Somewhere in Between (Madison Square #1) (16 page)

It had been a while and Red still hadn’t come back. I looked around and saw her leaning against the bar, smiling at Chuck, who reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. I could feel myself getting seriously pissed. I hated the idea of his hands on her. Hell, anyone’s hands on her.

I got to my feet and headed in their direction. “How are those shots coming, Red?”

“Oh, right.” She reached for the tray of shots. “Chuck and I were just talking.”

“No problem.” I took the tray from her and led her away from Chuck, shooting him a look that said hands off. He chuckled and shook his head as he followed us back to the table.

It was getting late and Red had a few too many, so I said goodbye to the guys and ushered her out of the bar. We stepped outside. The night air was crisp and a little cold. We stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change.

Red was starting to shiver, so I pulled her close to my chest, rubbing my hands up and down her arms to warm her up. She relaxed against me, dropping her head back against my shoulder as she let out a soft sigh. I wrapped my arms around her, breathed her in, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. This girl was getting under my skin. I’d never felt this way about anyone.

The light changed and I released her. I took her by the hand and led her back to campus. She stayed close to me as we walked and threaded her fingers through mine. I loved how easy things were with her, like this was how we were always supposed to be.

We walked in silence across the quad, toward her dorm. There were a few people milling around, but the night was mostly quiet. She leaned against me, a lazy smile spreading across her face. She looked happy and so beautiful in the soft light of the street lamps. I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. She had a power over me I couldn’t explain. It was amazing and terrifying, but I couldn’t get enough.

When we got to her room, she pulled the keys from her bag and tried to fit them into the lock but kept missing. I chuckled and reached for her hand, helping to guide the key into the lock. She turned the key and pushed the door open, almost falling into the dark, empty room. I grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling as she laughed.

Once I was sure she had regained her balance, I let her go. She stepped away from me, dropping her bag next to her bed. She dropped down onto the mattress, kicked out of her shoes, and started to unbutton her jeans. I started to turn away, but she stood up too fast and lost her balance again, so I reached out to catch her. I held on to her as she stepped out of her jeans.

She pulled her shirt off like I wasn’t there and pulled open her dresser drawer, searching for something. I couldn’t help but stare at her as she rifled through the drawer. Her skin was perfect. The smooth slope of her naked back was begging for me to just reach out and touch her.

I turned my back to her and ran a hand over my face, trying to get a grip. When I turned around, she was wearing an oversized white t-shirt that was so thin, I could see she had taken off her bra. I swallowed quickly and blinked, resisting the urge to explore what that thin little shirt was hiding from me.

“You should get to bed,” I choked out, pulling back the covers of her bed.

She climbed in and I pulled the covers over her as she snuggled into her pillow. “Good night, Red,” I whispered. Her eyes were closed and I smiled as I turned to leave.

She reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me back down to her. “You know what?” she said, her voice soft. “I’d be lost without you, Drew.”

I smiled down at her. “Me too, Red.”

She was quiet, so I pulled away from her grasp and headed for the door. When I reached for the knob, I heard her mumble, “You should have kissed me.”

I headed out, softly closing the door behind me.

When I was safely in the hall with a locked door between us, I let out a breath. Fuck, I’m in way over my head.

Chapter 14

Alex (Now)

The next morning, I was heading to work when I spotted Drew coming out of his building across the square. He stopped when he saw me, but just shook his head and got in his car. Why was he being such a dick? He was the one who busted into my apartment last night, not the other way around. We both said some pretty hateful things, but now he was going to pretend he didn’t see me? Well, two can play at that game, buddy.

I stomped my way to work with renewed anger. If he thought I was going to be the one to cave and apologize first, he had another think coming. I didn’t do anything wrong. He was the one trying to control me. He was the one in an outrage after seeing me making out with someone.

I saw him kissing countless girls at parties over the years. Not to mention all the times he brought one of the vacuous bimbos to hang out with the group. I never said anything to him. I would never try to undermine his happiness like that. If having a trampy girl on his knee was his idea of fun, he could have at it.

I was so wrapped up in the rant going on in my head that I walked right past my office. I saw the sign for Down the Street and realized my mistake. I headed in to get some coffee, trying to convince myself that I meant to pass my building. Stupid.

I still got to the office before Gwen. I had just set my stuff down when I heard her clomping down the hallway. I knew I was about to get a barrage of insults and not-so-subtle digs about what she witnessed at the bar.

She stopped in the doorway and just shook her head at me with a smug smile. I refused to let her get to me. She settled in her chair, grinning like my humiliation was her own personal victory. Her phone vibrated on her desk. She picked it up and a mischievous smile spread across her face, so wide I thought her head would split in half.

“Drew is so sweet,” she squealed.

