Maddy's Oasis (8 page)

Aware she'd taken too long of a break
already, she tucked the BlackBerry into its place at her waist and
left the trailer, walking to the construction project to find
Eric.

Her phone buzzed. She touched the earpiece,
her nose wrinkling at the smell of spilled gas on her hands.

“Madeleine Winters.”

“Madeleine, this is Judith from finance.”

She held her breath. She spotted Toni, Jake,
and Eric a short distance away and was irritated to see none of
them working. Instead, all of them stood around three attractive
blonds, talking. Eric was stripped down to his T-shirt.

Jake’s broad, muscular back drew her eyes. He
wore jeans and boots and stood with his back to her. Caramel-hued
skin coated a thick layer of perfectly roped muscles, and once
again she wondered if he'd been a professional athlete. His arms
were thick and shapely, his shoulders and back wide, toned, and
gleaming with sweat. Her eyes traveled over the impressive upper
body down to his tucked waist and hips. His jeans were too loose to
show the shape of his behind or thighs, but she could imagine them
to be as perfect as the rest of him. She had the untimely memory of
being pressed against that powerful body, as she had twice within
the past week, but wondered how much more delicious it would be
pressed against that body with the both of them gloriously
naked.

She tripped, the movement jolting her out of
her stare. She forced herself to concentrate on Judith’s ramblings
and paused outside of earshot of the six before her.

“Approved?” she said suddenly. “You’re
certain?”

“Partial
funding approval,” Judith answered with some
irritation.

She almost sighed. It was nowhere near what
she needed, but it would get her started! She would apply again
once Mr. Howard’s visit was complete. If happy with what he saw, he
would be more likely to give her free rein.

Jake was looking hard at one of the blonds,
who trailed her fingertips down one bicep. He didn't seem to be
happy, but he didn't move either.

Madeleine half-listened to Judith. It was
five-thirty, not quite quitting time for the tequila gang. Judith
finished finally, and Madeleine thanked her and hung up. She
approached the group, agitated.

“Excuse me,” she stated. “Eric, please join
me at the office. Jake, I know you have happy hour planned for six.
I’d appreciate it if you and Toni could straighten out the tool
area before you leave. It looks like a tornado hit it.”

To her surprise, Jake stepped away without
resistance. Eric snapped to attention at her voice and was halfway
to his suit jacket by the time she finished. Madeleine glanced down
as Duke sat beside her, one paw on her foot. She shook her foot
free.

“Ladies, this is not public property, and you
are not covered under our insurance policy should any of you become
injured while on Mr. Howard’s property,” she continued.

The women looked at her, amused.

“We’ll be gone with the boys at six,” one, a
beautiful blond with pert features and large blue eyes, assured
her.

“This is not a spectator
sport. If you’re not working, you don’t belong here. You can meet
the boys at the bar, but I don’t expect to see you here again,”
Madeleine countered. “Eric, escort them to their vehicles and
ensure they leave Mr. Howard’s
private
property
immediately.”

She turned away and answered her buzzing
phone, aware of the women’s looks. One muttered something she was
certain wasn't a compliment. For reasons she couldn't quite
pinpoint, their presence irritated her.

Duke trailed her back to the office. Once
again he commandeered one of the couches and sat, panting. The
generator had kicked in and the air was cooler. Madeleine blinked
until her eyes adjusted and looked around the cramped office which
had become her home.

Maybe her life did suck. She certainly didn't
have time to drool over shirtless men or spend more than the
minimal amount of time on her nails or hair. She'd rarely had time
for men and only dated when she was desperate for some sort of
human interaction that extended beyond work. She hadn't dated a
non-coworker in nearly a decade and her relationships since then
had been much like everything else in her life: convenient, timely,
minimal, purposeful, and non-interfering in her work.

She tossed her sunglasses on the table in
frustration. She couldn't help the sense that everyone had a normal
life but her.

There'd only been one man that she truly felt
a connection with, the man who stood her up and sold her out for a
promotion. She'd sworn off men since.

