by Jade Winters
‘OK. I take it from what you’ve said, Laura already knows.’
Not that she needed to ask. Just mentioning Laura’s name caused Bryan’s face to light up. If Laura was a different woman, she would have been over the moon for Bryan as he deserved as much happiness as the next person, but Madison’s sixth sense told her that Laura was not the right person for him. Not that she thought there was anything wrong with being ambitious and doing whatever it took to attain your goal, because she didn’t. That was her own outlook—within certain limits at least—but Bryan didn’t need someone as cut-throat as him.
Madison believed in balance and could tell the scales were weighted heavily in Laura’s favour. Her uncle had never been able to resist being buttered up and Madison could see he had been spread thick like on a piece of cold toast.
‘Yes, Laura knows.’ Bryan gave a self-satisfied smile. ‘We had dinner last night.’
This is worse than I thought. ‘You did, eh?’
‘Yes. Laura’s an amazing woman.’
Madison wasn’t overly surprised by Bryan’s demeanour. He looked star-struck. His eyes glazed over as if he was replaying every moment of his dinner with Laura that very second.
‘I’m sure she is.’
Whether it was her tone of voice or her choice of words that caused Bryan to respond in a patronising tone, Madison couldn’t tell, but whatever it was, it knocked Bryan out of his dreamlike state. ‘Don’t let ambition cloud your judgment. She isn’t going to take your place.’
Madison was taken aback that Bryan actually thought she was thinking about herself. That she somehow felt threatened by Laura. Overshadowed?
‘I never thought that for a second, I was just—’
‘I know, looking out for me. But you can relax.’ Bryan crossed his arms then immediately uncrossed them again as if he wasn’t quite comfortable with his thoughts. ‘I might be old but I’m not a fool.’
‘I—’
‘Hadn’t you better get in touch with Darcie?’ Bryan tapped his watch. ‘Time’s running out.’
Madison grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and slipped into it. ‘I’m on it.’
During the forty-minute taxi drive, Madison thought about the conversation she knew she was going to have with Darcie. Did she tell her who she was before or after she gave Darcie the good news? And more importantly, how did she word her confession? Straight to the point. ‘Darcie, it’s me Madison, the girl you left behind,’ or the subtler approach, ‘I didn’t know how to tell you before, Darcie, but I’m Madison.’
Oh fuck, they both sound terrible.
She tried out various other ways of phrasing the unpalatable words she knew she had to say, but by the time Madison was sat in Darcie’s conference room waiting for her to make an appearance, she still hadn’t managed to make up her mind how best to tell Darcie the truth. In the end she decided to play it by ear. She would trust her gut instinct about when and how to tell Darcie.
‘I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.’
Madison’s head snapped around at the sound of Darcie’s voice, her hand instinctively flew against her chest. ‘You made me jump.’
‘Sorry. You looked deep in thought, I didn’t want to disturb you.’
Darcie’s easy smile did things to Madison that she didn’t want to think about. Especially not now. ‘I was just thinking about work.’
‘Anything in particular?’
Madison made a snap decision to put personal issues on the back burner. It was going to be incredibly difficult, considering the effect Darcie was having on her heart which she could feel pounding just above it’s normal rate and increasing the longer she looked at her. ‘Just that it’s going to take a miracle to save our company’s reputation.’
‘I see.’ Darcie closed the door behind her. ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’
Madison nodded. ‘Anything.’
Instead of joining Madison, Darcie walked over to a cabinet and grabbed a bottle of water and two bright, shiny glasses. Only then did she cross over to where Madison sat. Darcie placed both glasses on the table where they cast a coloured display on the table top as they diffracted rays of sunlight that shone in through the office window.
The suspense of not knowing what Darcie was going to ask was killing her. Had she cottoned on to who Madison was?
What a relief that would be.
‘Did you know?’ Darcie kept her eyes on the glasses as she filled them with water.
The question blindsided her.
