Echoes of Summer (2 page)

“Should we save the tour of the office until tomorrow, and we can get started on the proposal right away?” Stephen asked.

Madison slowed down a fraction and pointed stiffly with one hand. “The copy room and supply closet is over there. The breakroom is over there. The restrooms are behind you down this hall. And I have no clue where your office is.”

Stephen blinked in surprise at her tone but tried to ignore it. “No worries, I’ll just follow you to your office where we can get to work. Then we can head right to dinner.” He pulled out his phone and instructed the voice-activated assistance to find the phone number to his favorite restaurant.

Madison stopped and whirled around. “I’m not going to dinner with you. You can order take-out if needed, but we’ll be here in the office until seven. Then I’m leaving. I have a prior commitment.”

Stephen shut off his phone and nodded. “Chinese… or pizza?”

Madison blinked, and a strange expression crossed her face. It reminded him of something, but she shook her head and said, “Pizza. Deep dish. Chicago-style.” She spun on her heels and marched forward, giving him a view of her long hair that reached the center of her back, her healthy curves below that, and strong calves leading to her fitted knee-length skirt before she disappeared into what he assumed was her office.

Oh, he would enjoy working here with someone of her spunk and personality.

Chapter Two

“Unbelievable,” Madison muttered as she let the door to her office swing shut behind her. She texted her sister to see if Milo could stay until seven and sighed with relief when she said no problem. Her eyes fell on the picture of her son on the corner of her desk. He should have had a daddy who cared, but instead Milo had gotten a man who’d never even returned her phone calls or emails and didn’t know he existed. Madison opened her laptop and grabbed a Butterfinger while her mind wandered to her first sight of Stephen in Mr. Carlson’s office. As her mind flooded with images of his broad shoulders, she shook her head. “The jerk doesn’t even remember me, and here I am thinking about how much he’s filled out over the years.” She grabbed another candy, ripping the wrapper off and shoving it in her mouth followed soon by a third. She needed to get a grip. She was better than this, and she’d never acted so rudely to a co-worker in her life.

But she’d never had a bad break up with someone she was expected to work with either.

How could Mr. Carlson do this? Hire someone to teach her about Internet marketing? She’d been trying to convince Mr. Carlson for ages to branch out, yet he always wanted to stay with his tried and true. Now he was hiring a man to do what she already knew. And why hadn’t Robert mentioned something about this? She’d been working on this project with him for weeks and he’d never once mentioned he was considering taking time off.

A knock on her door made her jump. She grabbed the picture of her son and slid it into the drawer, then chewed fast, shoving the candy to one side of her cheek. “It’s open.”

Stephen popped his head in her office. “Mind if I come in?”

Madison took a slow breath before responding around the chocolate still in her mouth. “Of course not. Have a seat.” She pointed to the chair her clients usually occupied, and she walked around the desk slowly to give herself time to swallow. She took a sip of her water bottle and adjusted her smile into place.

Stephen’s deep brown eyes studied hers, and she felt uncomfortable. He probably could tell she didn’t want to work with him. She needed to be more professional than that.

“Look, Madison,” Stephen began, “I wanted to apologize if I sounded forward back there. I should have consulted you first on whether you had plans for the evening. It was wrong of me to assume you were willing to go to dinner just because Mr. Carlson suggested it. I think you’re right that staying here in the office is a better idea. We have all the resources we need to pull together a fantastic proposal and still get you to your appointment in plenty of time.”

Madison smiled at his use of the word appointment. He almost seemed to be asking for more details. Well, let him think she had a date. “Apology accepted. And welcome to the company. Before we get started on the proposal, do you mind sharing with me some of your prior experience?” She wanted to know about his past and where he’d been for the last eight years, but that would have been totally inappropriate to ask.

Stephen leaned back into the chair and lifted one foot onto his knee, looking completely at ease in her office.

She kept her back straight and put on her most professional smile as she listened to him describe his education all the way back to his high school on Oahu then his university training in southern California during the same time she’d been giving birth to and raising his child alone. He moved onto the different ad agencies where he’d worked, some of which surprised her. He was talented, and when he described some of the accounts he’d been involved in, Madison understood why Mr. Carlson was so excited to have him at their agency.

That didn’t mean she had to be happy about him being there, but if she wanted to keep her job she would have to be careful how she acted. And since he didn’t remember her, she would let it stay that way and keep Milo completely out of this. Besides, Stephen likely wouldn’t be here long. Robert would return; there was no way Mr. Carlson would replace his stepson permanently.

When he finished, Madison nodded, impressed. “I’m glad you’ve joined us then, Mr. Kohalohini.” She opened her laptop and found the files she’d been working on, feeling nervous to show him her work. What if he wasn’t as impressed? She turned the laptop around and slid it across the desk toward him but kept her hands on the back of it to indicate she didn’t want him to just take it.

Stephen took the hint and moved his chair closer to the desk. He flipped through the images and nodded at a few, zoomed in closer at a couple, tilted his head at some to get a different angle, and passed it back. “Nice. I think you’re on the right track.”

Madison pulled her laptop back and turned it to herself, contemplating his words.
Right track.
What exactly did he mean by that? His voice was deep and warm, just like his eyes, and it hadn’t sounded condescending at all, but it wasn’t a glowing compliment either.

“Do you have a note pad and pencil I could use? I didn’t bring my laptop today.” Stephen glanced at her desk and at the bookshelf she used mostly as decoration.

Madison pulled open the drawer just above her lap and passed him a pencil she was surprised to find in there. She hesitated for a second, then turned around and grabbed a sheet of paper from the printer.

