That Night with You (28 page)

“
Where is your family,
Madison?”

“
Arlington.” She took a
step further into the room, and felt the lumpy shag carpet beneath
her shoes.

“
I’m originally from
Missouri,” Stevie volunteered. “Pat is from here. He has tons of
family coming in and out, plus his three boys visit frequently.”
Her blue eyes looked Madison’s figure over with interest. “In fact,
he has a son, Randall. He’s about your age. He’s finishing up his
masters in engineering at UT Austin. You two should
meet.”

Dread coursed through
Madison’s body.
That’s the last thing I
need
. Scrambling for a polite reply, she
got out, “Ah, thank you, Stevie, but I’m kind of seeing someone
right now.”

The rude sneer that settled over the
woman’s delicate features bugged Madison. “Yes, I could not help
but notice your car was parked over at Hayden’s all night. Is there
something going on between you two?” Her hand went up. “Not that
it’s any of my business, dear, of course. It’s just that he was so
happy with Ellen, and I think they both still want to work things
out. I would hate to see you get hurt when that eventuality
happens.”

That cold steel rod of disbelief
pierced the pit of Madison’s stomach when she realized who had
called Hayden’s ex. She had heard about busybody neighbors—she had
been dealing with Mrs. Leder for over a year now—but this was
something she had never expected. A flurry of expletives came to
mind, but Madison maintained her composure and came up with a more
palatable solution to her predicament.

“
Mr. Parr and I were
working most of the evening on your design.” She held up the roll
of paper in her hand. “By the time we finished up, it was very late
and he was worried about me making the long drive home only to have
to return in the morning for our meeting. So, he kindly offered me
his guest room.” She smiled sweetly, gritting her teeth while
crushing the paper. “I can assure you that there is nothing between
me and my boss, Stevie. That would be foolish.”

The taunting grin on the woman’s pale
face showed every one of her shiny capped white fangs. “That’s so
nice to hear. I was so worried for you because you seemed like such
a nice girl. I know Hayden is a very attractive man, especially to
a young woman like you, but he is beyond you, my dear. Ellen is who
he really needs,” Stevie went on. “Sophisticated,
socially-connected, and she is an absolute angel of a woman.”
Stevie headed toward an arched opening on the other side of the
bar. “She even does a great deal of volunteer work at the local
homeless shelter, did Hayden mention that?”

Madison dutifully followed behind her
client. “No, he never mentioned it.” She swore she was going to
give Hayden an earful when she saw him later that
morning.

Behind the archway was an expansive
kitchen with yellow linoleum floors, old yellow appliances, and
green painted cabinets. Madison gawked at the décor and felt
suddenly gladdened the catty woman had to cook in such a hideous
kitchen. Yes, there was karma after all.

“
I know.” Stevie pouted her
collagen-plumped lips. “It’s hideous.” She waved her hands about
the kitchen. “But it grows on you.”

Kind of like a
tumor
, Madison silently
returned.

“
There’s our little design
woman,” Pat Martin called as he entered the kitchen from a patio
door. “Stevie been showing you our retro home, eh?” he joked with a
snicker.

Casually attired in a red polo shirt
and jeans, the affable man with the agreeable smile and friendly
brown eyes instantly made Madison feel comfortable. Some people
just had that ability to fill a room with their warmth, chasing
away all the negativity that lingered in the air.

“
Good morning, Mr. Martin.”
Madison’s smile widened with genuine emotion. “Yes, there’s a lot
of potential here,” she lied.

“
More like potential to end
up being a money pit,” he came back. “No, we need a fresh start. A
new home with a new energy.” Pat came up to his wife’s side and
clasped his arm about her tiny waist. “Took me two other tries to
get it right with my Stevie. She’s the salt of the earth. Kind,
considerate, and would never hurt a fly.” He kissed his wife’s
cheek and the innocent sounding giggle Stevie gave him made
Madison’s stomach turn. “No, she needs something wonderful,
natural, and just like her.

Images of a whorehouse decorated in
black and red briefly danced across Madison’s mind. “Then we will
have to build it for her,” she proclaimed.

Going to a round breakfast table set
up in the corner of the room by the patio doors, Madison began to
unfurl the rolled up plans in her hand. Trying to smooth out the
creases where she had crushed them, she waited patiently as her
clients came up to the table, looking wide-eyed.

“
This is what Mr. Parr and
I have come up with.” She motioned to the plans. “We’ve had to cut
back a bit on the size of the atrium to add stability to the
foundation, raised the height of the second floor to make sure the
views from the second story are unencumbered by the first, and
lessened the slope on your roof angles just a bit. Now this will
increase the need for steel beams in the central portion of the
atrium entrance, as well as along the central portion of the main
walls on the first floor.”

Pat eyed the drawings on the table.
“Will that increase the cost?”

“
A modest increase,”
Madison conceded, “but it will add stability to the
structure.”

“
I wanted to open up the
kitchen,” Stevie joined in, pointing to the kitchen off to the
right of the atrium on the plans. “I’d hoped to have it to be a
part of the atrium, not have a wall dividing it.”

“
That’s a bearing wall,”
Madison informed her. “To get rid of that wall, I will have to find
another way to distribute the weight of the top floor.”

Stevie appeared unimpressed. “Does
that matter? It’s what I want.”

Pat kissed his wife’s pale cheek once
more. “If my Stevie wants it, then it must be done.”

Madison’s smile was getting harder and
harder to maintain, but instead of driving home her point, she
simply pulled a pencil from her purse and made a few notes on the
plans.

“
Oh, and I want a big fish
pond inside of the entrance. Not one of those puny things,” Stevie
insisted. “A great big one. Fifteen feet wide with koi in
it.”

“
Water is very heavy,”
Madison warned. “It will add a lot of weight to the lower
floor.”