Darcie could be referring to any number of things. Did Madison know Darcie was going to be in the coffee shop the first morning they met? The answer would be no. Did Madison know that Darcie owned Silver Lining before she accepted her bid for the job? Yes.
Darcie looked up at her expectantly.
‘Sorry. Did I know what?’ Madison’s voice was barely a whisper. To speak any louder would have felt like she was shouting.
‘About what was going on in your hotel?’
Madison blinked rapidly. That wasn’t a question on her list which when she thought about it, bothered her a little. She knew she was starting to let her personal feelings overshadow what should be a business meeting. ‘No. Hand on heart. Do you honestly think I would turn a blind eye to something like that?’
‘I don’t know. That’s why I asked.’
‘Come on, Darce, you know me. I’m the last—’ Madison stopped abruptly when she saw the wide-eyed expression on Darcie’s face. ‘Oh shit … I didn’t want you to have to find out this way.’
‘Find out what?’ Darcie’s voice was wary, as a cloud of confusion spread across her face.
‘About me ...’
‘What about you?’ Darcie seemed to be moving in slow motion as she replaced the bottle of water on the table and sank back in her seat. She stared at Madison as if looking at a ghost. The look left Madison in no doubt Darcie knew exactly what she was about to say.
So why doesn’t she look happy?
‘Darcie … I didn’t know how to tell you before …’
‘But …’ The blood seemed to have drained from her face. There were no words just a blank stare. A shocked blank stare as her gaze fell on Madison’s cheek. ‘How?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Madison said, ‘I shouldn’t have told you like this—’
‘But... your… face, it…’ Darcie was shaking her head slightly.
Madison touched her cheek. ‘Surgery.’
‘I can’t … believe it. I thought … I imagined …when I first saw you.’
Madison was relieved to see the colour coming back to Darcie’s face, but she still hadn’t looked Madison in the eye.
‘When you didn’t recognise me, I didn’t know what to say…’ Madison’s words tumbled over one another in her desperate need to make Darcie understand she hadn’t tried to trick her or be dishonest. ‘And then our meeting ended abruptly, so I couldn’t tell you then…’
‘I don’t believe it…’ Darcie rubbed her temples as she stood and walked over to the window. She kept her back to Madison as she spoke. ‘How did you end up working for Mr Willis?’
Darcie’s reaction stung.
She had expected her to be shocked but what she hadn’t expected was Darcie’s lack of interest in her. Madison had a million questions she wanted to ask Darcie now her true identity was out in the open. But it seemed Darcie was only interested in work related matters.
‘He took me out of the home,’ Madison said flatly.
‘I don’t get it,’ Darcie said. ‘If you had a rich relative, how did you end up in foster care in the first place?’
‘Bryan’s my mum’s stepbrother. They lost contact when they were teenagers. My aunt managed to track him down and, when he found out about me, he took me to live with him.’
‘After how long?’
‘How long?’ Madison asked, confused by the question.
‘How long were you in the foster home after I left?’
‘A week or so.’
> ‘Sounds like a fairy-tale ending for you.’
Was there sarcasm in her voice?
‘You don’t seem to have done too badly. You should be proud of yourself.’
‘In comparison to you?’
This time there was no denying it, Darcie’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Madison felt a flash of irritation at being judged unfairly. ‘My uncle’s wealth isn’t mine. I have to work just like everyone else.’
‘Bet you were never exploited like your staff in Thailand though, were you?’
‘I don’t think I like the tone of this conversation.’ Madison rose to her feet. ‘I only came here to tell you that my uncle would like you to prepare a full proposal by the end of the month—’
‘Did you have to twist your uncle’s arm?’ Darcie was still unable to manage more than an instantaneous glance into Madison’s eyes before returning her gaze to the glass in front of her.
‘Is that how little you think of your work? Believe it or not your work stood on its own merit. Here’s my card.’ Madison dropped it on the table. ‘Any questions let me know. If not, we’ll see you at the end of the month. My secretary will email you the details.’
