Maddy's Oasis

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

Madeleine Winters gazed out the car window at the construction site—nothing more than steel beams and concrete to her untrained eye. Her mouth fell open with a silent curse. Beams in the vertical steel frame had been forcibly bent until the building resembled a partially bloomed flower wilting in the middle of the west Texas desert and not the gleaming hotel it was supposed to be. Her field was program management, not construction, but she doubted the structure sitting in the middle of the desert was right.

"Wow!" Eric, the car's driver and her personal assistant, exclaimed. "That can't be normal."

Her gaze went to the two bright yellow bulldozers near one corner. One was still connected to a beam by a thick steel chain while the other had been tipped over. She stepped out of the car's AC into to the desert's sauna-like heat and shielded her eyes despite the sunglasses.

There were more signs of intentional damage: crushed tiles, colorful graffiti, and tools and construction materials scattered everywhere.

Her black suit was meant for the temperate weather back east and her slingback heels for sidewalks. A late flight left her tired, and the sight of her pitiful project worsened her headache. She felt sorry for the building, even knowing how ridiculous that was. Given the project's bloated financials, she suspected the amount of damage done would soak up more money and time than she had.

Which was why her boss, Nigel, offered her such a pretty bonus if she could complete it on time. She'd expected a mess, but nothing like this.

“You probably should learn to fire people more politely,” Eric said. He was a wiry, small man who appeared to be no older than fifteen despite being closer to thirty than she was. In one hand was a BlackBerry; in the other, a PDA.

“I thought I was polite,” she said with a frown. “Where the hell are the security guards Alex hired before ditching this place last week?”

“Alex didn’t do a lot of things he said he did,” Eric reminded her with a glance down at the PDA. “Alex pissed off—or fired—the only four local companies capable of building this far in the west Texas desert. The last we had to bring in from … I can’t even pronounce it. I don’t even know if they’re based in the US. It’s Javier and Sons Construction.”

Anyone who knew Alex knew he couldn't handle organizing his car let alone overseeing a mega-challenge such as The Desert Oasis. The misshapen beginnings before her were meant to be real estate tycoon Dylan Howard's latest venture: an exclusive, uber-luxury spa and hotel stranded in the middle of the Texas desert, one so exclusive that non-millionaires would not be invited to stay.

Alex was on his way out, and this had been the final push. No one had heard from him since he ditched the project a week ago. She understood why.

“That must be them.” Eric indicated the single-wide trailer off to one side. It was nestled between stacks of sandstone and hefty wooden crates. Four large white utility trucks with extended cabs were parked a short distance from the office. Several men perched on the edges of the trucks, and the door to the office was open.

Her phone rang, and she looked at the number, recognizing it as her mother's doctor's office. She motioned Eric onward and answered.

"Is this Madeleine Winters?" a prim voice asked.

"Yes."

"This is Grace from the billing department at Dr. Jordan's."

Madeleine grated her teeth, knowing what Grace was about to tell her.