Madison smiled. She had liked what he had said that day. It made her feel as if she was more than just an accountant. That she could really offer her clients a future beyond their imagination. She had begun studying financial advising after that and realized just how right Liam had been. She sat down behind her desk, her eyes drawn to the picture of her and Andrew taken during the Fourth of July celebration a few weeks ago. Her eyes closed as she remembered that night in vivid detail. A ding from her computer abruptly forced her out of her thoughts. Madison placed her hand over her heart and could feel its rapid beat. She blew out a breath trying to calm herself. She was always surprised by the way she responded to Andrew. Even memories of him made her body hot with desire and want. A situation she had never experienced with anyone else. She shook her head slightly and smirked at the picture.
“Helios, Helios, Helios. You’re not even here and you got me all hot and bothered.”
She turned to her computer and typed in her password, unlocking the screen. She took another deep breath and stole one more glance at the picture before getting back to work. She slowly went through her inbox, reading over various emails from clients and jotting notes down. As she reached the last email, she stopped, surprised to see who it was from.
Madison
I was wondering if you recall working on the Martine case.
Grayson Turner
Madison cocked her head slightly, taken aback by the question. She was also surprised that he had sent the email on his personal account versus the business one. She couldn’t figure out why he would do that. He generally never sent business email through his personal account. Her fingers tapped nervously on her desk. She remembered that particular client very well. It was the account Grayson had given her after Andrew had left. Senator Martine had wanted her to manage some accounts of his, discretely, behind his wife’s back. He had given Madison a sob story that his wife was having an affair and he was trying to protect some of his assets in case of a divorce. She had been hesitant, but had helped him determine the money that was available to diversify. He had later asked her to manage one of his senatorial accounts to which she declined. She had not wanted to be involved in anything remotely related to the political arena. The following week the account had been reassigned to Kurtis.
“Why is Grayson asking about that case now?” She questioned.
With a furrowed brow, she picked up her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart.
“Turner & Crawford, how can I help you?”
“Yes, I’d like to speak with Mr. Turner please.”
“Can I tell him whose calling?”
“Madison Ellis.”
“Madison?” she heard a squeak on the other end. “This is Monique. How are you?”
“I’m good. How’s New York?”
She laughed. “It’s still here. Hold on a sec, Madison, let me see if Mr. Turner is available.”
“Thanks.”
Madison waited, her leg bouncing furiously. The Martine case had always made her feel uneasy. She had generally felt like she was pulling teeth getting any information out of him and often wondered how truthful he had been. She was thankful when the case was handed to someone else. After she left New York, she had been paranoid that she would get a call about it or see Senator Martine in the news. But thankfully that never happened and, in truth, she hadn’t thought of it, or him, in a very long time.
“Madison?”
“Hi, Grayson. I just got your email.”
“Oh, shoot, yeah, ya know, it’s fine, forget I sent it.”
“What?” Madison asked curiously. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, of course not, Madison.” She heard shuffling on the other end of the phone and then Grayson was back on. “Madison, I need to go. I have a meeting I’m already late for. I’m sorry I worried you.”
“I was more curious than worried,” Madison confessed.
He laughed nervously. “Thank you for calling. Tell Liam hello for me.”
“You’re welcome,” Madison said to dead air. She frowned. “Okay, that was weird.”
Before Madison could contemplate it any further, she heard a familiar ringtone start to play. She smiled and dug her phone out, seeing Andrew’s face flash onto the screen. She quickly picked it up, her heart racing.
“Hey, baby.”
“Madison,” he said in his deep and sultry voice. A sound that made Madison’s insides do back flips. “I got a visitor today,” he added nonchalantly.
“Really,” Madison said, clearing her throat. “Who came by?”
“Jamal.”
“Your old PO?”
“Yeah, it was weird seeing him again.”
“I bet,” Madison stated, imagining what that must have been like for Andrew. “What did he want?”
“He has this kid he wants to send over for an interview. See if we can use him at the shop.”
“Oh wow, really?”
“Yeah, it was kind of weird, but cool, him asking me. Jayden and I talked about it and thought maybe we should ask you, based on our, you know, financial situation whether we could offer this kid a job if we liked him and if so, what we could afford to pay him?”
“Let me go through the financials. Can you give me an hour or two?”
“Of course, baby. I didn’t mean for it to sound like you needed to do it this instant. We just figured we should have an idea what we could do, in case this kid does stop by. He may just blow us off but I don’t know. I think he might just show up.”
Madison smiled. She could tell that Andrew had been thinking about it and she knew that they needed someone. She had offered to look into it a few months ago but both Jayden and Andrew had said no, they weren’t ready to hire anyone and that they thought they could handle it. She glanced at the clock. 10:00 a.m. She nodded slightly, that would give her plenty of time to do some research.
“Helios, baby, how about I bring you guys some lunch in a few hours?” Madison asked and then added, “I’ll have some info by then and we can go over it.”
“Wonderful,” he stated excitedly.
Madison smiled as well. She could hear the happiness echoing through his voice. Knowing that something simple that she could do could make him happy made her elated. She knew he had been worrying about their backlog in the shop. He felt that he was letting people down if they couldn’t get to the bikes right away, so getting some help was a must.
