Free Maddy's Oasis by Lizzy Ford Page A

and interesting
family,” she said. “I understand both your siblings live here?”
    “Just Kitty for now. Our other sister is at
Texas A&M,” he said.
    “Kitty shows some definite talent in the
culinary arts.”
    She eyed him, waiting. Jake avoided the trap;
Kitty had apparently already laid blame for her inability to pursue
her love of cooking on her overprotective brother, who forbade her
from going to an elite culinary school in New York City. Kitty made
sure everyone who praised her food knew it.
    “It’s my day off,” he said.
    “I understand and will be brief,” Madeleine
said. She nodded to the blueprints at her side, grimaced, then
said, “Mr. Howard … he wants things to be round.”
    “Round,” he repeated. “What does that
mean?”
    “I’m not entirely certain,” she said. “My
instructions were that he wanted the lobby to be more circular than
square and the outer corners of the building itself to be
curved.”
    Jake laughed, understanding why Toni referred
her to him.
    “It’s not funny, Jake,” she said, taken
aback. “Mr. Howard-- ”
    “I get it.” He held up a hand. “Do you have
any idea what you’re asking for?”
    She gazed at him for a moment and then
admitted, “No."
    “So, you drag me out of bed after happy hour
on a Sunday to tell me that Mr. Howard has given you new
blueprints-- ”
    “Actually, those are the old ones. I don’t
have new ones, just instructions.”
    “You drag me out of bed after happy hour on a
Sunday to tell me that Mr. Howard has given verbal direction but no
hard blueprints regarding his desire to make things round.”
    She nodded.
    “You got a lotta nerve, Madeleine,” he said.
“You don’t seem to have a problem bossing everyone else around.
Couldn’t you tell Mr. Howard no, just once?”
    “You don’t tell someone like him no,” she
said with resignation.
    “You don’t tell a contractor to change a
design without blueprints,” he countered. “And I expect you want
this done before his visit?”
    “Well-- ”
    “The answer is no. Give me blueprints, and
I’ll alter the design.”
    He saw the troubled look in her green eyes
but vowed not to be affected by it.
    “Shouldn’t we be working as a team?” she
ventured.
    “Your version of team is telling me what to
do and me doing it. By your definition, we’re a great team!” he
said, voice rising. “Now, if you don’t want me charging today as a
work day, I suggest you leave and let me eat my breakfast.”
    A surprised look crossed her face before she
rose.
    “I didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said in a
hushed tone. “Enjoy your day off.”
    She left quickly. Jake didn't realize how
angry he was until he twisted his tense body to watch her go. His
gaze remained on the doorway after she left.
    “You’re a jackass, Jake,” Kitty said,
dropping his plate of food in front of him. “I don’t know what’s
gotten into you.”
    She, too, stalked away, leaving him with
scrambled eggs all over the table and a set of blueprints. His eyes
rested on the blueprints. Madeleine was not one to leave something
so important in a rush. Either he was harsher than he thought
himself to be, or she left them for him to bring in later. Judging
by Kitty’s reaction, the former was the case.
    Jake rubbed his face again, agitated.
     
    Jake’s words affected her more than she
expected. She left fast and drove back to the site, upset. Upon
arriving at the office and realizing she had left without the
blueprints, she sent Eric to retrieve them and sat down at the
desk.
    Duke panted from his position on the
couch.
    She tapped a pen, staring at the nearest
stack of receipts.
    She never thought of herself as bossy, or her
version of team telling others what to do. The words hit home, and
she could think of no other reason than because they were probably
true. But what choice did she have? She had to get this job done!
She needed the money too much.
    She sat back, upset. She had
someone depending on