A Secretive Deal with My Billionaire Boss (by Gregory Ellington) novel Chapter 453

Alexander

Madison immediately turned to me. "How much did you pay?"

"Enough."

"I'm serious. I want to know how much you spent."

"And I'm serious about not telling you." I started gathering Ethan's new clothes. "Because you'll try to reimburse me, and I'll refuse, and we'll argue, and I'd rather spend that energy doing other things."

Her cheeks flushed. "What other things?"

"Use your imagination."

Ethan bounded over, grabbing his dinosaur pajamas. "Can I wear these tonight?"

Madison glanced at him, her lips curving into that patient mom smile. "Shower first, baby. You've been running around all day."

"But Mom!"

"No buts. You're sweaty and covered in park dust." She held out her hand. "Come on. I'll help you."

He sighed dramatically, like she'd asked him to climb Mount Everest. "Fine."

Madison gathered his pajamas and a few other items before following him toward the guest bathroom. She paused at the doorway, glancing back at me.

"We'll be quick."

"Take your time. I'll start dinner."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." I moved toward the kitchen. "What does he like? Pasta? Chicken?"

"Pasta's usually a safe bet. With butter and parmesan if you have it."

"I have everything."

She studied my face for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

They disappeared down the hallway, and I heard the bathroom door close. The sound of running water followed shortly after, accompanied by Ethan's muffled protests about washing behind his ears.

I headed to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients. Pasta was simple enough. I grabbed fresh fettuccine from the fridge, along with butter, cream, Parmesan, and some chicken breasts to dice.

I set a large pot of water on the stove and turned the heat to high. While it heated, I diced the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then grabbed a pan and added olive oil. The kitchen felt different with Madison and Ethan here. Less empty. More like an actual home.

The chicken sizzled as it hit the hot oil. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, moving the pieces around so they'd brown evenly.

Water in the pasta pot started bubbling. I added salt and dropped the fettuccine in, stirring gently.

Down the hallway, I heard Ethan's laughter mixed with Madison's patient voice telling him to stand still. The bathroom door opened, and seconds later, small footsteps padded down the hall.

Ethan appeared in his new dinosaur pajamas, his hair still damp and sticking up in every direction. "Dad! Look! The T-Rex glows in the dark!"

"That's awesome, buddy." I flipped the chicken pieces. "Go pick something to watch on TV. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay!" He raced toward the living room, grabbed the remote, and immediately started to flip through channels.

Madison emerged a minute later, her hair pulled back, wearing comfortable jeans and that gray cashmere sweater from earlier. She looked relaxed. Beautiful.

"Need help?"

"You can drain the pasta when it's done." I pointed at the pot. "Should be another minute or two."

She moved beside me, checking the fettuccine. Her arm brushed mine, and neither of us stepped away.

"Smells good."

"It's just pasta."

"Still." She grabbed the colander from where I'd set it in the sink. "Most people can't even do simple well."

The chicken finished cooking. I transferred it to a plate, then added butter and cream to the same pan, letting it heat while Madison drained the pasta.

"Toss it in here." I gestured at the pan.

She added the fettuccine, and I stirred it into the cream sauce, adding parmesan and the cooked chicken. The whole thing came together in minutes.

"Plates are in that cabinet." I nodded toward it while stirring. "Grab three."

She pulled them down and set them on the counter. I portioned out the pasta, making sure Ethan got a smaller serving with extra parmesan on top.

"Dinner's ready!" I called out.

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