Her face softened into an affectionate smile. “Get in the cab, Jones.”
I ignored her offer, preferring to wallow instead. “No. I’d rather brave it out here in the wild, thanks. A cab will come sooner or later.”
“See what I have to deal with?” she said to the driver before turning back to me with a grin. “Get in, or I’ll get out and drag you in here myself.”
If it had come from anyone else, I would have considered it an idle threat, but with Madison Montgomery, I wasn’t so sure. After weighing my options for a second, I finally gave up and darted across the sidewalk to climb into the cab.
The driver, clearly less than thrilled at the small river of water dripping off me and all over his back seat, began to say something, but after one look at Madison’s face, he bit his tongue and decided to keep quiet, except to ask the dutiful, “Where to?”
“Thirty-Eighth and Park,” she answered promptly, settling back in the seat. When she caught me staring, she shrugged defensively. “What? I read your file. Of course I know where you live.”
The cab moved quickly through the torrent of rain, and when we finally made it all the way across the bridge, Madison finally turned to look at me head on. Her brow was creased with preemptive worry, and despite her normal confidence, she was now chewing on her bottom lip, as if, for the first time in her life, she didn’t know exactly what to say. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”
I was amazed she could even speak in such a gentle, kind tone, considering that she spent most of her days viciously screaming at people. I bowed my head, sighed heavily, then simply offered only a start of an explanation for my rainy mood: “Suffice it to say I didn’t find the wristband.”
She nodded slowly, then just stared at me, waiting for more.
I remained quiet, just looking down at the cab floor.
“Okay, well, for all we know, he threw it away,” she said. “Then again, maybe he was wearing a different coat, one he doesn’t keep in that closet. Maybe it’s at the dry cleaners or—”
“He fucked some blonde on his desk right in front of me, Madison,” I blurted.
The cab fell instantly quiet as she stared at me with wide eyes and the cabbie glanced into the rearview, his eyes equally saucer like.
For a split second, Madison was completely speechless agai
n, but then she summoned up a tentative, “Okay, now, just for my own clarification, you weren’t actually standing there when—”
“I was hiding in the closet,” I snapped. “They came back early from lunch. There was nothing I could do but wait it out...and try not to vomit.”
Her hand clamped over her mouth in an effort to sensor her over-the-top emotions, trying very hard not to make things worse for me. “Did you recognize this blonde?” she asked quietly.
I stared down at my hands, too cold to tremble and too numb to cry. “He called her Harmony. I think she works in Marketing.”
“Worse,” Madison replied.
“Worse? How?”
“She’s in Sales.”
“Well, she didn’t charge him anything, from what I saw,” I said. “I guess she gives away some things for no commission.”
We were quiet a long time before she ventured, “Hmm. Well, you know, it was just a one-night stand really. It isn’t as if either of you were prepared to be exclusive, so—”
“It’s not about that,” I barked as another wave of misery welled inside me while I stared out at the rain. “It’s him, the way he acted, the things he said.” An echo of the coarse, brash man flashed through my mind. “Madison, he was like a completely different person, not at all the man I met, the one I’ve been... Well, the guy I’ve been trying to get back all this time.”
Madison was quiet for a while longer before she slipped her hand in mine and said, “It’s going to be okay, Della. I don’t know how yet, but I promise things will be just fine.”
I mustered up the best watery smile I could as our cab pulled up in front of my apartment building. A surge of gratitude rushed through me for her support, and I knew I was lucky to find such a friend. “Thanks, Madison. Seriously. I really appreciate it.” I gave her hand a squeeze before letting go to gather up my drenched purse. “Also, you’re right. This is just a stupid setback. I’m in a new city, with a new apartment and a new job. Things will be just fine, one way or another.”
When she didn’t offer a response, I cast her a confused glance. I found her staring, but she was focused on something just over my shoulder, looking somewhat horrified.
“Oh, sweetie!” Her lips pursed into an apologetic grimace. “You’re right about everything else, but maybe you spoke too soon about your new flat.”
Chapter 19
“What the...?” I threw my hands in the air, ranting at no one in particular. “How can an entire apartment complex just be flooded?”