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Unfortunately, Preston seems oblivious to polite signals. He proceeds to launch into obsessive praise of my videos and beauty. As subtle hints fly past unacknowledged by him, Grace firmly grasps my elbow.
“We have to run now,” she says as she steers us away forcefully.
When we gain a safe distance, I release my held breath in a whoosh. “Sorry about that creeper. Occupational hazard, I guess, when you kinda have internet fame . . .” I trail off with an apologetic shrug.
Grace frowns. “That dude clearly had stalker red flags. You need to tell Jack.”
I wave it off but make a mental note to be more aware of my surroundings.
After saying goodbye to my sisters for the day, I head to the nearby John Jay Park to meet up with Jace. It’s time to shoot a few more videos outside before the weather shifts.
I spot him stretching on a secluded lawn by the river, warming up. My earlier disturbing run in with Preston fades as I become absorbed choosing the songs and settling on the mood of the video.
We playfully fine tune our moves under the autumn sunshine waning too quickly. After multiple takes, I finally land a dramatic hair whip finale.
“And I think that's a wrap,” I say breathlessly. “With these videos taking off lately, are you getting stopped more in public now?” I ask him, scrolling footage on my phone.
Jace pauses, eyeing me curiously. “You know, not really. Sure, comments spike and likes roll in. But so far, no one has recognized me on the street or anything.” He grins teasingly. “Guess you handle most the fame burden of our collab.”
I force a small laugh, brushing off my run in with Preston. If only Jace knew of the fame he enjoys in my own little family.
“Hey, it's getting late. Want me to walk you to the subway?”
“Nah, I’m good.” I wave him off, setting off toward Lexington Avenue with my headphones playing lively music. But I’m still tense as the dusk settles in over the Manhattan skies.
You're losing it, Maddie, I scold inwardly, picking up my pace toward the turnstiles ahead. Too many videos and comments are probably making me jumpy. Still, the niggling sense of unease follows me onto the thankfully always crowded six-train headed downtown.
14
NIGHTMARE’S GRIP
A knock at my office door precedes Cade poking his head in. “Got a few minutes?”
I wave him into the seat adjacent to mine. “How are we looking?”
”After last weeks’ meetings, we’ve narrowed it down to three potential firms to manufacture the VR systems.”
He runs through the options: Hanes Robotics, Burke Medical Tech, and Walsh Dynamics. I bristle slightly at the last name. It’s a big firm, with plenty of resources to draw on.
“Walsh would fast-track delivery by six weeks. Likely cutting corners on testing and quality control, if you ask me.”
I mull it over before decisively tapping the files. “Set up site visits and follow ups for all three. I like the timeline Walsh promises, but I want to consider all the options before we make a decision.”
Cade readily agrees, gathering the chosen folders. “Will do. We need a rock-solid infrastructure backbone, and this is starting to look good.”
As we wrap up the meeting with our next steps, Cade casually leans back in his chair. “Now tell me how cohabitating with our darling social media manager is going.” His tone is both playful and insinuating.
“We're making it work,” I grumble, avoiding his stare.
I don’t tell him that last week, when I saw her in the park shimmying to the groove with a gorgeous, shirtless man her own age, my mind was wiped blank. Watching her dance in scraps of glitter fabric took my breath away. The young man looked like a damn movie star, his six-pack glistening, rivulets of sweat snaking down his chest tattoos, a backward baseball cap revealing golden locks underneath. He never touched her, but his movements mirrored hers as if he was reading her mind. His smile, dazzling and bright, complemented the playful gesture of his hand mimicking a racing heartbeat, a flirtatious eye roll, and the fingers beckoning the viewer to come closer.
Seeing Maddie with someone so effortlessly charming made me realize he would be a far better match for her than my battle-scarred self ever could be.
Still, I lost my mind. I realized there was no world in which I would let Maddie Emerson walk away from me.
She had to be mine.
“So, when are you gonna admit you guys are the real deal?”