She looked at the panting dog and crossed to
the Styrofoam cups by the coffee maker. She poured bottled water
into one and set it down on the floor near the dog. Duke hopped
down, knocked over the flimsy cup in two licks, and continued to
eat the cup.

“No, Duke,” she muttered, and pulled free a
new cup. She poured in more water and squatted beside the massive
dog, holding the cup for him.

He slurped, spraying her arm and the
surrounding area with water.

“Good dog,” she said with a grimace, patting
its large head awkwardly. She cleaned up its mess and rose just as
Eric entered with his trademark smile. He was sweating but his hair
neatly in place.

“I’ve been trying to call you since I left,”
she told him.

“I was … I thought I would help them a
little.” He added, “I know how important the lobby work is to
you.”

She eyed him, well aware of political
wrangling when she heard it.

“You can help when I don’t need you,” she
said. “At least keep your phone on. I tried to call back for
information.”

“Great, no problem,” he agreed quickly. If
Eric was one thing, he was non-confrontational. She grabbed a
bottle of water, tossing it to him.

“Do we have a lot of work tonight?” he
asked.

“Don’t we always?” she returned.

“Of course,” he said. “I thought you might
need a break. Jake and Toni are going for burgers and tequila. It
might help you relax.”

She said nothing.

“Or, you know, if you’d like to work without
interference or don’t think you’ll-- ”

“Go,” she said curtly.

“Maddy, I’ll help if you need it,” he said.
“I went out last night.”

“Yes, you did,” she said as she sat. “Go on
and go. Keep your phone on.”

“Great, sure!”

She expected him to give token resistance,
but Eric snatched his jacket as if believing she would just as
quickly change her mind. When she looked up from the desk again, he
was gone.

Her eyes fell to the dog.

“Just us, Duke.”

He panted in response, but the whiff of lunch
roiling in his stomach made her nose wrinkle. She leaned forward to
grab the Lysol out of the cleaning supplies bin. She sprayed and
eyed the dog before her attention returned to her papers. Precisely
at six, the door cracked open. She didn't bother to look up; Duke
gave a cheerful yap and launched off the couch toward its master at
the door.

“Heya, Duke,” Jake said warmly. “He been good
today?”

“He’s been fine.”

“We’re taking Eric to the bar. You up for
it?” he asked, crossing to the desk and placing the rolled
blueprints on the edge.

“Looks like you have enough company,” she
replied, and leaned back, meeting his gaze. She was somewhat
disappointed and relieved to see he was fully dressed once
again.

“Always room for one more,” he offered with a
half-smile.

“Thank you, but I have work.”

“You’re not staying here tonight."

“I haven’t decided,” she replied.

Jake crossed his arms again. The tension
between them was thick. Neither budged on the issue.

“Duke’ll stay with you,” Jake said. “I’ll
leave my phone on.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine,” she said just
as tersely. “Eric promised to answer if I call.”

Jake’s jaw twitched. He said nothing but
turned to leave.

“I have some changes for the blueprints,” she
added.

“I’m taking tomorrow off.”

Madeleine wanted to launch something at him,
anything. His thick frame disappeared through the door. She bit
back a curse and rose, hurrying to the door.

“Can Toni incorporate modifications?”

“You’ll find out, won’t you?”

Jake strode toward his truck without turning
back. She shielded her eyes from the sun and watched him trot to
join Toni. She waited until she'd closed the door behind her in the
office to release the string of curse words tickling her
tongue.

She imagined them all going
out to party, happy and carefree, without a second thought about
anything that really mattered. She couldn't do it. There was too
much that
did
matter.

Her anger melted into frustration and then
desperation. She'd never be able to complete this project on
schedule, especially not all alone!

* * *

Jake didn't expect his night at the bar to go
badly. He didn't expect to flat out refuse Lily or feel jealous
when she went home with Eric. He didn't expect Madeleine’s cold
refusal to annoy him beyond a shot or two of tequila. And he didn’t
expect her phone call at seven in the morning the night after happy
hour.

“Yeah,” he growled into the phone.

