Chương 5
“Yes.”
“We need dry socks.”
“Adrian.”
“Daniel.”
“You’re the principal owner of the property company. Someone assaulted you on the premises of a tenant under lease review.”
“Don’t call it assault unless counsel calls it assault.”
Daniel made an irritated gesture.
“Fine. Someone dumped water on you.”
“There we go.”
“That isn’t better.”
“It’s more accurate.”
Evelyn folded her arms.
“Daniel, before you start turning this into a liability memo, Madison is still here.”
Daniel looked toward the back.
“She’s still here?”
“She wanted the rear exit.”
“Why didn’t you let her use it?”
“I did.”
“But?”
“She changed her mind when she saw someone waiting near the alley.”
Adrian almost laughed.
Daniel did not.
“We should secure the security footage.”
“Do that,” Adrian said.
Daniel nodded.
“Finally.”
“Preserve it. Don’t distribute it.”
“Obviously.”
“Don’t contact Madison.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you not to.”
“That isn’t a reason.”
“It’s the one I’m giving you.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn, perhaps hoping for support.
She was pretending to inspect a rack of product brochures.
“Fine,” he said.
He walked toward the security office.
His shoes squeaked at each step.
Adrian watched him go.
“He hates me sometimes.”
Evelyn said, “I can see why.”
An hour later, Adrian’s driver brought his spare clothes.
He changed in Evelyn’s office, a process that took longer than it once had and annoyed him more because he could hear people lowering their voices outside.
When he emerged wearing a clean black T-shirt and dry jeans, Madison was waiting near reception.
Alone.
Brooke and Ashley had gone to the parking garage.
Madison stood with both hands clasped around her pale phone.
Her makeup remained perfect.
Her expression did not.
“Can we speak?”
Adrian stopped beside the product shelf.
“If you want.”
“Privately.”
“No.”
Her eyes flickered toward Jenna and the receptionist.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Madison lowered her voice.
“I want to apologize.”
Adrian waited.
She inhaled.
“I misunderstood the situation.”
He continued waiting.
“I thought you were loitering.”
He said nothing.
She looked at him.
“This is the part where you let me finish.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“I was trying to protect the businesses here.”
“From me.”
“From what I thought was happening.”
“What did you think was happening?”
“That you were… hanging around.”
“Dangerously?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Threatening anyone?”
“No.”
“Blocking the door?”
Her jaw flexed.
“You were close to it.”
“Did anyone ask me to move?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“I told you this was a private business area.”
“The sidewalk?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I keep hearing that today.”
Madison looked toward the front window.
A pedestrian passed outside without looking in.
“I shouldn’t have poured the water.”
Adrian said nothing.
“I’m sorry.”
He believed she meant one part of it.
She was sorry she had poured water on him.
He was less certain she understood why.
“Thank you,” he said.
Her face showed immediate relief.
Then he added, “I accept that you said it.”
The relief disappeared.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I heard you.”
“That isn’t accepting an apology.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
Madison stared at him.
A flush rose beneath her makeup.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“No.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care what you believe about my mood.”
For the first time, anger appeared without disguise.
“You deliberately came here looking like that.”
Adrian glanced down at his clean shirt.
“Like what?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“No. I know what you mean when you’re trying not to say it.”
She looked away.
He waited.
Madison lowered her voice.
“You own this building. You could arrive through the garage. You could call Evelyn. You could have your driver pull up out front. Instead you sit outside in the rain in ripped clothes and let people assume—”
“Assume what?”
“That you needed something.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I did need something.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Five minutes before a meeting.”
Madison’s face tightened.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
“You were testing people.”
“I was watching.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
“You wanted someone to fail.”
Adrian looked toward the rain outside.
That accusation landed closer than he liked.
He had come unannounced because of the complaints.
He had also arrived twenty minutes early because physical therapy ended ahead of schedule and his driver needed to refuel.
He could have gone inside.
He had chosen not to.
Part of him had wanted to see what happened on the sidewalk when no one knew who he was.
Madison saw the pause.
“There.”
He looked back at her.
“There what?”
“You did.”
“I was curious.”
“You were baiting us.”
“Nobody baited you into emptying a cup over my head.”
Her mouth opened.
Closed.
Adrian continued.
“If you had asked me to move, we could argue about whether that was reasonable. If you had called security, we could argue about that too. You poured water on a stranger because you thought there would be no consequence.”
Madison’s eyes became hard.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“Correct.”
“You saw fifteen seconds.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re going to destroy my life over fifteen seconds?”
Adrian stared at her.
“I haven’t done anything.”
“That’s what people like you always say before you do.”
“People like me?”
“Powerful men.”
He gave a quiet breath through his nose.
“Now I’m a powerful man.”
“You were always a powerful man.”
“You didn’t know that ten minutes ago.”
Her face changed.
Adrian disliked the satisfaction he felt.
It was small.
It was still there.
He wheeled closer to the door.
Madison stepped aside.
“Are you going to release the video?”
“No.”
She stared at him.
“Why?”
“It isn’t mine.”
“What about the building cameras?”
“I’m preserving them.”
“For what?”
“In case someone lies.”
Her face went still.
Adrian opened the door.
Cool damp air entered the salon.
Madison said behind him, “I’m not afraid of you.”
He looked back.
“I hope not.”
May you like
She seemed almost offended.
He rolled onto the sidewalk and left.
