A Secretive Deal with My Billionaire Boss (by Gregory Ellington) novel Chapter 450

Alexander

The lead woman began organizing everything on the racks, separating women's clothing from children's. "We brought a full selection as requested. Casual wear, formal options, sleepwear, and undergarments. Everything in the sizes you specified."

Madison stepped closer to one of the racks, her fingers brushing against a soft cashmere sweater. Then her eyes caught the price tag dangling from the sleeve.

She went pale.

"Alexander." She grabbed my arm, pulling me aside while the delivery people continued setting up. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "These are so expensive. This sweater alone costs more than my monthly grocery bill."

"So?"

"So?" Her eyes went wide. "So that's insane!" She gestured at the racks. "This is too much. Way too much."

I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me instead of the price tags. "Choose what you like. Don't worry about the price."

"But—"

"No buts. Pick what you want. If you don't like anything, they'll bring more options. That's how this works."

"That's insane."

"That's convenient." I kissed her forehead before she could protest further. "Now go look at the clothes before Ethan decides he wants everything."

Speaking of Ethan, he'd already discovered the children's section and was pulling out a bright red shirt with a dinosaur on it.

"Dad! Look at this! It has a T-Rex!" He held it up, practically vibrating with excitement. "Can I have it? Please?"

Dad. The word still hit me square in the chest every time he said it.

"Sure. Whatever you want."

"YES!" He dove back into the rack, emerging moments later with matching dinosaur pajamas. "And these! And this one has a triceratops! And this one has a pteranodon!"

Madison moved to the women's section, her fingers trailing over fabrics with the careful touch of someone used to being cautious about purchases. She selected a simple pair of jeans, then a white blouse, then put the blouse back.

I walked over, pulling the blouse off the rack again. "You liked this one."

"It's nice, but I don't need it."

"You're selecting things you need, not things you like. That defeats the purpose." I handed her the blouse. "Add it to your pile."

She held it against her chest, biting her lip. "It's silk."

"I can see that."

"Silk is impractical. It requires dry cleaning and special care and—"

"And it'll look incredible on you." I grabbed a dark blue dress that seemed perfect for her. "Try this one too. Just pick what you like. Stop overthinking it."

She huffed but took the dress. Then she spotted a soft gray sweater and allowed herself to add it to her growing pile. Progress.

The lead woman approached. "Would you like to try anything on? We can wait while you do a fitting."

Madison glanced at me. I nodded toward my bedroom. "Go trail them. See what fits."

"Trail them?"

"Try them on," I clarified. "Make sure everything works."

"Right. Okay." She gathered her selections and headed toward my bedroom, glancing back once more before her finger crooked, signaling me to follow.

I turned to Ethan, who stood at the rack examining his options with the seriousness of a general planning battle strategy. He held the T-Rex shirt in one hand and was comparing a Captain America shirt with a Spider-Man one in the other.

"Pick whatever you like. I'll be back in a few minutes."

His head popped up, grinning. "Can I get the dinosaur and the superhero one? And maybe these pajamas?"

"Get all of them."

"Really?"

"Really. I'll be right back."

"Okay! I'm gonna find more!" He carefully set his chosen items aside and moved to another section, his small hands reaching for a shirt with rockets on it.

I headed toward my bedroom, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. Madison stood near the bed, her pile of clothing laid out carefully.

"Why'd you call me in here?"

She turned, her teeth catching her bottom lip in that way that drove me fucking insane. "I need some help with fitting."

"Help with fitting."

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