Darcie turned to look at her now. ‘You could have told me all this by phone.’
‘Where would the fun have been in that?’ Madison stopped at the door. ‘As much as I’d like to say it’s been great seeing you again, I won’t lie.’
‘Nothing’s changed there then,’ Darcie said turning back to stare out of the window.
What the hell is her problem? Who would have thought such a nice, caring person would grow up to be such a bitch?
Madison’s only saving grace was that she had chosen Darcie’s company on merit rather than doing her a favour. At least that was what she had told herself. If she hadn’t, she would have been kicking herself now for being so stupid. She was already starting to get the feeling that she might have made a big mistake.
Hailing a taxi, Madison blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. She wasn’t on the verge of crying because she was sad. Rather it was because she was angry at herself. Angry that she had wasted so many years believing that one day, Darcie would be her happily ever after. Stupidly, she hadn’t given any consideration for how Darcie might have changed.
Madison’s own story might be like something out of a fairy-tale, but like most fairy-tales, reality had a way of reaching in and ripping the heart of the story clean out, flipping it into a tragedy instead.
Chapter Nine
The office blinds were drawn closed.
Darcie sat rigidly at her desk, hands clenched on her lap, eyes unblinking, staring straight ahead. It scared her to feel so out of control. Trying not to think of the past wasn’t doing her any good. The more she resisted, the more the memories pushed back. How could she not have realised who she was? How many times had she looked into Madison’s eyes? Pressed her lips against Madison’s mouth?
The door opened a crack and a hand came through holding two glasses. The door slowly opened further with a slight squeak, and Emma appeared holding a bottle of Champagne.
‘Hey, why are you sitting in the dark? Migraine?’ she said quietly, sounding almost sympathetic. It wasn’t something she was proficient at and normally an inept attempt would have made Darcie smile no matter how she was feeling. Not this time.
A wave of nausea hit Darcie and she gulped quickly, trying not to vomit. ‘Nope.’
‘Darkness is so depressing.’ Emma crossed over to the window and opened the blinds, watching as Darcie squinted against the brightness. ‘That’s better. So what’s up? Is this the after-effect of last night? Or are you in shock we’ve been given a second chance on the Clover account?’
Sympathy all used up, Emma was back to business.
‘Neither.’ Darcie rewound her thoughts; of Madison sitting in front of her in the flesh, looking even more beautiful than she had as a teenager. Why had she come back into her life? Why now?
‘Are you deliberately being a killjoy?’ Emma placed the glasses on Darcie’s desk and popped the champagne cork. ‘I thought you’d be over the moon.’
‘I am.’ Darcie picked up the piece of paper she had been scribbling on and screwed it into a ball. With great accuracy, she threw it into the bin across the room.
‘You could’ve fooled me.’ Emma poured herself a drink and took a mouthful. ‘You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?’
Darcie leant forward and rested her chin in her hands. ‘Like a ghost from the past reappearing in my life?’
‘You’ve lost me. And not because I’m tipsy. This is my first glass today. You’re just not making any sense.’
‘You want it? Well here it is, Madison is back.’
Emma choked on the mouthful of drink she had just sipped. For some reason Darcie couldn’t quite comprehend, Emma started looking around the office as if Madison was hiding in a cupboard, or behind the grey, steel, filing cabinet and was going to jump out and say ‘Hi’.
‘Oh, my God. Where… I mean how… oh, fuck. Just tell me how you guys met up? I can’t wait to meet her. Oh, God this is amazing.’ She was almost off into being hysterical about it.
‘You’ve already met her,’ Darcie muttered.
‘I have?’ Emma cocked her head, eyebrows scrunched together. ‘When?’
Darcie took a quick swig of champagne straight from the bottle. ‘Yesterday.’
Emma’s eyes widened. ‘Not that woman you went home with last night?’ She put her hand over her lips as they formed a neat O.
