That Night with You (3 page)

“
Are you kidding me? The
neighbors even complained.”

Charlie snickered and breezed into the
apartment. “Well, you can have the privacy now to bring a guy home
and disturb the neighbors with him.” She casually tossed her purse
on top of the boxes stacked on the plush green sofa.

“
You know, it’s funny.”
Madison shut the door and turned the deadbolt. “Of all the guys you
brought here, I never thought you would end up with Nelson. He
seemed so…mild-mannered.”

“
Mild-mannered?” Charlie
leered back at her. “Hardly. How a man appears to be vertically is
never how he acts horizontally.”

Madison lowered her eyes to the floor.
“Oh,” was all she could manage to say.

“
I think you’re the same
way, Mads. I think this,” Charlie waved her hand down the length of
Madison’s figure, “sweet little girl routine hides the assertive
woman beneath. After all, a woman who is as shy as you would never
have gone to a bar and just picked up a guy.”

Madison moved toward the kitchen. “I
was young and stupid. You said so yourself.”

“
You were also brave, and I
think you need to start tapping into that side of you, especially
now.”

Madison placed her black purse on the
breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the living room. “What
are you talking about?”

“
Mads, you start working at
a renowned architectural firm tomorrow. You’re going to have to
fight to prove yourself. I know how those places are. I’ve been
clerking in Nelson’s firm for a year now and companies like that
are pretty ruthless. You’re a woman, a very pretty woman who is
going to be a magnet for men who are going to make your life a
living hell.” Charlie came up to her. “You need to promise me that
you will stand up for yourself in this job. Working for old man
Pellerin is nothing compared to the place you’re going. You need to
watch out and don’t trust anyone.”

“
Stop worrying so much
about me.” Madison pointed at Charlie. “You’re the one getting
married. Shouldn’t we be concerned about you?”

“
Perhaps you’re right; I’m
the one heading into the shark-infested waters of
marriage.”

“
Don’t let Nelson hear you
say that.”

“
Actually, it’s more like,
‘don’t let Nelson’s mother hear me say that.’” Charlie rolled her
shoulders forward. “Here I am warning you about standing up at your
job, and I can’t even stand up to my future
mother-in-law.”

“
You caved on the teal
bridesmaids’ dresses, didn’t you?”

Dejected, Charlie slowly nodded her
head. “She hounded me until I gave in. I swore I would never have
teal as a color in my wedding, and here I am with teal and
chocolate all over everything from the sanctuary to the floral
arrangements. My bridal party is going to look like day old
bruises.”

“
Must be love then, eh?”
Madison joked. “Only love would get you to push your principles to
the side.”

“
Love and an insistent
mother of the groom,” Charlie snickered. “I swear, if my mother was
alive, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I kind of wish she were here to
help plan everything. Sometimes I think Nelson’s mother is stepping
in because I have no mother.”

“
Your mom is with you,
Charlie. I know she would have been so proud.”

“
Yeah, I know.” Charlie
shook off her sullen mood. “I wish I’d met Caroline Peevy when
Nelson and I were first going out. I might have bolted right then
and there.” She turned toward a hallway off to the side of the
living room. “There’s another lesson for you, Mads. Meet the
mother-in-law before you take the ring.”

Madison highly doubted she would ever
be plagued with such a dilemma as a mother-in-law. She had long ago
put any notions of marriage and children out of her head,
determined to be a successful architect and not a wife and mother.
She did not envy Charlie in the slightest. In fact, Madison was
relieved it was not her. “Life is an investment,” her late
grandfather had always told her. She needed to invest wisely and
stay focused on her goals, no matter the cost.

Chapter 2

Parr and Associates was
located in the
Renaissance
Tower
in
downtown Dallas. A fifty-six story modernist skyscraper, the sleek
glass and steel structure gleamed in the early morning sunlight
that peeked out from behind the fall clouds blanketing the
sky.

