8
Chapter Eight
Jake watched the scene unfolding through his window, which made for a handy mirror. Fascinated at the approach of the beauty on the dock, excitement surfaced and shocked the shit right out of him. He hadn’t had such a reaction to a woman since his crush on Candy Phelps in the second grade. He never did figure out if he liked her or the bag of smarties she always brought for lunch and was willing to share.
This female brought the room to life, and he could see heads turn as she sauntered forward, many men and as many women. Her attraction couldn’t be explained. Maybe it was her way of walking with her head held high, her back straight and her no-nonsense swagger on the dangerously high heels.
Or it could have been the elegance of the dress. The fashion designer must have had her type of slenderness in mind when he created it. The neckline hung at just the right angle to highlight the creamy skin of her well-endowed chest.
Oh yeah, he was interested. Immensely! And hallelujah, she was coming in his direction. Dry mouthed, he swallowed to make it possible to speak when she got closer and anger reacted when another person caught her attention and waylaid her direction.
Seriously?Following the drama enacted in front of him through his looking glass, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he recognized the woman who’d caught his beauty’s attention.
Her again!
His stalker had followed him here. Leo had warned him months ago that he needed to get real with her, and he’d poo-pooed the idea. But she’d ramped up her behavior with constant deluges of gifts, telephone calls, unexpected appearances and now this! Spoiling the vacation he so desperately needed. This was the most extreme play yet. Forced to accept she wouldn’t give up until he faced her and voiced strong objections, he had to admit he was real tired of being Mr. Nice Guy.
In the beginning of the debacle, he’d seen Madelaine as a rather sad individual, lonely for her homeland and struggling to make it in America. He’d even taken her for lunch after they ran into each other in an elevator of the building where he kept an office.
She’d opened the conversation, tears in her voice and a sad look on her lovely face. “I’m lost again. Is this the Brickell World Plaza?”
“No, it’s the Brickell Arch. You’re not far. I’m heading in that direction, if you’d like me to show you the way?” Kindness worked for him, and he always tried to treat people the way he’d have wanted to be treated.
He remembered now how grateful she’d been and her trembling voice saying, “Thank you, you’re very kind. I’m Madelaine Chu.”
How they’d ended up stopping for lunch was still a mystery. As was the amount of information she’d managed to withdraw until he realized he’d been sharing far more than he usually did, especially with a virtual stranger. By the time they’d parted, she had his card with his name, address, cell number and far more knowledge of his personal shit than he should have revealed.
Later, he’d tried to explain it to Leo and the closest he could come was that he’d felt impelled to answer her questions, almost like he’d been drugged. If an associate hadn’t happened upon them at the end of their meal and broken the spell, heaven only knows what else he’d have blabbed on about.
Now here she was again, wrecking his chances with the woman he wanted to get to know so desperately.
Why did she have to show up at the worst possible time?
Hell, he couldn’t have answered that if his life depended on it. All he knew was that he was pissed and ready to go and break into their conversation when Madeline stalked off in a huff, leaving his princess all alone at a table.
Okay, things were turning his way again. He needed to make his move before something else happened to stop their meeting. Vital to his peace of mind, and to calm his surprising anxiety, he waved the nearest waiter over.