Taking a Chance (6 page)

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” She tried to scold him, but even she didn’t believe the tone in her voice.

He chuckled as they continued toward the bar area. They each ordered a glass of champagne and began mingling. During the reception, they had several short conversations with many couples. Maddie noticed people watching them, which she assumed was because he was the honored guest. After about an hour of cocktails, everyone made their way to the tables for dinner.

Again, even the food impressed Maddie with each course being more artistic than the one prior. Besides looking beautiful, every dish tasted divine. As Maddie put the last bite of short ribs in her mouth, she realized she had devoured every single bit of food.

“Wow, I can’t believe I just ate all that,” Maddie said.

“Well, I do have to say, you did enjoy every last bite.”

“Thanks for noticing. It makes a girl feel good to know her date is aware she just stuffed her face.”

“Maddie, you would have to eat a hundred of those meals to make a difference on you. I’m just happy you enjoyed everything!”

Even though they had not had a lot of one-on-one time, Maddie was learning a lot about Todd. His peers respected him and he was passionate about his work. Easy going and personable, Maddie had grown comfortable around him. Sitting next to him as his date felt natural.

As they served dessert, the MC for the event, Dr. Hernandez, stepped up to the podium on stage. He spoke about Todd being the youngest doctor to receive the award and how they were looking forward to seeing where his career would take him. After he finished his speech and waited for Todd to come up and accept the award, he commented, “Prior to this, Dr. Anderson always won the most eligible bachelor award. But, as we can see tonight, it appears Dr. Anderson may no longer be on the market.”

Maddie blushed as she realized why everyone had been watching them.

Todd accepted with a quick, but passionate speech. Finally, he thanked everyone for attending and turned toward Maddie. “I would also like to thank my beautiful date, Maddie, for being so supportive this evening.”

Maddie was sure her face had turned red with the room focused on her again, but flashed a smile at Todd as he walked back to their table. When he sat down, Maddie placed her hand on his leg.

“Todd, that was fantastic. I’m honored to be your date.”

Todd placed his hand on top of Maddie’s and gently squeezed.

“Thanks.” Todd leaned toward her, but was stopped halfway as Dr. Hernandez spoke.

“Everyone, the band is going to start and we would be honored to have Dr. Anderson and Maddie begin the first dance.”

Todd turned back to Maddie with eyes pleading. Maddie almost laughed out loud at his desperation, but she stood up and followed him to the dance floor. Todd took her easily in his arms and began to move around the dance floor. He was an excellent dancer and she wondered where he had picked up the talent amongst everything else he obviously had going for him. Todd wrapped his arm tighter around her waist.

“Maddie, you’re the most beautiful woman in this room. I can’t say how thankful I am that you’ve been such a great sport through all of this.”

“Thank you. I do have to say it’s the most interesting first date I’ve ever been on. But I’m happy to be here with you.”

As she finished her sentence, he leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was tender, but she could sense the hunger behind it as he pulled her closer. His warm body pressed against hers felt good. Todd lifted his head up, but continued to hold her tight. When she stiffened slightly, he loosened his hold and leaned back to look into her eyes.

People were starting to fill the dance floor.

“Maddie …”

Todd was cut off by another male voice.

“Seriously, Madison. You couldn’t find someone else? I mean out of all people, you pick Lola’s doctor! What is wrong with you?”

Maddie could not believe her ears. How could it be possible? Chicago was a big city, and she was at an event for doctors and surgeons. When she turned to face him, the black suit caught her attention as if he was meant to be there.

“George,” she stammered, “wh— what are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? What are
you
doing here? You’re disgusting. Of all the pathetic things to pull, you’re going out with him. Do you ever think before you do things?”

“How do you even know who he is?”

“Oh, I know everything about you Madison. Everything.”

George was getting louder and Todd’s eyes grew rounder as he obviously had no idea who the person was.