Reaching for
the brass door handles that marked one of the glass entrances to
the building, Madison took in a deep breath. The butterflies that
had been swarming in her belly all morning only seemed to get worse
as she neared the sleek, silver elevator doors which were to take
her to her new home away from home.

After stepping inside the crowded
elevator, she pushed the lighted button on the console for the
thirty-third floor and eased her way to the back. She was brushing
her hand down the front of her smart blue pinstripe dress when a
tall man in a gray suit eased up next to her. Out of the corner of
her eye, she could see his dark brown wavy hair and determined
profile. She didn’t want to stare, but found herself admiring the
curve of his square jaw and the cut of his cheekbones along his
clean-shaven face. When he turned to her, she immediately lowered
her eyes. The butterflies in her stomach were in a full blown fury
now, and she swallowed back the burning taste of embarrassment in
her mouth.

As she stood there, eyes riveted to
the elevator floor, she could feel his gaze on her. She knew it,
sensed him drinking in her profile. Terrified, she fought every
impulse to look up at him, and when the elevator doors closed, the
car shot upward and jostled her to the side, making her brush
against him.

“
Sorry,” she whispered,
keeping her focus fixed on the ugly brown tiles on the elevator
floor.

“
Think nothing of
it.”

It was a soft, seductive, deep kind of
voice that a woman would want to hear from the pillow next to her
in bed.

She could detect the slightest whiff
of his cologne; spicy, but with a hint of muskiness. Not enough to
overwhelm the nose, like so many other men’s fragrances, but just
enough to tantalize the senses. With her curiosity getting the
better of her, Madison tried to edge her eyes slowly upward, hoping
to catch a glimpse of him. Unfortunately, the elevator came to a
halt, the doors opened, and a rush of people began to push for the
exit.

Glancing at the lighted console,
Madison determined they had stopped on the twentieth floor. The man
beside her shuffled forward and she thought he was going to exit
the elevator, but instead he took a step closer to her.

Madison’s heart raced as the elevator
doors closed again and the car shot upward.

“
First day?” his velvety
voice inquired.

She bit her lower lip and nodded her
head. Raising her eyes ever so slightly, she concentrated on his
freshly-shaved chin. “How could you tell?”

His thin lips curled into a maddening
smile. “You look absolutely terrified.”

Madison fought to get ahold of her
emotions. If he could see it, imagine what her employer would
think. She had to appear self-assured and ready to take up her new
responsibilities.

“
I’m just nervous,” she
shyly admitted.

The edge of his jacket brushed against
her shoulder. “There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

His words sent an unsettling chill
throughout her body. There was something about the way he had said
it—the tone of his voice, the inflection—that reminded her of
someone she could not place. Intrigued by the stranger, she was
just about to raise her head to him when the elevator car once
again jerked to a stop. When her eyes shifted to the lighted panel,
she saw they had come to a stop on the thirty-second
floor.

The man beside her made a move toward
the doors, and came to a stop right in front of her. Madison ogled
his thick, wide shoulders, the way his suit jacket hugged his trim
waist, and then her eyes drifted down to his round
backside.

Someone cleared their throat in the
elevator and she instantly thought she had been caught staring at
the guy’s ass. A flush of warmth spread across her cheeks and she
clutched her purse to her side as her eyes once again plummeted to
the elevator floor. The group of people, including her stranger,
moved out the elevator door, and for an instant, Madison felt a
twinge of disappointment that she had not gotten a better look at
the man. Luckily, just as the elevator doors closed, she caught a
glimpse of him, standing just outside of the doors, staring back at
her.

The jolt that hit her body was
overwhelming. His face was more than she expected; rugged,
good-looking with gray eyes, a wide forehead, and chiseled features
that would have made him the object of any woman’s fantasy. His
trim figure appeared tone and lean behind the fabric of his suit,
and as he grinned back at her, he eased his hand into his trouser
pocket before dipping his head.

