That Night with You by Alexandrea Weis Read Free Book Online

when we….” She shrugged. “I
never met my boss until today, and I kept thinking he seemed so
familiar. I don’t think I should say anything to him.”
    “ Of course you should say
something!” Mrs. Leder waved her hand delicately in the air. “Make
a casual reference like ‘Have we met before? You seem awfully
familiar,’ or you could ask, ‘Do you go to such and such
restaurant? I swear I’ve seen you there before.’ That might jog his
memory and get him to talk about it.”
    “ I can’t do that,” Madison
admitted, shaking her head. “What if it is him and he does remember
me?”
    Mrs. Leder’s devious smile took ten
years off her face. “Then I’d say you have one up on your
boss.”
    Madison frowned. “I don’t get
it.”
    “ Madison, honey, if you two
did as you kids say, ‘hook up,’ then he has to play nice with you.
He might not want everyone in his office finding out about your
past together. Could cause problems for him, but it could be a real
advantage to you.”
    Charlie playfully slapped Mrs. Leder’s
arm. “Mrs. L, I never knew you had a bad streak.”
    “ Child, I know how to play
this game.” She turned her eyes to Madison. “I may not look it now,
but in my day I was quite the catch. Duncan’s father hit on me way
before his son did. So by the time Duncan asked me out, I had his
father right where I wanted him, and knew there would be no
objections voiced to my dating his son.” She patted Madison’s
shoulder. “If it’s the same guy, use what you had together to help
you get ahead.”
    Charlie turned to Madison. “Mrs. L is
right, Mads.”
    Madison felt the apprehension in her
gust twist even tighter. “I can’t do that! He was…is a nice
guy.”
    “ Nice guys don’t have
one-night stands, Madison. The nice guys get to know a girl first.
Don’t let him get away with it.” Mrs. Leder turned toward the
apartment door. “This is war, girl.” She gave a passing wave of her
hand. “Return the dish to me when you’re done.”
    “ Thank you, Mrs. L,”
Madison and Charlie called almost in unison as the door closed
behind the older woman.
    After she was gone, Charlie turned to
Madison with one arched eyebrow. “Take it from the former femme
fatale who also happens to be our landlady…go for it with the
hottie boss.”
    Madison went back to the sofa and
picked up her wineglass from the coffee table. “You want me to take
advice from a seventy-year-old grandmother with a penchant for tuna
casseroles? I don’t think so.”
    “ What could it hurt to ask
the guy, like Mrs. L suggested? Just bring it up
casually.”
    Madison guzzled more wine. “Casually?
I don’t even know if it’s him, Charlie. I wish you wouldn’t have
said anything to Mrs. L.”
    Charlie turned back to the kitchen
counter. “Come and eat some of this tuna casserole with me. And
don’t be so worried about what your boss will think. Better to find
out now if it’s him. What if you really like this job? You don’t
want to blow it, do you?”
    Madison toyed with the notion of
saying anything to Hayden about her suspicions. While imagining him
standing close to her, she felt that funny tingle in her belly
return. The only other man who had elicited such a reaction had
been her onetime lover. Her mind may not have wanted to believe he
was her Harry, but her body was beginning to have other
ideas.
    ***
    The next morning, Madison was sitting
at her desk and peering out her window at the clouds hovering about
the adjoining buildings. A light trickle of rain was tapping
against the glass as her mind kept rolling over the advice from her
landlady. She was supposed to be copying plans for a builder
waiting to start construction on a new home designed by Parr and
Associates. Instead, she entertained the multitude of ways she
could walk into her boss’s office and ask him if he was the Harry.
Every time she felt the courage to rise from her chair, that
nagging voice in her head barged in, warning her not