Pat waved off her concern. “You’ll
figure it out.” His hand once more went about his wife’s slim
waist. “Got to keep my Stevie happy.”

Madison made some more notes on the
plans, inwardly cursing Hayden as she realized why he had left her
alone with the Martins. This was going to be a long
morning.

***

After an hour of suggestions, a ton of
notes on her plans, and the beginnings of a headache, Madison had
all she needed from the Martins to design the house from hell. She
was rolling up her plans as Stevie was puttering around in the
kitchen, when she caught a glimpse of the property beyond the patio
doors. Pausing, Madison took in the rolling woods, sloping
plotline, and shining lake behind the home.

“
Beautiful, isn’t it?” Pat
Martin spoke up beside her. “That’s the real reason we bought the
place. The land.”

Madison walked over to the patio
doors. “You don’t see anything like that in Dallas these
days.”

Pat pushed the glass doors aside.
“Come outside and get a better view.”

She followed him out to a wooden deck
and enjoyed the pine-scented air drifting in off the lake. The tops
of the pine and oak trees descending down to the lake were visible
from the deck. The sloping ground was covered with deep green brush
and winding trails that could be seen beneath the canopy of
trees.

“
I know Hayden is real hot
to get his hands on this land,” Pat expressed, “and I can’t blame
him. I’ll miss the hell out of this view.”

“
The new property you have
is just as beautiful,” Madison pointed out. “With the home we will
design, you will have an even better view.”

Pat’s rumbling laughter encircled the
open deck. “You’re a salesman just like Hayden. He told me the same
thing.” His round, pasty face grew a little somber. “You should
know I’m having second thoughts about selling this place and
building on the other site.”

“
Mr. Parr mentioned it.”
Madison waited to see his reaction.

“
I told Hayden if I didn’t
sell this place, I would sell him my Turtle Creek land.” Pat
Martin’s friendly face turned to her. “Then you could build that
great house you designed for us for him instead.”

“
I’m sure Mr. Parr would
come up with his own design; a better design than mine.”

“
You’re good,” Pat Martin
laughed. “Harry doesn’t know what he has in you…or does he?” His
brown eyes glided over her figure. “Forgive my bluntness, Madison,
but Harry has been like a second son to me ever since he and my
oldest boy, Josh, met in grade school. I want only the best for
him, and I couldn’t help but notice how he looked at you during the
party.”

Folding her arms over her chest,
Madison tempered her irritation. “And you think he needs to get
back together with his ex-wife, too, is that it?”

“
No.” Pat shook his head.
“Ellen Carpenter was a grade A bitch. My wife may love her, but I
never did. I’m just saying don’t believe everything Stevie
says.”

Madison’s eyes lingered on the land
before her. “I appreciate the advice, Mr. Martin, but Mr. Parr is
my employer, nothing more.”

“
I understand, Madison.”
She was about to turn to go when he added, “My second wife, Marg,
was my secretary at the engineering firm I started. When my first
wife moved out, Marg was there for me. We became friends, and then
fell in love. I loved her every day until she died of cancer eight
years ago.”

Madison glanced back at him. “I’m
sorry, I didn’t know.”

“
Real love isn’t curtailed
by boundaries… it breaks them.” He took a step closer to her. “Tell
Harry to send over the new plans. I’ll take a look at them, and
give him my final decision.”

“
Yes, Mr.
Martin.”

Stepping back through the glass patio
door, Madison had an odd sense of relief. The doubts that had been
nagging at her about her relationship with Hayden were stilled by
Mr. Martin’s encouraging words. Maybe it could grow into something
more, maybe not, but at least she knew he was worth the chance.
Perhaps she could find with him what she had yet to find with any
man; love. Only time would tell if they were meant for that. Time
could be a friend or an enemy to any relationship, but love was the
one constant that held time at bay. Love was timeless, and always
worth fighting for.

Chapter 14

By the time Madison arrived at the
offices of Parr and Associates, all hell had broken loose. People
were scurrying about the halls on the thirty-third floor, and all
the faces of her co-workers appeared troubled. She tried to wave
down a few people she saw bustling about as she made her way to her
office, but everyone appeared too busy to stop and talk.

“
Madison,” Garrett Hughes
called as he approached her just as she was reaching her office
door.

“
Good morning,
Garrett.”

Garett came alongside her and took her
elbow. Glancing about the hall, he whispered, “We need to
talk.”

Madison’s eyes searched his face for
some hint of what was going on. “Is something wrong?”

He opened her office door. “Let’s talk
inside.”

Once they were inside of her office,
Garrett shut her door. Madison gazed about for Adam and noticed
that his chair was empty and his familiar blue backpack was nowhere
to be seen.

“
Isn’t Adam in yet?” she
asked, stepping over to her desk.

“
That’s what we need to
talk about,” Garrett explained as he followed her across the
room.

Dropping her purse and plans on her
desk, she glanced back at him. His deep brown eyes were taking in
her every move, as his wide mouth and sharp features accentuated
the depth of his stare. For a moment she felt as if he were
analyzing her, stripping her down and studying every detail. Her
eyes glided over his trim body beneath the cut of his tailored blue
suit, and a flush of heat rose to her cheeks.

“
So what’s up,
Garrett?”

“
Harry fired your office
mate this morning.” Garrett moved closer to her, lowering his
voice. “He sent me to find you and warn you.”

Madison was shocked. She knew Hayden
disliked Adam, but she had never imagined that he would fire the
“sniveling weasel.”

“
There’s something else you
need to know,” Garrett confided. “I caught Adam spreading rumors
about you and Harry. He was telling several of the office staff in
the conference room yesterday that you two were sleeping together.
I told Harry about it this morning, and soon after he let Adam
go.”