Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 148

"Ugh... I don't know... There's a sign right here. It says... it says..."

She paused, clearly squinting to make out the neon letters, taking an agonizingly long time before she slurred them out, one by one.

"Arthur's... Tavern."

Arthur's Tavern.

Hudson's frown deepened.

"You've been drinking?"

"Mhmm..."

She dragged the syllable out, her voice dripping with guilty innocence. "Just... a little bit."

"Stay right there. Don't move."

"Okay..."

Hudson hung up the phone instantly. He stood up, grabbed his car keys off the table, and cast a cold glance over the executives.

"Meeting adjourned."

Two words. Sharp and absolute.

Without looking back, he strode out of the boardroom, his long legs eating up the distance, the sheer force of his movement sending the loose papers on the desk fluttering.

The room remained paralyzed for several seconds before anyone dared to speak.

"What... what just happened?"

"I don't know. Must be some kind of emergency?"

"The Boss never takes calls during an executive meeting. This is a first in company history."

"You're telling me. I thought my heart was going to stop beating for a second there."

The Vice President wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a massive, trembling exhale.

Regardless of what had happened, he had just barely escaped with his life.

...

Hudson drove like a maniac.

Nora was slumped in a booth against the wall. A half-empty bottle of high-proof liquor sat in front of her, surrounded by scattered, half-eaten french fries.

She was slumped over the table, her face buried in her arms. The only parts of her visible were her wildly messy hair and the bright red tips of her ears.

Hearing the loud bang of the door opening, Nora sluggishly raised her head.

Her eyes were half-closed, the pupils completely unfocused and glazed over with a misty, wet sheen. She had to blink several times, swaying slightly, just to lock onto him.

Her lips were slick with alcohol, glistening under the cheap bar lights. She looked effortlessly, dangerously seductive without even trying.

She squinted at him for a few seconds, taking her time to process who he was, and then suddenly broke into a massive, dopey grin.

It was a devastatingly sweet smile, soft and warm enough to melt ice.

"Hudson..."

She reached a hand out, trying to grab his face. Her fingers swiped uselessly at the air, missing by a mile, and as she leaned forward, she nearly toppled right out of the booth.

Reacting with lightning speed, Hudson caught her by the waist, locking her securely against him.

"Why did you drink so much?"