That Night with You (14 page)

She was about to open the door when he
placed his arm in front of her, barring her way. “Aren’t you going
to invite me in?”

Staring into his eyes, she knew she
couldn’t resist him…and if he entered her apartment, she’d be his
for the taking. “Why?” she defiantly questioned.

His face inched closer to hers.
“Invite me in, Madison.”

“
I don’t think that would
be a good idea. You’re my boss.”

He leaned back slightly, as if the
challenge of her answer had been unexpected. “Is this your
assertive side or difficult side?”

“
This is my needing to keep
my job side, Mr. Parr.”

He lowered his arm and took a step
closer to her, placing his face right in front of hers. The
nearness of his lips caused every molecule in her being to scream
with protest.

“
I would never use my
authority as your employer to make you do my bidding. I don’t want
that kind of control over you. I would prefer a very different
arrangement.”

She was at a crossroads; if she let
him in, their relationship would invariably change, and she would
be vulnerable. Yet feeling his eyes on her at that moment, she
wanted to be vulnerable to him, wanted to be so much more than his
employee. Despite the loud remonstrations in her head, she pushed
her door all the way open and stepped inside.

Flipping on the overhead lights, she
set her purse on a table by the door, dropping her keys next to it.
Madison listened as he came in behind her and quietly closed the
door.

“
Where’s your
roommate?”

“
Out,” she curtly
replied.

The sound of her deadbolt being
secured behind her made her tremble. Determined not to show him any
fear, she turned and faced him. Jarred by a memory, she was
transported back to their night together. She had stood before him,
in almost the same way, filled with all the trepidation,
excitement, and lust that was now coursing through her veins. Only
then she had not known what to expect. Tonight, she hungered for
it.

He inched closer, his eyes riveted on
her. “Will she be out for the entire evening?”

She backed away, bumping into a pile
of Charlie’s boxes, and one tumbled over. After retrieving the box,
he came to her side and took it from her hands.

“
Are you
moving?”

She avoided his eyes. “No, my roommate
is. She’s getting married in two weeks.”

Lifting the container, he replaced it
on the pile by the door. Then, after tossing his tuxedo jacket to
the sofa, he made his way deeper into her living room. Glancing
about, he spotted the CD player.

Madison followed his movements as he
perused her music selection in the storage towers on either side of
the CD player. He stopped when he saw a CD cover still out next to
the player. Switching on the CD player, he waited as the sound of a
man’s soft voice filled the living room.

“
Michael Bublé. You like
the classics?”

She nervously rubbed her hands
together. Why did the room suddenly feel so small? “Not usually,
but there is this one particular song.”

Hayden pointed in the air as the
bluesy rendition of “Feelin’ Good” began. “This song?”

She nodded as he slowly approached.
“It reminds me…of someone.”

He stopped before her. “Who does it
remind you of?”

“
It doesn’t
matter.”

He held out his hand to her. “Dance
with me?”

The way he said the words, the tone of
his voice, was just as it had been when he had taken her home from
the bar that night. Madison wondered if this was his move; the way
he seduced women into bed. Perhaps what she had thought was
special, was merely his tried and true method of seduction. Shaking
her head, she went to walk past him.

He held her arm, and whispered, “Dance
with me.” The need in his voice was hypnotic, and more desperate
than she had ever heard him sound.

“
All right, one dance.” She
ran her hand up and rested it on his shoulder.

When his arm came around her waist,
pulling her to him, she let out a little gasp of surprise. He held
her close, and slowly swayed side to side as the music swirled
about them.

“
There is something I’ve
wanted to ask you since the moment we met.”

His hot breath teased the nape of her
neck. “What is that, Hayden?”

He gazed into her eyes. “Why did you
leave me that night, Mary?”

All the emotion she had been holding
back since first realizing who he was came crashing down around
her. “You’re Harry!”

Jerking away from him, she slapped her
hand over her mouth. Madison went to the breakfast bar by the
kitchen and punched her fists into the bar, taking in several deep
gulps of air.

“
You had to know it was
me,” he commented, coming up behind her. “Or did you forget about
me…forget about what we shared?”

“
I thought you were the one
who had forgotten, the way you acted. When I asked you about Nina
Simone…I figured I had just been a one-night stand that had meant
nothing.”

“
I wasn’t sure if you would
run out on me again if I told you who I was, so I decided not to
say anything.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “When I woke in
the morning and found you gone…Christ, you should have told me you
were a virgin.”

She spun around. “How did you know
that?”

“
I saw the sheets, Madison.
You need to give a guy some warning that he’s going to be the
first, especially a stranger. I wanted to find you and see if you
were all right, but I didn’t know where to begin. You could have at
least told me your real name.”

Her back smacked into the bar behind
her. “What difference does it make if I gave you a fake name? You
told me your name was Harry.”

“
It is Harry.” He leaned
closer, resting his hands on the countertop behind her and pinning
her between his arms.

“
That’s not your real name,
Hayden, so don’t jump all over me for not telling you my name, all
right?” She paused, catching her breath. “How long have you known
it was me?”

His lips hovered above hers. “From the
moment I saw you in the elevator.”

She angrily broke free of his arms.
“Did you know it was me when I applied to your firm?”

“
Of course not. I didn’t
hire you, Don did. I saw your application, but I never knew your
name, Madison. How could I’ve known it was you?”

