Chapter Fifteen
Madden
Madden draped his jacket over the back of the chair and went to pour himself a drink.
Nothing less than a stiff whisky would do after the day he had.
Most of all, he needed to swallow the unreasonable disappointment.
He had known all along GRP was not going to budge, they couldn’t.
Their situation and unwillingness to adjust to the times were ruining their company and they couldn’t keep Troham’s factory open any more than they could keep any of the other factories they were closing.
The meeting had confirmed exactly that, and yet, he was still sad about it.
Madden sighed, his ice popping on contact with the golden liquid, unsure of what to do.
He could picture the exact slant of Adryan’s eyebrows if he told him his hopes were in vain.
Like that day, when Troham High’s football team lost their chance to go to regionals.
Adryan couldn’t hide his disappointment and Madden wasn’t prepared to witness it, let alone be the cause of it.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Notification after notification piled up, but he ignored them all and only opened the ones that had Adryan’s name on it.
Adryan: Thank you for what you did for us today. It really means a lot.
Adryan: My dad is buzzing after the meeting, just running high on adrenaline I guess. We’re all very nervous. How long do you think before we know?
Adryan: Did they say anything after we left?
Madden stared at the messages, his thumb hovering over the keys. He hesitated, typed something, deleted it again. He reworded it, deleted it. Sighed.
Adryan: omg, why am I so nervous?
The monkey emojis covering their faces made Madden smirk.
Madden: Because you’re human, Ry.
Adryan: I suppose. Ugh, I can’t even eat…
Madden frowned.
Madden: Try to get your mind off it.
Madden watched the three dots go, and disappear several times, before a new message popped up.
Adryan: Do you have any suggestions?
So Adryan liked emojis then. There were winky faces, and peaches and eggplants in there. Madden chuckled.
Madden: As a matter of fact, I do. Pick me up at 7pm.
By the time Madden finished getting dressed, he was as sweaty as before he tried to get washed.
Everything with that bloody brace was ten times harder.
Adryan would point out it was better than the cast, but positive thinking wasn’t Madden’s forte.
He owed his success in great part to his ability to foresee potential problems and plan accordingly; thinking everything would be fine wouldn’t have worked as well.
He adjusted the henley shirt around his shoulders as best he could, and checked the result in the mirror. He needed a haircut, it was getting too long over his eyes.
His phone vibrated.
Adryan: I’m downstairs.
With a last check in the mirror, he grabbed his card key and his wallet and left the room. He’d make this evening memorable.
The lift doors opened into the lobby. Adryan’s presence shone under the warm, cosy lights in such a way that Madden didn’t even need to search for him to find him.
Adryan leaned against the reception desk, chatting animatedly with the girl on the other side.
His blond hair was perfectly combed, and he wore a light blue, short sleeve knit that clung to the shape of his chest and the angles of his shoulders.
Noticing Madden’s approach, Adryan turned big, sparkling blue eyes to him, his lips still spread into a smile.
God, Madden wanted to kiss him so badly.
They hadn’t discussed public displays of affection, though. They hadn’t discussed much of anything, really. And yet, important things needed to be discussed. Madden couldn’t stay in Troham forever, but the thought of leaving Adryan behind made him so uneasy, it dampened his mood.
Taking a slow breath, he tried to push those thoughts away. They would discuss them, but not tonight. Tonight was for something else.
‘Hey,’ he said, as he approached the reception desk.
Adryan dragged his eyes appreciatively down his body, a smirk on his lips.
‘Hey to you too,’ he said, looking up at him now.
Madden cleared his throat, as if that would camouflage the blush on his cheeks.
‘Ready?’ he asked.
‘I suppose,’ Adryan said, tilting his head. ‘You haven’t told me what we’re doing.’
Madden started for the door, holding it open for Adryan. Adryan gave him a curious look, before waving goodbye to the receptionist and joining him.
‘So?’ Adryan insisted as they walked out into the evening sun.
‘So, I thought we might go on a date,’ Madden said.
The way Adryan’s face lit up reassured Madden he had made the right decision, and he was excited to show Adryan a great time.
