“Let me warm up our dinner,” he said with a smile. “Have a seat.”
Madison quietly walked over and sat down, watching him move about the kitchen. She saw him frown at something and sigh before glancing at her. After a few moments, he came to the table and got their plates, dishing out the food. He seemed hesitant and then finally set her plate in front of her.
“I’m sorry,” he frowned as he sat down across from her. “It was ready a while ago.”
Madison smiled. “It’s perfect, baby, and I love you for doing this for me.”
~*~
The next couple of weeks, Madison and Andrew found themselves in a comfortable routine. Madison gave herself an extra hour and a half after work, enough so that the bosses saw her commitment but still got her home at a decent hour. She and Andrew worked out an arrangement for the cooking. After his failed attempt to make Cornish Game Hens and wild rice for her birthday, she did most of the cooking. He had told her that he had followed his aunt’s instructions to the letter but it had sat too long so the hens were a bit dry and the rice had stuck together. Madison didn’t care though because the gesture was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.
From what Madison could tell, Andrew seemed to like going to work and indicated that his probation officer didn’t give him much time or energy, but he enjoyed his weekly visits with a homeless man named Randall that he had befriended the first week he was in New York. Andrew took him out to breakfast each week and made sure to leave some money with the diner to help him out. He had also taken to bringing Randall cigarettes and nonperishable foods every week. Madison never questioned it because she saw the joy that it brought Andrew to help this man in a way that no one had helped him when he was on the streets. Just the other morning however, she found Andrew taking some t-shirts and socks out of their packaging and placing them on a couple of his older hoodies. She had asked him why he did that and he told her so that Randall wouldn’t exchange it for money. She had suggested he take him to the goodwill. She smiled when she remembered how happy that suggestion had made Andrew. She felt that Andrew was finally settling in to life in New York.
“Madison, you are for sure coming tonight?” Monique asked, walking into her office and bringing Madison out of her thoughts.
“Yes, I’ll be there,” Madison said reluctantly.
“And you’re bringing Andrew, correct?”
Madison sighed. “Yes, he will be coming as well.”
Monique smirked. “Wonderful. We can’t wait to meet him,” she said with a clap of her hands before she turned sharply and exited the room.
Madison had tried to get out of this but she felt obligated. Everyone was meeting at the M Bar in the Mansfield Hotel for drinks to celebrate Kurtis’ promotion. They had already done something at work, but this was an extra get together that Mr. Turner had suggested. She had initially said no until Mr. Turner had laughed her off and insisted she come for a few drinks. Madison stood and locked her drawers before exiting the office and heading home. When she walked in, Andrew seemed surprised at her early arrival. He smiled and rose from the corner chair, his favorite one as it gave him the best light, he set his sketch book on the end table and made his way to her.
“You’re home early. Nice!” he said as he swooped down to kiss her.
“People from work are meeting at the Mansfield Hotel for drinks,” she said and twisted her lip, trying to force a smile.
“Oh, ummm, do you want me to go?” he asked questioningly as his brow quirked up.
“Yes but...”
“But what, Madison?” He was growing impatient; why couldn’t she just spit stuff out?
“It’s for Kurtis.”
He breathed in deeply. “Well, I am definitely going then,” he said standing up straight.
Madison sighed as he turned around and marched into the bedroom. She followed and could see him laying a pair of dress slacks and a button down shirt on the bed. He threw his t-shirt off swiftly and stepped out of his jeans. Granted, Madison would have probably just gone in what she was wearing but making Andrew feel comfortable was more important to her. If her bosses and colleagues didn’t like it, so be it.
“Andrew, there’s nothing wrong with the way you dress,” she said removing her clothes and pulling on her favorite pair of skinny jeans and one of Andrew’s t-shirts.
He sat on the bed and watched her dressing down while he was trying to dress up. “You’re not dressing up?”
She laughed. “No. It’s after hours and I want to be comfortable.”