My head snapped up. Excuse me? Did she just say Drew? As in, my Drew? I stared at her with wide eyes. Was Drew texting her now? What the holy fuck? Is this his idea of payback? I went out with someone he didn’t like, so he is going out with someone I loathe to hurt me! That bastard! As if things weren’t already bad between us. Now that psychotic plastic floatation device was rubbing it in my face.

I’m sure that after my little display the other night at the bar, Gwen was very aware of how I feel about Drew, as was everyone else, so now her plan was to do everything she could to take him from me. The only issue with her plan was that Drew was never mine to begin with.

I felt the angry tears beginning to well up and I knew I had to get out of there. Gwen glanced up from her phone with a smirk. I rose from my desk and walked as quickly as I could to the bathroom without drawing too much attention.

I made it to the bathroom and slammed my fist into the wall before sliding down to the floor and releasing the sob. This was an ugly cry, with snot and mascara dripping down my face. Tears came so hard, I felt like I would choke on them.

I heard a knock at the door. “Alexandra? Is that you in there?” It was Madeline. Oh great, to make matters worse, my boss caught me in the middle of a sob fest at work.

“Can I come in, dear?” she asked softly. I got to my feet and opened the door. When she walked in, I turned to the sink and grabbed a tissue in an attempt to clean up my face. I looked up into the mirror. Oh God! I blew my nose and attempted to clean the lines of black from under my eyes. Jesus, I looked like Alice Cooper.

Madeline handed me her compact. I took it as the tears started to flow again at her sweet gesture.

“Oh darling, what is it? What happened?” She brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“I had a fight.” I sniffled.

“With who, dear?”

“Drew.”

“That charming young man who was with you at the gala?”

I nodded in response, willing the tears to stop. Madeline was being so nice. She could have just told me to suck it up and get back to work, but she was comforting me and seemed so genuinely concerned that the dam burst and it all just came flooding out of my mouth.

“I’m so in love with him, Madeline, but he doesn’t feel that way about me. I went out with someone else to try to get past my feelings for him so we can stay friends. He found out, we fought, and we said some really hor-horrible things last night. I was so insensitive, and he was so ang-gry,” I blurted, bringing the tissue to my face to wipe at the newly fallen tears. I took a breath. “Then I get here and find out that he is going out with Gwen to hurt m-me like I hurt him.” I hiccupped. “She will never be happy until she ruins me, and she will do anything to make it happen. But going after Drew like this is too hateful, even for her.”

“You let me worry about Ms. Stevens, okay?” She dipped her head to meet my eyes, wrapping an arm around me. “Now, about your young man, have you told him how you feel?”

“No, I can’t,” I said in a quiet voice. “I can’t risk losing him. He’s all I have.”

She pulled my head down to her shoulder. I took comfort in the familiar cloud of Chanel that enveloped me. I took a deep breath. She turned me to face her and placed both hands on my cheeks.

“Listen to me, Alexandra.” She held on to my face firmly but gently and looked straight into my eyes. “If I have learned anything from my life, it’s that anything worth doing comes with some risk. Now, the boy I met at the gala cares for you greatly. I’m sure you can fix whatever unkind words were said.” I started to shake my head, but she stopped me.

“Ah, he knows you didn’t mean it and I’m sure he didn’t either,” she continued. “If you love him as much as you say you do, then you need to be honest with him. You cannot tell for sure what is truly in his heart. Only he can tell you that.” She smiled down at me and dropped her hands. “So, take as long as you need to compose yourself and we will get on with our day, shall we?” I nodded. Madeline squeezed my arm and turned to leave.

As she opened the door, I spoke up. “Madeline?” She turned and looked at me. “Thank you.”

She smiled, opened the door, and left me alone. I took a deep breath and washed my face, trying to get the rest of my emotions under control.

After a few minutes of deep breathing, I put myself back together enough to leave the bathroom. I returned to my desk just in time to see Gwen storm out of Madeline’s office.

“Just wait ‘til my father hears about this. You will be ruined! Do you hear me?” she screamed in Madeline’s direction.

Madeline was standing in her doorway, casually leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed against her chest. “I doubt that very much, my dear.” She remained perfectly composed and professional. “Do send Senator Stevens my best.”

She was perfectly calm as Hurricane Bitchface raged back to her desk and snatched up her few personal items, not caring if she knocked over anything in the process.

Once she had her bag full of glitter pens and hot pink Post-it notes, she lifted her chin with a huff. I gaped at her from the doorway. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Madeline fired her.

She stomped toward the door, stopped in front of me, and pointed her sharp, acrylic claw in my face. “You will regret this,” she said, then shouldered past me, knocking me back into the wall.

