She froze in place, tilting her head curiously. “Excuse me?”
“Um, I heard a horde of hellhounds. They lost their minds the second I rang the bell.”
Her face brightened. “Oh, that,” she said, wearing a wide grin. She then reached over to press the doorbell button with her perfectly manicured index finger, and the barking resumed, a perfectly realistic and terrifying sound effect that echoed from a little speaker mounted just above the door. “I try to actively discourage visitors.”
I stifled a smile as I followed her inside. “I never would’ve guessed...” I stuttered, looking around, because after I’d seen the bizarre way Madison chose to decorate her office, I still found myself completely unprepared for the interior design of the place she called home.
Truly, it was an eccentric wonderland, an accumulation of every trinket from every culture in every country, baubles and what-nots that had caught her eye. From abstract paintings to ancient weaponry to a giant elephant statue wedged between the microwave and the refrigerator, Madison seemed to have sticky fingers for the strange and wonderful, not to mention a few unexpected packrat tendencies.
“This is...weird.”
She laughed aloud, flitting across the kitchen as she hurried to ready herself for the day, drowning herself with liquid caffeine just as I had. “You know, you’re the first person in the world to say that to my face. I like that!” A flush of espresso steam warmed her cheeks, and she took a second to savor it. “Most just tell me I’ve got unique taste or spout off some bullshit like, ‘What an interesting take on modern design.’”
I eyed the collage of Lebanese kites hanging from the far wall. “Unique and interesting, huh?”
She laughed again, then hopped up on the counter in one fluid motion and eyed me speculatively over the rim of her cup. “Now, what are we going to do with you?”
To simplify things, I pulled my damp hair out of the band and let it fall loose around my shoulders, giving her the full effect.
“Not sure, but I’m all ears,” I said.
Her head tilted to the side with a gleam of approval as she began going through outfit changes in her mind at the speed of light. “Pale skin, dark hair, blue eyes... I’ve got it!” she declared with a snap of her fingers. “Follow me.”
Together, we made our way up the stairs, past vases of dead or dying flowers, past a made-to-scale replica of the Louvre, and past a collection of miniature teapots hanging on hooks along the wall.
“What the fuck is that?!” I shrieked when we reached the landing and found ourselves face to face with a life-sized suit of armor.
Madison glanced over her shoulder nonchalantly, completely unfazed. “Oh, that’s just Ronald,” she said dismissively. “I rescued him from a garage sale a few months ago. He helps me take care of the house.”
From that point on, I kept my screams and opinions to myself as we made our way down the hall and into her bedroom, which was really more of a shrine. The entire thing was decked out in burnt crimsons and shimmering golds, styled to look like some sort of tent right out of Arabian Nights.
“Do you ever invite Ronald to your room?” I joked lightly.
She snorted. “Only in his clanky little dreams.” With that, she gestured for me to sit on the bed.
When she threw open the doors of her gig
antic closet, almost big enough to be considered another whole room, my jaw dropped open for the second time that day, and I let out a little gasp. “Whoa!” I said, abandoning the bed altogether, needing to get a closer look. “What did you do, Madison? Rob Dior?”
“Dior, Prada, Gucci...” She lovingly stroked the hem of a designer dress before turning back to me with a bright smile on her face. “Truth be told, I’m a bit of a shopaholic.”
I stifled a giggle. “I never would’ve guessed,” I said, also for the second time that day.
She stubbornly ignored my remark and turned back to the closet. “Anyway, with your coloring, I think we should probably go with something like this.”
There was a rustling of hangers before she pulled out an exquisite silver frock, the kind of thing that only a woman of a certain professional caliber could get away with. Somehow, it was dual purpose, appropriate for the office but playful enough for drinks after work. The shimmering silk wrapped around in a tight, form-fitting silhouette, a snug fit that would hug every one of my rather limited curves. As for length, it would stop just an inch or so above my knees; it was long enough to be professional but short enough to draw attention to my long, shapely legs.
Just when I was wondering what I could possibly pair with such a garment, Madison answered that question by pulling out a pair of dangerous-looking Jimmy Choos.
“I can’t believe you just happen to have this,” I murmured, tracing the edge of the hem as she passed it my way. “It’s like something a starlet would wear on the red carpet.” My heart soared but then fell as I realized the obvious. “Madison, I can’t just... I’m not sure I can pull off wearing this into the office. What if I snag it on the copier or someone spills coffee on me?”
She shrugged as if the thought had never crossed her mind. “I couldn’t care less. I have a million more.”
A million more designer dresses? Isn’t it enough exuberance to even live in this kind of neighborhood with Ronald?
My eyes narrowed suspiciously as I looked her up and down. “Are you a secret heiress or something?” I questioned, my mind scrambling for an explanation. “The favorite of a wealthy grandfather? A cat burglar? Hey, did you find some buried treasure at the bottom of a lake? Wait! Don’t tell me! You raided one of those old British castles.”
“You caught me,” she answered without so much as a glimmer of a smile as she selected a dress for herself. “I like to spend my weekends scuba-diving in lakes with a metal detector.”