Endangered: A Delecoeur Mystery #1 (5 page)

She leaned in, kissed his cheek. It was
still amazing to her that they'd found each other. She'd always thought she'd
never get married. Not that she had anything against marriage. She knew love
and lasting happiness existed because she saw it in her own parents. But
Madeleine had always longed for adventure. Her dream was to become a journalist
and travel the world. A modern day Martha Gellhorn. And that kind of life
didn't include marriage and family. Martha had married once and it ended badly.
Of course, she was married to the mercurial Earnest Hemmingway, which may have
been part of the problem.

When Madeleine met Max, she was
instantly drawn to him and as it turned out, he was to her as well. But she resisted.
Why fall in love only to leave that love in tatters because he couldn't handle
how much she traveled? But Max was persistent and helped her realized that she
didn't need to pick between love and her career. With Max, she could have both.

Of course she had to compromise. She
didn't travel as much as she used to, but Max had shown her how easy and
satisfying compromise could be. It meant she had someone to share her
adventures with. She also discovered that spending time in one spot and having
a home could be equally as adventurous, if Max was around.

However, she could do without the
adventure she endured the night before. It wasn't the first time she'd been in
danger, but it was the first time she felt as if she were the specific target
of someone's anger. She shook the thought out of her head and instead focused
on being back in Max's arms.

"You need to rest too," Max's
groggy voice said. She rested her head on his shoulder and let sleep come.

“M
adeleine! You
look fantastic considering your ordeal.”

“Julia, what a surprise.” Madeleine knew
Julia was being nice. She’d been home two days, but was still sore and had
black and blue spots all over her body not to mention the scrapes.

“I hope you don’t mind my stopping by.
Max said you still needed to take it easy and I remembered that you didn’t like
to cook, so I thought I’d help you out. I brought clam lasagna.” She held up a
large pan covered in tin foil.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Madeleine
said wondering when Julia had talked to Max. “Please come in. I was getting
ready to make some tea. Will you join me?”

“That sounds lovely.”

Madeleine led Julia through the living
room to the kitchen.

“Max was right, you have very nice taste
in décor.”

“Thank you." Madeleine put the tea
kettle on the burner and Julia’s lasagna in the refrigerator. She couldn't
decide why Julia was visiting. Did she want to be friends? Was she being nice
to get on Max's good side? Then Madeleine decided she should give Julia the
benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was just being nice.

"I'm so glad Max found someone like
you," Julia said.

"I'm glad too," Madeleine said
wondering where the comment had come from.

"I knew I wasn't good enough for
him, but I always wondered if there was anyone out there who was. I guess it was
you."

"I like to think so."

"Are you planning on having
children?"

Madeleine frowned, but since she was
reaching for her teapot, Julia didn't see it. "Not at the moment."

"Does Max not want children? He
used to say that when we were kids. He was afraid he wouldn't be a good parent
since his own parents had abandoned him."

That was news to Madeleine. She knew
about Max's childhood spent in foster care, but he never dwelled on the
negatives about it. Of course, they hadn't talked much about children. The few
conversations they did have, always put the decision off in the future.

"Max and I are happy the way things
are now. We're not in a rush to start a family."

"He'd make a great father."

"Yes." Madeleine agreed.
"Would you mind getting that tray by the stove?" Madeleine hoped the
change in subject would help Julia understand that gossip about her and Max's
life was off limits. Julia retrieved the tray and Madeleine set the teapot and
cups on it.

"What a beautiful teapot,"
Julia said.

"Max bought that for me. One day I
was complaining about not having any good tea and the next day we were in
China. The pot and cups are a souvenir."

“I don’t remember him being so
romantic.”

How could Julia miss Max’s romantic
streak? His picture was next to the word ‘romantic’ in the dictionary.

“Madeleine?” Max entered the kitchen.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be resting.”

Madeleine met him as he walked into the
kitchen. After giving her a loving and concerned once over with his eyes, he
kissed her.

“Hi Julia,” he said.

“Max. We were just talking about you.”
Julia’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“All good I hope.”

“I was hoping to compare notes, but you
spoiled that.”

Max raised a brow. “Thank goodness I got
here when I did."

"Yes, you've always had great
timing," Madeleine said.

He flashed her a knowing grin.

“Want some tea?” Madeleine asked.

“Sounds good.” He took the cups from her
hand. “But you sit and I’ll get it. You shouldn’t be up.”

“I couldn’t stay in bed one second
longer. Julia brought us a clam lasagna.” Madeleine sat at the kitchen table.
Julia joined her.

“When I heard what happened… I get
chills just thinking about it. How did you survive?”

Madeleine looked to Max wondering if
he’d told Julia.

As if she knew what their eyes were
saying Julia said, “It was in the paper. It said you drove into the bay.”

“I had a little help.” Madeleine
couldn’t help the need to defend her driving. Julia already thought she was a
bad cook, she didn’t need to add bad driver to the list.

“No! Someone drove into you?”

Madeleine nodded.

“Who would do such a thing?”

“That’s what we are looking into.” Max
brought the cups and tea to the table. He filled the cups and then sat next to
Madeleine. His hand brushed against hers. Madeleine saw Julia's eyes flit to
Max's hand, the way he touched her and probably didn't even realize it. She
could swear she saw envy in Julia's dark eyes.

Julia took a sip of the tea and then
stood. “I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing and drop off the
lasagna.”

“You’re leaving already?” Madeleine
asked.

