Taste of Love (5 page)

Madison sat in her office with a big bottle of grape Gatorade and a package of saltine crackers. She had been popping Advil all morning and was finally starting to feel somewhat human again. She glared at the phone when it rang. The sound was like a jagged arrow through her head. She didn't want to talk to anyone, but she answered it anyway.

"Morning, Mary!" Chase drawled into the phone with great enthusiasm.

There were no pleasantries - she just dove right in. "You stupid ass!" she yelled. "How could you get me so trashed, and allow me to leave with that dickhead?"

"Whoa, what happened? Are you all right?" He had thought the sex would be good for her, and loosen her up a little. He certainly didn't expect this kind of aftermath.

"Physically fine, mentally not so much," she told him, then remembered that he didn't know anything about the explosion with Cameron Rome the day before. She took a deep breath.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you, but he was the last person I should have ended up with last night." Madison then told the story of what had happened, starting with Cameron at her restaurant, and ending with him slamming the door that morning.

"Yikes. If I'd known, I would have run down and stopped you."

"I wish you had known," she groaned, rubbing her temple. The pain was intense. She eyed the bottle of Advil again.

"But the question of the day is, was the sex worth it?" he asked.

Madison sighed. Was the sex worth it? "From what I remember, and that isn't too clear, I do believe it was quite enjoyable."

"Then don't let the knowledge of who it was with taint the good sex."

She laughed. "Thank you, oh wise one." Leave it to Chase to find a way to cheer her up.

"So what do you think? Want to go out again tonight?" he asked, knowing the answer before she spoke, but unable to bite his tongue.

"Not on your life, gay boy. Besides, I still have laundry to do, thanks to you. Plus, it's Friday, so I need to prepare my linen order for next week. See what happens when you mess with my schedule? Everything gets backed up."

Madison was feeling a little better about her escapades, thanks to Chase. She should have known that he would help her to see the bright side of a tragic episode. "The dinner rush should be starting soon, so I have to run. Call my cell later, and tell me everything that happened with Paul."

"Will do, Mary. Smooches!" he said, and hung up.

Madison shook her head and reached for the Advil. She popped another two, then headed to the kitchen to help prepare for the evening.

Later that night, the kitchen staff seemed to have everything under control, so Madison made her way to the dining room to ensure her customers were enjoying their meals. She checked on a few tables before making her way to the best table in the house, that just so happened to have one of her favorite regulars, laughing with two other women.

"Sasha! How nice to see you again!" Madison said as she approached, leaning in to give the older woman a kiss on her cheek.

"Madison! How nice to see you dear. Please sit for a moment and meet some of my dearest friends, won't you?" Sasha Winters offered the vacant seat to the restaurant owner.

"It would be my pleasure, as long as I'm not intruding?" She asked the two other women, and with their consent, she pulled out the chair and sat down. She signaled to their waiter to bring another round of drinks before turning her attention back to the women.

"Madison, I would like you to meet Bunny and Manda, two of my oldest and dearest friends." Sasha introduced her guests.

"It is very nice to meet you both. I hope that you are enjoying your dining experience here," Madison said.

"Oh, yes. Actually, Manda and I were speaking to Sasha about this wonderful restaurant that we discovered last week, thinking that we had this delectable little secret, and weren't we surprised when she not only knew of the place, but that she knew the owner too!" Bunny Rome told Madison, as if it was the greatest story in the world. "I have done nothing but rave about this place to everyone that will listen!"

"Well, thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I will definitely let my staff know that we are receiving your highest accolades. After all, none of this would be possible without them," Madison said with a genuine smile. Their waiter came, and placed their drinks on the table.

"Please accept this round of drinks with my compliments. Your desserts are also on the house tonight," she said, making sure their waiter heard that part too.

"You are too kind," Manda told her.

"See ladies, I told you that she would be perfect for my Thomas," Sasha told her friends, making Madison blush.

"Madison, Sasha told us that you were single, how can this be? She must be mistaken?" Bunny asked her.

"Sasha's right, I am single, but I'm married to my restaurant. I really don't have the time or energy to devote to finding Mr. Right. And even if I found him, I spend so much time here; I know he would feel neglected. There aren't many men willing to accept my schedule," she explained, as she had so many times in the past.

Bunny smiled. "I think you'd be perfect for my son. He leads a hectic life as well, so I think he'd understand your other commitments."

"Well, I have to agree with Madison, at least in the case of my son Peter. He is very spoiled and wants his girlfriend around all the time, I'm afraid," Manda told the other women. "Such a mama's boy!"

"I guess it's between our sons, then," Sasha told Bunny.

