Madison

I wake up with the phone ringing. I reach for the landline in my nightstand, that’s making my life miserable at this hour.

“Hello...”

“Hi, Maddie. It’s Ben. How are you feeling?”

“I am fine.”

“I need a favor, Madison.”

“Shoot,” this is no time for favors.

“I have an event to go tomorrow night. And I’d like you to be my Plus One.”

“Ask Alyssa, Ben.”

“She can’t make it. Please, Maddie.”

How to say No to this handsome man, begging like that? You can’t.

“Okay, What kind of event?”

“Black tie. I ‘ll pick you up between seven thirty and eight. I have a preliminary hearing at six, I’ll probably be done at six-forty.”

“You owe me, Benjamin.”

“It’ll be a pleasure to make up to you,” he says, laughing, “Bye, Maddie. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Doctor Graham.”

I go look in my closet to see if I have something to wear at this party. I always have something for every occasion. Not that I ever go anywhere, but I like to always be prepared. I bought some dresses to be Ben’s Plus One, but nothing for a Gala and this one is black tie.

I look at the clock and see it’s late at night. I forgot to call Rebecka to tell her I took the night off. I go to the living room to use the phone. I need to find a way to get my purse from the club. I dial the number quickly.

“Secret Garden, good evening,” a male voice answers. Whose powerful voice is this?

“Hi. I’d like to speak to Rebecka Lamarque.”

“Wrong number, young lady,” I forgot the names discretion. Damn it!

“Whoever this is, I’m Madison, bartender at the Secret Garden. I need to talk to Becka.”

“Oh hi, Maddie!” Jesus! Quite a transformation. “It’s Pierre here.”

“Pierre, where did that voice come from?” He’s one of the pole dancers. Yes, some men like to see him dancing with the girls.

“That’s from birth, my child,” he says, laughing, “I’ll transfer you to the Lady of the Land,” gayer than ever.

The waiting tune impresses me with a sexy and heavy beat.

“Hi, Madison,” Becka answers, “Where the hell are you? Do you want to give me a heart attack? I’ve been trying to call your cell phone for hours.”

“My purse, and my phone, is at the locker room since yesterday. I wasn’t feeling well today...”

“What’s going on, Madison?” she asks worried.

“There’s nothing going on. I want to apologize for today. I left the Office early, but I fell asleep. Rebecka, you know me, you know I’m not irresponsible with my work ...”

“Easy now. Noah was here and said you weren’t feeling well. He was very worried about you, and I think that, adding up to your vacation and the holidays you never take off, you must have more than two months to rest.”

“I need another favor. Ben asked me to be his Plus One to an event tomorrow...”

“I know. You’re free to go,” she interrupts me. I’m going to kill Benjamin!

“Thanks. One more thing, I need a dress and I know you have a friend that...”

“I’m going to her shop tomorrow. Want to join me?”

“Will you let me finish?” I laugh. I’m just surprised that she seems agitated, Rebecka is not like that. “What’s happening, Becka?”

“I’m a bit anxious. Never mind. See you tomorrow. I’ll pick you up around 10 a.m. okay?”

“Okay, Thank you, Becka. Please don’t forget to bring my things.”

“Okay, Bye, Maddie. Take care.”

Rebecka is a very special, enlightened woman. One of those people who has a shoulder for anyone to cry on, but they’re also there to call you on your crap whenever they need to.

I get to the fridge to hunt for some food. I can’t find anything because I haven’t been to the grocery store in days. I pick up the phone and order some Chinese. While I wait for my food to arrive, I go to the bedroom and turn on the computer and Google ‘Judge Noah Lancaster’.

There’s a lot of images of him, always an imposing man. There’s one that gets my attention, a family photo: Alyssa as a teenager, skinny, nerdy. I laugh seeing how time has been good to her, she was already beautiful but, today, she’s bloomed into a beautiful woman, she just hasn’t realized it yet. Their mother was gorgeous, their father and Noah are standing side by side, father looking at his son and they both smiling. Gorgeous, the perfect family.

There’s also pictures of him with the others, undeniably handsome. Benjamin, Christopher, Rebecka and Roger. Pictures from the funeral of his parents and Roger’s funeral come up. The devastation in Aly’s face cuts through my heart. Noah holding her, also looking destroyed, it brings tears to my eyes. Next, I see images of Noah being greeted by Heads of State, being awarded by the President of the United States for his policy against violence. And finally, the pictures of him with Carly. I make the terrible mistake of clicking it and the headline reads: The illustrious Judge Noah Lancaster and his fiancée Carly Porter are more in love than ever. This time, he goes to all the way to the altar...

