Maddie grabbed a notebook and headed inside.

She saw Perry first, looking dashing in a lilac shirt, his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark grey Armani jacket. His thumbs tapped the outside of them in a nervous beat. He turned fully to watch her enter, a curious look on his face.

Relief coursed through her. He still seemed employed, so that was a start.

“Yes, Elena?” She focused on her boss’s narrowed eyes, Maddie’s pen poised for notes.

“Well, well, look what the gossip columnists dragged in.” She raked her gaze over Maddie. “You know, Ms Grey, when I predicted your abject humiliation, I had no idea you’d take me so literally.” Her voice dripped with ridicule.

“I can explain!”

Perry began to edge past them towards the door.

Smart man.

“Explain?” Elena plucked a worse-for-wear newspaper off her desk and held it up. It showed Véronique jabbing a finger towards Maddie while screaming in her face. A face that was covered in the soft lips of a certain sexy, young Frenchwoman. “While I did not expect you to win our bet, I never expected you to do the polar opposite. I don’t recall asking you to antagonise the world’s leading fashion designer into an aneurysm.”

Perry froze, and his head whipped around, intrigue lighting his eyes. “Bet? What bet?”

“Our bet,” Elena said, teeth gritted, ignoring him, “was to acquire the attentions of the mother, not the daughter. And I wanted an interview, not a blood feud!”

Perry looked from face to face and back to the article. “Wait…your bet was about whether Maddie could get Véronique Duchamp’s attention? The Véronique Duchamp? Who loathes and detests all media?” He gave a low whistle. “Okay.” He turned to his boss. “So what does she get now that she’s won?”

Elena snapped her head around to glare at him at the same moment Maddie’s jaw fell open.

“Won? Does this look like she’s won?” Elena pushed the paper right in front of his nose.

Perry edged a finger to the top of it and pushed it down and out of his face. “Actually, yes, it does. If attention was the goal agreed upon, I’d say Véronique looks fixated on Maddie. No attention lapse there at all.”

“I meant positive attention!” Elena said. “Madeleine knew exactly what I meant!” She turned to Maddie, who promptly nodded. “See!”

“But that wasn’t the bet. Was it?” A naughty smirk spread across his face.

Good God, does the man have a death wish?

Elena’s expression looked like thunder.

Perry smiled back, apparently unmoved. “Well, you both win, then. Or lose, if you prefer. Maddie did technically get attention from the designer. But not the attention you wanted. So what do you both get?”

Maddie stared at Elena, who was sending daggers at her art director in a way which would make most men cup their gonads and mutter “mercy”.

“Uh, honesty,” Maddie said, still in shock. “We each have to tell the whole truth. Me for a whole day. Elena for a week.”

Perry rocked on his polished heels and looked incredibly impressed. “Bold move, Maddie.” He turned to Elena. “But how will that be any different for you?”

Elena smiled and seemed to regain some of her equilibrium. “My point exactly.”

“Mmm.” Perry ran a hand over his bald head and then glanced at the clock. It was nearing eight in the morning. “So, time starts now?”

Maddie bit her lip. “Why not, ah, call it a draw, and we both walk away?”

Studying her for a moment, Elena shook her head. “I knew it.” Her eyes were taunting. “No backbone whatsoever.”

“Ooh.” Perry’s eyes widened. “I believe, Maddie Grey, you just got called a coward.”

Maddie glared at them both, unable to believe what she was about to do. “Fine! Time starts now.”

“And my day just got a whole lot more interesting.” Perry beamed. “Yours too, I imagine,” he told his boss.

“We shall see.” Elena studied Maddie again, her expression now far too pleased to be safe.

“Uh, I should get back to my desk,” Maddie croaked, sliding her pen onto her notebook.

“Why?” Elena asked, tone silky. “And remember, honesty is the best policy.”

“So you don’t ask me anything I don’t want to answer.” Maddie reddened. “And so I can’t see you looking at me like a steak you’re about to rip to shreds and feed to piranhas.”

Perry gave a snort of laughter.

“Perry,” Elena said, her voice dropping to a low tone, “leave. I believe my brutally honest assistant and I have some things to discuss.”

Maddie gulped.

CHAPTER 14

The Brutal Truth

Perry left, shooting Maddie a tell-me-everything-later look that she would have laughed at if things weren’t so serious. At that thought, she glanced back to her boss, who was watching her with a dangerous expression. All other thoughts fled.

“Sit.” Elena leaned her elbows on her desk, steepling her fingers. “Any confessions before we start?”

“Confessions?” Maddie hesitated. “If this is about last night…” She faded out, not exactly sure what she could add to an already catastrophic catastrophe.

“Did anything useful come out of it?” Elena asked, eyes sharp. “Aside from assorted hickeys?”

Maddie ignored the jibe. “I learned Natalii is really smart. Not easily fooled. And she and her mother clash a lot.”

“Such as about whom her daughter kisses at three in the morning outside an infamous lesbian bar?” Elena’s tone dropped to cool.

“How did you know it was three? That wasn’t in the news article.”

Elena shifted a layout proof to the left. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.” She shifted it back to the right.

“It is to me.” Maddie licked her lips. “How did you know?”

Elena gave her a sour look. “Felicity found out.”

“Why?”