He looked torn but Madison was determined. She was still desperately trying to counter the mean and hurtful things both Kurtis and her mother had said to him that first week. She was bound and determined to not contribute to his unjustified feelings of unworthiness. He didn’t need to be something he wasn’t to fit into her life. If she had wanted a corporate kiss ass she would be with Kurtis. She loved Andrew for who he was. Period! She walked over to him and stood between his legs.
“I promise we will only stay for a couple of drinks, make our appearance and head out. Now get dressed, Helios, before I have my wicked way with you,” she said with a wink as she licked her lips.
“Well, I think I just might like it if you had your wicked way with me.” Andrew smirked as he slipped his Levis back on and a fresh t-shirt.
Madison walked out, giggling as she grabbed her leather jacket and tossed him his Levi jacket as he came up behind her. When they got outside, he immediately got on his Harley and glanced at her. His expression said this was not optional and to Andrew it wasn’t. If he was going to show up at a celebration for the man who had been blatantly trying to take Madison from him, he was arriving on his own steed. Madison smirked at him and threw her hair up into a messy bun before sliding in behind him.
“You are so freaking hot right now,” she purred as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Andrew grinned. He pulled out and, before he merged into traffic, Madison told him the quickest way to get to 44th and Fifth. He found it rather quickly and pulled up not too far from the hotel, wedging himself between a Mercedes and a BMW. He smiled because he had found that in New York, if he parked between two nice cars they would not nudge his bike at all. He got off first, then grabbed Madison by the waist and lifted her off. She practically attached herself to him, smiling the entire time. As they walked up, they saw the scowl on Kurtis’ face as he waited outside, talking to Monique.
“Monique, this is Andrew. Andrew, this is my friend, Monique.”
Andrew gave her one of his panty disintegrating smiles and Madison grinned as Monique stood there dumbfounded. He offered her his hand, which she took gingerly.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said in his silky smooth voice and Madison could have sworn that Monique actually whimpered.
Andrew turned to Kurtis and ran his fingers gently along Madison’s shoulders. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Kurtis tried to keep his calm and cool demeanor but he was failing miserably. “Yes, it is, nice pay increase as well,” he added smugly.
“Well, that will be good, when you find a girl of your own,” Andrew replied calmly before kissing Madison on the forehead. He didn’t have to see Kurtis to know that he was seething. “Do you want to go inside?” he asked Madison in that deep and sexy voice that made her weak in the knees. Andrew allowed his lips to linger before he kissed her lightly again.
“Yes,” Madison hummed, turned on by Andrew marking his territory.
As they walked inside, Andrew pulled her closer to him. Most people in the bar were businessmen and women in suits, so needless to say, Madison and Andrew stood out in their casual attire. Madison looked around and found some of her co-workers. She took a deep breath and tugged on Andrew’s hand, motioning with her head in the direction of the already loud table. As they approached, Madison saw a couple of the women mumbling to each other as they looked Andrew up and down while the men seemed to be eyeing him curiously.
“Madison, have a seat,” Mr. Turner said boisterously, having already had several shots of whiskey.
Madison smiled and as she slipped into the booth she introduced Andrew, “Mr. Turner, this is Andrew. Andrew, my boss.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Andrew said as he slid in next to Madison.
They ordered drinks and then Madison saw Kurtis stalking over to the table.
“Ah, the man of the hour,” Grayson said loudly, motioning for Kurtis to sit down.
Kurtis was in a conundrum, he wanted to emphasize how Andrew didn’t belong there, but if he did so, it would make him look petty in front of Mr. Turner. Monique sat next to him and smiled. She had already had a few drinks and had been coming on to him. She wasn’t a horrible option, but he wanted Madison. Kurtis glanced across the table and Andrew was whispering something to Madison and making her smile. It was as if they were in their own world and Kurtis was desperate to break that illusion.
“Grayson, there’s a motorcycle right behind your Benz,” Nolan Crawford said, coming up to the table. He then turned to Madison, giving her a sweet smile. “Ms. Ellis, glad you could make it,” he said, ignoring the man sitting next to her.
