“My father is an orthopedic surgeon. His writing is almost as bad as yours. At least that’s the way it looked on the birthday cards he sent me.”
“Are you two close?”
Madison’s heart hardened at the thought of her father. “No. He has a new family in California. He forgot about me and my brother almost as soon as he left. I haven’t seen him since I was thirteen.”
“You’re lucky that you didn’t have a father to live up to. Try following in your old man’s footsteps and see what it’s like being compared to him at every turn.”
Madison took in his profile and noted the quivering muscles of his clenched jaw. “I would rather have too much of a parent in my life than never have them at all. We can always forget what we don’t wish to remember, but we can never forget what we never had.”
He eased closer to her chair. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I should be thankful I had a father who played an important role in my life. Forgive me for being so…callous.”
A gentle knock on the door made him leave her side and head across the plush carpet. Behind the door Emma was waiting, holding two white mugs of coffee in her hands. Taking the coffee from her, he returned to the desk and handed Madison a mug.
“That should warm you up.”
She watched as he avidly took a sip of his coffee; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. For a second, she wished she could glide her lips along his neck, and tease that Adam’s apple with her tongue.
Desperate for a distraction, she took a gulp of the coffee and winced, having burned her tongue. Plopping the mug on the table, she raised her hand to her mouth.
“What is it?”
Fanning her face, she stood from her chair. “That was…really hot coffee.”
He rested his hand against her cheek. The cool touch of his fingers only made her feel even hotter than the coffee.
“I’ll be back,” she muttered, and then dashed for the office door.
Swerving to the left as she bolted out his office door, she found the ladies room at the end of the short hallway and ducked inside. Hoping to cool her torrid desire, she went to the sink and flipped on the cold water. Patting the back of her neck and cheeks, she slowly reined in her emotions.
“You snuck past me,” Emma stated as she entered the restroom. Her dark blue eyes drew together. “You okay?”
Madison turned off the water. “I just got a little dizzy.”
“Are you getting that flu going around?” Emma came up to the sink, swaying her ample hips. “Everyone is getting it in the office.”
Madison reached for some paper towels. “I just haven’t been sleeping very well. Must have caught up with me.”
Emma leaned against the sink next to Madison and flicked her shoulder-length blonde hair with her hand. “I’m sure it’s all the excitement about having your design chosen for the Martins’ house. Mr. Parr was very excited, too. He said you wowed the Martins.”
“Really? He said that?”
“Yeah, he was telling me about the party until his bitch of an ex-wife called him.” Emma checked over her pink-painted fingernails. “She usually calls about once a week to complain about something. I hear yelling from his office, and that’s how I know it’s her. She drives him nuts.”
“His sister told me a little about her. Apparently, no one likes her.”
“Can you blame them?” Emma checked her reflection in the mirror. “I’ve heard Mr. Parr say time and time again that he will never remarry. That woman turned him off completely. He always says he’ll never trust another woman. He’s been too badly burned.”
Emma’s words resonated with Madison. The difficult distance between them suddenly made sense. It was not her, it was his past. Funny how the cruelty of someone she had never met could impact her life. Kindness from strangers had to be experienced directly, but suffering could impact her no matter the degree of separation. It made Madison wonder if the human heart was not the resilient rock reported throughout legend, but a fragile crystal more easily shattered than sustained.
Wiping her hands on the paper towels, Madison gave Emma a half-smile. “I should get back.”
“Sure, thing.” Emma fluffed her blonde locks as she stared in the mirror. “Can’t keep the boss waiting.”
***
Back in her office, Madison sat at her desk and dutifully incorporated the boatload of changes Hayden had suggested into her design. But as she worked on her computer, her thoughts kept returning to what Emma had told her in the bathroom. Maybe it was time to give up on her fantasies about her boss. Some men, no matter how enticing, were never meant to be.
“Hey, I’m glad the Martins liked your design,” Adam remarked from his desk.
Madison had forgotten about his disappointment after meeting with Hayden earlier that day about the Martins’ decision.
“Thanks, Adam. What you came up with was really beautiful, it just wasn’t what they were looking for. But you’ll find a client that wants it. I’m sure of that.”
“I know that. I’m not worried,” he cockily asserted. “There will be no shortage of clients looking for that design at this firm. I’m sure before the year is out I’ll be working on construction plans like you.”
Madison sat back in her chair and let out a long sigh. “Yeah, well, you may not be too happy about it. Mr. Parr made a ton of changes. It’s gonna take me another week to work all of this out, and then I still have to get started on the construction plans, engineering prints, and all the other designs required for the permits.” She rubbed her hands along her temples. “It’s giving me a headache just thinking about it.”
“You need a break.” He stood from his desk and came over to her side. “Leave that stuff for tomorrow and go home. You look beat.”
Despite his arrogance, there were times when she felt Adam could be genuinely kind. Right now, Madison didn’t want to go home to an apartment full of boxes. What she needed was a few hours to forget everything.
“Adam, how about that drink you promised me? Are you up for that, or do you need to get home?”
