Second Chances

O, Tannenbaum

Maddy spent most of the weekend holed up in her apartment, trying to ignore the urge to do some Christmas shopping online while catching up with work projects. George called from Miami on Saturday evening to say that he missed her. Looking out the window at the sullen gray New York skies, she envied him soaking up the Florida sunshine. 

"I fly home Sunday night," he said. "I'd love to see you on Monday if you can squeeze me into your busy schedule."

"I think that can be arranged," she replied.

........

Monday morning, as usual, the Pitman team convened. It seemed counterproductive to take Maddy, Haley, and Sophie away from their desks so that they could attend another time-wasting meeting to discuss why so many deadlines had been missed but the Pitbull loved to hear herself talk.

When the meeting had finally concluded, Maddy rushed back to her desk to rewrite pages of Davenport messaging.

"My God," said Sophie on her way past with a fresh cup of coffee. "That woman just goes on and on and on and on, blah, blah, blah."

"Let her talk," said Maddy. "Quiet Kendall is the scariest Kendall." 

"Good point," Sophie replied, scurrying back to her cubicle.

Maddy leaned forward, laser-focused on her computer screen as her fingers tapped away on the keyboard.

Hours passed, and as Maddy was re-editing one of her final documents, Kendall's prickly voice made her jump. 

"Madison."

"Jesus," she said, spinning around in her chair. There stood The Pitbull at the entrance to her cubicle. How she was able to sneak up on unsuspecting employees while wearing high heels remained a mystery. It was likely a part of the pact she'd made with the devil.

"Uh, yeah." Maddy rose to her feet. "Didn't see you there."

"Mister Spiros just called to see if you could join him for a working lunch."

"George?"

"Yes. I told him that you were on your way."

"I'm only halfway through all the copy that Davenport sent over--"

"I'll handle that. Put on your coat."

"What?"

"He's double-parked outside."

"Well,... uh, sure," Maddy said, hurriedly pulling on her coat.

"Do you even own a mirror?"

"What?"

"For God's sake! Do something with your hair." Kendall grimaced. "And do it quickly. Let's not keep the man waiting."

Maddy tucked her laptop under her arm. On her way to the exit she received a text from George: Hubert's out front. See you in a little while.

She shoved her phone into her pocket and headed for the exit.

........

When she arrived at his loft, George was on the phone. He motioned for her to enter the kitchen. Seeing his computer open on the counter, she drew her Mac from her bag and powered it on.

With a raised index finger, he signaled the universal "give me a minute" sign. She glanced at his screen and noticed that he had been searching for Christmas tree delivery services.

"Are you looking at the same numbers I am?" George said to someone on the other end of the call. "Where do you see brand growth in Japan? Me neither. Give this to Hannah's team." He ended the call as he entered the kitchen space.

"You're ordering a Christmas tree online?" she asked.

"Yeah. Something wrong with that?"

"Why?"

"So I don't have to deal with all the hassle."

"That's the fun part."

"What's fun about standing in the cold, picking out a tree?"

"Did you order your tree online last Christmas?"

"I didn't get a tree last year."

"Who doesn't have a Christmas tree?"

"I spent the holidays in Hawaii."

"Okay, the year before that."

"Skiing in Vermont."

Maddy sighed.

"I thought I'd stay around the city this Christmas." He gestured to his laptop. "So, I'm ordering a tree."

Obviously, they were on different Christmas tree wavelengths. "Can I have your WiFi password?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, stepping closer.

"You want me to set up in your office?"

He surprised her by brushing her cheek with the back of her hand. Their eyes met. He clasped her hand in his.

"So are we doing this?" he asked.

"Doing what?"

"Taking the next step."

"I thought you invited me for a working lunch."

"Maddy, I can't begin to concentrate on my work. All I think about is you. All day long."

"I think about you, too."

He pulled her into a slow kiss. Not the gentle kiss she'd known but a kiss delivered with unmistakable intent.

When their lips parted, she leaned back against the counter, her legs going a little soft beneath her.

"Is this going anywhere?" he asked, kissing her again before she could respond.

"Yeah. I want it to."

"Tell me what you want."

"I don't know."

He kissed her again. "I know what I want," he said. "But there's no sense in pushing this any further unless we both want the same thing."

"I'm just a little surprised. I didn't expect--"

He stopped her with a deeper kiss.

"If we don't want the same thing," he whispered, "then we should stop wasting time."

"I didn't say that."

"Well, say it, then. What do you want?"

She looked deep into his eyes, her head feeling light, her heart beating harder. She answered his question with a passionate kiss. When his thick arms encircled her waist, she could swear that she was floating. Her face flushed, her mouth on his.

........

Maddy opened her eyes, shocked that she'd dozed off in George's bed following their afternoon delight. She grabbed her phone, then bolted to a seated position.

"Shit! It's almost 3:30."

George appeared in the en suite doorway, dressed only in his boxers. He'd managed to retain his college-era athletic hockey player body with his trim waist, broad shoulders, and thick chest. A swirl of hair trailed down from his chest to a thin line that ended at his navel. "She's not expecting you back at the office, Maddy if that's what you're worried about."

She pulled the luxurious silky Egyptian sheets up to her collarbone, wondering how to respond.

He paced toward the bed, his eyes firmly fixed on her. "You need to relax," he said, sliding into bed beside her.

"My mind is... it's totally spinning," she said as he pulled her close.

"She wouldn't dare fire you and risk losing the biggest account of her life. And who knows? Maybe you'd be better off moving on. I have tons of agency connections."

"I, I don't know. Maybe."

"Worst case scenario, you come and work for Davenport. You'd probably double your salary." He leaned closer and his lips found hers again.