The doorbell rings and I shut down the computer quickly. I pick up the food and sit on the couch, staring into nowhere. I’ve always had a strong opinion when it comes to men, they’re there for my pleasure, nothing more. I don’t want relationships, getting to know, anything ... just sex. This thing, whatever it was, that I had with the judge, is over. I’ve already broken two of my rules because of him. The first one, getting involved with a committed man. And second one, Don’t crap where you eat.

I finish eating, throw the boxes in the trash and I get ready to sleep. I lie on my back and look up at the ceiling. My thoughts unravel, taking me back to Noah. Back to that night at his mansion come to mind and my body wakes up, urging to feel him once more. I fall asleep with a thought in my mind, no man has messed with me like Noah Lancaster does.

 

********************************************

 

Rebecka not only took me to buy a dress, but also insisted that we go to a hairdresser, where I spent most of my day. Looking at the mirror, I must agree that it was the best thing I could do. I think I generally look good, but today, I’m stunning. The long emerald-green dress looks like it was made for my body. It looks like a single front dress with a generous neckline, but it has that transparent fabric that resembles the skin. At a glance, it looks like the dress fits perfectly, as if by magic. The back is open, the waist is embroidered with blue, green and white stones, forming a kind of belt that, once it reaches the back, goes up, taking the form of a tribal.

The heels are very thin and high, with thin carved strips, also green. The make-up is something else, when I saw the crazy makeup artist holding those shades worthy of Thanksgiving Parades, I freaked out. She asked to give it a try, and that she’d take it off if I didn’t like it. After a few hours... Okay, I’m exaggerating. After a while, she showed me her work of art, and I loved it. The gradient shade begins with gold and ends in green, the Blush is discreet. The composition enhanced my eyes and the red lipstick made everything even more beautiful.

My hair was braided in a fishbone to the side. With my long hair, the braid was an excellent choice, not to mention the sophisticated look. The jewelry is simply a pair of flashy earrings, three gold leaves that blend with an emerald stone and a delicate bracelet following the same style. I check the dress in the mirror and I feel like a princess. The doorbell rings, interrupting my narcissistic admiration.

I grab my clutch and walk downstairs to find Benjamin Graham, more charming than ever, leaning in his car, waiting for me. The man with an unshaved beard is even more handsome, and I’m pleasantly surprised by the fact that he left it unshaved. He whistles and comes to meet me.

“You managed to get even more beautiful,” he kisses my hand, “Good evening, Miss Madison.”

I take a bow, like I’m Royalty, “Good evening, Mr. Graham.”

He opens the door of his car, and I get in. On the way, I focus on my cellphone and check on e-mails and messages that I couldn’t answer. I raise my head and recognize the path Ben is making.

“Where are we going?” I ask, knowing the answer.

“We’re going to Noah’s house.”

“I know that. I want to know what we’re doing there.”

“Celebrating Carly’s birthday,” he says cautiously.

And I freak out.

“What? Are you insane?!” I start to move my hands nervously, “Why didn’t you tell me that, Benjamin?”

“If I had, would you still come?”

“Of course not! That bitch won’t even let me through the door.”

Before I could finish my thought, Ben parked in front of Noah’s house. He lives in a classic, huge mansion, enough space to house a small village. The valet picks up the keys, and Benjamin holds out his arm to me.

“Come on, Red,” he says, smiling.

“I want to kill you right now.”

A very nice girl greets us, “Good evening, can I see your invitation?”

Ben takes out a red envelope from his jacket pocket and hands it to the girl, who winks her long fake eyelashes at him. Benjamin, more than willing, smiles and winks back at the girl, who almost faints. The room was all decorated with red roses. It’s a lot of passion for one person!

As soon as we go into the great hall, we can see the two staircases that surround the first floor with an iron handrail. The place is gigantic and very beautiful, the decorator has very good taste. Come to think of it, it couldn’t have been Carly. We walk to the garden, where there is a large white tent mounted and the extravagant decoration continues.

“As cheesy as the party Hostess,” Ben says with an ugly face.

“Your friend went to great lengths to celebrate Morticia.”

He laughs.

“If I know my friend at all, he’s done nothing of the kind, he’s only present in body.”

The first person we see is Alyssa, more discouraged than Benjamin. It doesn’t even look like it’s a party. She has a beautiful, behaved but elegant, dress, but the color has washed her up: pale pink and a white, almost transparent, skin is not a good match. She greets us with relief.

“I didn’t think you were coming anymore. I was seriously thinking of sneaking out,” she says, adjusting her pink glasses.

Christopher and Rebecka also show up. She looks divine in the long black laced dress with a canoe neckline, faded makeup and red lipstick. Chris is elegant by nature, and in that tuxedo, he’s smoking hot. He’s the first to greet me, “This Red is going to cause me a heart attack one of these days,” he kisses my cheek, “And that perfume ...”