“No, ah….” His eyebrows went up in surprise. “We could go to Rory’s and grab some beers if you’d like.” He studied her eyes, appearing slightly concerned. “You all right, Madison? If you need a friend, you know I’m here for you. No strings or anything, just friendship.”
Madison turned his words over in her head, and she was reminded of something Mike had said to her the night of the party. “Don’t you need a friend, Madison?” Perhaps she had been right. If there was no hope of having the man she wanted, then what difference would it make if she ended up with someone else? Even someone like Adam was better than being alone.
“I’m fine, Adam,” she heard her voice say. “Rory’s sounds great.”
Chapter 9
Rory’s Bar was a restaurant and sports bar that many of the employees in the surrounding buildings went to for a quick lunch or much-needed after work drinks. The dimly lit décor was a mixture of posters of famous Dallas sports teams and sports paraphernalia. Framed team jerseys, trophies, autographed photographs, and a collection of baseballs, footballs, and basketballs cluttered the paneled walls.
As Adam and Madison meandered across the dark wood floor to the U-shaped bar with its Tiffany-style pendant lights and decorative glass racks hanging from above, the sound of a prerecorded football game blared from a television set up across the room.
Taking a burgundy leather upholstered bar stool, Madison soaked in the ambience of the crowded bar. All around men in suits with loosened ties or women wearing business attire sipped on drinks, munched on peanuts, and filled the air with the hum of conversation.
“Busy place,” Madison commented as she removed her purse from her shoulder and placed it over her lap.
“It’s always busy in here.” Adam dropped his backpack on the floor by the bar and took a barstool next to her. “I used to come here a good bit before I joined up with Parr and Associates. It always stays
packed until after ten at night.”
“When was this?”
He reached for a bowl of peanuts on the dark wood bar. “Whenever I came to Dallas to see family. I would always stop by here for the food.”
“I thought your family was in New Orleans.”
“My parents are there, but I have aunts and uncles, as well as a few cousins, here.”
She wrestled her blue pantsuit jacket from around her shoulders. “So is that why you came to Dallas?”
“That and the job.”
A very attractive bartender with dark hair and liquid blue eyes came up to them. Wearing a blue T-shirt that accentuated his toned arms, he sported a deep five o’clock shadow. “What’ll it be?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Ah, beer is good for me. Draft,” she returned.
Adam held up two fingers. “Two drafts.”
The bartender pulled two tall Weizen glasses from a rack above Madison’s head and went to the other side of the bar to the draft tap.
“I never thought you would take me up on my offer for drinks,” Adam began.
She tore her attention away from the bartender’s well-formed ass. “I guess after everything that happened last weekend with the Martins, I realized we really don’t know much about each other, and if we’re going to work together we should be friends.”
Adam leered playfully. “See, you’re warming up to me. I do that to everyone. Yeah, at first nobody likes me, but after a while, once they get to know me, I grow on people.”
Madison was not sure how to respond to that. “Oh, well, then I guess I’m warming up to you.”
Their bartender returned with their beers, and after giving the man a friendly smile, Madison eagerly reached for her drink. She quickly downed a deep sip while Adam pulled his wallet from inside his suit jacket.
“I’ll get this.” He flung a twenty dollar bill on the bar.
Their sexy bartender picked up the bill and scurried away.
Adam gripped his beer and raised his glass to Madison. “To working together.”
She tipped her glass against his. “To working together.”
After Adam had taken a hearty drink from his beer, he plopped the glass on the bar. “You know, I still don’t understand why the Martins didn’t go for my design. It would have looked great in that neighborhood. Been the biggest house on the block.”
Inwardly sighing, Madison placed her beer on the bar. “I don’t think they were going for the biggest, Adam. They wanted something more—”
“Artsy?” he injected.
She refrained from commenting, and instead nodded in agreement.
“When I was in college, my designs won awards and my professors said I was one of the best students they had ever taught. Which makes it inconceivable to me why the Martins didn’t go for my house. I know everyone has an opinion, and I’m not knocking your design,” he patted her arm, “but you have to admit, mine would have totally rocked that property.”
Beginning to doubt her decision to join Adam for a drink, Madison reached for her beer.
“My father always believed I was going to make it big in this business,” Adam went on. “When I got on with Parr and Associates, he wasn’t surprised. He was, however, upset that I got turned down by several local New Orleans firms.” Adam winked at her. “My old man tried to pull some strings so I could stay there, but the firms weren’t hiring. So I came to Dallas. I don’t regret it. I can really make a name for myself here, and one day I’m going to open my own firm.”
“I can definitely see that,” Madison declared with a faint smirk.
“I’ve got a cousin here who wants to help set me up in my own place later on down the road. She helped me get this job. She was the one who encouraged me to come to Dallas to find work.”
Madison rested her elbow on the bar, bracing herself for the onslaught of “me talk” she feared she was about to get from Adam. Just as he was about to open his mouth to continue, a hand slapped Adam’s shoulder, making the slender man flinch on his stool. But when the perpetrator of the act emerged from behind Adam, Madison gasped.
“Mr. Parr,” Adam croaked, sounding as surprised as Madison felt.
Madison was undone by the flicker of anger she saw in Hayden’s small gray eyes.