Maddie turned and rushed away from the dance floor. As she heard George yelling behind her, she moved faster and ran toward the exit of the room. Ruining Todd’s event was not an option. As she ran through the doorway, she saw the elevator doors beginning to close. She darted in just before they closed, leaving George on the other side. Catching a glimpse of Todd as they shut made her stomach drop even more.

She hoped George would calm down with her out of sight. When the elevator arrived at the first floor, panic filled her. In her rush out she had left her purse on the table. No phone. No money. Nothing. She felt terrible leaving Todd behind, but was not sure what else to do.
How could this happen again?
Fear swirled through her and took away her ability to think straight.

She stepped into the lobby and quickly scanned the area. It was a wide-open space with a fountain in the middle and a few plants around the perimeter.
No place to hide
. She had two options, the exit or back in an elevator. The couples who had ridden the elevator down with her were all heading toward the front doors to exit. She debated her options, but she was too late making a decision. The elevator bell sounded and George stepped out. Only one other couple was in the elevator and as they exited the building George made a beeline for Maddie and grabbed her by the arm. His eyes glowed with anger.

“What’s wrong with you, Madison?”

Like a parent scolding a child, George had always used her full name when he was upset, although she swore it was because he had two different personas. The two seemed to switch so fast sometimes she couldn’t figure out which one she was dealing with.

“What’s wrong with
me
? What are you doing here? You’re the one that left me, if you remember correctly. Let go of me, George. You have no right to treat me this way.” She tried to remain strong, but his firm grip was causing tears to form in her eyes.

“You’re right. I did leave you and I think you can see why. You’re so pathetic, dating your sister-in-law’s doctor! You were probably on top of him while she was lying helpless in a hospital bed.”

“George, you know I would never do that, and besides, it’s none of your business what I do. You don’t own me. You can’t control what I do anymore!”

She could see him get even angrier. Just when she thought he was going to hurt her more, another elevator bell sounded and he loosened his grip. Maddie looked up and was relieved when she saw Todd coming out of the elevator.

George turned as Todd rushed toward them. He let go of Maddie’s arm, looked at her with eyes even more threatening but then turned and disappeared out the front doors. Maddie watched Todd start to take a step in George’s direction, but then switched to move toward her.

Maddie stepped back as Todd reached for her, but his reflexes were quicker. She stood stiff at first, but then gradually slumped into his hold. He kept his arms wrapped tight around her. She wasn’t crying, but her body shook. Todd took off his tux jacket and wrapped it around her and held her until the trembling slowed. Then he took a step back and searched her eyes.

“Are you okay, Maddie?”

She had flinched when he reached for her and she knew that had probably bothered him. He had no idea what was going on, but he had immediately stepped in to protect her.

“I’ll be fine. I’m so sorry, Todd. I ruined your event, and I feel terrible.”

Now there were tears in her eyes and the quiver in her voice was unmistakable. Trying to stop the shaking she pulled his jacket tighter.

“That wasn’t your fault. Please don’t be upset. Do you want me to take you home?”

She was touched that he’d thought to grab her purse from the table, but she also knew that meant the night was ending.

“I can get myself home. You need to stay. You’re the guest of honor.”

“Are you kidding, Maddie? I don’t know who that guy is, but I’m not about to let you go home by yourself.”

Rather than wait for the car, Todd hailed a cab when they stepped outside. He wrapped his arms around her in the back of the cab and they rode in silence. She was thankful he didn’t ask her to talk about anything during the ride.

When they arrived at her building, he got out of the cab with her.

“I’m not going to be good company right now.”

“I know, but I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight if I don’t take you upstairs and make sure you’re safe in your condo.”

Maddie gave him a small smile and a barely perceptible nod. She led him through the lobby and they took the elevator up to her place.

“I’m going to change. Please make yourself comfortable. There’s an open bottle of wine on the kitchen counter, beer in the fridge or please feel free to make yourself a drink with anything from the bar.” She waved her hand in the direction of the glass bar cart set up between the dining room and living room area. She took his coat off and laid it on the arm of the nearest chair and made her way to her room.

