"Hi, Allison." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. They"d met once or twice at various functions, and she"d interviewed him after a playoff game.
The good news was he"d been smart enough not to hit on women he worked with in a professional capacity-before Madison, that is-and he could have a decent working relationship with Allison, should he want to go that route.
Alex had to admit he and Allison got along well. They had a lot in common, with their love and knowledge of sports. They were able to find a rhythm and banter without trying too hard, and he wasn"t at all concerned about them having an issue on camera in the morning. Over dinner, they shared a bottle of wine-not his usual choice of drink, but she"d insisted he try her new favorite, and he had to admit it was good.
As the evening wore on, the restaurant grew more crowded, and it became difficult to hear each other speak. She moved from across the table to the seat beside his, enabling her to lean close while they talked. By the time the waiter asked if they wanted dessert, Alex was ready to crash in his bed, but Allison ordered chocolate mousse, and he had no choice but to wait. He asked for a double espresso, hoping the shot of caffeine would help him stay awake for a little while longer.
The waiter brought the small dessert with two spoons. Alex shook his head and declined her offer to share. But she tasted and moaned about how good it was, offering him a taste with her spoon. He wasn"t the least bit tempted, not in the chocolate treat or in her, as he belatedly realized she was also putting herself on the menu.
He shook his head and swore to himself, wondering when he"d gotten so out of practice that he didn"t notice a beautiful woman coming on to him. "Allison, listen. I"m involved with someone."
She leaned back in her seat and watched him, amus.e.m.e.nt in her dark eyes. "All the good ones usually are."
"I"m sorry." He didn"t know what else to say.
She flipped her long hair behind her and laughed. "Alex, come on. You haven"t been out of the game for that long."
Completely lost, he shook his head. "Maybe I have. What"s going on?"
"The offer is a done deal. Tomorrow is just a formality for the network bra.s.s. And this?" She gestured between them. "You and me? Dinner? The choice of restaurants, the new hot spot where we"re sure to be seen, all carefully orchestrated for exactly that. To be seen. The two new hosts of the hottest new sports show. Tomorrow at the audition, they"ll get some d.a.m.n good, comfortable clips to use for promotion."
He narrowed his gaze, but she went on, and he figured the best thing he could do was let her explain. Because he felt like he"d dropped onto another planet.
"And once the clips are released, everyone will be speculating whether that chemistry between us on the air is so good because we"re a couple off the air too. Backed up by pictures of us here. Tonight." She waved a hand around them, and suddenly everything became clear.
"Kevin set this up." His SOB agent, Alex thought.
"Well, Kevin and the network. Come on, it"s brilliant! Your stock and cachet will only go up when we explode onto the scene. They"re going to take this show national and run it on TV as well as the Internet," she said, her enthusiasm and excitement huge.
"Did anyone even think of just asking me to go along?" he asked through clenched teeth. Because no way in h.e.l.l would he have said yes.
She wrinkled her nose. "Well, your agent said you were waffling about wanting the job. He figured you just needed a good push and a reminder of all you"ve been missing out on to get your head back into the game. So to speak."
"He had no right to lie to me."
"Part of the reason was to make things between us seem natural. If you knew someone would be shooting cell phone pictures tonight for gossip rags, would you have been as relaxed with me? I was an actress before the news gig."
"Incredible." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Did you or my genius agent, or even the network executives, ever hear of the concept of free will?" he asked, rising from his seat. "You can set up all the press and fake publicity you want, but it won"t make it real. You can"t make me want to take this job."
He"d been counting on the test to see how he felt in front of the camera. He"d needed to hear the concept for the show, to know what kind of commute it"d entail. But n.o.body had laid out details for him yet. And he"d been taken in by his own agent, someone he ought to be able to trust.
"You can"t say you don"t want it," Allison said. "Or that you wouldn"t be great doing it."