When the elevator doors finally
closed, Madison thought her knees were going to give
out.

What in the hell is wrong
with me?

By the time she was able to regain her
composure, the elevator doors opened onto the thirty-third floor.
Gripping her purse, she forced all thoughts of the devastatingly
handsome stranger from her mind. She had a job to do.

Making her way along the pale beige
hallway, she stopped in front of a glass entrance to Parr and
Associates. The two front doors were trimmed in dark wood and
covered with the company logo of a black rooftop which covered the
name of the firm written in red. Easing her hand around the sleek
wood handle, Madison glanced once more down the hall toward the
elevators, hoping for…. She pulled the door open and stepped
inside.

The reception area was done in
alternating shades of brown and beige, with a burgundy Oriental rug
covering a dark green stone floor. On the walls were various framed
pictures of famous houses, probably designed by the firm over the
years. Some were well-known landmarks to many who resided in the
Dallas area; others had graced the front covers of various
architectural magazines or won prizes for their unique
presentation.

Approaching a cherry-stained reception
desk with a dour-looking receptionist, Madison remembered her
posture, squared her shoulders, and put on her best
smile.

“
Hello. I’m Madison
Barnett, one of the new architects.”

The ashen brunette forced a smile to
her wan lips. “You’re early. I like it. Welcome, Madison. I’m Sam,
Sam Copper. I run the front desk.” The plump receptionist stood
from her high backed chair. “Glad to see we have a woman joining
our ranks. I’ll show you to your office. You’ll be sharing it with
the other architect Mr. Parr hired. Another man.” She rolled her
tired brown eyes.

“
But Mr. Parr didn’t hire
me,” Madison injected. “I met with Mr. Worthy.”

Sam came around the desk. “Mr. Worthy
is Mr. Parr’s right hand man. Trust me, Mr. Parr has the final say
in every person who works here.”

Madison waited as Sam opened a pair of
dark-paneled doors. “I hope I get to meet Mr. Parr sometime soon.
He’s quite a legend in architectural circles.”

“
Old man Parr was the
legend. He retired from the firm a few years ago. His son, Hayden,
runs Parr and Associates now.”

“
I didn’t realize that,”
Madison confessed.

“
Yeah, Hayden’s been real
instrumental in getting Parr and Associates some media exposure
over the years. He’s into social networking and PR.”

Madison hurried through the doors and
the faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee tempted her nose. “Does
Mr. Parr make it a habit to meet with new employees after he hires
them and not before?”

Sam motioned down the dark-paneled
hallway to her left. “I don’t know why he never met with you. I
know he met with your new office mate, Adam, however.”

Madison rubbed her hands together as
she followed Sam down the hallway. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t
good at all. “Now I’m kind of worried about meeting him. What if he
doesn’t like me?”

Sam turned to her and placed a
motherly hand on her arm. “Don’t be nervous, dear. He’ll love you.
Mr. Parr is a pretty nice man to work for. Sure he has his shouting
days and his days where you had better stay clear of him, but he
also goes to a lot of social functions around the city, and usually
makes sure his employees get invited. It’s one of the perks of the
job…we get into all the best events.” She turned away. “Before he
separated from his wife, Mrs. Parr used to make a point of stopping
by the office and meeting all the new employees.” She winked at
Madison. “Probably why he never hired any women architects before
you.”

Madison was taken aback. “His wife
didn’t like him hiring women?”

Sam stopped before an office door with
a bright brass handle. “Ellen Parr was kind of the jealous type,
but when you meet Mr. Parr you’ll see why.” She pushed the door
open.

Madison followed her into the small
office. There was not much to it, just beige walls decorated with
only one picture of a house the firm must have designed, one long
window that overlooked the Dallas skyline, two pine desks with high
backed chairs, and one small dark wooden table in the corner with a
telephone, printer, and several stacks of design books piled behind
it.