Chapter 37

Madison

I studied the familiar face before me, recognition dawning. “Nolan! Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you since college!”

Nolan beamed. “The one and only! You disappeared after graduation—what have you been up to?”

I felt Alexander’s presence behind me like a storm cloud. “I’ve been working at Knight Industries.” I gestured to Alexander, whose expression remained unreadable. “This is Mr. Knight, my boss. Mr. Knight, this is Nolan Parker—we were study partners.”

“Study partners?” Alexander’s tone carried a weight I couldn’t quite decipher.

Nolan laughed. “Yeah, Madison here saved my butt in that class. I was terrible at case studies, but she could analyze them in her sleep.”

“Really?” Alexander’s eyebrow arched with interest. “Madison never mentioned her academic achievements.”

I shifted uncomfortably between them. “It wasn’t anything special—”

“Are you kidding?” Nolan interrupted. “She graduated top of our class. Could’ve had h