That Night with You (29 page)

Madison stood frozen to her spot by
her chair. What could she say, especially to the head architect of
the company?

“
Not to worry.” He clasped
his hands behind his back, appearing indifferent. “No one believes
any of it, but now my job has suddenly gotten a lot harder because
of losing Adam. His absence has put a big kink in my
plans.”

Madison’s shoulders relaxed and she
let out a long breath. “What plans?”

He nodded and moved over to the
window. “Harry wants to expand out of the Dallas area. He was
thinking of New Orleans, especially with the rebuilding going on
since Katrina. I was sending Adam back to his hometown to get us
started, and also because Harry desperately wanted him out of this
office.” Garrett turned away from the window. “Now I will have to
go instead, leaving the company short-handed and putting a lot more
work on Harry’s shoulders. Without a chief architect, he will have
to directly supervise all of our design projects, in addition to
managing the company.”

A wave of guilt crushed Madison. She
had been the reason Hayden had wanted to get Adam away from the
office, and because of her, not only was Adam out of a job, but the
entire office had been thrust into turmoil.

“
Garrett, I’m sorry. I feel
like this is my fault.”

“
No, it’s Adam’s fault. The
little shit was always poking his nose where it didn’t belong. I
knew Harry disliked him, so I thought sending him back to New
Orleans was a good idea.”

Madison inched closer to the window.
“But now you’re going to be uprooted and forced to leave
Dallas.”

“
Forced?” He raised his
eyebrows. “Not at all. I’m looking forward to leaving. I’ve grown
bored with Dallas, and New Orleans may be a bit more appealing for
me.”

Madison crinkled her brow. “Appealing?
How so?”

“
Never mind about me.”
Garret waved off her question. “It’s Harry I’m worried about.
Without me around, he’ll have a lot more to do and he’ll need help.
I just need to know someone will be keeping an eye on him while I’m
gone. Harry tends to take on too much, and needs to be reminded
every now and then that he’s human and not some kind of
superhero.”

“
Why are you telling me
this?”

He smiled, highlighting the curve of
his wide jaw. “Because he’ll listen to you.”

Madison could tell by the gleam in the
man’s dark eyes that he knew about her and Hayden. She also
wondered what else he knew. With Garrett Hughes, there was probably
more going on behind his cool exterior than he let on. In many
ways, he reminded her of Hayden. Both men were calculating,
elusive, and controlling.

“
So the official reason I’m
here is to inform you of Adam’s demise,” Garret broke in,
interrupting her thoughts. “Unofficially, I’m asking you to keep an
eye on Harry.”

“
I’ll try, Garrett. I
promise.”

“
It’s a shame we won’t have
time to get to know each other better before I leave for New
Orleans. I would have liked to have seen some of your designs. You
really are a talented architect, Madison.”

“
When do you
leave?”

“
In a few days. I’ll stop
in before I go.”

She offered him a friendly smile,
feeling a little sad to lose the one friend she had made in the
office. “I’d like that.”

He turned abruptly and headed for her
office door. “We’ll talk again.”

After he strode out of the room,
Madison returned to her desk and sank into her chair. The long
night with Hayden and the meeting with the Martins had not only
left her exhausted, but also wondering where she was going to find
the strength to get through the rest of her day. Imagining a tall
mug of black coffee, she was about to go in search of the needed
caffeine fix when the ringing of her office phone startled her.
Stretching across the corner table, she picked up the
phone.

“
This is Madison
B—”

“
Did Garrett talk to you?”
Hayden’s voice on the other end of the line abruptly cut her
off.

“
Why didn’t you tell me you
were going to fire Adam?”

“
Because I didn’t know
until I came in this morning and found the little son of a bitch
snooping through your desk.”

Madison paused and looked to her desk.
“What? When was this?”

“
After I dropped you at the
Martins, I came to talk to him about where we stood with New
Orleans, and I found him going through the drawers of your desk.”
Hayden let go a long sigh into the phone. “Was there anything in
your desk that could cause us problems?”

Madison’s stomach curled tighter. “No,
of course not. I just keep work-related supplies in my desk,
nothing personal.”

He sighed again, louder than before,
and she could hear his frustration. “Come to my office and bring
the changes the Martins made. Then we can talk.”

The sound of his voice was no longer
soothing and comforting as it had been the night before. The
aggravation was apparent, and she feared seeing a side of Hayden
Parr that she didn’t want to know.

“
All right,” she finally
said, gripping the receiver in her hand. “I’ll be right
down.”

Grabbing her plans, she headed to her
office door and went to the thirty-second floor. As Madison
approached Hayden’s office, she caught Emma darting out his double
doors.

“
Better be ready,” Emma
warned. “He’s super grumpy this morning.”

Madison nodded, holding up the plans
in her hand. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Easing inside the office, Madison
waited while Emma shut the doors behind her before she turned to
Hayden. After she was sure they were alone, she pivoted around and
found him standing before his wide office window with his back to
her. She edged closer to his desk, watching as he arched his back
beneath his beige suit jacket and rubbed his hand behind his
neck.

“
You look
tense.”

He showed her his profile. “To say the
least.” He closed his eyes for a moment and then turned to her.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you on the phone.”

She glanced down at the rolled up
plans in her hand. “You didn’t snap at me. You were just a little
abrupt.”

“
I’m sorry I was abrupt.”
He went around his desk to her side, and briefly rested his hand
against her cheek. “How did it go at the Martins?” He stood back
from her.

