Maddy's Oasis (10 page)

The dog sat.

“Quite a set-up,” Mark reiterated.

Eric looked at Madeleine in surprise.

"You’re three days early,” she said uneasily.
“Or has Mr. Howard’s schedule changed?”

Mark gave a smile that had at one time wiped
her off her feet.

“No, Madge. Nigel thought you might need help
making preparations and sent me on ahead.”

He set down the water and held out a hand.
Madeleine moved forward and accepted it, leaning in for a kiss on
the cheek.

A knock at the door made them both turn.

“Yo,” Toni said, eyeing Mark. “Any word on
those new prints?”

“I have them with me,” Mark said, and popped
open his briefcase. “I’m sorry if their delay caused any
inconvenience.”

“Yeah.” Toni’s gaze was less than friendly.
He accepted the blueprints and left.

“How many men are here?” Mark asked.

“Forty-three, a foreman, and the site lead,”
Madeleine answered. “Mark, I don’t really need you here. I’m
handling things.”

“I’ve heard,” he said, unimpressed. “Judith
called me yesterday regarding your second funding increase. You
look well, Madge. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to see you in
the city.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Congrats on the
promotion.”

“It should have been you,” he said
gallantly.

“I’m too honest,” she answered in the same
tone.

Mark gave a faint smile, his eyes shifting to
Eric.

“You’re acclimating well,” he said. “Nice
boots.”

“Jake showed me a great place to buy them
north of the border,” Eric answered. “I’d be happy to show
you.”

“I’d like that,” Mark responded. “I see Madge
hasn’t adjusted yet to the Texas dress.”

His gaze fell to the accounting book on the
desk.

“Eric, why don’t you show Mark around while I
clean up a bit?” she said quickly. “Mark, I believe you’ll be
surprised at the rate Jake’s men work.”

“A tour sounds great,” Mark agreed. He set
his briefcase on the desk and looked her over again before joining
Eric at the door.

Madeleine watched them go, barely restraining
herself before the door closed. She snatched up her BlackBerry and
dialed one of the few people she trusted in the office.

“Dotty, it’s me.”

“Good morning, Maddy!” Dotty sang out.

“Mark’s here.”

“I thought I heard he was coming out early,”
Dotty said in a quieter tone. “He’s supposed to provide Nigel with
a full report of everything. There are some issues with your
requests for funding, and Nigel’s concerned with the lack of
progress.”

“So Mark is here to put me on course or rat
me out to Nigel?” Madeleine asked.

“The latter, dear. Mark is Nigel’s right hand
man for a reason, and it wasn’t because he wanted to piss you off
by bringing your boyfriend into the office. Mark's folks are loaded
and influential.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she corrected. “I bet Nigel
is laughing himself silly right now.”

“Probably so.”

“Any more surprises I should know about?”

“I’ll keep my ears open. You keep your hands
off Mark. You know how charming he can be when he wants,” Dotty
warned.

“Not a problem,” Madeleine said. “Can’t
forgive the man who left you at the altar.”

“I should hope not.”

“Thanks, Dotty.”

Madeleine eyed the reeking bathroom. With
Mark there, she didn't dare leave long enough even for a shower.
She tucked her accounting books away beneath the seat cushion to
keep them out of immediate reach. Resigned, she held her nose and
entered the tiny bathroom.

She'd barely bathed and changed when Eric
brought Mark back, and she prepared herself to waste her time
entertaining a man she despised.

* * *

“
Here come the prissy
twins,” Toni warned.

Jake tossed his gear into the back of the
truck and his hard hat onto the driver’s seat. He slung one arm
over the door frame and waited, watching the two approach.
Madeleine stumbled more than once but refused Mark’s arm both
times, instead distancing herself more from him.

“Eric said they were engaged at one time,”
Toni said in a low voice.

“Really?” Jake glanced at him. “Bet we can
get the story out of him with a couple shots of tequila.”

“He’s so easy it’s barely a challenge,” Toni
agreed. Then, looking at Mark, he remarked, “That city-boy's suit
cost as much as your truck.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. He could see why any woman
would be attracted to Mark. It irritated him that someone who had
been so intimate with Madeleine had followed her all the way into
the desert.

