That Night with You (9 page)

Hunched over his computer, with his
jacket strewn about his chair and his white shirt sleeves rolled
up, he was entranced by what he had drawn on the computer. In fact,
he had never stopped working since they had returned from the
property.

“
Still not getting
anything?” Adam queried, never taking his eyes from the drawing on
the screen.

She sighed and sat back in her chair.
“I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“
Perhaps you just have the
wrong concept. Why not try for something else…something a bit more
mainstream?”

Madison wanted to snicker with
contempt at his suggestion. She knew she was on the right track,
but visualizing what she wanted for the property, while
encompassing all the beauty the land had to offer, was turning into
quite a challenge.

“
No, I have the right
concept, Adam.”

He looked up at her, donning his
boyish grin. “We’ll see tomorrow night if the clients agree with
you.”

“
Yes, we will.”

“
What are you two still
doing in here?” Don Worthy admonished as he entered the open office
door. “There’s a staff meeting in the conference room on
thirty-two. Better get down there before the donuts are
gone.”

“
Thanks, Mr. Worthy.” Adam
stood from his chair. “We must have been so preoccupied in our work
that we forgot.”

Don Worthy clapped his hands, urging
them into action. “Get going, both of you.”

Madison was following Adam out of the
office when Don Worthy stopped her. “How is your design coming
along, Madison?”

“
Good,” was all she offered
before darting out the door.

They took the elevator with a few of
the other seasoned architects to the thirty-second floor. Madison
rolled her eyes as Adam happily bragged about his newest plans to
everyone in the elevator.

When the silver doors opened, the
group made their way across a darkly paneled reception area and
through a pair of double doors that led to the conference room.
After grabbing a donut and a glass of water, Madison got
comfortable in a red leather chair at one end of the oval mahogany
table and waited for the meeting to begin.

“
I hate these things,”
confessed a hushed, masculine voice taking a chair beside
her.

Turning to the side, she met the deep
brown eyes of Garrett Hughes, chief architect for Parr and
Associates. “Don makes us come to these stupid meetings and then
spends an hour talking about himself,” he grumbled.

Madison noted the man’s aquiline
profile, dark stubble on his chin, and the cut of his expensive
suit jacket. “Then why don’t you take over the meeting, Garrett?
After all, you’re the man in charge of the architects.”

Garrett reached for his cup of coffee
on the table. “Everyone knows who is really in charge at Parr and
Associates, and it isn’t me or Don Worthy.”

“
Then who is
it?”

Garrett turned his liquid eyes to her.
“The same man who has taken a fancy to your…talent.” He took a sip
of his coffee. “Harry has great plans for you.”

“
You call Mr. Parr
‘Harry’?”

He nodded, replacing his cup of coffee
on the conference table. “Ever since we belonged to the same
fraternity in college and discovered we shared a common
interest.”

“
What interest is
that?”

Garrett just grinned at her. “How did
you like UT at Arlington?”

“
I liked it a lot. Good
school.”

“
I know. Harry and I
graduated from there.”

Madison sat upright in her chair.
“Hayden Parr went to UT in Arlington?”

Garrett’s brow furrowed. “I thought
you two knew each other from there. I assumed that was why you
applied here.”

Madison stared at the man in
disbelief. “Are you saying Mr. Parr mentioned knowing me
before…that he remembered me from UT Arlington?”

Garrett shrugged his wide shoulders.
“He never said so. I just assumed you two were—”

Don Worthy’s bellowing voice echoed
about the room, interrupting Garrett. “Okay, let’s get started
everyone.”

Garrett turned away and Madison
settled back in her chair, her mind reeling from the disclosure. It
was the first hard evidence she had to confirm her suspicions that
Hayden Parr had been the man in the bar. Now what did she do?
Confront him? Bring it up in passing conversation? Or should she
ignore it all together? As Don Worthy’s monotonous voice began to
drone on about quality control issues, Madison debated the proper
course of action to take. However, no matter what she planned,
Madison feared it would likely have the same outcome: unemployment.
And that, more than confronting Hayden Parr, terrified
her.

***

After the meeting concluded, everyone
was filing out of the conference room when Madison spotted Hayden
at the entrance talking to Garrett Hughes. The two men were
laughing when she came toward the door. Hoping for a clean getaway,
she lowered her eyes and quickened her pace.

“
Madison,” Hayden called as
she passed through the doorway, “do you have a moment?”

Shit.

She turned to him. “Sure, Mr.
Parr.”

His eyes wandered up and down her
plain green cotton dress and black flats. “Good,” he waved down the
hall, “let’s talk in my office.”

She noted the smirk on Garrett’s face
as he walked away. Going up to Hayden’s side she kept up her
pleasing smile, hoping to hide the abject terror coursing through
her veins.

A few doors down the hallway, they
came to a modest pair of oak double doors, and Hayden reached for
the handle. “There is something we need to discuss,” he insisted,
opening the doors.

His office was not as grand as she had
envisioned. With a slew of crammed bookcases, his diplomas, and a
few framed accolades on the faded steel blue walls, it appeared
cluttered and almost plain. The dark blue carpet beneath her feet
seemed to match the sinking feeling in her chest. As Madison
approached his black desk situated before an expansive picture
window, he came up behind her and gently pressed his hand into her
back, guiding her to a black leather chair in front of his
desk.

The touch of his hand sent a shudder
down her spine. The pit of her gut exploded with heat that shot to
the valley between her legs, making her feel a little lightheaded.
Never before had a man’s touch excited her so. Then, she remembered
that night with him, the way he had held her while dancing and the
white hot surges of desire he had awakened in her.

