Games 007

Maddox POV

It was already morning, before I could tell, I changed yo for my morning gym routine. After some minutes I took my bath.

When I was done, I threw on a black button down shirt and an ash fitting trousers, I adjusted the shirt hands rolling them up a bit to reveal my muscles, I grabbed my watch from the table and locked it on.

The house was quiet as I walked down the hallway. I stopped by the kitchen, glanced in but it was empty. Maybe Maddie hadn’t woken up yet.

I moved to the main entrance, Ryan was already waiting there, his head slightly tipped down as he saw me. “Morning, boss.”

I gave him a short nod and stepped out. The car door was opened immediately.

“Everything’s set?”

“Yes, sir. The meeting is in thirty minute.”

I got in without another word. Ryan closed the door and went around to the driver’s seat, waiting for me to give him the instruction.

“Drive.”

Ryan drove out of the compound smoothly, the morning sun was barely up, this was the time workers were meant to be leaving for work.

The city was already awake though, people were rushing and cars were just pulling out from different angles. I scrolled through my phone, checking some files for the meeting. The shareholders were a bunch of greedy bastards, always whining about profit shares when they barely did a thing.

We reached the company in less than twenty minutes. As soon as the car stopped, Ryan got out and opened my door. I stepped out, adjusted my cuffs, and walked in.

The receptionist tried to greet me with that nervous smile she always had anytime I came to watch how the company was but I just nodded once and took the elevator straight up to the boardroom.

When I walked in, everyone went silent, their loud chattering was now replaced with a different drop pin silent.

“Morning, Mr. Maddox,” one of them started, with a smooth shaky voice.

Pretenders! All of them were bunch of people pretending but I was just going to keep playing along. They think because they hold some little shares in this group, they were the pillar. Tsk.

I didn’t bother replying. I just sat down at the head of the table and placed my feet up the table. Ryan placed a pair of files by my side. “Let’s make this quick. I have better things to do.”

A few of them exchanged glances. The old man, Collins, cleared his throat. “I'll go first. About the new partnership with the jewelry branch—”

“Rejected,” I said before he could finish because I knew what he wanted to talk about.

He blinked. “But sir, the profits are—”

“I said rejected. If you want to argue, take it up with someone who cares, you can spend your time doing something else than keep prolonging your thirsty throat to the new jewelry branch.”

That shut him up. I leaned back and stared at them, my fingers tapping lightly on the table as I patiently waited for who was going next. “You all have gotten too comfortable sitting here doing nothing but counting money digits. From next quarter, I want a full report from every branch head personally. Anyone who fails—” I looked directly at Collins. “—is out.”

No one said a word after that.

When the meeting finally ended, I stood up and straightened my sleeves. “Next time, make this worth my time, I'm ashamed you guys couldn't sort this on your own.”

Ryan followed me out quietly. As soon as we stepped into the hallway, he spoke, “You really scared them again, boss.”

I smirked a little. “If fear keeps them working, then it’s effective.”

We entered the elevator. Ryan pressed the ground floor button, then hesitated. “You want to head straight home?”

“Yeah,” I said, staring ahead. “I want to see if the little rabbit’s awake yet.”

Ryan didn’t reply, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch as the doors slid shut.

By the time we reached the house again, the sun was getting higher. The guards greeted me with a slight bow as the gates opened. Ryan parked in the same spot and got out to open my door.

I stepped out, rolling my shoulders. “Tell Finn to prepare breakfast,” I said stepping by the side.

“Yes, boss.”

The house was still quiet as I left it, I had to take a glance upstairs, Maddie's door was half open now. Maybe she was awake. I took the stairs slowly, each step echoing faintly against the walls.

When I reached her door, I pushed it slightly. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her dark hair cascading over her face, her hand pressed to her temple like she was still half asleep in that position.

Her head lifted slowly when I walked in.

She froze for some seconds. Her eyes widened a little, tracing the rolled sleeves of my shirt before snapping up to meet my gaze.

“Morning princess,” I said, my voice low with an edgy illy smirk.

She blinked, her voice barely a whisper. “Morning…”

“Breakfast will be ready soon. You can come down when you’re done.”

She nodded quickly, her fingers tightening around the edge of the blanket. I didn’t miss the slight pink creeping up her neck.

I turned to leave but paused by the doorway. “And Maddie…”

She looked up again, startled.

“Next time you leave your door unlocked, don’t expect me not to walk in, or is this something planned?” I purposely teased.

Her mouth parted slightly, but I didn’t wait for a response. I walked away, hearing the faint sound of her breath catch behind me.

Downstairs, Ryan was still waiting out, that was one thing I love about Ryan, he never left his job uncompleted. He gets everything done in minutes, so basically it's his efficiency and efforts to make things work I liked.

“Everything’s ready, sir.”

I sat down at the head of the table, sipping the coffee that had just been poured. The taste was dark and itter like how any coffee tasted and that was just how I liked it.

I leaned back in my chair, my eyes drifting briefly toward the staircase.

A few seconds later, I heard soft footsteps.

She appeared at the end of the stairs, wearing one of those oversized shirts that barely brushed her thighs. My jaw flexed. She didn’t even seem to notice how it looked from this angle.

Ryan cleared his throat quietly and stepped back. Smart man.

Maddie hesitated when our eyes met, her steps faltering for a second before she walked toward the table.

“Sit,” I said.

She sat opposite me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes darting everywhere except me.

“Sleep well?” I asked, voice calm but carrying weight.

She swallowed. “I guess.”

I smirked faintly. “You guess?”

“I—I mean, yeah,” she corrected quickly.

Silence settled between us, filled only by the soft clink of cutlery. I watched her struggle to eat under my gaze. She looked like a cornered kitten pretending not to be scared.

When she finally gathered the courage to look up, our eyes locked.

“What?” she asked with a soft voice, a hint of nervousness beneath it.

“Nothing,” I said, setting my cup down. “You’re just… beautiful than usual.”

She frowned slightly. “You just got here.”

I chuckled, low and rough. “You’ve got a mouth when you want to.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked down again.

I leaned forward slightly. “Keep it that way, Maddie. I like it when you talk back… but know when to stop.”

The way she froze told me she understood.

Ryan’s phone buzzed softly, he quickly excused himself.

Now it was just us.

I stood and walked around the table, stopping beside her. She didn’t move, just sat still, her fork halfway to her mouth.

I reached out, brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, letting my knuckles graze her cheek lightly. “Eat,” I said quietly. “You’ll need your strength.”

Then I walked away.

Because if I’d stayed one more minute, I wasn’t sure I’d keep pretending she didn’t already have me wrapped around her little finger.