“Yes, you need your rest. Even if you
don’t think so, Max does.” She smiled and Madeleine tried to determine if it
was genuine. “I know Max was frantic when you were missing and will be
protective.”

“Let me walk you out,” Max said
standing.

“No that’s okay. You take care of
Madeleine. I can see my way out.”

Max let her go. He waited until they
heard the door shut before talking. “You weren’t really going to compare notes
were you?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

He groaned. “I can assure you, your
stories are much more interesting.”

“I’m sure Julia knows how to embellish.”

He smiled and kissed her. “Why don't we
take this tea to the couch so you can rest?"

"I'm not an invalid....but that
sounds nice."

He took her hand and led her to the
living room, carrying her tea with his other hand. Setting the tea on the
coffee table, he sat on the couch and maneuvered her to sit between his legs. Madeleine
stretched out on the couch, leaning against him. She nestled closer as he
pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch and covered her.

“Any word from Springer?”

“Just that they don’t have any news. No
trace of the truck that drove you off the road and no sign of the heckler.” Max
reached over to pick up her tea and handed it to her.

“Both seem like a dead end.”

“No word from Alan either,” he said. “I
talked to his ex-wife. Did you know his daughter was in a car accident a few
weeks ago?"

Madeleine thought for a moment.
"No, I don't remember his mentioning it. Is she okay?"

"I think so. I get the feeling
Alan's ex-wife doesn't like me much."

"You broke up her marriage."

"I did not."

Madeleine laughed. "You helped him
get his life together and when he did, he realized he didn't need her."

"I tried to help her too," Max
said.

"I know. But some people don't want
help."

"I wish Alan would return my call.
The longer he stays away, the more suspicious I get."

"I just can't believe he's behind
my accident," Madeleine said.

"I know. One thing I did learn is
that Julia and Chas were both here in L.A.”

“You checked on them?” Madeleine tilted
her head to look up at him.

“I can’t discount that a day after they
show up you get hurt.” Max’s hand rubbed her arms. “We’ll figure it out. Until
then, you get some rest. Indulge my over protectiveness,” he said referring to
Julia’s statement.

“I think I can manage that.” She handed
him her tea, which he set back on the coffee table. "Just for a few
minutes."

Max nodded. She shut her eyes, but Max's
mind whirled. Julia and Chas may have alibis, but he knew that didn’t
necessarily preclude them from involvement. And then there was Alan and the
heckler. Unfortunately, they were still at large. In the end, he didn’t know
who hurt Madeleine or why and that meant that whoever drove her off the road
was still on the loose and possibly waiting for another opportunity. He kissed
her head to put the frightening thoughts of losing her out of his mind.

He felt deep down that the situation was
far from over. He wanted to drop everything at work so he could protect her 24/7.
Of course, Madeleine wouldn’t tolerate that. It was interesting how the
characteristics that he loved most about Madeleine were also the ones that also
caused him the most grief.

M
ax checked his
watch wondering how much longer he'd have to put up with Chas' pouting before
Madeleine arrived. Although he wasn't comfortable with her leaving home by
herself, he was looking forward to using her visit to get him out of this
meeting with Chas. To reduce his stress, Max had asked one of his security men
to meet her in the parking garage and escort her up to his office. But until
she arrived, he had to deal with Chas.

“So you think I’m over confident?” Chas'
tone was defensive.

Max sighed. “It’s not over confidence.
It’s more that you appear arrogant. Remember, business is about what you can do
for other people, not what they can do for you. Sure, having a lot of clients
will make you a lot of money and bring credibility, but to get those clients
you need to sell what’s in it for them. You want to be confident, you just
don’t want to overdo it.” Max sat back in his chair and regarded Chas over his
desk. “You have talent Chas and the knowledge and experience,” Max said trying
to make the critique more positive. He was sure his recommendations were going
in one ear and out the other. Max hadn’t spoken to any potential clients of
Chas’, but he wouldn't be surprised to learn they were put off by Chas’
know-it-all-manner, particularly since he didn’t take the time to understand
the client. Max wouldn’t hire him and wouldn’t be able to recommend his
services to anyone if he didn’t adjust his approach.

“What about the marketing plan?” Chas
asked.

“Again your promotional materials are
good. Just make those few changes to show the benefits of your services instead
of just the features. When meeting with clients, you may want to consider
creating an assessment form. Make your questions client centered so you can
learn about them and their needs. Then they’ll be impressed when your solution
is a perfect fit to their goals.”

Chas nodded. “I appreciate your taking
the time to help me, Max. I know you're busy and with Madeleine’s accident I’m
sure you are preoccupied.”

“I’m happy to do it. I know many people
who could benefit from your knowledge. With a few tweaks I think I can help
you.”

“Thank you.” Chas said as he stood. “I’m
meeting my mother for lunch. I know she’d be annoyed at me if I didn’t invite
you to join us.”

“Thank you, but I'm having lunch with
Madeleine. Give Julia my regards.”

“I will.”

Max walked Chas out and stopped by Marie’s
desk. “Please hold my calls and send Mrs. Delecoeur in when she arrives.”

~~~

Madeleine was tired of hiding at home.
She understood Max’s fear, but she could feel her mind edging toward stir crazy
if she had to spend another day lounging at home. Initially she relished the
time. She read all the books she’d hadn’t had the time to read before. She’d
even re-read Julia’s unfinished manuscript and nearly called her to find out
the ending, but stopped herself. She decided that Julia would likely contact
her when she had more written, if only to have another excuse to see Max again.