The girlfriend contract

Chapter 7: Questions without answers

Madison barely slept.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Richard Hayes's name beneath the email. Three weeks before her interview, someone at Hayes Holdings had been made aware of her mother's outstanding loan. Cameron knew the bakery was struggling, and now he claimed there was something he should have told her.

By morning, she had decided she wasn't going to wait for him to call.

She was halfway through helping her mother arrange the pastries at Tasty Bakery when her phone rang.

Cameron.

Madison wiped her hands on a towel before answering.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Is there something about my mother's bakery you forgot to tell me?”

Silence followed.

“I assume you've read the email,” he said finally.

“Of course I have. Your father's name was on it.”

“Madison, I didn't know he had contacted you.”

“But you knew about the loan.”

“I knew the bakery was experiencing financial difficulties. I didn't know the details of the loan until recently.”

“Recently? How recently?”

“About a week ago.”

Madison glanced at her mother, who was arranging a tray of meat pies nearby. She lowered her voice.

“Why was Hayes Holdings looking into it three weeks before you interviewed me?”

“I don't know.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it's the truth.”

She pressed her lips together. She couldn't tell whether he was genuinely frustrated or simply tired of answering her questions.

“Can we talk in person?” he asked. “I'll explain what I can.”

“What you can?”

“I don't want to give you an answer I'm not certain about.”

For some reason, that response unsettled her more than another excuse would have.

“Fine. After work.”

“I'll come to the bakery.”

“No. We can meet somewhere else.”

“All right. There's a café near my office. Two o'clock?”

“Send me the address.”

When the call ended, Madison slipped her phone into her pocket.

Her mother glanced over. “Was that the young man you went to dinner with?”

“Yes.”

“Is everything all right?”

Madison forced a small smile. “Just work matters.”

Elena studied her for a moment but didn't press. “Don't let any job make you feel you have to accept disrespect.”

Madison looked at her mother, surprised by the seriousness in her voice.

“I won't.”

She wondered what Elena would say if she knew the job involved pretending to be Cameron's girlfriend. For now, that was one truth Madison wasn't ready to share.

---

At two o'clock, Madison found Cameron waiting at a café a short walk from Hayes Holdings. He had chosen a table near the window, away from the busiest part of the room.

She sat opposite him and placed her bag beside her chair.

“Start with the email.”

Cameron nodded. “Hayes Holdings occasionally receives information about businesses connected to our commercial partners. The bakery's loan came up during a routine review. I don't know why my father decided to contact you about it.”

“Is the company connected to the people who gave my mother the loan?”

“I'm still trying to establish that.”

“Then why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?”

“Because I hadn't confirmed anything, and I didn't want to alarm you with information I couldn't explain.”

Madison shook her head. “You keep making decisions about what I should know.”

He leaned forward slightly. “You're right. I should have told you that the loan had come to our attention, even if I didn't understand why.”

The admission caught her off guard. She had expected him to defend himself again.

“Did you ask your father about it?”

“Yes. He said he was looking into the matter.”

“And you believed him?”

“I believe he has a reason for looking into it. I don't know what that reason is.”

Madison watched him carefully. “Does this have anything to do with your family knowing my mother?”

Cameron frowned. “Not that I'm aware of. Why would you ask that?”

“Your father knew the name of her bakery before I'd told him much about myself. Then he sent me an email instead of speaking to me directly.”

“I agree that it's strange.”

“That's all you have to say?”

“No.” He paused. “I can ask him again, but I can't promise he'll tell me everything.”

For the first time since the dinner, Madison felt that Cameron was at least trying to meet her halfway.

She looked down at the menu a waitress had left on the table.

“I'm not interested in being rescued, Cameron. If my mother has financial problems, that's something we have to deal with ourselves. I took the job because I needed work, not because I wanted your family involved in our lives.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

He held her gaze. “Yes. And I won't offer your mother money or make any arrangements involving the bakery without your knowledge.”

Madison hadn't realised how much she needed to hear that until he said it.

“Thank you.”

A waitress approached, and Cameron ordered coffee. Madison asked for a glass of water instead.

When the waitress left, Cameron glanced at her.

“You didn't sleep much.”

She looked up. “How do you know?”

“You've been rubbing your eyes since you arrived.”

“Perhaps your family has given me something to worry about.”

“Fair point.”

His quiet response made her smile despite herself. She quickly looked away, annoyed that he could still make her forget, even briefly, why she was upset.

Cameron noticed the smile but didn't comment on it.

“I'll keep you informed about what I find out,” he said. “You deserve to know what's happening.”

“And the arrangement?”

“What about it?”

“I still intend to do the job, but I need honesty between us. If something affects me, I want to know.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

Madison picked up her bag. “Then I'll see you at work tomorrow.”

“Madison?”

She stopped.

“I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't trust me.”

She studied him, unsure what to do with an apology that sounded sincere.

“Don't make me regret giving you another chance,” she said before walking out.

---

That evening, Richard Hayes sat alone in his study, reviewing a short report his assistant had prepared.

The information confirmed Madison Reed's employment history and identified Elena Reed as the owner of Tasty Bakery. It offered no explanation for why the bakery's loan had been flagged, nor did it establish any connection between Elena and Hayes Holdings.

Richard closed the folder.

He had contacted Madison because he wanted to see how she would react to the information. Her response would not tell him everything, but it might help him understand whether she knew anything about Elena's past.

He had not expected Cameron to become involved so quickly.

His son had always been private about his relationships. Yet he had brought Madison into the family home and defended her when Richard asked reasonable questions. That alone was unusual.

Richard picked up his phone and called his assistant.

“I need you to check something for me,” he said. “Find out when Cameron first met Madison Reed. I want the actual timeline, not just what he's told the family.”

“Of course, sir.”

“And keep this confidential.”

After ending the call, Richard opened the bottom drawer of his desk.

Inside lay an old photograph of a younger Elena standing outside the bakery where they had first met. He hadn't looked at it in years.

He turned it over.

On the back, in Elena's handwriting, were four words:

You promised me, Richard.

He stared at them for a long time before placing the photograph back in the drawer.

---

The next morning, Madison arrived at Cameron's office ten minutes early. She had barely settled at her desk when he stepped out of his office carrying two takeaway cups.

He placed one beside her keyboard.

“Tea,” he said. “No sugar.”

She looked at the cup, then at him. “How did you know?”

“You told the waitress yesterday that you didn't like coffee.”

“I ordered water.”

“You told her you usually drank tea but hadn't slept enough to risk spilling coffee on yourself.”

Madison stared at him. She hadn't realised he was paying attention.

“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her hands around the warm cup.

“Don't look so surprised. I can remember things.”

“I'm sure that's an important skill for a businessman.”

“Essential, actually.”

She laughed softly before she could stop herself.

For a moment, neither of them mentioned the bakery, Richard, or the arrangement. They simply shared a quiet smile before Cameron returned to his office.

Madison watched him go, then turned to her computer.

She reminded herself that a thoughtful gesture didn't change their agreement. It didn't mean he was trustworthy, and it certainly didn't mean she was falling for him.

Still, she found herself smiling at the tea.

Across the building, Cameron's phone vibrated with a message from his father.

Come to my office this afternoon. We need to discuss Madison.

Cameron's expression changed as he read it.

He had hoped Richard would leave Madison alone until they understood what was happening with the bakery.

Now he wondered what his father had discovered.

And why he seemed so determined to keep Madison close to the Hayes family.