"Dropping out isn't the end, you know?" she said, making Nick stop on his way out.
He slowly turned around to meet her nervous gaze, "Excuse me?"
"I get it. Living up to their expectations is hard," she said as he came closer to her but she kept going, "But I'm sure your dad would see if you showed him that you care."
Her voice had remained steady which she was grateful for because Nick was now standing directly in front of her and this was one of the times where his daunting 6'2'' height really registered in her head as he towered over her petite figure, being almost 5'5'' even in heels.
"Are you seriously trying some sympathy ploy with me?" he didn't let her answer as he continued, his voice growing more bitter as his blue eyes lit up in anger directed right at her, "I'm not one of your charity cases, Madison. You won't get any extra credits for being nice to the college dropout."
She fumbled over her words as her eyes widened, "That's not what this is about."
"Yeah?" Nick backed her into the counter, making the marble edge press against her back as he placed her hands on either side of her on the counter, trapping her effectively. She quickly put a hand on his chest to push him off slightly, but he didn't budge an inch as he leaned close to her face and spoke in a low, icy voice.
"No, this is about you needing to have everyone love you and admire you even if you get on every single one of their nerves. You got my family wrapped around your crafty little finger, don't try and make me your summer project," he glared at her hand that was still placed on his chest.
But by now, she had had enough. Nick was clearly not ready to be anything less than a dickhead and she didn't need to put up with whatever bullshit theory he had come up with to make himself feel better.
Glaring at him, she put all her energy into pushing him and succeeded as he stumbled back a few steps. Keeping her shoulders squared, she looked at him with malice, a look that he wasn't accustomed to receiving from the Pierce girl. He would never admit it but he definitely looked taken aback by it.
"You know, maybe if you made an effort instead of chugging beer at 8 in the morning, you wouldn't have to worry about someone stealing daddy's attention," she almost spat out the words.
"What did you say to me?" his nostrils flared in anger but she met his gaze evenly as she stepped closer to him.
"You heard. You're threatened by me, Nick," she bitterly chuckled, "Even if you won't admit it."
With that, she gave him one last scathing glare before exiting the kitchen and headed for the spiral stairs from which Heidi and Sarah were coming down. Shaking off her anger, she put on a brave face and left the Walters' house and the boy inside it.
Coming inside Michael's office, she took a seat in front of his desk while he sat behind it. He had just given her a general tour of the building and she was buzzing with eagerness at the coming events.
"Well, what are we thinking?" Michael asked her, he seemed to be even more excited than her to have an apprentice working in his office.
"You have some really great people working here," she said, smiling, "I think I'm ready to get started."
"So, your parents would probably prefer me having you work under one of the managers to see how things work but I'm gonna take a wild guess that this whole apprenticeship experience goes beyond just wanting to explore different options," he looked at her, questioningly, and she couldn't decide if she was happy or scared that he had caught on.
Letting out a nervous laugh, "You got me there. I've been thinking a lot about law school. But you know Mom and Dad, they're dead set on me taking over this business but I just can't see myself doing it, at least not anymore."
Michael nodded at her words, before speaking, "If you ask me, I think you would do great at law school. And you'd be successful at making a career out of it."
A bright smile appeared on her face, for the first time that day, "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, you've got the brains for it, you think in a very analytical and strategic way and I've seen the determination in you."
"Mom and Dad don't agree," she scoffed.
"Well, I'm sure once you show them how capable you are of handling it, they'll have to see reason," he said, suggestively.
She blinked in surprise, "Wait, what?"
"I'll ask my legal team to show you their work," he shrugged, "You can help them out, see what they do and hopefully it'll be enough to help you make up your mind."
She was about to start jumping up and down before another thought occurred to her, making her fears rise again, "What about my parents?"
"Hey, I won't tell if you won't tell," he lifted a hand before reaching it towards her, "Deal?"
Madison grinned, shaking his hand "Deal. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr. Walters."
He brushed it off, "Please, call me Michael and there's no need to thank me. I only wish that Nick was as ambitious as you are."
Her stomach dropped at the name and her memories of the earlier conversation flashed in her mind. Averting her eyes, she looked down to her laps where she fidgeted with her hands.
But Michael didn't notice the change in her as he continued to speak, looking at a framed photo of his family at his desk, "I'm constantly worried about what he's planning to do with his future other than for lounging around and drinking."
She coughed, forcing the words out of her mouth, "Have you tried having a conversation with him?"
"Of course," his eyes widened as he met hers, "I'm always trying to remind him that he has a life he needs to fix."
This was another place where she could've just stayed silent and instead chose not to. There was just something about Nick, despite his douchebag behavior towards her, that made her want to defend him to his father.
So, she chuckled before speaking, "No, I mean like an actual conversation where you ask him what he's actually feeling. I just, I feel like he just needs to be listened to, by you. I think that both of you care about each other a lot but the communication gap isn't helping. He seems like he has a lot to say to you, you just need to listen to what he thinks for once."
Michael seemed to think over her words before he leaned forward in his chair, "You seem like you understand him."
Her eyes widened as she went back into a defensive posture, trying to look nonchalant but her stuttering gave away her nervousness at the insinuation, "It's really not- it's just something I noticed that's all. You don't have to do what I said, I was just rambling."
"No, that was very insightful, Madison," he assured her, "You always find a way to look at the bigger picture. That's what I like most about you."
"Thank you, Michael."
He returned her smile, "You're welcome now get to the second floor and go to Susan Burke's office. I'll call her about you in the meantime."
As she nodded and walked over to the word, he spoke again making her stop to turn around.
"Oh, and about Nick," her breath hitched in her throat at the mention of his name, "I'll take your advice, see if I can get a different result," he flashed her an easy grin.
As she walked out of his office, she wondered if she had done the right thing or possibly made things even worse between her and the bad-tempered boy.