"None of that matters when I can"t trust the people around me." He stormed away from the table, pausing at the front to take care of the bill. Afterwards, he headed back to his hotel, furious and frustrated.
What a bust the entire day had been. And by the time he finally ended up in his hotel room, it was close to midnight, and he couldn"t call Madison because, after the day she"d probably had, she would be fast asleep.
Madison arrived at work in the morning, her mood down and foul. Not hearing from Alex had her on edge, and it took everything inside her to think positively and not jump to the worst possible conclusions. If this relationship was going to work, she needed to learn how to trust.
She walked into the office and immediately headed for the break room, needing coffee to keep herself running this morning. As soon as she entered the small room, conversation stopped.
Madison glanced at the two women she recognized as secretaries for the PR people. "Hi," Madison said. "I don"t mean to interrupt. I"m just going to get coffee, and I"ll let you get back to your conversation."
"Have you seen the sports blogs this morning?" Gail, one of the women, asked Madison.
Madison shook her head. "No. Is there something good in them?" She added milk and one sugar packet to her coffee, stirring as she asked.
"Yes, actually," the other woman said.
"Madison!" Riley came running into the room, interrupting the conversation. "I"ve been looking all over for you. We need to talk."
Madison turned to her friend. "Sure. I just want to see what has them so interested," she said, gesturing to the other women.
Riley shot them a glare Madison didn"t understand. "Later. What I have to say is urgent," she said, grasping Madison"s hand and pulling her out of the room.
"What"s wrong?" she asked Riley, digging her heels into the carpet, concerned.
"Not here. Come on. Let"s go into your office." Riley began pulling her once more.
"You"re scaring me," Madison muttered, letting her friend drag her into the room, where she shut the door and locked it behind them. "Riley-"
"Okay, sit. And listen. There"s something in the morning gossip columns that you need to see. But you need to let me show you, and you need to not jump to conclusions, no matter how bad things look."
Her stomach flipped over, and she lowered herself into her chair. "He hasn"t been in touch."
"What?" Riley pulled a chair close to her and sat down.
"Alex. That"s what you want to show me, right? There"s something about him in the blogs? It makes sense. Because since he left, I haven"t heard from him. Not once."
Riley clasped their hands together, but Madison was numb inside and out and barely felt her friend"s touch. "There is an explanation. I"m sure."
"Just show me. Is it in Behind the Bleachers with Ben?" Madison asked of the infamous website.
Riley nodded.
Madison turned and hit a b.u.t.ton to bring her computer to life. She typed in the sports blog that was standard for everyone in the sports world to read. Sometimes Ben hit it head on, and other times, he missed the mark completely. But there was no doubt the man had reach.
The blog came onto the screen along with a set of photographs. Alex and a beautiful blonde Madison recognized as Allison Edwards, the woman he was to screen-test with. In one shot, they were laughing across from one another. In another photo, they were side by side, heads together, obviously talking intimately. And in the third picture, Allison held out her spoon, and Alex"s mouth was open and waiting.
Pain gripped her heart. "Well, that explains the silence."
"No. Listen to me. I used to work in PR, and I know not everything is what it seems."
She managed a smile. "I know you"re right. But even if it"s perfectly innocent, I don"t know that I can deal with this part of his life." Looking at the photos made her nauseous. Not hearing from him left her mind spinning and creating all sorts of awful possibilities.
"Why don"t you take the day off," Riley suggested. "You"ve had a rough couple of days. Plus the judge is due to rule soon, and you"d have to leave anyway."
Normally Madison would argue, but not today. "Thanks. I think I"ll do that."
They rose, and Riley pulled Madison into a hug. "I"ll call you later and check in."
"Thanks," she whispered, not wanting to give in to the overwhelming emotions swamping her and cry.
She packed up her bag and headed home, her thoughts on Alex and all the reasons she couldn"t deal with this part of his life. Even if those photographs were deliberately misleading, it didn"t change what was broken inside of Madison. Yes, Alex had proven himself to her over and over, but her insecurities and issues were real and deep-seated enough that she couldn"t imagine living with those feelings of abandonment being brought up over and over again.
