Chapter 172

President's Office. As soon as Madeleine stepped inside, she spotted a steaming cup of milk sitting on the desk. "Carl, is this for me?" she asked, a bit surprised. "Yeah." Carl nodded. Madeleine smiled and dropped a quick thanks. "Come on, don't be so formal. I lost a bet, remember? I'm your errand guy for three months," Carl waved her off, carefully avoiding the fact that it was actually Beckett who told him to do it. He was the one who fetched it, so of course he wanted the credit too. "Don't take it too seriously," Madeleine said quickly, voice lowered. "Beckett's probably gonna forget all about it in a few days." "I'm not deaf, you know." Beckett, seated at his desk, tapped the surface with his fingers. Madeleine giggled, took a sip of the milk—sweet, with just a hint of sugar, not too much. Perfect. "Beckett told me to get it lightly sweetened. Said you might like it that way," Carl finally admitted after catching Beckett's frosty glare. Madeleine looked at Beckett, slightly stun