“
Fine,” she answered, but
then frowned. “You should know Stevie Martin was the one who
notified your ex about me staying over at your place. She saw my
car parked there all night and got suspicious.”

His brow furrowed, accentuating his
angry scowl. “What did you tell her?”

“
Only that we were working
on their design plans until very late and you offered me a guest
room since I had an early meeting with them.”

“
Quick thinking. I like
that.” He nodded with approval. “You can park in my garage from now
on and not on the street. That should keep Ellen off my back.” His
gray eyes grew colder. “Did Stevie say anything else?”

“
She, ah, also warned me to
stay away from you. She seems to believe you and Ellen are meant to
be together. Apparently, she and your ex are pretty
tight.”

“
Tight? Hardly. Stevie
Martin likes to think she’s part of the in-crowd, and used to kiss
Ellen’s ass whenever she could.” He took the plans from her. “Ellen
was very much into the social scene; who to know, where to go and
be seen. All that bullshit used to drive me crazy.” He tossed the
plans on his desk.

Madison motioned to the plans. “I
thought you wanted—”

“
Later. Right now I want
something else from you.” He came around behind her and pushed her
into his large desk.

“
Hayden, what about…?” She
nodded to the office door.

“
No one will come in.” He
stood behind her, running his hands up the sides of her black
pants. “I told Emma I didn’t want to be disturbed while I was with
you.”

“
I thought we had to be
discreet.” Her hands rested on top of his as they fondled her
breasts.

“
I am being discreet, the
doors are closed.” He ran his lips along her earlobe. “But I just
need to touch you right now.”

She closed her eyes and tilted her
head against his chest. “God, I love your hands.”

“
What else do you love?” he
whispered into her ear.

“
About you? Let me see.”
She backed her hips into him. “I love the way you make me feel…calm
and relaxed.”

“
Funny, you do the same for
me.” His hands drifted along her shoulders, kneading into the
muscles of her neck and upper back. “What else?”

“
What else do I love
about—?”

“
Mr. Parr,” Emma’s voice
over the phone speaker made Madison jump. “It’s your attorney on
three. He said it’s important.”

“
Shit.” Hayden let Madison
go and went around his desk to his phone. Punching down the
intercom button, he barked, “Tell Marc to hold on.” He pointed to
the chair in front of his desk for Madison to take a
seat.

She motioned to the doors. “I should
go.”

“
Sit!” he snapped, and
again pointed to the chair.

She gave him a perturbed smirk and had
a seat.

When Hayden took the call from his
attorney, she watched him, intrigued by how his eyes drew together
and the scowl on his lips deepened.

“
What’s the word, Marc? Did
you talk to Ellen’s attorney?”

Madison waited as Hayden sat in the
black leather chair behind his desk. His eyes stayed on her as he
listened intently to his attorney on the other end of the
line.

“
You already know my answer
to that,” Hayden gnarled. “No more discussion on the settlement.
She’s getting enough. Ellen can take the offer on the table and
walk away, or let her attorney know I’ll fight her for the rest. I
want this over with her, Marc. I need to move on with my life, and
I can’t have Ellen threatening me every time she thinks I’m seeing
another woman.”

Madison wasn’t sure how to react to
his words. Instead of confronting his stern gaze, she kept her eyes
on her folded hands in her lap, waiting for him to speak
again.

“
Since you’re my attorney,
then no, I’m not seeing anyone.” He paused and nodded his head,
listening intently. “Yes, there have been a few women since the
divorce. I’m not celibate, Marc.”

That made Madison’s eyes
fly to him.
How many women have there
been?

“
No, I don’t know why she
thinks that. The woman staying with me last night was an employee.
We were working together on a design until very late. We had an
early morning meeting with some clients, so I offered her a guest
room as a matter of convenience.” He paused for a moment. “No,
she’s no one that Ellen is acquainted with.” His scowl retreated
and he smiled. “Yes, I remember what you told me about being
discreet. I never flaunt my arrangements, Marc. You know what a
private man I am.”

Madison noted his grin and
considered his comment.
Arrangements?
Questions like raging
flood waters began to eat away at her certainty.
Did he treat all of his women the same way? Was
this just a game for him? Perhaps some stupid fraternity challenge
he shared only with Garrett?

“
Let Ellen know no more
threats, or I’ll get nasty.” He nodded as he listened to his
attorney, but his eyes never left her. “Keep me posted on what she
plans next. Thanks, Marc.”

After he hung up the phone, Madison
held her breath, wanting him to speak first. Unable to take the
silence any longer, she stood from her chair and reached for the
plans on his desk. Hayden sat back in his black leather chair,
carefully watching her.

“
I wanted you to hear that
conversation because you need to know what we’re dealing with when
it comes to my ex. You’re important to me and I want you to know
everything that’s going on in my life.”

She gave him a reassuring smile.
“Important? Funny, I got the impression that I was one of those
‘few women since the divorce’ keeping you from being
celibate.”

He stood from his chair as she
unrolled the plans over the top of his desk. “I was being
discreet.”

She kept her focus on the plans. “Yes,
since you’re such a private man.”

He came around to the front of the
desk. “You’re angry. Why?”

“
Did you tell Garrett about
us?”

“
No,” he rubbed his hand
over his chin, “but he knows how I am with women.”

“‘
How you are with women’?”
That set her off. “How many women have you been with since your
divorce?”

“
I already told you
about—”

“
How many, total?” she cut
in.

He sat back on the edge of his desk,
folding his arms over his chest. For several seconds he observed
her, adding to Madison’s unease. Sometimes his eyes could be so
invasive.