Madeleine stumbled again.

“I’m sending that fool a pair of boots,” Jake
said with a frown.

“Bet you a beer she doesn’t wear them.”

Madeline and Mark stopped before the two.
Jake stuck out his hand, and he and Mark shook.

Jake was less impressed the second time he
met Madeleine’s new coworker than he was the first. While polished
and sophisticated, Mark was the kind of self-serving politician
Jake had been thrilled to leave back east. Mark oozed civility and
charm, but there was no depth to the man beyond his own
ambitions.

Madeleine looked more tired and drawn than
the last time he saw her. She refused to meet his eye and looked
perfectly in place next to the politician. Both wore expensive
suits and spoke in the same educated manner.

And yet there was something between them akin
to tension. Toni noticed it as well as Jake. Mark went out of his
way to behave in a charming manner, but Madeleine was as civilly
cold to him as she had been to Jake. In fact, he believed her to be
more abrupt with Mark than she was with him.

He reaped some satisfaction out of the
realization.

“Good evening, gentlemen!” Mark said with a
charismatic smile. “Done for the day?”

“Yep,” Toni answered. “You?”

“Yes. Madge said you’re headed toward town.
Thought I might catch a ride with you.”

“Sure,” Jake said. “Hop on in.”

Madeleine turned to leave.

“We’re having a barbecue tonight, if you’d
like to come. Eric’ll be there,” Toni said.

“Thanks, but I had a long flight. Think I’ll
change and bring Madge some dinner,” Mark said with a wink.

Madeleine stopped mid-turn and straightened
to face them.

“Actually, I’m planning on attending the
barbecue,” she said.

Jake glanced at her, surprised.

“Oh, are you?” Mark faced her. “I understood
from Eric you stayed in the office for dinner.”

The two exchanged a look. Mark raised an
eyebrow with an inviting smile while Madeleine gave him a warning
look.

“Jake’s sister is a fledgling cook. I’m
supposed to try her homemade sauces tonight,” Madeleine said.

"We’re leaving now,” Toni said. “Why don’t
you ride with me, Mark? Jake’s AC doesn’t work.”

Mark paused only for a moment before
smiling.

“Thank you,
señor
,” he said. Toni
rolled his eyes.

Jake opened the door wider and motioned for
Duke to enter the cab. Madeleine said nothing to him but circled
the truck and climbed in. Their tense silence was broken only by
the roar of the engine and the panting dog. Jake rolled up both
windows and blasted the AC. Madeleine looked at him.

“Your AC does work.”

“Yes, it does,” he said. “Can’t stand
Mark.”

She gave a faint smile and turned her gaze
out the window. Encouraged, Jake asked, “Why would you date someone
like that?”

He expected some sort of hesitation or even a
bitter remark of how there was nothing redeeming about Mark.

“He’s handsome, wealthy, comes from a good
family, intelligent, witty, and ambitious,” she responded.

“So he’s perfect,” Jake said, gripping the
steering wheel tight enough for his knuckles to turn white.

She said nothing to counter. He floored the
truck, and its tires spun in place before kicking up a small
sandstorm and propelling them forward. She gave him a sidelong
glance and gripped the door handle.

“If you’re going to kill us over this … he’s
not perfect. He’s an ass like you, Jake,” she said.

Jake didn't care to be ranked at the bottom
of the barrel, but as long as Mark was there, too, he was
content.

“Thank ya, ma’am,” he said with a wink.

“Drop me off at my hotel,” she ordered.

“No can do. We’re going to a barbecue.”

“I don’t care to go, Jake. Just tell Mark I
felt sick.”

“Nope,” he said.

Silence.

“You need a good meal in you and a night of
rest,” he added. “You’re looking like a ghost.” He waited for her
to argue, but the fool knew he was right.

“You all are doing well with the lobby,” she
said.

“It’ll look nice, but Mr. Howard will have to
tread carefully.”

“Why?”

“We’re sacrificing quality for time,” he
stated. “As I said, it’ll be a superficial fix only.”

“I’ll need to go back after dinner.”

“You can’t afford one night of sleep?"

“Maybe after Mr. Howard’s visit,” she
said.

