Mad Love: Madison

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Published by Kindle Press, Seattle, 2015

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~
TEN
~

F
RIDAY
, D
ECEMBER
22
^ND

10:30
P.M.

Madison
Love shifted her gaze from the brightly lit colorful Christmas tree to the
windows of the grand ballroom on the top floor of her office building. She
gazed down at the city lights dotted along Man o’ War Boulevard as a light snow
dusted the road below.

 She shivered slightly and rubbed a hand down her
bare arm. It had been a relatively mild winter for Kentucky so far, but to her
dismay, that appeared to be changing.

Madison caught her reflection in the window and
smoothed a black lock of hair back into place. Exhausted from all of the
talking that she had been doing since her law firm’s annual Christmas party
began, she took a drink from her champagne flute, trying to soothe the aching
feeling in her throat.

It was to be expected
, she thought, with a
glance toward the colorfully wrapped presents littered around the tree.

She raised an eyebrow as she stared at
them.
Empty, no doubt
.

These things were never truly about celebrating
the season. They were about one thing and one thing only.

Clients.

Acquiring new and retaining old.

She didn’t do half bad on the first part tonight,
and the last part, she noted to herself with a small smile at her reflection,
was firmly secure.

Shifting her gaze towards the ballroom, she tried
to identify the remaining guests. Worried about the ice and the snow slowly
accumulating on the street below, many of the partygoers had left early,
leaving only the lawyers to celebrate. The middle of the room was practically
empty. So were the corners near the exits.

She glanced at the bar where most of the lawyers
had gathered. They stood near the bar, knocking back drinks one after the other.
Their voices grew louder and more boisterous as the minutes passed.

Normally, she would be there with them. Not
drinking but socializing at the very least, but tonight was different. It was
her birthday and the last thing she wanted was to spend her thirtieth birthday
with a bunch of old lawyers reliving past cases and arguing over new ones.

She would’ve already gotten out of there thirty
minutes before but her best friend at the firm had insisted that she stay a few
minutes longer. Becca said she had a surprise for her and then promptly
disappeared.

Madison scanned the room again, searching for her
friend.

A man standing off to the side of the bar talking
to one of the partners of her firm caught her eye. She couldn’t tell who he was
since his back was toward her, but his long, lean, muscular build caught her
eye. Her gaze followed the line of his strong back up to his thick, dark brown hair.

Ethan?
She thought as a wave of excitement swept
through her.

She stood up straighter as the man turned to the
side allowing her a glimpse of his profile.

Disappointment flooded her.
Not Ethan
, she
thought, taking another drink. She glanced at her dress, which was reflected in
the window.

He had promised that he’d be here tonight and in anticipation,
Madison had dressed with him in mind. It took her days to find the right outfit,
which would be sexy enough to get his attention, but conservative enough not to
shock the partners of her firm.

It was a tough balance, but she had finally found
the perfect dress this morning. As she slipped into the red silk dress, she imagined
the look in his beautiful dark blue eyes when he walked into the ballroom and
first saw her. She spent an hour on her hair alone, pinning up her long black
tresses as she fantasized about him taking it down.

She lightly snorted as she took another drink.
Like
that was going to happen.

There were many words to describe Ethan Parker. Smart.
Handsome. Strong. Sexy. Funny. Kind. Caring. Charming. Sweet, and last but not
least, frustrating.

Frustratingly unattainable and frustratingly
beautiful. A deadly combination for her heart.

An ex-naval officer, now a private investigator
who was sometimes employed by the firm, Ethan Parker, had dominated her
thoughts and dreams in a way no other man had ever done in her entire thirty
years of life.
And why not?
She thought as she closed her eyes and pictured
his face.

Six feet two with a lean fighter’s body, a
beautiful face, strong mind, a good sense of humor, a caring compassionate
personality and the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen, he was the stuff of
dreams and fantasies. She couldn’t have done a better job even if she had made
him up herself. Even their beliefs, interests and goals in life matched up
perfectly. From the moment they met, they just clicked and ever since then, he
had grown to be one of her best friends. Every day, they shared their deepest
thoughts, dreams and secrets with one another, and every day, she grew to care
for him more and more.

