Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) Read Online Free Page B

attention back to me.
    “You took care of one of your demons. Now you have to take care of the other,” he said as he sashayed out of my office. Sure, like taking care of my mother would be that easy. The woman made senators weep after crossing her. I took another sip of my coffee.
    I pushed aside the drama and prepared to work, but the thing about drama is that it has a tendency to catch up with you.
     
    ***
     
    I’d just gotten off of a conference call with our German office when my intercom buzzed.
    “Your mother is on line one,” Jeremy said.
    I hit the button to reply. “Take a message.”
    “Tried that. Guess how she reacted?” The sarcasm was barely masked by the cheerful lilt of his voice.
    I picked up the extension, groaning, and took a deep breath before I hit the button to answer the call.
    “Hello, Mother,” I said, trying to keep the disdain out of my voice.
    “Your father and I will be in town next weekend,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “I expect you and your brother to join us for dinner.”
    There was no question. This was not a request. I rolled my eyes. Great, it would be damn near impossible to get Liam to agree to go anywhere near them, let alone to dinner.
    I replied with an automatic Stepford response. “Of course, Mother. I’m looking forward to it.”
    “Wonderful! I will have your father’s secretary send you our itinerary.” Now that she had gotten her way, her voice sounded brighter, mildly cheerful.
    “See you next week. Good-bye, Mother.”
    I hung up the phone before she could begin her lecture on the importance of promptness. My family has been described as a lot of things—mainly, arrogant and self-serving—but warm was never something used to describe the Sinclair bunch.
    My parents are a typical old southern couple. They might have, at one point, been in love, but now it’s more of a relationship built on routine and tolerance than love and mutual respect.
    They’ve been married for almost forty-five miserable years. Mother always gets her way. My father adopted the philosophy that a happy wife means a happy life a long time ago and rarely puts his foot down no matter how unreasonable she gets.
    The only thing they completely agreed on was Liam. Well, the fact that Liam was wasting his life. I tried my best not to get involved, but since he was currently living under my roof, my parents believed I was enabling him. Until Liam can figure out his life, I’ll be stuck in the heart of his drama, as if I didn’t have enough of my own.
    As Mother liked to frequently remind me, I was a disgrace to my entire family. Sinclair’s don’t get divorced. Believe it or not, I’m the first. Apparently, I came from a long line of very unhappy people trapped in horrible marriages. Granted, I held out hope that at least one or two of them were happy, but it seemed unlikely.
    My cell phone started to vibrate on my desk and I groaned. Now what? I picked it up, swiping my finger across the screen to see who it was, but I didn’t recognize the number.
     
    Mystery texter: Can’t stop thinking about you.
     
    What the hell? I narrowed my eyes, studying my phone to be sure I’d read it right. It had to be a mistake. That was the only logical explanation.
     
    Madison: Sorry, I think you have the wrong number.
     
    I set my phone down and got back to work. Before I could read the next report, my phone vibrated again. What the…?
     
    Mystery texter: I hope to see you again soon, Madison.
     
    Madison: Who is this?
     
    Mystery texter: An admirer.
     
    I was officially creeped out. An admirer? What the hell? It had to be a joke. Maybe Michael was trying to humiliate me? Well, I refused to give him the satisfaction. I shoved my phone in my bag, determined not to respond to his childish prank. For a moment, I considered asking WWMD but I’m pretty sure that she would just kick him in the balls while wearing a pair of extremely pointy heels, but I wouldn’t have the nerve.
    I heard