Don’t lose it now,
Madison.

“
Am I in trouble?” she
asked, taking her chair.

“
No, not at all. Don Worthy
came to me before the staff meeting.” He casually rested his hip on
the edge of his desk. “He was in your office and saw what you’ve
been working on…or should I say what you haven’t been working on.”
Hayden paused and waited for a moment before asking, “Is there a
problem?”

She sat stiffly in the hard, black
leather chair. “I’m just having trouble finding
inspiration.”

He leaned back, appearing surprised by
her statement. “You seemed pretty inspired the other day when we
were at the property.”

“
That was then. Now I’m
desperately trying to find something that will do justice to the
land. I know Adam is working away on some lavish design, but I want
to—”

His hand cut through the air. “Never
mind about Adam. This is about you and your idea.”

He stood from the desk and had a seat
on the chair next to her. Unexpectedly, he reached for the arms of
her chair and pulled it closer to him. The show of strength
surprised her, and Madison was convinced her boss would notice the
flush on her cheeks as he angled closer to her.

“
When we were walking about
the property the other day, what did you feel about the
land?”

She swallowed hard and tried like hell
to concentrate on the question, and not the tantalizing nearness of
his lips.

“
I remember liking how
green and woodsy it felt. Kind of like an escape in the big city.
You know, sort of like a woodland hideaway.” She licked her lips,
suddenly feeling her mouth go dry.

His eyes focused on her lips, and he
wiped his hand over his brow. “Anything else?”

She took in a deep breath, willing her
heart to slow down. “It reminded me of when I spent summers at my
grandfather’s horse farm outside of Arlington. There was a creek a
lot like the one the other day. I used to love playing
there.”

He crossed his ankle over his left
knee, seeming a little nervous. “That explains why you were so
comfortable in the brush…and with the snakes.”

She shrugged. “I was a tomboy growing
up. I learned a lot about nature during those summers.”

“
So use that. What did you
like best about the property?”

She tilted her head to the side and a
strand of brown hair fell across her cheek. “The high ridge and how
it dipped to the creek.” Without thinking, she twirled the loose
hair about her finger. “But I think I liked the wooded atmosphere
around the creek the best. I want to incorporate that view into the
house somehow.”

Hayden’s eyes lingered on her finger,
playing in her hair. “Sunroom, family room, or den
perhaps?”

She let go of her hair and shook her
head. “No, part of the atrium entrance. Where you walk in the front
door and immediately see a twenty foot wall of windows that opens
on to the creek. With rooms that flow off from there, but at the
same time allow an unheeded view of the creek. Like a long corridor
with rooms on either side. One side built up on the ridge, the
other a flight down and facing the creek.”

Hayden’s eyes expanded from two small
orbs of worried apprehension to wide gray marbles filled with
wonder. His whole face appeared to change before her, making
Madison smile.

“
Wow,” he exclaimed with a
dip of his head. “Now there’s something I would never have
envisioned.” He stared at her with admiration shining in his eyes.
“That’s truly a house worthy of the land. So what are you waiting
for? Draw that.”

Madison’s body sank into her chair.
“I’ve tried, but every time I begin, the dimensions seem too much
for the foundation, and then there are the structural components.
There will have to be a lot of steel beams used to hold the main
rafters in place, especially since it will be built at quite an
angle.”

He took her hand. “Just draw it,
Madison. Besides, the only part of a building that matters is its
foundation. The rest is just for fun. Remember that when you are
designing and worry about the logistics later when the engineers
come on board. Right now we just need a vision.”

Heat erupted between her legs and
tingling exploded in her stomach. His hand felt like fire against
her skin. She was overwhelmed by his touch, but at the same time
terrified of it. Madison had never reacted like this with a man.
Even during that night, she remembered feeling intensely attracted
to him, but not like this. Was he her Harry? She had to find
out.

“
There’s something I’ve
been meaning to ask you.”

“
Ask me anything you like.”
He let go of her hand, sat back in his leather chair, and crossed
his legs again.

She tried to remember the advice Mrs.
Leder had given her. “Do you…have you ever…listened to Nina
Simone?”

Hayden froze. For several seconds he
did not move or even appear to be breathing. Madison was not sure
if that was a good thing.

Great. I scared him to
death
.

Slowly, the inviting smile returned to
his lips. “Nina Simone. I haven’t listened to her in years. But
yes, I used to love her music.” He furrowed his brow. “Is she some
kind of inspiration for your plans?”

Her hope sank to the dark blue carpet
below. She had been a fool. If he was her Harry, he did not
remember their night together. Hayden Parr had no idea who she was;
Madison was convinced of that now. All of her worrying had been for
nothing.

“
Yeah,” she finally
answered, “her music helps me to draw.”

He rose from his chair. “Then I
suggest you get to it. The party is tomorrow night, and I think it
would be wise to have some kind of rough draft to show the
clients.”

She stood up. “Yes, Mr.
Parr.”

“
Hayden,” he
corrected.

The excitement she had felt before
fizzled out of her. “Yes, sir,” she mumbled, and quickly turned for
the doors.

“
Madison,” he called to her
as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

When she faced him, her smile had
slipped a little and she fought to look as if nothing had changed
between them.

“
Tell Adam to come and see
me when you get back to your office. I want to go over his design
before tomorrow night.”

Swallowing back her disappointment,
she opened the door. “Of course, Mr. Parr.”