When she came back, Todd had poured them each a glass of wine.

“Are you sure you don’t need to get back to your party? It’s still early and everyone is probably wondering where you are.”

“It’s fine. I fulfilled my obligations. Besides I’m sure everyone is wondering how I stayed as long as I did knowing I had you to go home with.” He winked at her. She smiled back reluctantly. “Maddie, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it and that’s fine. I just want you to know the fear I saw in your eyes really bothered me.” He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He lingered for a moment but then pulled back and leaned into the couch.

“I appreciate that.” She took a sip of the wine and set the glass back down on the table. “I will just say this—that was George, my ex-fiancé. We would have been married in less than two weeks, but the engagement was broken off over a month ago. He left and although I was devastated at first, it took all of twenty-four hours to realize I should have done it myself a long time ago. I realize you may not be comfortable knowing I was engaged to be married and that we broke up only a month ago, but I want you to know the truth.”

“Maddie, I don’t care if you were to be married tomorrow and had broken off the engagement tonight. I’m just happy to know you’re not with him.”

She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. She laid her head down on his chest and he circled his arms around her. He slowly ran his hand up and down her back. It seemed like a lifetime since Maddie had felt that kind of comfort and it made her feel safe.

• • •

M
addie awoke from a bad dream and hoped the entire evening had also been a nightmare. When she lifted her head from Todd’s chest and saw he was dressed in his tuxedo pants and a dress shirt, she knew the evening had really happened. He woke up as she moved. Maddie looked at her watch and was surprised it was nearly midnight.

“I should head back to my hotel. Are you going to be okay here by yourself the rest of the night?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Thank you for making sure I was safe.”

They both got up. Todd put on his tux jacket and Maddie walked him to the door. Opening it, he turned back to her before walking out.

“Maddie, I want to thank you for being my date tonight. I couldn’t imagine anyone handling the situation better. You were gorgeous in your non-black dress.”

Before she could answer, he put his arm around her and pulled her in. Tucking a finger under her chin, he tilted her head up. She froze temporarily at the gesture, but after a moment, she softened and wrapped her arms around him. He held her gaze to be sure she was okay as he slowly lowered his head to kiss her. He kissed her gently at first, but when she pulled him closer, his body guided her back against the wall. She leaned her head back and he slid his tongue into her mouth. Maddie let out a soft moan. When he slid his hand under her shirt she jumped, causing him to quickly drop his hands and step back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …it’s not …” Maddie stammered. She couldn’t find the words.

His voice was husky. “It’s okay, you don’t need to explain. I’m the one who should be sorry. I got lost in the moment. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you in a vulnerable state. I need to leave while I can still force myself to.”

Although Maddie ached for his touch, she knew he was right. She nodded in agreement, tilted her head up, and gave him a quick kiss.

“Goodnight.” Turning back as he made his way out the door, he added. “I will be thinking about you all night.” She wanted to pull him back, but instead she simply said goodnight and closed the door behind him. She turned the lock and leaned her forehead on the door. The fact that George had managed to ruin another night of her life was unbelievable.

S
omehow Maddie woke up before her alarm on Thursday morning even though she was not looking forward to the day ahead. Typically, Maddie enjoyed her job, but lately she had struggled to find the same joy.

When she had first decided to move to Chicago to be near George, he had introduced her to someone he knew at the company. That had helped her get her foot in the door, but she had made a name for herself there and stood on her own merits now. She was one of only a few female executives and the youngest by several years. She had worked hard to get to her position and the extra effort she put in to prove she belonged was just plain tiring sometimes.

Maddie showered and got ready for her day putting on a figure-fitting dark suit with nude patent heels. She pulled her hair back in a sleek ponytail, and as she wrapped a section of hair around her holder a wave of emotion washed over her. Hating how vulnerable she felt, she grabbed a tissue off her dresser and wiped away the tears. She needed to get over George and the bad memories associated with him. Although she continued through her typical routine, she still felt out of it when she headed for the door.