Madison’s Wedding
Chapter One
Lunch with Brittany
“Are you sure you want me to take the job with Mike at VistaCor?” asked Brittany Harrison, Madison’s longtime private secretary, friend, and confidante, as they relaxed over their coffee after lunch. “What if you decide to reopen Rand Solutions for some reason? You’ll need me.”
“I’m sure I want you to work with Mike. I’m positive I won’t want to ever reopen Rand Solutions,” said Madison. “Kyle and I are happy with the financial analysis work we’re doing. He gets a big kick out of being the CFO of Rand Financial Solutions. Nobody’s getting shot or punched in the face. We walk in at nine o’clock in the morning, walk out at five o’clock in the afternoon, and take a full hour for lunch. We deal with numbers, neat little piles of paper and computer monitors, not bad guys and restraining orders. I needed Rand Solutions to even the score from all the bad memories I had with Hawk replaying in my head. But now I can leave it all behind me and move on with Kyle.
“And I’ll feel better when I know you’re settled in a new job. Mike Modarelli is a good boss. VistaCor is a great place to work. You’ll have job security there, and a great pension program. And besides, you hate numbers.”
“I do,” moaned Brittany. “They’re so boring and monotonous.”
“VistaCor needs you. Mike needs you. He needs a good private secretary and you’re the best. He’s had a string of temps in there since Anita’s death.”
“Ugh…what a total mess that’ll be.”
“No, you’ll get to start from scratch . You’ll reorganize and streamline everything,” Madison assured her.
“Yeah, that’ll be fun. How’s he coping?”
“He’s still not himself yet. He still misses her. He feels jilted, betrayed, and sad, all rolled into one. He never smiles anymore. But, he’ll get over it in time.”
“Does he know I’ll only be his secretary and not his sex-cretary?”
“Yes, Brittany, I made that perfectly clear when I negotiated your salary and paid vacations. You’ll be in your glory, color-coding everything and everybody. He needs some stability, Brit.”
“I know. Okay, I’ll take it. But if you ever need me, I’ll quit in an instant and come back. Understand?”
“Yes,” nodded Madison. “And thank you.”
Brittany nodded. “So, what are you and Kyle doing for fun today?”
“Fun? Well, I don’t know how much fun it’ll be, but Kyle’s parents are coming into town for the week. I’m finally going to meet my future in-laws,” said Madison, studying her drop-dead gorgeous three carat heart-shaped engagement ring. “I’ll admit…I’m scared.”
“Guns and crazy people don’t scare you. Criminals and crooked politicians don’t give you pause. Yet you’re afraid of Kyle’s parents?”
“No. Just Kyle’s mother. What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Don’t be silly. What’s there not to like? You’re smart. You’re amazing. You’re beautiful. You’re wonderful. You’re a good person, the best. She’ll love you, I’m sure.”
“Although he hasn’t said anything, I’m picking up an uncomfortable vibe from Kyle about her. Maybe I’m over-reacting. My sister is having dinner for us at five,” said Madison. “Kyle went to pick his parents up at the airport and take them to their hotel to rest a bit and freshen up. They can have a little private time. They haven’t seen each other in a while. Then they’ll drive to Susan’s in New Jersey. I’m going to Susan’s right after lunch to help. Wish me luck.”
“Luck,” Brittany nodded.
Chapter One
Lunch with Brittany
“Are you sure you want me to take the job with Mike at VistaCor?” asked Brittany Harrison, Madison’s longtime private secretary, friend, and confidante, as they relaxed over their coffee after lunch. “What if you decide to reopen Rand Solutions for some reason? You’ll need me.”
“I’m sure I want you to work with Mike. I’m positive I won’t want to ever reopen Rand Solutions,” said Madison. “Kyle and I are happy with the financial analysis work we’re doing. He gets a big kick out of being the CFO of Rand Financial Solutions. Nobody’s getting shot or punched in the face. We walk in at nine o’clock in the morning, walk out at five o’clock in the afternoon, and take a full hour for lunch. We deal with numbers, neat little piles of paper and computer monitors, not bad guys and restraining orders. I needed Rand Solutions to even the score from all the bad memories I had with Hawk replaying in my head. But now I can leave it all behind me and move on with Kyle.
“And I’ll feel better when I know you’re settled in a new job. Mike Modarelli is a good boss. VistaCor is a great place to work. You’ll have job security there, and a great pension program. And besides, you hate numbers.”
“I do,” moaned Brittany. “They’re so boring and monotonous.”
“VistaCor needs you. Mike needs you. He needs a good private secretary and you’re the best. He’s had a string of temps in there since Anita’s death.”
“Ugh…what a total mess that’ll be.”
“No, you’ll get to start from scratch . You’ll reorganize and streamline everything,” Madison assured her.
“Yeah, that’ll be fun. How’s he coping?”
“He’s still not himself yet. He still misses her. He feels jilted, betrayed, and sad, all rolled into one. He never smiles anymore. But, he’ll get over it in time.”
“Does he know I’ll only be his secretary and not his sex-cretary?”
“Yes, Brittany, I made that perfectly clear when I negotiated your salary and paid vacations. You’ll be in your glory, color-coding everything and everybody. He needs some stability, Brit.”
“I know. Okay, I’ll take it. But if you ever need me, I’ll quit in an instant and come back. Understand?”
“Yes,” nodded Madison. “And thank you.”
Brittany nodded. “So, what are you and Kyle doing for fun today?”
“Fun? Well, I don’t know how much fun it’ll be, but Kyle’s parents are coming into town for the week. I’m finally going to meet my future in-laws,” said Madison, studying her drop-dead gorgeous three carat heart-shaped engagement ring. “I’ll admit…I’m scared.”
“Guns and crazy people don’t scare you. Criminals and crooked politicians don’t give you pause. Yet you’re afraid of Kyle’s parents?”
“No. Just Kyle’s mother. What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Don’t be silly. What’s there not to like? You’re smart. You’re amazing. You’re beautiful. You’re wonderful. You’re a good person, the best. She’ll love you, I’m sure.”
“Although he hasn’t said anything, I’m picking up an uncomfortable vibe from Kyle about her. Maybe I’m over-reacting. My sister is having dinner for us at five,” said Madison. “Kyle went to pick his parents up at the airport and take them to their hotel to rest a bit and freshen up. They can have a little private time. They haven’t seen each other in a while. Then they’ll drive to Susan’s in New Jersey. I’m going to Susan’s right after lunch to help. Wish me luck.”
“Luck,” Brittany nodded.