sweet instigator

seven.

"Oh, and that's Daphne." Valery whispered, nudging her head in the direction of a girl sitting behind a desk. Cameron exhaled a breath, nodding, "Right."

"Don't talk to her. She's a literal psycho." Valery warned him, "Apparently she's been in jail for stalking her ex or something."

Or something.

Cameron wanted to roll his eyes but simply nodded.

It was a Monday morning and after a shit evening and a shit night of missing Theodora and contemplating whether or not to text Madeleine for a hook-up, Cameron was back to work at the office building.

He had a huge thermos of coffee in his hand as he walked in with a toolbox in the other hand and his overalls on. He forced polite smiles at everyone he ran into and then bumped into this woman.

Valery.

Who insisted on giving him a tour of the building and introducing him to everyone - which actually meant she wanted to gossip about everyone. Cameron shortly checked his watch and cleared his throat, "I'm really gonna have to get to work now." He spoke.

"Wait - wait, we're almost done." Valery smiled, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and fixing her glasses. She tensed up a bit and stiffly nudged her chin into someone standing by the printer at the end of the hall, "That's Carla." She mumbled.

Cameron raised his brows, recognizing Carla from the club - who was there as Madeleine's friend. He exhaled, "Okay."

"Alcoholic." Valery added with a telling raise of her brows, "I'm telling you."

Cameron wondered how Valery knew all this stuff. Half of it didn't even seem true and was probably based off of rumors or stories that started leading their own lives after a while. He tiredly rubbed his eye and hummed, deciding to just go along with it.

"Oh, and that's Maddie."

He was awake suddenly, lifting his gaze to see Madeleine chatting to Carla by the printer. Her hair was loose and in subtle waves, and she wore a dress that reached her ankles, pairing it with sneakers. As always, Madeleine looked like she dressed for comfort - but Cameron had learned that she had a way of elevating even the simplest of outfits. He usually saw her in jeans and a plain shirt, and he had never seen her in crazy colors or patterns. Yet somehow, she made those basic pieces look so flattering by adding a little bit of jewelry, or the shade she used to paint her nails, or the way she wore her hair.

The hair he had wrapped around his fist just days ago while roughly fucking into her. His thigh twitched at the vivid memory of Maddie in his bed and the look on her face when she came for the third time with a squirting orgasm.

God, the sight was engraved in his brain forever.

"Stay away from that one." Valery breathed out her piece of advice and he frowned slightly, "From Maddie? Why?" He couldn't help his curiosity.

Valery frowned back and then shrugged her shoulders as if it was the most evident thing, "Because she's a trainwreck." She stated.

Cameron opened his mouth but Valery grabbed his arm, gently pulling him away from Madeleine and Carla again. He glanced at Maddie over his shoulder but she didn't notice him - or she pretended not to.

"Seriously, she's bad news." Valery continued, "She's also really closed off. I don't think anyone here truly knows her that well. Or maybe James does, he sits with her most days."

A trainwreck really wasn't the nicest way to describe someone, Cameron thought. And if there was one thing he'd never describe Madeleine as, it was a trainwreck.