She clomped her way out the front door. I watched her stomp down the hall as people stuck their heads out of their offices to catch her dramatic exit.

I turned to Madeline, my mouth wide open. She let out a hoot and did a little shimmy. I was floored. What did I just witness? Did she really fire Gwen? When she finished her dance, she pressed a hand to her chest, her breathing heavy. “My God, that felt good!” She wore a breathtaking smile.

“Did you…?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

She waved her hand dismissively toward the door. “Oh please, darling. I only hired her as a favor to her father. I have been looking for an excuse to get rid of her for such a long time.”

I wanted to hug her. I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to start again. She saw my face begin to crumble and stepped forward, pulling me into a hug.

She pulled away, keeping a strong grip on both of my arms, and looked into my face. “If there is anything I will not tolerate, it’s a bully.” She stared into my eyes until I nodded my understanding. She stood up and straightened her perfectly ironed blouse. “Now, let us discuss the Parker proposal.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger in my direction. “You’re going to have a lot of extra work on your plate now that Ms. Stevens is no longer with us.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. Gwen was gone. I was finally rid of her. I hurried around my desk to get to work. Before I took my seat, I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

This all seemed too good to be true, and a small part of me—granted, a very small part of me—felt bad for Gwen.

“Of course, dear! You are vastly more talented then she could ever dream of being. Did you see her last proposal? Velvet leopard print.” She made a stink face and, with that, she turned and headed into her office.

I sat down in my chair. I couldn’t stop smiling. Gwen was gone. Finally, my days of being passed over for the senator’s daughter were over. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn’t believe it.

I pulled out my phone, immediately starting to text Drew the big news, and then it hit me. I couldn’t text him. My shoulders slumped. I had the biggest news of my career and I couldn’t share it with my best friend. I put the phone back into my purse and got to work. Time to focus on me and my career.

***

By Saturday afternoon, I still hadn’t heard from Drew. I spent a good part of Friday night and all of Saturday morning staring at my phone, willing it to ring. I took it with me everywhere I went so I wouldn’t miss it if he called, even the shower. I finally put on a
Gilmore Girls
marathon to pass the time.

I went to the kitchen to make some tea when I heard my phone
Ping, ping
. I raced to the living room and lunged for my phone on the coffee table, stubbing my toe on the edge of the couch. Oh so gracefully, I limped the rest of the way and picked up my phone.

Peter: Sent you the address. See you tonight.

Damn, our date! I totally spaced. Why do I keep forgetting about him? That was so not a good sign.

I was going to his loft to talk about design ideas. Luckily, I had some samples with me, although I had a feeling Peter wasn’t so interested in looking at fabric. I really wasn’t in the mood to go, but I told him I would and I shouldn’t bail this late.

***

At seven I headed over to Peter’s place. I went for a casual look with skinny jeans, my black studded ballet flats, and my favorite purple flannel shirt. His apartment was in an old industrial section of town that was being revamped. It was a quiet neighborhood, kind of artsy with cute little galleries nestled comfortably between the Starbucks and cell phone stores.

I checked the address and saw that his building was in a converted old warehouse. The exterior was kept the same. You could still make out the old faded sign from the storage company that once inhabited the building. The front had a set of heavy glass doors with a high tech buzzer panel set into the wall. I hit the button next to his name. A buzzing sound and a click let me know the door was unlocked.

The lobby was in stark contrast to the outside. Every inch was sleek and modern. Aluminum benches lined the gun metal gray walls and gorgeous dark wood floors spanned the length of the hallway to the elevator. The artwork on the walls added a pop of color thanks to the giant canvases filled with vibrant, abstract watercolors. The developer kept the building’s original freight elevator, which was a nod to the building’s history. So far, I loved the building’s aesthetics.

As I reached the end of the hall, the elevator doors parted and Peter was there, waiting. He pulled me into a hug and pressed a lingering kiss on my cheek. “You look beautiful.”

I smiled at him and stepped into the elevator. He took my bag and hit the button for the seventh floor.

The elevator doors opened into a large open space. He had the entire floor. The renovations made the place feel luxurious without taking away from the historic feel of the building. Peter was right. It really was bare. He had the bachelor basics: bed, couch, and giant flat screen TV with, of course, the ridiculous sound system, but that was it.

The developer had done an amazing job with the conversion. I was salivating over the kitchen’s dark cherry cabinets, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. There was a spiral staircase near the kitchen that led to a small overhead loft space that he seemed to be using as a home office. One entire wall was lined with huge windows angled in toward the ceiling with breathtaking views of the city.

“So, what do you think?” Peter gestured at the entire room.

My head was spinning with possibilities. “It’s amazing. So much potential.” I turned in a circle to take it all in. “I brought some samples for us to go through so I can get idea of what you like.”