“So, will you tell me how you did it? What did you ask to make her open up like that?”
“Truthfully?” Maddie gave her a small smile. “I’d only been allowed one question.”
Elena stopped swirling her wine and stared at her. “You are joking. You got all of that with one question?”
“Well, most of it, but yeah.”
“One question.”
Maddie opened her mouth to tell her what it was, but Elena held up a silencing finger and looked thoughtful. After a minute she sighed. “No. I can’t think of any single question that would elicit all that information from someone so private. So, I give up. What was the magical question?”
“I asked her to detail all the times and places she’d been proud of her daughter.”
Elena frowned. “I don’t follow. Why ask that?”
“Natalii told me her mother found it hard to admit when she was proud of her. So I saw it as an ice breaker, a way to keep the conversation going. If all else failed, at least Natalii and her mother could maybe break down some of the walls between them. It just seemed, well, right. Turns out, maternal pride can crack even the thickest walls.”
Elena examined her for a few moments. “Well. You do have a knack for finding people’s human spots, don’t you?”
“Human spots?” Maddie turned that over uncertainly. “You think I exploited their weaknesses?”
“On the contrary—you picked up on something unsaid and worked with it. Something they needed to deal with and, more importantly, wanted to talk about but didn’t know how. Understanding people is a skill. What makes them tick, what makes them talk. You have it.” She shot Maddie a rueful look. “I don’t.”
“I don’t know about that. You’re talking to me. I’m talking back. You’ve always been able to talk to me. I’d say you’ve nailed the whole make-casual-conversation brief.”
Elena didn’t smile. “It’s why I lost my promotion, you know. Years ago, at CQ. I was supposed to be the new editor. I was young and brash. I didn’t read the mood of the room, the executives of the board. Lecoq found my weaknesses—my age, arrogance, and lack of people skills—and hammered the CQ board with them. I always assumed my superior abilities would win the day. I said as much. I was destroyed. Lesson learned.”
“Their loss. It’s worked out better, though, right? You’ve proved them wrong now. And how.”
Elena’s eyes glittered for a moment. “Yes.” Her expression turned cool. “They know they were wrong. Not that they’d ever admit it.”
“Is that what you want? Them to say it?”
Reaching for the bottle of wine, Elena eyed the level and gave it a waggle. “I should get another.”
Maddie waited for her to answer the previous question.
“Do you want a refill?” Elena asked instead.
So, she was avoiding it, then. Touchy subject. “I’m good. We have a big day tomorrow.”
Excitement flared in Elena’s eyes. “Of course. You have achieved a remarkable coup.”
Her enthusiasm felt infectious. “Is this why you do it? For the rush? The thrill of signing the deal? Winning?”
“There’s no greater high in life.” Elena’s expression dared her to disagree.
Laughing, Maddie shook her head. The beautiful wine made her feel so relaxed. “I don’t know, I can think of one fun thing that’s a bigger high.” She gave her eyebrows a suggestive lift before she could stop herself.
Elena’s hand froze on the bottle where she’d been about to top up her wine glass. Her gaze slid over to Maddie’s. “Is that so?”
“Well, yeah. I mean come on!” Maddie started to laugh again. She petered out when Elena didn’t join in. “Wait, you don’t think so? You really don’t, do you?”
“No.” The word was as flat as her expression. She placed the wine bottle back on the table.
Maddie gave her a curious look. “But…” She stopped herself from saying something she couldn’t take back. Like, how could someone as amazing as Elena not have found even one decent partner who appreciated her enough to give her great sex? Hell, Maddie would be more than happy to volunteer. She took a hurried swig of wine at that stray thought.
“What?” Elena studied her.
“Look, either I’m doing career wins badly, or you’re doing sex wrong.”
“And which do you think it is?” Elena’s voice was low and smoky. “Specifically.”
“Uh…” All coherent thoughts fled as Maddie pictured…specifically…Elena having sex. Her creamy, perfect neck tilted back. Maddie’s throat constricted. “Well, to be fair, without trying both, I couldn’t possibly answer that.”
Her brain suddenly caught up to what she had inadvertently just proposed. Her cheeks flamed. “Oh! I didn’t mean to offer to…with you… I meant it’s like science.” A high-pitched laugh came out. “You know? You have to try each scenario to reach a sound conclusion…um…”
Elena gave a slow smile that caused Maddie’s toes to curl and her palms to sweat. This was so embarrassing. Propositioning, even accidentally, her straight, former boss?
“So,” Elena said in an amused drawl, reaching for the wine bottle again, “thanks for clearing that up. You sure you don’t want that top up?”
Maddie thrust out her glass instantly and nodded.
* * *
Maddie was trying to hide her growing exhaustion, but the day had been long and emotionally draining. It was just after midnight. She yawned for a third time.
“Stay,” Elena said. “Here. For the night.”