We talked for a while, discussing the anatomy of the human body of the chicken. Yeah, that’s right. We talked much about nothing at all. A uniformed lady walks past us, and Benjamin stops her.

“Mrs. Martha, did they force you to put this on?” he puts an arm around her shoulders, “This is Madison, the redhead who’s been keeping us awake at night. And which, like you, prefers Noah to us.”

She laughs with pleasure and lightly slaps his chest.

“Silly boy,” she comes and hugs me, “I already know Madison. She’s been here a few times with Aly.”

“Good to know that the servants are having fun at my party,” Carly approaches us in a flashy a blue dress. Exaggerated, like her party. “I don’t remember inviting you, Madison.”

I make my way towards the exit. I knew this wouldn’t work. Benjamin puts his arm around my waist and Rebecka stands beside me.

“She’s my Plus One, Carly. Have some respect,” Ben turns to Martha, still holding her by the arm, “Is the Office ready for us?”

Before the lady opened her mouth to answer, Morticia furiously says, “If you want privacy, Benjamin, you can go to the brothel where that one works.”

She turns her back and walks away. The guys are raging, Chris tries to loosen his tie, Rebecka’s hands are closed in a fist. Alyssa, visibly nervous, is the first one to speak out.

“I’m sorry about Carly. Becka, I know you keep telling us not to tell any of this to Noah, but it’s getting harder and harder not to.”

“You have to understand that certain things we need to figure out for ourselves, to see with our own eyes.  One day he’ll see it and I think that day is not that far away.”

Chris shakes his head and stares at the golden liquid from swirl in his glass.

“I’m not sure... Noah thinks she’s going through something. He thinks that, sooner or later, she’ll go back to normal...”

“The other day, he told us they haven’t had sex in a long time, that he’s been sleeping in the guest room,” Ben says.

The voices from the coffee shop come back to haunt me, holy marriage at home and the Office whore... A waiter rushes past me, carrying a tray of champagne glasses. I pick one up and drink it all at once. I put the empty one back and grab another. When I realize, they’re staring at me.

“What? I was thirsty.”

Noah comes by with a glass of whiskey. As soon as he notices my presence, he smiles, and I melt away. Women are so stupid. The sight of that big man, framed in a tailored tux, with an intense look and a dangerous corner smile is enough to make any woman melt, even nuns would shiver.

“Good evening, Benjamin. I thought you’d bail on me.” He kisses my cheek for a long time, “Good evening, Miss Harver. You look magnificent. How’s the hand?”

I lift it, and everyone looks at the stitches on the side of my hand.

“I’m fine.”

“I didn’t know you drank whiskey, Noah,” Rebecka says.

He makes a face and looks at his glass.

“I’m not a great admirer. But according to Carly, no beers allowed tonight.”

I see them exchanging looks like they want to say something. But, If I know him at all, he won’t let them complain about his girlfriend today, not on her birthday. Alyssa takes me by the arm and we walk around the place. The guests were basically socialites, heirs and politicians. Funny, this doesn’t seem to be Noah’s kind of people. Maybe I don’t know him all that well.

Someone calls for Alyssa, I’m left walking around the guests, trying to find Rebecka. I go inside and find a lot of people walking around. I feel someone touch my arm and I’m soon pulled into the Study. Before I can have any reaction, Noah kisses me.

“I couldn’t wait to kiss you.” I move away from him. “What is it, Madison?”

“It’s nothing, Noah. I just don’t think it’s okay for us to do this.”

“I was thinking of meeting up...”

I raise my hand, stopping him.

“That won’t happen again. Because of you, I’ve already broken two promises I made to myself: getting involved with a committed man and not dating clients from the club.” He takes a step towards me, and I step back. “You know, I recently overheard a conversation about this kind of... relationship, where the guy has a nice woman at home and a whore at the Office...”

He cuts me off, “You’re not...”

“No, I’m not. I may be open-minded, depraved, but not a whore. A whore still goes out with the married man even though she knows she’s the other woman. I’m not like that, Noah, and I don’t want to be like that, because cheating hurts too much. Believe me, I’ve been on the other side.”

He runs his hand through his hair.

“I want you, Madison.”

“You don’t want me, you just want sex. According to what I hear, it has been a luxury item for you. Just as I imagined, Morticia is not playing around with Cousin Itt. And I’m not even the relationship type, I’m not looking for one. And I’m not going to mess up anyone’s story either. I’m not an asshole to get involved with someone else’s love story.”

I walk to the window and run my hand over my neck, in agony. I feel his presence and I know he’s coming closer. His hands run down the side of my body, which recognizes his touch.

“Don’t run away from me, Madison ...”