“Well, I didn’t expect to find you two here…together,” he grumbled as his eyes stayed on her.
Adam stood from his stool. “Yes, we were having an after work drink to celebrate Madison’s first professional design.”
“Really?” Hayden grinned at Madison. “And you didn’t invite me?”
She knew in that instant he was toying with her. “We didn’t think our boss would be interested,” she coyly fired back.
“Of course I would be interested, Madison. Why would I want Adam to have all the fun?” He slapped Adam’s back hard, making him wince slightly.
Madison swiveled around on her stool and picked up her beer while Adam offered Hayden his barstool. Hayden greedily took the seat next to her, leaving Adam to head further down the crowded bar in search of another stool.
Hayden leaned over to her. “Really, Madison? Him?”
“It’s just a drink.”
He scowled at her. “I’ll make sure of that.”
She didn’t like the edgy tone in his voice. “What are you going to do?”
Before he could answer, Adam returned carrying another stool. Placing the barstool next to Hayden, Madison watched anxiously as Adam reached across for his beer.
“Beer?” Hayden commented, pointing to his glass. “No, we have to really celebrate.” He motioned to the good-looking bartender standing close by. “Steve, get us a round of shots. Tequila. Patron, if you’ve got it.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Parr,” Steve with the dreamy eyes called back.
“You know him?” Madison murmured to Hayden.
“Why? Do you want a date?”
“Would you be jealous if I did?”
He gazed into her eyes, making that desire he always stirred within her come shooting to the surface. “Yes, I would.”
His words hit her like a tidal surge crashing into a rocky shore. She had thought he didn’t want her as a girlfriend, and that there was no possibility of anything between them. Yet, in an instant, everything changed.
“Well, Mr. Parr,” Adam broke in, “what brings you here?”
Hayden spun around to Adam. “I was going to head home and saw you two strolling over here. So I thought I would join you. You don’t mind, do you, Adam?”
“No, hell no.” Adam grinned happily. “This is great. It gives me and Madison a chance to get to know our boss. Find out what kind of guy you are.”
Madison cringed and reached for her beer, quickly downing half the glass in one gulp. When Steve returned, carrying three shot glasses in his hand, she considered Hayden’s intentions. Was he out to get all of them drunk, or just her? She didn’t think him the kind of man to take advantage of an inebriated woman, but at this point she would take him any way she could get him.
Steve retrieved a bottle of Patron tequila from beneath the bar and slowly poured the clear liquid into each of the shot glasses.
“Ah, I’m not a big tequila drinker,” Adam confessed.
The comment made Hayden smile. “After tonight you will be, Adam. I guarantee it.”
Steve placed each shot glass before them, and stood waiting for them to drink as he held the bottle of Patron in his hand.
Hayden reached for his glass first, and motioned for Adam to join him. When his eyes shifted to Madison, she reluctantly picked up her drink and quickly slurped down the bitter-tasting alcohol. Adam and Hayden drank together, grimacing when they slapped their glasses on the bar.
“Another,” Hayden ordered, waving to Steve to refill Adam’s glass.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Adam whined.
“Nonsense, we have to do two,” Hayden insisted. However, when Steve went to refill Madison’s glass, Hayden placed his hand over it. “None for he
r. Just me and Adam.”
She angled closer to him. “What are you doing?”
He ignored her and smiled encouragingly for Adam. “This is just between the boys, Madison.”
Steve topped off their shot glasses, and both men tossed back the contents in one swallow. After slamming their glasses on the bar, Adam wretched and wavered on his stool. When Hayden pointed to Adam’s glass, urging Steve to fill it yet again, Madison scowled.
“Last one,” Hayden affirmed.
“You’re not drinking,” Adam stated, pointing to Hayden’s empty shot glass.
“I’m done,” he admitted. “This one’s all about you, Adam.”
“Oh, no. Not another one,” Adam protested.
Hayden pushed the full shot glass closer to him. “You can’t wimp out on me now, Adam.”
Rising to the challenge, Adam took the glass in his hand.
Madison watched in disgust as Adam drained the glass and banged it on the bar in a show of triumph. Hayden applauded, making Adam blush with pride.
It did not take long after finishing the tequila shots for Adam to sway on his stool. The one shot Madison had downed had made her feel tipsy, so she was sure Adam was in much worse shape.
“I think it’s time we get you home,” Hayden suggested to him.
“We just got here.” Adam waved an unsteady hand about the bar. “The night is still young.”
Hayden stood from his stool. “Come with me.”
Adam picked up his backpack from the floor, and with great difficulty slung it over his right shoulder. The two men then headed toward the entrance. Figuring their evening had come to an end, Madison put on her jacket while Steve cleared the shot glasses from the bar.
“What do we owe you, Steve?”
The handsome man smiled. “Not a thing. Mr. Parr has an account with us. I’ll put it on his tab.”
As the bartender went to another group of customers waiting across from her, she picked up her purse.
“Where are you going?” Hayden questioned, coming up to her.
She looked behind him. “Where’s Adam?”
“In a cab on his way home,” he told her.
That Night with You Page 11