“Thank you, Mr. Crawford, this is...” she started to say but was cut off.
“Ah Madison, this is after hours, call me Nolan,” he said, blatantly flirting with her.
“Nolan, this is my boyfriend, Andrew Harrison. Andrew, this is Mr. Crawford, he oversees the uptown practice,” Madison said while squeezing Andrew’s thigh, hoping to alleviate some of the tension she could sense from him.
The man turned to Andrew, eyeing him. Not in the hostile way in which Kurtis generally did, but in a somewhat calculating way. Andrew didn’t know what the man’s deal was but there was definitely something going on. His instincts were generally right about these types of situations. It appeared he would have two people he needed to keep his eyes on. The man glanced at Kurtis and smiled before he reached his hand out to Andrew.
“Nice to meet you, Andrew. I wasn’t aware that Madison was involved with anyone,” Nolan said taking a seat.
“So there’s a motorcycle behind my Benz? It’s not touching it is it?” Grayson asked a little concerned with his colleague’s behavior. They had very strict rules against fraternizing with employees but most especially those in talks for management positions.
Nolan turned to him. “Nah, it’s not too close.”
“I can move it if you’d like,” Andrew offered, not wanting there to be a problem.
“The bike’s yours?” Mr. Turner questioned and Andrew nodded. Mr. Turner glanced at Madison and smirked. “So you rode here with him?”
Madison looked at him confused and finally nodded. “Yes, we like to ride together.”
“Ah, I remember those times,” Grayson said with a longing smile.
Madison started to remove her jacket and Andrew immediately helped her, then he removed his. Suddenly he felt all eyes on him and realized that they were looking at his tattoo. Madison smiled at him and squeezed his hand, hoping to reassure him that everything was okay.
“Wow, that’s nice,” Sean, one of Madison’s coworkers, said as he moved Andrew’s arm so he could look at the tattoo in detail.
Andrew glanced at Madison, unsure what he should do because his instinct was to punch the guy, but he could tell the guy had already had too much to drink. Madison gingerly removed Andrew’s arm from Sean’s Kung Fu grip and frowned at him.
“Andrew designed that himself. He’s a fantastic artist,” Madison announced proudly.
“That’s really good, Andrew,” Mr. Turner said, admiring Andrew’s forearm. “Do you paint, sketch or...”
Kurtis clapped dramatically, making everyone stop talking and turn to him. He downed his drink, cocked his head to the side slightly, and with a superior expression, began talking.
“Well, well, well, it looks like we have ourselves a bonafide art prodigy over here, perhaps one day we will be seeing your work on display at the Met,” he said with bite as he eyed Andrew before continuing, “But in the meantime, what do you do to pay the bills, Andrew, since obviously you aren’t famous right now, because I have never heard of you,” he said with a hearty laugh although no one else was laughing.
Madison narrowed her eyes at Kurtis while Andrew squeezed her hand. Andrew then turned to Kurtis. “I have no illusions of myself and I don’t pretend to be something I’m not. My family and friends enjoy what I draw and that’s what matters to me,” Andrew said calmly, trying desperately not to jump across the table and knock the grin off of Kurtis’ face.
“Yes, that is what matters, isn’t it, Mr. Nash?” Grayson turned to Kurtis, giving him a look that told him what the only acceptable response was.
Kurtis smiled brightly. “Of course. I apologize, Andrew, if I offended you,” he reached his hand out to him. “No hard feelings,” he said, smiling like he had won some kind of battle.
“No, of course not,” Andrew replied taking his hand in his, squeezing his fingers tight enough to cause Kurtis to wince slightly.
The table remained quiet for a moment and then everyone started interacting with one another, laughing and joking. Andrew was nursing one beer as he felt he needed to keep his wits about him. Not simply because he would be driving, although that was a factor, but also there were now two adversaries vying for his Madison’s attention. Both participated in the conversations at the table but every time Andrew met Kurtis’ eyes, they were cold and calculating. Andrew didn’t trust him at all but at least he could predict his behavior. Mr. Crawford on the other hand, was much harder to anticipate, as he was very slick. Andrew had caught him a couple of times watching Madison and then he would glance Andrew’s way giving him a smile as if he had done nothing wrong. Andrew was immensely thankful that the promotion Madison was up for would not be in Mr. Crawford's office.