“Barring any complications, I should have some preliminary data for you guys by lunch.”
“Thanks, baby. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Helios.”
He hung up and Madison immediately turned to her computer. She clicked out of Grayson’s unusual email and started pulling up several screens at once. She brought up the spreadsheet for AJ Cycles and then began opening up the websites she had used to help determine Jayden and Andrew’s salaries. She needed to look at it all from a different perspective now. Technically, she knew that Jayden and Andrew should do this part but she didn’t care. She could do it quicker and she knew that Liam wouldn’t mind at all. The bottom line was, they needed help, and, in the process, they may be able to help someone else in return.
2 Little Things
It had been a few days since Jamal’s visit and apparently Connor was to come by the shop today. Neither Andrew nor Jayden knew when exactly. They continued to work on their bikes until they heard the tell-tale signs of someone coming in. Jayden glanced at him and rubbed his hands together before preparing for rock/paper/scissors.
“Dang it! I swear, how do you do it?”
Andrew smiled and shrugged as he shooed Jayden off again. He walked to the door and found a kid in the waiting room. He looked to be about sixteen years old with a wild set of hair that was falling in his face. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and turned when he heard Jayden approach.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Connor. I’m supposed to be meeting with …” he quickly withdrew a crump
led up paper that looked as if it had been open and closed many times before. “Andrew and Jayden,” he finished questioningly.
Jayden smiled and reached his hand out to him. “I’m Jayden, come on in.”
“Cool, you got a nice shop here,” he said as they stepped into the bay.
“Thanks. Andrew, this is Connor.”
Andrew stood up and smiled as he wiped his dirty hands on his coveralls before reaching it out to Connor, who shook it immediately.
“Good to meet you, Connor.” Andrew looked at Jayden. “Should we do this in my office or yours?
He started to prepare for rock/paper/scissors and then laughed. “I know you’ll win, so let’s just do yours.”
Andrew laughed and motioned with his head to Connor. “Come on back. Do you want some coffee or something?”
He shook his head and bobbed as he made it to the door. He took a seat in front of Andrew’s desk while both Andrew and Jayden leaned against it. Connor was shifting around in his seat, his eyes darting to take in everything in the room.
“You don’t need to be nervous, Connor,” Andrew said, remembering how nerve-wracking it was to interview for job after job, only to be denied once they saw his prison record.
“Yeah, man, we ain’t gonna bite. Why don’t you start with your work history?”
Connor nodded and began. He talked to them about working in an uncle’s garage when he was little and how his uncle had taught him a lot about cars. He didn’t have a lot of experience on bikes but reported working on a couple of them, doing some tune-ups and oil changes. Andrew and Jayden both asked him a few questions and then Jayden leaned back slightly, crossing his arms.
“Connor, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how the hell did you end up in prison?”
Jayden had told himself he wouldn’t ask such a question, but after spending an hour with Connor, he just couldn’t see it. It was the same feeling he had when he first met Andrew. He watched as Connor tapped his hands on his legs while avoiding eye contact with them. Jayden couldn’t tell if he was nervous or simply didn’t know what to do with his hands. Jayden glanced at Andrew and could see that he was studying Connor, assessing him. Jayden turned back to Connor as Connor looked between them.
“I just got in with my cousins, bad crowd, ya know, thought I was being cool,” he laughed uneasily. “I ain’t gonna lie and say I was innocent cause I wasn’t,” another nervous laugh. “I guess I was the only guilty guy in prison,” he finished with a cheesy grin before adding. “’Cause ya know everyone in prison is innocent,” he added with an exaggerated snort.
“Connor, we aren’t gonna judge you on being in prison. I’ve been there, so I know what that’s like,” Andrew interjected. “Are you still hanging with your cousins?” Andrew asked.
Connor shook his head. “Nah, most of them are still in county, but when they get out I still ain’t gonna be messing with them. I learned my lesson.”
“Alright, man,” Andrew peered at him questioningly, “I need to ask you one final question, and I need you to answer truthfully.” When Connor nodded, Andrew asked the most important question as far as he was concerned. “Are you still using?” Andrew rolled up his left sleeve and ran his hand over his tattoo. “Don’t lie to me either because I’ll know if you are.”
Connor’s eyes lingered on Andrew’s arm and then he looked up. There was a seriousness on his face that hadn’t been present throughout the interview. He leaned forward, looking first at Jayden and then at Andrew. He met Andrew’s eyes, and in that moment, they spoke to one another silently; one ex-con to another ex-con, one addict to another addict, a truth that they both were completely aware of. Connor knew that he wouldn’t be able to bullshit or deny. He already liked these two and he wanted, no, needed a job. He’d been out for three months already with no luck and he definitely didn’t want to do what he had done to land him in prison. Something had to change.
“I’m not using,” he said sincerely. “I won’t touch that shit again. And I swear that if you guys give me a chance, I’ll work my ass off for you. I won’t complain or nothing and I’m a quick learner.”