"Hold on, wait a minute," Madison laughed. "You ladies are incorrigible. I haven't agreed to anything."

"You'd be singing a different tune if you met my son. He's cute, successful, and such a sweetheart when he wants to be," Bunny told her with a wink. "All he needs is a good woman to put him in his place, and I think you could be that woman."

The women at the table were all laughing as Austin approached Madison. He crouched down, so that he was at their level before addressing them. "Excuse me for interrupting ladies, but they need you in the kitchen, Boss." He smiled at the other ladies before he walked away.

"Ooh, he's a cutie. Tight buns too," Manda said as they all watched him saunter away, bringing another round of naughty laughter to the table.

"Austin is a sweetheart. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I better get back to work. It was nice meeting you both, and anytime you need anything, just ask for me."

After Madison left, Sasha and Bunny kept the debate going about whose son would be a better match for her. They kept it up well through dessert and into the ride home. Either woman would be happy to have her as a daughter-in-law, if they could only get their sons in gear to meet her.

Cameron spent most of his day in the recording studio fighting with record executives about the lyrics on his upcoming album. He had brought in his journal, containing lyrics he had written, hoping that they could be used instead. He was prepared for a fight, and that's just what he got.

After a lot of shouting, with a few threats of lawsuits peppered in from both sides, they came to an agreement. Only one song on the album would have the bubble gum lyrics, and they would insert some of Cameron's material to replace the ones they trashed.

Finally feeling better about the situation, Cameron was able to lay down vocals to some of the tracks that were already agreed upon. Just the rush he got in front of the microphone was enough to ease the burden of what he had woken up to.

His hangover was subsiding, thanks to the adrenaline rush, and he felt better than he had in a while. If all went well, he'd be able to get this album out in a few months. Then he'd be able to tour again, and get out in front of his fans, something he couldn't wait to do. He loved to travel, and he loved to perform. Staying in one place too long seemed to get to him. It was the only way he could explain the debacle of the night before. Beer goggles were one thing, but to sleep with someone he despised so much? It was hard to understand how it could have happened.

All he knew was that his life, and his career, seemed to be back on track, and there was no looking back now. What happened in the past was meant to stay there, and he hoped that Madison wouldn't try to use the media to damage his reputation for her own gains. She had embarrassed him once, and he hoped that she wouldn't do it again. He had no way of knowing if she would, but the way things had been lately - the way people seemed to have a target on his back for any little thing - he had to look at everyone as a potential enemy.

From now on, he was going to be smarter about his affairs, drunk or not.

"
G
uys, you need to pay attention to what you're doing. This is the third dish that I've stopped from being served because it looks like shit," Madison snapped at her kitchen staff. "You've all been here long enough to know that dishes that show this poorly are absolutely unacceptable!"

She pointed to the plate of clams casino, then made a show of dumping the whole thing in the garbage can. "Start it over, and don't make them wait forever."

Austin had walked in halfway through her rant. He had looked at the plate before she tipped it and noticed that while it hadn't been the best presentation he'd ever seen, it wasn't as hideous as she had made it out to be. Something had her on edge lately, and Austin wasn't sure what it was. She hadn't been herself for the past couple of weeks. Her face was pale, and the dark circles under her eyes had become a permanent fixture.

He looked over to the dessert station, where she busied herself with a Baked Alaska. He could see her face redden as she prepared to yell at the sous chef for something else.

Austin quickly rushed over and grabbed her arm, telling one of the guys to take over for a minute. He guided her into her office and shut the door behind them.

"I'm not trying to tell you how to run your business, but you need to lay off a little bit. You've been riding them pretty hard lately," he said. He watched as she crossed the room and sat behind her desk. She reclined as much as her chair would allow and started rubbing her temples.

"Is there something wrong? Anything that you want to talk about or anything I can help with?" he asked her, now as a concerned friend, rather than an employee.

Madison just gazed at him with a blank expression. "You know I expect perfection," she said, her voice dull.

"It's more than that, and you know it. What's going on? What's bothering you?" he asked her, his tone laced with worry. He went and knelt beside her, taking her hand in his.

It was just what Madison needed to push her over the edge. Her resolve softened, and she broke. The tears streamed down her cheeks, so suddenly that it was as if someone had turned on a faucet inside her.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "It's like I'm a completely different person sometimes, like something inside of me snaps, and even though I hear myself being harsh and unreasonable, I can't stop it."

Austin took a tissue from the box on her desk and handed it to her. She used her free hand to dab at her eyes and nose.

"I'm scared, Austin. What if I'm becoming schizophrenic or something? I don't want to be known as the crazy lady with multiple personalities," she told him, with a seriousness that made his heart ache for her.