“Jake, it’s Madeleine.”

“I figured as much,” he bit off. His head
pulsed. Normally on Sundays, he slept in until at least nine.
Having gotten home later than usual, he'd planned on sleeping until
noon.

“Toni doesn’t know anything about
blueprints.”

Jake rolled onto his back and rubbed his
face. Toni knew as much as he did about blueprints. He suspected
his foreman was either hung over or unwilling to deal with her.

“I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” he said.

“I’m in your kitchen. I’ll wait for you to
come down.”

Jake clicked the phone off and stared at the
white ceiling. The persistent woman was an inch away from getting
her ass spanked. He took his time getting dressed and emerged from
his large room in the airy hacienda. He trotted down a set of
polished wooden stairs to the main foyer and padded to the kitchen.
He heard his sister’s excited tones before he stepped into the
large, modern kitchen Javier had remodeled not a year before.

Even on a Sunday, city-girl was dressed for a
day at the office. His sister had spread quite a few things in
front of Madeleine, to include several of her newest jams, a couple
of her latest culinary experiments, and about three cups of coffee.
Madeleine was listening intently as his sister went on about
spinach.

Despite the professional exterior, Madeleine
exuded a sense of restrained exhaustion. The sight of her pale
features and shadows beneath her eyes tempered some of his
irritation.

“Madeleine didn’t come to talk about weeds,
Kitty,” Jake grumbled with a half-smile at his sister.

“Maddy actually understands me,” Kitty shot
back. “And her palate is exquisite. She can name the individual
spices in my cooking!”

“Bring me some coffee, palate-girl.”

Kitty glared at him but rose. She was tall
like the rest of the family and slender like their mother and Toni,
her graceful figure marred by a limp caused by a car accident
several years ago. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her
dark eyes outlined with heavy eyeliner.

“One day, you all will appreciate my
cooking!” she vowed as she left.

Jake dragged a chair out from the worn
kitchen table and sat. He met city-girl’s alert gaze. Vaguely he
wondered why he'd taken so long to appreciate her classic, earthy
features, which were set off by her auburn hair.

“You have a nice place and interesting
family,” she said. “I understand both your siblings live here?”

“Just Kitty for now. Our other sister is at
Texas A&M,” he said.

“Kitty shows some definite talent in the
culinary arts.”

She eyed him, waiting. Jake avoided the trap;
Kitty had apparently already laid blame for her inability to pursue
her love of cooking on her overprotective brother, who forbade her
from going to an elite culinary school in New York City. Kitty made
sure everyone who praised her food knew it.

“It’s my day off,” he said.

“I understand and will be brief,” Madeleine
said. She nodded to the blueprints at her side, grimaced, then
said, “Mr. Howard … he wants things to be round.”

“Round,” he repeated. “What does that
mean?”

“I’m not entirely certain,” she said. “My
instructions were that he wanted the lobby to be more circular than
square and the outer corners of the building itself to be
curved.”

Jake laughed, understanding why Toni referred
her to him.

“It’s not funny, Jake,” she said, taken
aback. “Mr. Howard-- ”

“I get it.” He held up a hand. “Do you have
any idea what you’re asking for?”

She gazed at him for a moment and then
admitted, “No."

“So, you drag me out of bed after happy hour
on a Sunday to tell me that Mr. Howard has given you new
blueprints-- ”

“Actually, those are the old ones. I don’t
have new ones, just instructions.”

“You drag me out of bed after happy hour on a
Sunday to tell me that Mr. Howard has given verbal direction but no
hard blueprints regarding his desire to make things round.”

She nodded.

“You got a lotta nerve, Madeleine,” he said.
“You don’t seem to have a problem bossing everyone else around.
Couldn’t you tell Mr. Howard no, just once?”

“You don’t tell someone like him no,” she
said with resignation.

“You don’t tell a contractor to change a
design without blueprints,” he countered. “And I expect you want
this done before his visit?”

“Well-- ”

“The answer is no. Give me blueprints, and
I’ll alter the design.”