As much as I don’t want to, I must. My conscience weighs heavily about this whole situation and I rather keep a clean conscience than to be satisfied at the expense of the suffering of others. Even if this other one is that Bitch Carly.

He pulls my body close to his, his chest touching my back. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he strokes my neck with his nose. I enjoy every second of it, because it will be the last time he’ll touch my skin. Noah makes a trail of kisses down my neck, alternating with small, soft bites. Making me urge, cruelly urge for him.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” We’re startled by the voice of Benjamin coming in, with Alyssa right behind him. “I knew there was something was going on between you two.”

“Carly is looking for you, Noah,” Aly goes to him and wipes his mouth clean, “Go find her before she ...”

“What’s going on here?” Carly walks in, “Noah, what’s going on?”

“We just got tired of that carnival out there. So, we came here to take a break,” he answers without taking his eyes off me.

She hugs him.

“It’s cake time, my darling. Come with me.”

He nods at her and gestures, asking for a minute and turns to me.

“Are you sure, Madison?” I nod yes, and he goes on, “Goodbye, Miss Harver.”

“Goodbye, Your Honor.”

As soon as the couple leaves, the others stare at me, probably waiting for some sort of explanation. I turn to the window again and gaze at the illuminated front garden. That goodbye was figurative, we’ll still see each other every day. That goodbye was for his touch, his kisses... And, as much as it pains me, ending things was necessary.

I’ve seen before, many times, if I give in, he’ll just keep cheating on her, and I’ll be the whore I’ve always despised. Does he get to me? Yes, he does. The guy is the living embodiment of Lust. As much as I’m open-minded, cheating is where I draw the line.

“Are you alright, Maddie?” Alyssa’s sweet voice interrupts my pity party.

“Yes... I am. Let’s eat some cake,” I say, smiling.

Ben nods and says, “There’s all kinds of people in this life. I wouldn’t eat it, Carly’s bad-mood could intoxicate an entire city.”

We laughed on our way out of the Study and headed for the tent where they were singing Happy Birthday. I stand between Benjamin and Rebecka to see Carly blow the candle out of a gigantic cake. Soon after, Noah hands her a blue box, she opens it and looks surprised. She hugs him and wipes away tears of emotion. Are those actuals tears? I shake my head to ward off any misplaced thoughts.

Carly turns the box to the guests and we see a set of white gold earrings, necklace and ring adorned with pink diamonds. By the ovation of the crowd, it was probably a very expensive gift. I feel someone watching me and I look around until I find Noah staring at me.

“If I had any doubts that Noah loved her, I don’t have them anymore,” Rebecka tells us, “That jewelry set must cost at least a million dollars.”

Benjamin chokes, and Alyssa helps him, tapping his back.

“What?!” Chris asks in horror, “A million dollars for that woman? That man needs a straitjacket!”

A short, smiling old man asks out loud, “When are you gonna make a straight woman out of my daughter, Noah?”

Benjamin doesn’t miss the opportunity, “If he’s smart, never!”

Everyone laughs, and Carly looks at us with hatred in her eyes. I think it’s time to go. I turn to leave, and I notice Ben and Alyssa watching me. I could read the sorrow in her eyes and the understanding in his. Thank God, no one can read what’s going on inside my mind. Chris and Becka watch them, then stare at me, picking up on the situation. Rebecka takes her hand to her mouth.

“What?” I check my clothes to see if there’s anything wrong with it.

“I suspected there was something between you two. Just talking about the gorgeous redhead changed his mood. The other day, the son of a bitch almost punched me because I said Madison must be crazy in bed,” Christopher reaches his hand towards me, “Men think about that sort of thing, princess. Even about their friends.”

I run my hand through my braid, adjust the dress and realize that they are still staring at me. By the looks of it, people can indeed read me like an open book. I walk towards the parking lot and they come along. The plan is to talk and then leave.

“Noah and I made out once or twice... at the Office… and one time here,” I direct an apologetic look at Alyssa, “The day your brother went to the Hamptons and I slept over, I went down for some water, he was wandering around the house and we ended up kissing.”

Christopher and Benjamin look at each other and laugh, Rebecka puts her arm around my shoulder, and Aly smiles. Ben takes the lead.

“Just goes to show, opposites attract. Alyssa saw the couple going into the Study and CarLame asked about Noah right after. When we walked in, we saw the two holding each other. Dude, it looked like something out of a soap opera.”

I roll my eyes.

“Come on, Benjamin. Please, no questions, no comments. It’s over! This whole thing between us is over.”

“That why the Goodbye?” Alyssa asks.

I just nod my head. I’m afraid to open my mouth and say something I shouldn’t. Some things should stay unspoken, so they won’t ever come true.