Page 16 of The Bad Girl

Chapter 7

Nadine

I step off the elevator leading into the office in a state somewhere between dead and zombie.

The adrenaline caused by the unforeseen events put into motion last night assured that not only would I be going through the day exhausted, but I’d be sporting bright purple eye bags as well.

“Jesus, Nadine, what the hell happened to you?”

I look up to see Maxwell’s handsome face contorted into a sneer.

My shoulders slump as I make my way over to the high-end coffeemaker. It’s an eight-thousand-dollar clunky machine that doesn’t do half as well as my forty-dollar percolator, but it’s much quicker, and it gets the job done.

Maxwell closes the distance between us, eyeing me up and down. “It’s good to see your clothing fits today.”

I wait for the contraption to stop sputtering and take the cup out, not even bothering to put any cream or sugar into it. I take a sip, letting the heat scald my tongue with barely a whimper because my new zombie-like state grants me immunity from intelligence.

There’s no way around this. Maxwell is the only person that can help you transform from safe and boring to dangerous and exciting.

I turn on my heels, looking Maxwell straight in the eyes. “I need you to turn me into a badass, exciting, dangerous woman.”

He chuckles, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. “Judging by last night, I think you have that covered.”

“Maxwell—I’m serious.”

“So…you want me to turn you into the proverbial ‘bad girl?’ Is that it?”

I nod my head yes.

Maxwell pulls up two chairs, taking a seat and gesturing for me to do the same. “Do me a favor, Little Mouse, and tell me what’s going on with you.”

As soon as I sit, a wave of exhaustion hits me. It figures that I try for hours to go to sleep at home only to pass out as soon as my bottom hits Maxwell’s chair.

“Start from the beginning. Or rather what the hell happened to you after you left the office at 4:57 last night.”

“How about I just cut to the chase.” I pull up a picture of Tom on my phone and hand it to Maxwell. “This guy, Tom, wants to meet me for coffee. He also wants me to attend a wedding with him. I have to make sure I can keep him interested.”

Maxwell stares at the screen, zooming in on the image. “Do you mind if I mosey around his Facebook?”

“Go ahead.”

He clicks through, scrolling and studying the screen while I sit there, half asleep, trying to keep my eyes open.

“How did you make his acquaintance?”

“He’s a childhood friend’s big brother. Basically, he’s the reason for my bad boy obsession. He was an athlete, but got in trouble for something and lost his scholarship. It didn’t seem to hurt him in the long run, though.”

His eyes dart to me, studying my face. “Is this catching up, or did you two have a thing?”

And there it is, the question I’ve been dreading. I thought long and hard about whether or not I should tell Maxwell about that ill-fated night so long ago, and after much deliberation, I decided I had to. If I’m to stand a chance at snagging my childhood crush, Maxwell’s going to need all the details.

“When I was eighteen, I was staying the night at their apartment, and I kind of snuck into his room.”

“You snuck into his room? It’s like I never really knew you.”

“Well, it didn’t go how I had planned it.”

“What happened?”