Andrew nodded slightly and glanced at Jayden, who still had his arms crossed. He looked at Andrew and they shared a knowing glance. Jayden turned back to Connor who was looking between them anxiously, hoping he hadn’t blown it. His mouth always got him in trouble. His damn ADHD making it hard to stop himself from spewing whatever thoughts he had at the moment. He just hoped it hadn’t betrayed him today. He wanted this job desperately.
“Connor, how about you come back tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes,” Jayden said.
Connor sprung up from his chair. “Hey, you guys got a lot of bikes out there. I can totally start right now!”
Andrew smirked and rose. “Come on, man, we’ll show you around.”
“Yeah,” Jayden continued, “I’m sure we can find something for you to do.”
“Awesome!” Conner stated excitedly as they made their way back into the bay.
~*~
When Saturday morning finally arrived, the four friends were eager for a night away. They were all currently at the Bennett’s’ house so that Jayden and Callie could drop off Ellie for an overnight with her grandpas while they all camped at Lake Isabella. Being that this would be Jayden and Callie’s first night away from their daughter, they were having second thoughts about leaving. Liam already had little Ellie in his arms while Elias was making funny faces at her. Ellie was giggling and taking it all in.
“Maybe we should just come back tonight,” Jayden suggested.
Andrew sighed. He didn’t want to be insensitive, but he’d been looking forward to going to the lake all week. It was going to be just the four of them, like they did for the last two summers. He glanced at Madison, who also looked upset about this. Neither of them being parents, they didn’t quite understand the difficulty their friends were having. They did know that they had all been excited about this weekend.
“Nonsense,” Liam stated in a tone that was atypical for him. Madison’s eyes widened at Liam’s apparent frustration.
“We’ve never left her,” Callie replied sadly.
“Well, look how happy she is with her grandpas,” Madison interjected.
“Yeah,” Andrew chimed in, “Ya know, your dads have been really looking forward to this.”
“And you don’t want to disappoint them,” Madison offered.
“Or Ellie,” Andrew added, reaching for anything that might sway Jayden and Callie towards the door.
Jayden and Callie stared at their friends for a long moment before smiling. They knew exactly what they were trying to do in their not so subtle way.
“Yeah, you guys aren’t fooling anyone,” Jayden said with a nervous laugh.
“Look man, I know you’re scared that I’m gonna beat you on the jet skis, AGAIN, but that’s no reason to delay,” Andrew said as seriously as he possibly could but he wasn’t able to stop the grin from forming.
“Oh, whatever!” Jayden finally laughed for real.
Elias chuckled. “Jayden, you and Callie go and have fun. You guys are young, live it up, you only get one chance after all.”
“Besides, Ellie is going to have a great time with us. Aren’t you sweetheart?” Liam asked as he rubbed noses with her, causing her to squeal in delight.
“Alright, alright,” Jayden shook his head. “Come on, Callie.”
Callie hesitantly kissed Ellie on the forehead and then Jayden did the same. Madison and Andrew winked at one another, feeling successful at steering Jayden and Callie on their weekend trip. As Jayden and Callie reached their friends, Jayden playfully nudged Andrew.
“No way are you beating me today!”
“We’ll see,” Andrew replied, throwing his arm over Madison’s shoulder.
As they reached the door, Madison glanced over her shoulder and smiled. Elias and Liam were now sitting in such a way that Ellie was between them. They were both happily making cooing noises at h
er, relishing their role as grandparents. Madison felt a tinge of sadness that her father would never be there when she finally had children. She truly believed he would have been a doting grandfather as well.
“You okay, baby?” Andrew asked.
Madison nodded. “Yep, let’s go, Helios. I want to play at the lake.”
Upon arrival at Lake Isabella, they immediately set up their camp site. Each couple had a small four-man dome tent set on opposite ends of the fire pit. A large cooler full of drinks and food was positioned near the picnic table while four cushioned camping chairs sat near the openings of their respective tents. Queen size raised air mattresses were blown up in the tents accompanied with a comforter and king-size pillows. Madison had learned very quickly that Callie and Jayden knew how to do things up. Once the camp was set, the boys set off to enjoy the jet skis while the girls opted to sunbathe in the blistering summer heat where they could visit. Several hours had already gone by. The hot sun beat down on their skin without mercy, making both girls long for the cool water of the lake.
“Madison?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m having such a wonderful day.”
“Me too, Callie.”
Madison smiled. She was indeed having a fantastic day. They had watched, or ogled was the more appropriate term, their men for a great deal of time. Andrew and Jayden were laughing and racing along the water like little boys trying to one up one another. It always made Madison’s heart leap seeing Andrew so happy and carefree as it wasn’t often the case, especially recently. His worry about her, their friends, and life in general made him hesitant to fully accept the happiness that was presently in his life. She wasn’t sure at this point what would make him believe that the worst was indeed over.
“Do you think I’m a bad mom?”
Madison blinked, drawn out of her thoughts about Andrew. She turned her head towards Callie and squinted in the bright light of the afternoon sun. She dropped her shades over her eyes and stared at her best friend, who had a notably melancholy expression on her face. A look Madison was unaccustomed to seeing on her.
Helios Renewed (The Helios Chronicles #3) Page 2