‘What? No not her.’ Darcie shook her head, not only at the idea that Madison would be quite so hard-faced as Katie had been, but also in embarrassment at what had … or as it was, hadn’t happened. Although she was genuinely a caring, sharing person, she didn’t care to share that information with Emma.
‘Then who? The only other woman we met yesterday was…’ Emma’s hand flew to her mouth again. ‘No way!’
‘Way.’
‘Maddie?’ Emma said with a frown of disbelief.
‘Yep.’
‘But the pictures of you two … she looks so different.’
‘Surgery.’ Darcie could hardly believe it herself. If she hadn’t known the scar had once existed, Darcie would never have believed it was ever there.
‘Wow. That must have cost a fortune. But how did she afford it? I thought she was in foster care with you?’
‘Her uncle is Mr Willis remember.’
Emma drew in an audible sharp breath. ‘Fuck, of course! Is that why we’ve been given a second chance?’ Emma grabbed the back of a chair. Darcie wondered how she had never noticed the over-dramatic actions Emma displayed.
‘Not according to Madison.’
‘Emma pursed her lips looking thoughtful. ‘So what happens now?’
‘Nothing,’ Darcie said with finality.
‘Nothing?’ Annoyance flared in Emma’s eyes. ‘Please don’t tell me you pissed her off now as well as her uncle.’
‘Me? Piss her off?’ Darcie said through gritted teeth. ‘I think she’s got a fucking cheek, waltzing in here, acting like she’s all sweetness and light.’
‘Come on, give the woman a break, she’s hardly going to start groping you—’
‘You think I’m that petty? This has nothing to do with—’
‘Then what is it?’
Darcie struggled to find the right words. She had never spoken them before. Instead she had buried them deep beneath her pride. All she could say moments later was, ‘Let’s just say, I clearly never meant as much to Madison as I thought I did.’
Chapter Ten
After pulling on her jogging bottoms, a top and her trainers, Madison went in search of her wireless headphones. This was the last thing she needed, to be held up when all she wanted to do was run. She desperately needed to feel the wind in her hair, the burn in her muscles. Anything would be better than the pain that now resided in her heart.
She foun
d the headphones down the side of the sofa and shook her head in confusion. They always seemed to end up in the most peculiar places. Inserting the buds into her ears, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before making her way outside.
Starting off with a slow walk, Madison found the zombie run app on her phone—not that she needed to be scared witless to get her adrenaline going. It was at a high already. She was still reeling from her encounter with Darcie the day before. If she had known it was going to end this way she wouldn’t have bothered making contact with her again—despite having kept a light on in the window of her soul for the last ten years. Ten years that suddenly, in the course of a couple of minutes, went from fairy-tale to nightmare.
You just couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie, could you?
She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and she hadn’t even started running yet. It was humiliation fuelling the fire that burnt in her stomach. That she had put herself on the line. Opened herself up to Darcie only to be rejected. She hadn’t allowed anyone to get close to her for years and after her encounter with Darcie she was beginning to regret her stupidity.
The app now engaged, Madison started to run at the suggested pace. Immediately she began to feel the effects of her heart pounding against her chest. Soon she was in the zone, and her attention was focused solely on the task at hand. To run five kilometres and put all thoughts of Darcie out of her mind, which she successfully managed to do until she got to the three-kilometre mark, which was when her phone started ringing, and her uncle shattered her plan of passing Darcie over to a colleague.
Knowing better than to ignore Bryan’s call, she stopped running, caught her breath and pressed accept.
Madison removed her headphones and held the phone against her ear. ‘Hello?’
‘I’ve been looking for you.’ Bryan’s voice was short. ‘Why aren’t you in your office?’
Madison said the first thing that popped into her head. ‘I wasn’t feeling well.’
‘Are you OK?’ Bryan’s voice was now full of concern.
‘Yes, time of the month…’ She knew full well that would end that line of questioning. Madison made her way down a side road to get away from the bombardment of noise from the lorries and buses passing by. She stopped outside a derelict house with a low wall and sat down.