The man seemed tailor made for her, but there was
just one thing that bothered her.

She had no idea how he felt about her.

Despite her subtle and sometimes not so subtle
hints that she was interested in him, he hadn’t made a move or even asked her
out.

He didn’t seem like the shy type and she was sure
he was just as interested in her as she was in him, so what was the problem?

Surely, she hadn’t imagined the pleasure in his
eyes whenever he saw her. Or the way he would seek her out whenever he was near
her office for no apparent reason than just to say hello. Or how his eyes would
darken with desire those rare times when they were alone and she would move in
closer to him.

She opened her eyes.

No, she wasn’t imagining those things, she
decided firmly. He was definitely interested, but for some reason, the man was
determined to take things slowly.

She couldn’t really fault him on that
, she thought with a sigh.
They hadn’t known each other that long. Only three months, and she had to admit
that she tended to be rather cautious when it came to new relationships. She
had never been one to take risks, especially with her heart.
Although, out
of all the men available
, she thought glancing back at the bar,
Ethan
Parker would definitely be worth the risk.

However, she had to acknowledge the risk wasn’t
all on her side. There was the added difficulty resulting from the fact that her
firm was a major client of his. If they started a relationship and something
went wrong, he was probably naturally worried he might lose out on a rather
lucrative piece of business.

Then there was Nicole, one of the partners in her
firm. She glanced toward the older lawyer seated at a table with one of the
other partners and a major client. The problem with Ethan was that Madison
wasn’t the only one who noticed his many wonderful attributes. Nicole seemed
just as smitten as she was. Madison felt she had an edge in that she wasn’t married,
but Nicole never seemed to let that pesky little fact stop her. Ethan wouldn’t
be the first man who had come through their office doors that Nicole hadn’t
added to her personal employ. Ethan didn’t seem like that type of man, but
Nicole could be very persistent and determined when she wanted something, and
she wanted Ethan. She made that clear several times over the last few months.
Even going so far purposely as to interrupt whenever she discovered that Ethan
and Madison were alone with one another and then making excuses to steal him
away, each and every time.

Nicole was definitely persistent and determined
to have Ethan, but so was Madison.

“Happy Birthday,” Becca Vickers said in a singsong
voice from behind her.

Madison turned toward her friend. “There you are.
I thought you left me.”

“A client caught me in the hallway on her way out.
Sorry it took me so long.” She brought her hands out from behind her and held
out a present in one and a chocolate cupcake in the other.

“Oh, no.”

“Oh yes.” Becca pressed the present into
Madison’s hands.

Madison took the reindeer wrapped box with a
rueful smile. “I thought we weren’t doing presents this year.”

Becca gave her dark curly head a definitive shake.
“We’re not doing Christmas presents this year, but no one said anything about
not doing birthday presents.” She stuck a candle into the cupcake and lit it. “Happy
birthday, Madison,” she said holding out the cupcake. She gestured to the young
man in the seersucker suit, hovering nearby holding a large open box filled
with a couple more presents and cards. “Those are from everyone in the office. The
three headed hydra’s gifts,” she said gesturing to the firm’s partners, “are on
the top. They would’ve given them to you themselves, but they have far more
important things to attend to than this.”

Madison laughed. “Thanks a lot.”

Derek, the firm’s newest paralegal, shook his
head in horror. “No, they really wanted to be here.”

Madison watched in amusement as Becca’s expressive
brown eyes did a dramatic eye roll.

“Nicole was even going to make a small speech,”
Derek continued as he set the box down on the nearest table.

“Really?” Madison asked glancing at her friend.

“That’s what she said,” Becca said as she sat
down. “But do you see her?”

Derek pointed to the corner of the room. “The guy
she’s talking to over there owns one the biggest horse farms in the state. He
just fired his last attorney and is thinking about using us.”

“Nice,” Madison set the present down on the table
and took the seat between Derek and Becca.