Nancy Lavo - A Whirlwind...Makeover

Maddie returned her gaze to her reflection and purposely stretched her mouth into a wide smile. She had a date now—in a manner of speaking. Colton Hartley, advertising executive extraordinaire, was hers for the next hour.

They didn’t have much time. She needed to strategize to make the most of every minute. She’d take him down to the cafeteria on the lobby level. They’d sit at one of the small square tables that lined the far wall of the room. Preferably one tucked behind a potted plant.

She closed her eyes to complete the fairy tale. Without the distractions of fellow employees, they’d talk about themselves and the incredible good fortune that had brought them together. Colton’s beautiful blue eyes would look into hers and he would see her as no one had seen her since her father had been alive. As a rare treasure worthy of love.

Maddie’s heart hammered against her ribs as she reached up to knock on Colton’s door.

“Come in.”

Maddie took two steps into the room that now smelled faintly of his cologne. “Ready to eat?”

He looked up from the notes he was making in the Swanson file. He smiled, his perfect teeth blindingly white against his tan. “You bet.”

He was even better looking than she remembered. She stifled a sigh. “Great. Let’s go.”

It took nearly ten minutes to make the five-second walk to the elevator. It couldn’t be coincidence that every female employee, and a few males, just happened to pop out of their offices at the exact moment she and Colton passed. Though she couldn’t avoid stopping and chatting half a dozen times, she refused to lose sight of her objective. Colton was hers and hers alone for the next hour.

She could have wept with relief when the elevator doors whispered shut on just the two of them.

“Cue Communications is such a friendly place,” Colton said as Maddie pushed the down button.

The man had a gift for understatement. Co-workers mobbed him like groupies around a rock star. “So I’ve noticed.”

He inclined his head to her and smiled. “I appreciate you going to the trouble of showing me around, though I’m sure I could have found the cafeteria on my own.”

“No way.”

Colton’s eyes widened a fraction at the steel in her voice.

She tried for the lowered-chin, look-up-through-the-eyelashes approach. “What I mean is, there’s no way I’d desert you on your first day. I’ve got Cue’s friendly reputation to live up to.”

His face relaxed into a heart-stopping smile. “That’s real nice.”

The elevator doors opened onto the lobby, now crammed with people. Darn. She shouldn’t have waited till straight-up noon to take him to lunch. The cafeteria served good food and was a real favorite with the office-building crowd. They were all here today.

Maddie and Colton fell into the lineup of about twenty people waiting to pick up trays and make selections. She did some hasty calculations. At the rate things were moving they’d have only forty-five minutes sequestered at their table. Only a fool would waste these precious moments in line. And her daddy didn’t raise no fool.

“So, Colton,” she began. “How did you end up at Cue?”

A cute, size-four redhead standing two people in front of them turned at the sound of his name. “Colton? Colton Hartley?”

His handsome face lit up in recognition. “Paige?”

Their warm reunion carried them all the way to the tray and silverware pickup.

“It’s great seeing you, Paige,” Colton said as he pocketed the slip of paper she’d handed him with her phone number on it. “I’ll give you a call and we can get together.”

Maddie didn’t allow her heart to sink. After all, a man like Colton Hartley didn’t reach this stage in his gorgeous life without acquiring a few female friends. Just because their greeting seemed a tad overwarm to Maddie didn’t guarantee that Paige meant anything to him.

“So what’s good?” he asked Maddie, the first time he’d spoken to her since her brief introduction to the red-haired interloper.

“Everything.” Maddie had her eye on the warming tray stacked high with crispy chicken-fried steaks. Yum. A glob of mashed potatoes and cream gravy alongside would make the perfect lunch.

Colton looked down the length of the serving island, considering the options before picking up a chef’s salad and plunking it down on his tray.

“Is that all you’re having?” Maddie asked as they inched their way toward the golden chicken-fried steaks and steaming gravy.

“Yeah.” He motioned toward the steaks and delicacies beyond. “If you eat all that heavy stuff for lunch it doesn’t take long before the pounds start adding up.” He patted his rock-hard stomach for emphasis.

Maddie thought about her own not-so-rock-hard stomach and suddenly the chicken-fried steak didn’t look so good. She snatched up a green salad and a paper container of diet dressing instead. She sped by the freshly baked pies before temptation could destroy her fragile newfound willpower.

After paying the cashier for their food, Colton and Maddie paused to scout the crowded room for a table.

“I think I see a table over there,” Maddie said, pointing to the far wall. She squinted to be sure. “Can you see it behind the palm?”

“Lead the way.”

Trays in hand, they forged a path through the occupied tables.

“Hey, Colton, over here.” A preppie-looking guy waved at them from his table some ten yards away.

“Okay with you?” Colton asked, lifting a muscular shoulder in the direction of the caller.

Her heart slipped a few notches. “Sure.”

With Colton now leading, they threaded their way to the table, trays lifted high to keep from bumping into diners. Maddie hung back to allow Colton time to make introductions.

“Good to see you, Colton.” The preppie clapped Colton on the back. “What brings you to our little corner of the world?”

The predominately female group seated around the rectangular table greeted Colton like a visiting celebrity. Or a god. A woman skinny enough to shop in the preteen department patted the empty seat next to hers. “Come sit here.”

While they fussed over Colton, Maddie did the math. One preppie, one accountant type, five skinny hussies and one delectable Colton. Eight bodies. Table for eight.

There wasn’t room for her.

Maddie stood several inconspicuous steps from the table, waiting for Colton to notice her predicament. Once he saw she was still standing he’d insist they drag an extra chair up to the table for her.

She waited.

When one minute had lapsed into two and he still hadn’t looked up from his friends, Maddie knew she’d been forgotten. She couldn’t blame him. Who wouldn’t forget their own name in the midst of all that adulation?

Not wanting to embarrass him or herself, Maddie backed up in retreat. As she slowly moved backward, a stupid smile plastered on her face, Maddie didn’t notice the abandoned chair blocking the aisle. Inching along, her leg caught the chair rung and she knew in that awful moment that to cap off her humiliation, she was going to fall.

“Whoa.” A deep voice rumbled in her ear as strong arms came from behind to steady her.

Her heart seemed to stop. Her stomach did a long, slow slide. It took Maddie a second or two to realize the hideous downward pull of gravity had been broken. She wasn’t going to fall. She’d been saved.

Balance restored, Maddie turned, tray in hand, to thank her rescuer.

Dark eyes, the color of the richest chocolate and tinged with amusement, met hers. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine, thanks to you.” Obviously shaken by her near fall, the woman’s pleasantly husky voice wobbled. “I’m not usually so clumsy. I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”