Alex woke up at three, having booked the earliest flight he could manage out of New York the night before. He"d paid a premium, but he didn"t care. He arrived at the airport in Miami and immediately took a cab straight to the stadium.
He"d never been so wired in his life. He"d barely gotten any sleep last night, and taking a six a.m. flight meant he still hadn"t called Madison.
He strode through the hallway leading to his office, needing one thing and one thing only. To see Madison. Everything else could wait.
Riley barreled out of her office, stopping in front him. "You. Me. Talk. Now."
"No. I need to see Madison."
"She"s not here. She left early."
He blew out a long breath. "She"s supposed to be working today. Did something happen with her foster mother or the hearing?"
"Now you"re concerned? Where the h.e.l.l were you all day and night yesterday?" Riley asked, raising her voice. "Oh, I"m sorry. Snuggling up with your new costar at some new hip place in Manhattan. Too busy to call your girlfriend and check in."
He set his jaw. "f.u.c.king pictures," he muttered. "I wanted to get to her first."
"Did you ever think to try the phone?"
"My flight this morning was at six, and I didn"t get back in last night until almost midnight."
Riley blew out a long breath. "You blew it, buddy."
"Don"t tell me she believes what those pictures imply." He"d been laying the groundwork between them for months now. And though she"d admitted to worrying about him returning to old habits, no way could she believe it would happen in just twenty-four hours.
Riley blew out a long breath. "I don"t think she does."
Relief swept through him. "Thank G.o.d."
"But that doesn"t mean she can handle what comes along with the famous you."
He rubbed a hand over his face. "I love her."
Riley"s expression lit up her entire face. "I knew it! Have you told her?"
"Not exactly but-"
"Then what are you doing here talking to me? Go home and use your words." She grinned at him like a crazy woman.
Who"d have thought his love life was so important to her?
"Have you been reading those how-to books on raising kids?" he asked.
Her blush gave her away, and he laughed.
"What? I couldn"t handle What to Expect When You"re Expecting." She wrinkled her nose. "Too many gross details n.o.body wants to know ahead of time."
He shook his head and groaned. "Go torture your husband, will you? I have to get home." He started for the elevator when Riley called his name, and he turned back.
"Madison just sent me a text. Judge has made his decision. She"s meeting her lawyer at the courthouse."
TWELVE.
Alex arrived at the courthouse too late to hear the judge"s decision. He walked through the double doors and found Jonathan gathering his papers and checking his messages.
"What"d I miss? And where is Madison?" he asked his friend.
Jonathan glanced up from his cell, looking Alex up and down. "You look like s.h.i.t."
"Nice. Thank you. I took an early flight from New York this morning. I haven"t had much sleep." Not to mention, he"d been driving in circles trying to find Madison. "Now what happened here?"
"I can"t believe it, but we lost."
"What?" Alex braced a hand on the tabletop.
"The judge said there wasn"t enough evidence to show undue influence; however, he felt that since Franny"s dementia signs started before she signed the power of attorney and living will, he should err on the side of the biological child."
"Son of a b.i.t.c.h." Alex could only imagine the pain Madison was experiencing. "How did she take it?"
Jonathan met his gaze. "Not well. I mean, she seemed off from the minute she got here, and the judge"s decision didn"t help. Add to that, as he was leaving, her b.a.s.t.a.r.d foster brother threatened to get a restraining order to keep her away from his mother."
Alex closed his eyes and groaned.
"I don"t think he could swing that. He didn"t prove anything against Madison in this hearing except that she wasn"t related by blood. Anyway, she said she needed to be alone and took off."
Could this day go any more wrong? Alex wondered. "Thanks, man. I know you did the best you could." He slapped his friend on the back.
Jonathan picked up his briefcase. "I"m just sorry it fell short."
"Me too."