Madison Tyler wiped sweat from her brow and stared for the hundredth time at her cell phone. She willed it to have a signal.
"What? Your boyfriend so insecure you have to call him every hour, sugar?" said the man with deep Texas drawl. The one man on the face of the earth that Maddie would give anything not to be stuck in an elevator with. All right, so being stuck in a five foot by five foot cage suspended forty-two floors above Houston was a nightmare enough. What had she ever done to deserve being stuck with him?
Thyne Jackson was one of the cities, and probably the states, best attorneys. In his late thirties, he was already a partner at Baker, Cotts and Evans, the cities top firm. His expertize in contracts set him apart as a teacher and mentor.
It was why Maddie had risked everything to intern with the man this Sommer. With only one more year to go before she finished law school and could begin fresh thousands of miles from this place, this man and her past, it had seemed a risk worth taking all those months ago when selecting her placement. As one of the top three in her class, she had had her pick of assignments. At this moment, the position with the Federal judge in New Orleans was looking good.
Turning her back to the man, that as her boss had made the past three months a nightmare in more ways than one, she fidgeted with her phone one more time. She squealed when she saw two faint bars, indicating that after two hours, she had faint reception. Pushing the speed dial button, she prayed as the phone was silent for a moment. She sighed heavily when it began to ring at last. At least she would be able to leave a message.
"Mama?" she asked when she heard someone pick up.
"Mommy," was the unexpected response from her three year old daughter, Jackie.
"Hey, sweetie, is Nana around?" she asked nervously, afraid that she would loose the precious signal at any moment.
"She getting candles."
Maddie frowned, so the black out was more wide spread than she had thought. Her mother's older A-frame house was miles and miles from central Houston. And not in the safest of neighborhoods either.
"Honey, this is really important. Can you get Nana? I really need to speak to her."
"OK, Mommy, but I scared. I don't like the dark and it dark everywhere.," her daughter whined.
"I know sweetie," turning her back even more into the corner, she hoped to maximize privacy in the intimate surroundings. "Mommy loves you and I'll be home as soon as I can. I promise."
She heard a couple of whimpers before the phone went silent. She was uncertain for a moment if Jackie was following her orders or if she had lost the precious connection. Then she heard the child squeal "Nana, nana, Mommy is on the phone."
Maddie sighed and fidgeted as she waited. It seemed like forever. Then again if her mother had gone out into the garage looking for the supplies, she knew that it would take some time for her to get back into the house with her arthritis. But this night, the wait seemed to take forever.
Then again knowing that he was watching and listening to her every move was disconcerting to say the least, terrify was more accurate. Maddie snuck a quick peak over her shoulder at where he leaned against the mirrored panels of the elevator.
He had long ago discarded the light wool jacket of his business suit and she could see the play of his chest muscles beneath the starched cotton of his white dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and his tie loosened; he had unbuttoned the top two buttons. His curly red hair that only added to his boyish charm was in disarray. He had run his fingers through it over and over again during the past few hours.
It was his only sign of nervousness, a secret that few people were aware of. Something that he would not expect her to know, but then again the cool, professional young intern Madison Tyler was the exact opposite of the exotic and glamorous Sommer Loven, Houston's premier stripper. He would never connect the two women. Or that was the gamble that Maddie had made all those months ago when she choose this internship.
"Madison, where are you?" her mother's shrill and demanding voice brought her thoughts back to the present.
"Mama, I'm still at work. I don't want to worry you, but I got stuck between floors in an elevator when the power went out."
"That was hours ago, girl. You could have called before now. That child has been driving me crazy with her whining. Where's Mommy? When's Mommy getting home?" Her mother's word brought scant comfort to Maddie, but she reminded herself that this would all be over soon.
In less than a year, she would have her law degree. Then she could take the bar exam and start a new life for her child. Far from this place. Far from the cold woman that was her mother. Farther still from this man that had to power to destroy her world. But right now, she had damage control to do to both those threats.
"Mama, I'll be there as soon as the power comes back on. And I'm sorry I did not call you sooner, but I just got a signal. I don't know how long it will last or if I will get another one, so I need you to care for Jackie until I can get out of here."
"Madison, this is too much. You know that my arthritis is acting up again. I can't be running after that hellion while you're off chasing rainbows. I told you, you had a good job, making damned good money too. Until you screwed it all up by getting knocked up. I told you then I was not paying for your mistakes."
"Jackie is no mistake, Mama," Maddie raised her voice at her mother's sharp words, forgetting that he could hear everything she said. Looking up, she saw his brow's furrow and knew that he was processing it all. 'Damn,' she cursed herself for the lapse. She would have more than one case of damage control this night. She just hoped she was up to the job.
"Mama, now is not the time to have that argument again."
