ring, the one he kept twirling absentmindedly around his finger
"It's one of the only legal hobbies I have, Sophia. What else am I supposed to say? That I hack private companies for fun and dig through their secrets?"
I shot him a dry look. "Make something up, Maddox. You're clever. Talk your way out of it."
I'd spent all morning prepping him, or at least trying to. But Maddox only half-listened at best. The other half of him was busy grinning at me like I was the most amusing thing he'd ever seen. I wasn't sure where his head was, but I knew exactly where it shouldn't be.
Leaning against the wall, he tipped his head, the gray in his eyes darkening as they settled on me.
"I'm serious," I said, pressing the clipboard tighter against my chest. "Even a hint, and the paparazzi will be camping out on the mountain, waiting for you to show. You'd have to leave the state just to get any peace. Are you ready for that?"
A slow chuckle left him, quiet and low enough to squeeze my chest like a vice. "And be across state lines from you? That's a no for me. I could never."
I clenched my jaw, gripping the clipboard hard enough to feel my nails threaten to snap. He didn't get it. Or maybe he did, and he just didn't care. He knew exactly what he did to me—what he made me feel—and he wielded it like a blade, cutting through my composure with every word.
"I'm serious, Maddox," I forced out, my exhaustion slipping through. "Please quit with the jokes."
His sigh was heavier than mine as he pushed off the wall and adjusted his shirt, buttoning one of the undone buttons. "That's all I got, Soph. It's all I am. If I don't turn it into a joke, then it becomes real."
"You think your past is a joke?"
His slow nod hurt more than I wanted to admit.
I shook my head. "I don't think so, and you know that."
His fingers stilled around his ring. "I know you think I don't trust you—"
"Maddox," I exhaled, not ready to start this conversation again, but he cut me off.
"Sophia, listen to me. Just this once." His voice dipped, quieter. "I know you think I don't trust you, and I completely understand why you'd think that. But it's not about you. Fuck, it's never been about you. You're a damn blessing."