“This must be so different than California?” Monique asked, looking on dreamily.
“It is, but I grew up around Chicago and Detroit so I am used to big cities,” Andrew replied, taking a sip of his beer.
“Do you miss California?” Alicia asked, batting her lashes shamelessly.
“Umm, I miss my aunt and uncle and,” he glanced at Madison, “our friends.”
Madison smiled, nodded, and then turned to Grayson. “That reminds me, Liam Bennett told me to tell you hello,” Madison said.
“Liam? How do you know Liam?” Grayson asked surprised.
“He’s our friend’s dad,” Madison replied.
“Little Jayden is your friend?”
Madison and Andrew both laughed. “Well, he isn’t so little anymore,” Madison answered with a giggle.
Grayson looked down at his drink, a forlorn look on his face before glancing back to Madison. “It was awful what happened to him.”
“It was,” Madison replied softly.
“But things are good with him and his family?” Grayson asked. Madison nodded and he smiled. “We haven’t talked in years. What a small world.”
Madison and Andrew stayed for another hour, just long enough for people to give their toasts to Kurtis on his promotion. Madison’s was short and sweet, a simple congratulation, but internally she added a thank God you won’t be around anymore to bother me. Once the toasts were done, Andrew led a slightly tipsy Madison towards the door. She suddenly stopped and dashed back inside towards the restroom. Andrew grinned watching her retreating figure and pulled out a cigarette, giving a head nod to Nolan who was also outside.
“You’re a lucky man,” Nolan said smoothly.
“I know,” Andrew replied before bringing his cigarette to his mouth.
“I’d say I hope it works out for you two, but, really, that would be lie,” he said with the same smile he wore in the bar.
Andrew took a long drag and blew out a puff of smoke. He was debating on how he should respond. It was clear that Nolan was challenging him and felt Andrew was not a worthy rival for Madison’s affections.
But, he was also one of Madison’s bosses, so Andrew couldn’t hit him. He took another drag of his cigarette and arched his brow.
“Well, I could wish you luck in your pursuit of her but it would be fruitless,” Andrew said calmly as smoke blew out of his mouth. “If Madison had wanted you or Kurtis, she would have had you already,” he continued.
“What makes you think she hasn't?” Nolan asked smugly.
Andrew narrowed his eyes and clenched his free hand at his side as he drew his cigarette to his mouth. He breathed in the tobacco, hoping it would calm the desire to beat this man who was saying he had sex with Madison. Madison had never mentioned him before and he hoped that if she had been with him that she would have told him about it. He exhaled before getting a small smirk on his face.
“Even if she had been with you, you must not have been memorable enough to continue seeing,” Andrew said, watching Nolan’s expression falter slightly.
Before Nolan could respond, Madison walked out and observed the situation before her, trying to figure out what had transpired. Andrew took a deep breath and took another drag of his cigarette, dropping the butt and smashing it with his boot. He exhaled his smoke in Nolan’s direction and then took Madison’s hand in his, leading her to the Harley. He started the bike, but before he pulled out he twisted around and kissed her, long, hard, and with purpose. When he was done, Madison was breathless. As Andrew turned back around, he noticed Nolan was now crossing his arms, not nearly as smug as he had been only five minutes before.
“What are you doing, Nolan?”
“What are you talking about?” Nolan asked angrily, watching Madison ride off with Andrew. When Grayson didn’t answer, he turned to him and could see his arms crossed.
“She’s off limits,” Grayson said and frowned as Nolan rolled his eyes.
“I can wait until she takes on a management position,” Nolan coolly replied.
Grayson stepped up close to him. “You better because I’m not losing my company just so you can add another conquest to your belt,” Grayson hissed out forcefully.
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