“
You should have said
something that first day in the conference room.”

He grabbed her arms. “If I had, would
we be standing here now? Would you have opened up to me, talked to
me like you have?”

His body was inches from hers. The
heat coming through his shirt felt like summer and his hands were
strong, forceful, and utterly compelling. She wanted to push him
away, but the longer she stared into his eyes, the more Madison
felt her resistance floundering.

“
Please tell me you haven’t
made a habit of picking up strangers in bars since me.” He let her
go and stood back. “I could never pick up another girl in a bar
after you, do you know that?” He turned away and went to the CD
player.

“
Why not?”

He turned off the music. “Because you
left a hell of an impression on me, that’s why.”

“
No less of an impression
than you left with me,” she shouted.

“
What is that supposed to
mean?”

She waved her hand in the air, getting
ahold of her anger. “So what do we do about this
situation?”

“
Do?” He went to the sofa
and picked up his jacket. “Nothing. This changes nothing between
us.”

She waited as he eased the tuxedo
jacket around his shoulders. “I think it changes everything.” She
looked down at her hands. “Do you want me to quit?”

He came up to her. “No, you have
talent, Madison. I want you to stay with Parr and
Associates.”

“
Even knowing what happened
between us, you think we can still work together?”

“
Why not? I need a good
architect…not a girlfriend.” He paused, and for a moment she
thought he was going to kiss her, but then he simply nodded his
head. “I’ll see you Monday morning.”

When he quietly closed the front door
behind him, Madison shuddered. They had cleared the air, discussed
the past, and he had made his intentions known for their future. It
was going to be all about business from now on.

Securing the deadbolt on the door, she
thought ahead to the coming days and weeks they would be working
together. How would she be able to look him in the eye without
thinking of that night? Wondering if every time he looked at her,
if he was thinking about that night, too.

Making her way through her living room
to her bedroom, she envisioned her life with Hayden Parr, and the
constant burn of desire the man elicited from her every time he
drew near.

“
How am I going to survive
this?”

Chapter 8

Monday morning, Madison
arrived at the entrance to the
Renaissance
Tower
buzzing with a blend
of excitement for her coming design for the Martins, and
trepidation over seeing Hayden again. The entire weekend she had
gone over and over his disclosure, wondering how to proceed.
Madison knew she should put the incident behind her and move on
with her new job and her life just like he had suggested, but there
was something about the man that ate at her.

“
There is no way you two
are going to be able to work together,” Charlie had advised that
Sunday morning when Madison had stood in the kitchen and told her
the news. “Admit it, Mads, you’re attracted to him and he’s
attracted to you.”

“
I thought he was attracted
to me, but maybe I was wrong,” Madison had proposed. “He said he
wanted me as an architect and not a girlfriend.”

“
You don’t actually buy
that crap, do you?” Charlie had laughed and then rolled her big
blue eyes. “Lord, if this is just your first week at this job, I
can only imagine what next week will bring.”

Now riding in the elevator to her
office on the thirty-third floor, Madison had already decided that
she could not afford to get involved with her boss. After all, he
was the kind of man she had always steered clear of; the sexy,
successful kind that would dump her in the end for someone far more
sophisticated and prettier.

By the time she reached her office
door, she was convinced that she could work for Hayden. Sure it
would be difficult, but she knew with time the awkward feelings
would fade, and then their relationship would be “strictly
business.”

Opening the door to her office, she
was relieved to see that Adam had not arrived yet. She knew the
obstinate man would be asking a thousand questions about the party,
questions she still was not sure how to answer.

Having just put her purse down on her
desk, Madison was removing her blue pantsuit jacket when she heard
a knock on her door.

“
Madison,” Emma called as
she came into the office, “Mr. Parr wants to see you first
thing.”

Madison quickly slipped her jacket
back on. “Is there a problem?”

Emma shrugged. “He just told me to
come and get you.”

Shoving her purse in the bottom drawer
of her desk, she hurriedly followed Emma out of the office. Just as
the two women were turning down the hallway that led to the
elevators, Adam came tearing around the corner, carrying his blue
backpack.

“
Hey, where are you two
headed?”

“
Mr. Parr asked to speak to
Madison,” Emma informed him without stopping.

Adam turned and began to follow them
down the hall. “Is this about the designs for the Martins? Does he
want to see me, too?”

“
Just Madison,” Emma
clarified.

“
He’ll probably want to
speak to you next.” Madison tried to sound hopeful.

“
Right,” he mumbled as he
stopped walking. “I’ll be in my office, Emma.”

When they reached the elevators, Emma
turned to Madison. “How are you getting along with him? Has he hit
on you yet?” She snorted. “I’ve heard he’s hit on every unmarried
woman in the office.”

“
He’s not that bad, Emma.
Just a bit overzealous.”

“
Mr. Parr was never keen on
hiring him.”

The elevator doors opened and when
Emma stepped inside, Madison quickly came alongside her.

“
What are you talking
about?”

Emma hit the console button for the
thirty-second floor. “I overheard him telling Garrett Hughes and
Don Worthy to keep an eye on him. Said he didn’t trust the little
weasel.” Emma waited until the doors closed and then grinned at
Madison. “I think he only hired him because he’s a friend of the
family or something like that.”

Madison stood gaping at the petite
woman. “How do you know all of this?”