Madison’s bleeding heart was practically beating out of that impressive rack of hers. I watched her watching me, listened to her listening to me, and knew I was driving her crazy. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat all through dinner, biting her tongue as I baited her. I had forgotten how much fun it was to be around her.

That childlike idealism, a misplaced faith that people were mostly good and deserving of anything but indifference was frustratingly intact in Madison. I was oddly glad, even though it seemed impossible that anyone could be so naïve. After ten years, she was still convinced the world was a nice place, punctuated only occasionally by assholes like me. Poor little girl. How could she not realize the opposite was true? That she was the anomaly, not me?

I was just more honest than the average human about my motivations for doing what I did. My success was all due to the fact that I was better at playing my fellow assholes at their own game. With only a modest business loan, I’d managed to build a multibillion-dollar property investment empire completely independent of my family’s wealth and influence. I was as self-made as someone like me could be, and it’s all owed to understanding how to exploit the selfishness and greed of others. After all, I understand selfishness and greed because I’m selfish and greedy.

By the time we made it to the VIP section of the trendy bar that the she-devil Angelica suggested, I felt Madison’s patience with my aggressive brand of social Darwinism wearing increasingly thin. She pushed her pretty soft, pink lips together into an unintentionally sexy pout, and crossed her arms tightly in front of her cleavage. Oblivious that every male eye in the room focused lasciviously on her tits when she did, Madison propped her forearms onto the table, hefting her cleavage up and leaning forward to stare down her nose at me disapprovingly. I delivered my next comments directly to her chest:

“And that’s why science supports the argument that more men than women should be admitted to STEM undergraduate programs.”

I had been forced to move even farther into misogynistic radicalism than even I believed in order to provoke a response. Madison set down her drink with a decisive clink. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes shined angrily. I leaned forward, ready for her to finally go on the offensive. The tension between us became palpable. Electric.

“I’ll be right back,” She said instead, to my disappointment, “I’ve got to make a quick a call.”

I watched her clamber awkwardly down from her barstool—she was still a tiny little thing—and stalk off somewhere to cool off. At least I got to watch her round ass twitch back and forth while she went. Her dutiful friend Clara followed almost immediately, leaving me with David. Angelica and Madison’s fiancé had also vanished. What was his name again? Carl? Kenny? Cunt-face? I’d already forgotten.

“You’re in fine form tonight,” David remarked to me. He’d been rolling his eyes for the past twenty minutes or so as my attempts to get Madison angry had escalated.

“What?” I replied innocently, “I just think that given the number of females who actually make it through advanced degrees in math and science, we should prioritize and invest in candidates that will actually succeed at the undergrad level. So what if it happens that most of those candidates are men? You can’t argue with facts.”

“Yeah. Ok. I’m not even going to engage with you on that,” David smirked at me. He knew I didn’t believe a word of what I’d been saying. I majored in History, after all. I may have done it because it was easy, but I did pick up a little bit of historical context on the patriarchy while I was coasting my way to Magna Cum Laude. I toasted him sarcastically and we sat in what passed for companionable silence.

David and I didn’t really get along. We didn’t hate each other or anything. I mean, he’s my cousin, and we were close as kids, but as adults we seemed to do better when our interactions were kept to a minimum. It’s the same for all four heirs to the Durant fortune, our collective upbringings were not conducive to things like cooperating or compromising. Or sharing.

That was why David’s brother Nathan wasn’t with us, despite what we told Angelica. I told Nathan in no uncertain terms that I had plans for Madison, and he’d gotten all pissy about me jeopardizing the deal for Durant Industries. That Madison would tell her father what a prick I was, and he’d pull out of representing us. I had no intention of destroying the deal, and even if I made Madison cry, old Mr. Clark wasn’t about to pull out of this paycheck for his daughter’s pride. But trying to have a civil discussion with Nathan quickly and predictably devolved into chaos. He probably wanted to fuck her or something. Again, I don’t share.

While my mind was on the topic of Madison, she was nowhere in sight. Where was everyone? Clara and Madison had been gone a few minutes, and I hadn’t seen Angelica or Cunt-face for a solid half hour. Nodding at David, I decided it was as good a chance as any to see what was going on right now in Dubai. As I wound my way through the dead VIP area to find some better reception, I finally found Madison. She was walking aimlessly around too.

“Have you seen Kevin?” Madison asked me. Her big hazel eyes were concerned. I rolled my own eyes at her question.

“No,” I replied, “but I also forgot what he looked like already. Honestly, why are you engaged to him?”

I was genuinely confused by her choice of potentially permanent life companion, and tired of not getting the reaction out of Madison that I’d been looking for. Her fiancé wasn’t all that good looking, and if he were rich I’d already know him. So, her attraction to Cunt-face had to be personality related. Yet, he didn’t seem to have one.

“Excuse me?” She asked as if she hadn’t heard me correctly.

“Why are you engaged to him?” I repeated, “He’s such a cunt.”

“What?” She snapped, furious at last, “That’s not any of your business. How dare you, of all people, put down him! Are you seriously asking me why I’m with my own fiancé? What sort of a question is that?”

I shrugged.

“An honest one,” I replied, smiling, “Like I said, he seems boring and generally cunt-y. I mean, he’s been totally ignoring you tonight. Does he work at an animal rescue or do free plastic surgery on ugly kids or something?”

That was the only explanation that would make sense. Maybe Cunt-face was as much of a goody-two-shoes as Madison was.

Madison looked incredibly angry. Her breath hissed out in frustration and her hands had turned to little fists at her sides. Maybe I was hitting too close to home?

“Alexander, you really are a pig,” Madison said after a few, measured deep breaths. She tried to get around me.

I blocked her path.

“You don’t want to admit it, do you?” I asked her, leaning down close to her face and inspecting it carefully. She was so cute up close—especially with the angry blush she was wearing; it turned her pale cheeks all pink and rosy.

“Admit what, Alexander? That you’re a pig? I’ll hire a sky writer to make that known to a wider audience if you’d like. Or how about a tattoo artist? He could write it right here,” Madison replied, sticking out a short finger and pressing it to my forehead to push me back. I didn’t move. She narrowed her eyes and drew herself up to her maximum height of five-foot-nothing. She didn’t pull away from me. She held her ground even as I did my best to rile and intimidate her.

After a long moment I stepped back, smirking at her and letting her get around me and escape.

“No,” I finally replied as she stalked off, “Not that. You don’t want to admit that you don’t know why you’re with him, do you?”

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” she said haughtily, making her petite, stomping way in the opposite direction.

I eventually managed to find some reception and confirmed that all was going well at home in Dubai. Deciding that Madison had probably found Cunt-face and returned to the table by then, I planned on taking a leak and then heading back to torment her some more. But when I pushed open the door to the bathroom, I found Cunt-face. And Angelica.

Together.

Angelica was on all fours, her skanky dress lying balled up next to her. She was getting pounded on the floor from behind by Madison’s fiancé. Their coupling had all the romance of something you’d see between primates on the Discovery Channel, and probably less observance to proper hygiene. I was momentarily stunned, too shocked to do anything else but stare. As they were both very… busy, I was able to shut the door before they saw me. I leaned heavily against the door, pondering what to do next.

Right on cue, and as if God himself were intervening for me, Madison and Clara appeared down the narrow hallway. This had to be fate.

“Have you seen Kevin?” Clara asks me with Madison standing uncomfortably by her side. This literally could not get any more perfect if I planned it. I was going to send Angelica a dozen roses.

“Actually, yes,” I said seriously, looking Madison in the eye, “take a look.”

I took a deep breath and pushed the door behind me wide open.

to find out what happens next!