“You really shouldn’t stay out there
overnight. The thugs who have been there twice might come
back.”

“It’s easier for me,” she said. “They don’t
have a reason to come back if Alex’s gone.”

“There’s a drug trafficking gang that
regularly comes through these parts. I think that’s who came by to
find Alex,” he said.

“Why? I don’t think he does drugs or ships
them or anything,” she said, turning her attention to him.

“No, but they tax the locals for passing
through their territories. Or he might've owed one of them
money.”

“Tax?” she asked blankly. “Is that
legal?”

“No, but neither is a drug
cartel,” he said with a laugh. “The law here is a little
different,
Madge
.”

“Don’t call me that! I hate that
nickname!”

Jake smiled, satisfied to get a rise out of
the woman.

They rode in agitated
silence the remainder of the way. She said nothing to him even when
they arrived at the hacienda. Madeleine took
his
dog by the collar and left him
sitting alone in the truck. He watched as she wound her way through
the crowd of people until she found Eric.

Jake didn’t know why he felt so damn angry.
He stayed by the truck until his chest loosened enough for him to
breathe normally. Toni joined him as he walked toward the massive
barbecue pit and the tables Kitty had filled with food.

“Mark knows a lot about construction,” Toni
said. “In fact, I think he might know what a building is.”

Jake smiled and glanced at his uncle and
longtime friend.

“The man’s a slick one. Belongs in the city,”
Toni continued.

“At least he didn’t give you the silent
treatment for the ride,” Jake said.

“Maybe we can swap on the way back.”

“That woman hates me, Toni."

“Kitty says you yelled at her and kicked her
out the other day, and Madeleine overheard your comment about the
end of the world,” Toni teased. “I’d probably hate you, too.”

Jake grunted and made an effort to shake the
tension from his shoulders. Kitty waved him over and handed him a
plate piled high with food. He walked to the barrel filled with ice
and beer, intent on eating and leaving.

"Mind if I join you?" Mark Branson, the slick
city-boy, asked.

Jake shrugged, hoping to dissuade him with
silence. Mark didn't take the hint, and Jake hunkered down over his
food, irritated.

* * *

Madeleine wanted to avoid both Mark and Jake.
Hanging out with Eric was the logical alternative, until she saw
Eric was happily absorbed with two pretty blonds. She paused a
short distance from him, looked his Texas gear over with a frown,
and moved away.

Duke followed and nudged her hand when she
grabbed a plate.

Kitty stood proudly behind one of the tables
displaying an array of barbecued meat, several pots of chili, and
all the fixings. She saw Madeleine and hurried over, grinning.

“Maddy!” she exclaimed.
“You
must
try my
sauces!”

Madeleine smiled, appreciative of a real meal
and space from the boys. Kitty claimed her time for an hour as she
excitedly explained her processes and rationale behind her choices
of spices for different dips, barbecue sauces, and pots of chili.
Madeleine listened, amused and interested in the lively woman. She
couldn't help but feel out of place among the cheerful picnickers
and their casual dress. Kitty glowed with health and happiness, and
Madeleine felt all the more isolated and detached from her
surroundings. She was fatigued, exhausted, grimy after only half a
day of working AC, and desperately in need of a good, hot bath and
solid night of sleep.

It would be nice to have nothing more than
spices to worry about, she mused with yearning. The laid-back
lifestyle was foreign to her but appealing, though she doubted she
could adjust well after years of deadlines, schedules, and
obsessive attention to detail. How would it be to drop all those
things and simply live?

The idea alone made her anxious. How did one
pay the bills when unconcerned with work? How did one actually have
a life outside of work? Where did friends come from?

“Who’s that?” Kitty interrupted her own
soliloquy on cinnamon.

Madeleine turned to see Mark and Jake deep in
conversation.

“Mark,” she said. “Sent to spy on me by my
lovely boss.”

“Really?” Kitty’s eyes widened. “He’s really
handsome.”

Madeleine studied the two men. Both were
wonderful eye candy. Jake was taller and thicker than Mark, but
both were toned, muscular, and athletic. Jake had size but didn't
strike Madeleine as being as competitive, sly, and ambitious as
Mark could be.