he couldn’t be bothered to come to the funeral. Madison doubted Aiden was trying to help. What had he been up to? She realized this was Jade’s way of letting her know without being a snitch. She smiled at Jade while silently applauding her own sixth sense. Something had told her Jade would be an asset to the company despite her questionable fashion sense.
“Where is Aiden?” Madison asked.
“He’s at the hospital with Chloe.”
From Jade’s matter-of-fact tone, Madison could tell Chloe wasn’t seriously ill. “What happened?”
Jade rolled eyes lined with a paintbrush. “Chloe got headlights. How cool is that?”
“A car accident?” Madison immediately thought of the Porsche Boxster that Aiden had bought for Chloe right after he walked out on Madison.
“No. Like, you know, headlights.”
“Oh.” The light dawned. Headlights were the rage in SoBe, where the babes paraded around with surgically enlarged breasts showcased by skimpy, tight tops. Erect nipples—a total turn-on for guys—crowned perfect chests. To keep them permanently erect, a surprising number of women had their nipples injected with cosmetic fillers that were also used to erase lines and plump up lips.
The whole thing sounded so painful, so ridiculous, that Madison couldn’t imagine suffering through the procedure just to attract men. But Chloe was different. Madison had sensed it when she’d interviewed her for a position at Total Trivia. There was something about Chloe that she hadn’t liked, but Madison had been so impressed by her credentials that she’d ignored her instincts.
As time had gone on and Madison had the opportunity to watch Chloe, she began to understand how insecure the woman was. Chloe had a brilliant mind, but she relied on sex to get her what she wanted. How did Aiden feel about this? she wondered. Did he like having a wife who turned heads? Was that what had been wrong with their marriage? Madison was attractive, but men didn’t drool when she walked into a room.
“Chloe was so sick the day after her surgery that Aiden canceled his lunch with Luis Estevez.”
Luis Estevez! A frisson of alarm skittered down her spine. They’d discussed adding gambling to Total Trivia and the possibility of using Allied Miami Bank, but they’d put off a decision. Rumors of mob connections and drug money surrounded the bank president who’d left Cuba as a child and had made a fortune in Little Havana, then moved into Miami’s financial district.
Madison and Aiden had agreed to wait and think about gambling. No, she mentally corrected herself, she’d told Aiden that she wanted to look into it more. Evidently, he’d gone ahead.
“I’d say you could call him to check in, but Aiden’s cell phone has to be off in the hospital.”
Her ex was never out of touch; he lived with his cell phone and BlackBerry. Chloe’s condition must be serious after all. “She’ll be okay. It’s not life-threatening. Is it?”
Jade shook her head. “Aiden called earlier. She has a staph infection but they’re getting it under control.”
“He’ll be in later?”
“He doesn’t want to leave Chloe if she needs him. How cool is that?”
Touching. Positively touching. Madison reached down and stroked Aspen’s silky head. She couldn’t help thinking this might be Chloe’s just deserts. The woman had been blessed with a brilliant scientific mind, yet she relied on her body to get what she wanted. Chloe had gone after Aiden with the determination of a shark after a fish.
After Aiden had left her for Chloe, Madison had run into an old friend from MIT. Pamela Nolan had gone on to grad school at Stanford, where she’d known Chloe. Pamela had described her as “pathologically sexual” and told tales of the havoc Chloe had wrought upon the grad program while she’d been at Stanford. Pamela didn’t know what had happened, but Chloe had left before receiving her master’s degree. No one knew why she’d headed to Miami.
Madison had considered telling Aiden, then thought it would sound like sour grapes. What was the gossip worth, anyway? Not much. People always talked about each other. Nothing she could have said would have changed Aiden’s mind. He was head over heels in love with Chloe.
A pang, a yearning as familiar as Madison’s own reflection in a mirror, hit her. Was there nothing Aiden wouldn’t do for Chloe? He’d never once treated Madison with such adoration. Too often her longing to understand his betrayal had a rough edge that morphed into anger or self-pity. Don’t go there, she warned herself. Keep your mind on business.
“I’ll be at my desk.” Madison jiggled Aspen’s leash. He’d settled himself on the floor while they’d been talking. As he jumped to his feet, she remembered the food. Even though it was barely midmorning, heat had purled up from the asphalt parking lot when she stepped out of her car and with it came a suffocating wave of humidity. It would be an oven in less than half an hour. “There’s food in my car from the reception. I want to put it out in the break room for everyone to share. Will you help me—”
“I’ll get it.” Jade popped out of her chair and Madison handed her the car keys. “You have work to do.”
“Okay, boy, here we are,” she told Aspen when they reached her office. “Find a spot and make yourself comfortable. We’ll be here for a while.”
Aspen cocked his head and gazed up at her as if he truly understood. He was an amazing animal. She knew from experience that he would nudge her with his nose when he had to go out. He was so well trained that it amazed her he could have wound up in a testing facility. Had he been stolen from someone who’d lovingly trained him?
Madison sat in her swivel chair, wondering as she had many times about the dog. She was tempted to search for his owners, but she was afraid to call attention to Aspen. Rob had warned this could result in the lab being able to prove it legally owned Aspen. She’d already decided that this dog would never be returned to a lab if she could help it. The retriever settled under her desk at her feet.
She sifted through the pile of messages that Jade had placed in her phone message box. Paul Tanner had called several times; he’d also left messages she’d ignored on her cell phone. Would the man ever give up and go away?
Madison was positive she hadn’t been conceived through some anonymous sperm donor. She was her father’s daughter. Zach Connelly had shared many secrets with her during the final days before cancer claimed him. He would have told her if she hadn’t been his biological daughter.
Not that it made any difference. Titles like father and sister were merely words. Erin’s death had sent Madison into an emotional tailspin. It was like losing her sister. She wouldn’t have loved a real sister any more than she had Erin. That’s why Erin’s secrets hurt so much. Why hadn’t she mentioned that the property her parents had left her had suddenly become so valuable?
Madison tamped down another emotional response and turned her thoughts back to her father. He’d raised her with so much love that she doubted any father and daughter could have been closer. When she spoke to her mother about Paul Tanner’s outrageous claim, they’d share a real hoot.
There were stacks of printouts on her desk. She knew most of them were trivia questions programmers wanted to post on the site but worried that players might have problems with. Trivia players were classic nitpickers. If an answer