Stephen smiled and took it from her hand, brushing her fingertip with his — completely unnecessarily since the paper was a standard eight-and-a-half by eleven, and she’d handed it to him the long way. Madison pulled her hand back and wondered awkwardly what to do with it. Part of her wanted to tuck it behind her back and rub the sensation off on the fabric of her skirt; the other part of her wanted to caress that spot with her opposite hand to see if anything was different, and why his touch still affected her so much.

She did neither and instead adjusted her chair before sitting down again. As Stephen began jotting down notes to himself he suggested some ideas and how they could incorporate her ideas in a way that would impress Doewin the most. He elaborated on a few of her ideas to take to the Internet, suggesting the same things she had thought of doing, yet hesitated on because Robert didn’t want to go that direction.

At first, Madison wondered if he would take all her ideas and change them, but as he laid out a plan as to which ideas had the most merit and which ones could be used to pitch potential commercials and ad spots for radio, television, magazines, and social media sites, Madison knew they had a better chance at landing Doewin with Stephen’s help.

And that annoyed her to no end.

Stephen had helped himself to a few more papers from her printer and continued scribbling things to himself, sharing a couple ideas on occasion. Madison took the sane approach, opened a document on her laptop, and made notes of what they discussed. She’d need it on there anyway for when they presented the plan to Mr. Carlson.

A knock on her office door was followed by Robert’s head popping in. “Do you have a second? I just saw Howard—” He caught sight of Stephen, and his demeanor changed immediately. He stood straighter and squared his shoulders as he entered the room and moved over to Stephen with his hand out. “I’m Robert Noyes.”

Stephen put his pencil down and stood up to shake Robert’s hand. “Stephen Kohalohini. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Robert. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.”

Robert’s eyes turned sad. “Thank you.”

Stephen led Robert over to a chair and began asking him about how things were going, if he had any suggestions on what to do with the Doewin’s proposal so they could add them, and talked about how much time would be freed up for Robert to spend time with his family.

Robert’s postured relaxed. “Howard’s a good man. It will be good to be home more to support Melissa and the kids.” He turned to Madison. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you any warning about this change. There’s just been so much on my mind lately.”

Madison shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Robert. You need to do what’s best for you and your family. I hope you’ll be back with us soon.”

Robert nodded and got up to leave. “Thanks for all the help you’ve been on these projects. I couldn’t have made it this long without you.” He walked out the door, and Madison turned to find Stephen studying her.

A knock on the office door announcing the pizza delivery saved her from speaking to Stephen.

Stephen paid him with cash and didn’t keep the receipt to turn in for work expenses, and Madison wondered if he had ulterior motives. She pushed the idea out of her mind. He didn’t even remember her, so he wouldn’t be trying to impress her or anything. She wished she could forget him as easily.

But now he was in front of her in the flesh, and that flesh was so fine he put every memory of his teenage self to shame. She turned away, hoping to gain some control over herself if she was going to be forced to work with this man. At least it would only be temporary. She prayed Robert’s daughter would get better soon so he could be back to get the training from Stephen. She needed to stay far away from Stephen, and working with him made that impossible.

She pulled out a slice of pizza and sat on the edge of her desk to look at the notes on Stephen’s papers but couldn’t understand what any of it meant. She took a bite and sighed at the taste. So much better than a handful of mini candy bars.

***

Stephen stopped short before the slice of pizza reached his mouth. The sigh of pure pleasure coming from Madison sent a sensation through him he hadn’t expected. It was as if it were a memory, but he was sure he’d never met Madison before. Or had he? He studied her for a moment, looking at the curve of her cheeks and the blond hair that framed her face. She was beautiful sure, but in a solid and comfortable way. Nothing flashy that would draw you in, but intriguing in her own unique way. A face that looked much like a lot of women, but something about her seemed to indicate she’d be a woman who would be good to introduce to your parents. Of course, he’d never told his dad about any of the women in his life. Their relationship had been strained after his mother’s death. His mom would have wanted to know about them, but she’d been gone for almost eight years. He pushed those memories of that dark time out of his mind.

He brought the pizza to his mouth and knew why she’d moaned like that. It took a lot of self-control to keep one of his own from slipping out. He took a second bite, as big as he could manage without shoving the whole thing in his mouth, and closed his eyes to focus on the flavors. As he chewed, a chuckle came from Madison, and he opened his eyes to see her grinning at him.

“Good, isn’t it?”

Stephen shook his head. “Good doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

Madison nodded and took another bite then looked down at his notes. She wiped her lip to get some of the sauce then licked her finger, which Stephen thought was incredibly sexy.

“Do you have a Rosetta Stone for this?”

Stephen chuckled. “It’s not that bad. You just have to think like me.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “Whatever. We’ve got two-and-a-half hours to get this proposal top notch. How about you start sharing your scribbles, and we’ll get this done.” She put the pizza box on the corner of her desk then sat down. “Bring your chair over to this side where we can both see the screen.”

Stephen didn’t waste time grabbing his chair and setting it next to hers. She scooted over a little as he sat down, making him back up a bit to make sure he didn’t come on too strong, and she seemed to relax. As the evening progressed, he was impressed with how quickly she took his ramblings and made a polished presentation. They finished at six forty-two with only a short pause for a run to the breakroom’s fridge for Madison’s private stash of Dr. Pepper.

Most women he dated would never have admitted they drank two cans of soda and ate that much pizza in a couple hours, and he was pleased Madison was comfortable enough with him to be herself. He couldn’t wait to get to know more about her.

She looked at her clock and saved the presentation then sent a file of it to his email and one to Mr. Carlson. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”