‘I hoped that was it! Are we going to Annie’s or to Little Piazza?’ he asked, leaning gently against him as they took a few steps along the sidewalk.
‘Neither,’ Madden said, a smirk on his lips. He wouldn’t have needed Vicky’s help to organize that. Annie’s and Little Piazza were the only two decent restaurants in town and where absolutely everyone took their dates. ‘You’ll need to drive us for a bit, though.’
He could see Adryan’s brain working overtime, trying to figure out where they could go for a date that required them to drive, in Troham. Everywhere in the small town was within walking distance. Well, everywhere worth going.
Adryan didn’t argue though, anticipation written in the set of his shoulders and spark in his eyes.
‘Are we going to a midnight picnic?’ Adryan asked as Madden told him to take the road out of town.
‘It’s not midnight,’ Madden chuckled, as Adryan took the last turn before their destination.
‘Hmmm.’
But as they came out of the curve, it was clear where they were going. Madden had paid Kevin Carter quite handsomely for the use of his field as a helipad.
Adryan stopped the car staring outside the windshield, turning the ignition off. Then, silence. Adryan didn’t move.
‘Is everything okay?’ Madden asked, frowning. Had he made a mistake?
‘Did you rent a helicopter?’ Adryan asked, his voice tenser than Madden was used to.
‘No, it’s the company’s. I pay for it when I use it for personal matters. Or is it that you’re afraid of flying?’
‘No. No, of course not,’ he said now, turning a smile to him. Madden relaxed a bit, still wondering if he had made the right choices, but Adryan seemed fine when he got out of the car and even took his hand as they walked toward the helicopter.
‘Eric,’ Madden said, offering his left hand to the man by the helicopter.
‘Nice to see you tonight, boss.’
‘How was the flight here?’
‘Everything in order, sir. The weather is good and we don’t expect any issues.’
Adryan watched him with big eyes, his lips in a tight line.
‘What?’ Madden asked, eyebrows arched.
‘I’m disappointed you’re not flying it yourself,’ Adryan answered, a grin spreading on his lips.
‘When would I have time to learn how to fly a helicopter?’
‘Every other millionaire does,’ Adryan shrugged as he slipped into one of the passenger seats.
‘You watch too many movies.’ Madden rolled his eyes.
It took them about an hour to get to San Francisco. Adryan’s face lit up as they reached the city, looking magnificent, dressed in all the night lights.
The helicopter landed smoothly on the rooftop of his apartment building, and they stepped out onto the cement.
Madden made his way to the roof’s door, but Adryan stayed behind for a moment, looking around, darkness and city lights as far as the eye could see, the air cold, the scent of salt wafting from the bay.
‘Adryan?’
Adryan turned to him, smiling again, and followed Madden inside. The lift took them only one floor down, and opened onto Madden’s penthouse foyer.
‘You live here?’ Adryan asked, his voice full of awe but also something else Madden couldn’t describe.
‘Yeah. Bought it a few years ago. Best views in town.’
‘Of course.’
Adryan turned away from him and approached the window, the Golden Gate Bridge below them, across the San Francisco Bay.
‘Are you sure you’re feeling well?’ Madden ran a hand over Adryan’s shoulders, feeling the tension there. ‘We can stay here if you don’t feel up to it. Watch a movie and order something. We don’t have to go out…’
Adryan sighed, and turned to him, the smile on his lips tense now.
‘No, I’m fine, really. You’ve planned all this and I’m sure it’ll be amazing. Though I wouldn’t mind doing the movie thing another day.’
Madden nodded, frowning, but Adryan pushed himself against his body and pressed his lips against his mouth. Adryan’s lips were soft and warm and forced all the tension out of Madden’s body in less than a second. Maybe going out for dinner wasn’t such a good idea.
‘Let’s go,’ Adryan said, pushing off from him.
Madden adjusted his trousers with a grunt, and pulled the phone out of his pocket.
‘We’re coming down now,’ he said to the driver, who had been waiting for his call.
The rest of the evening was a confusion of emotions.
They went to a popular Mexican spot, and had a great time, though he wondered if he should have picked a different restaurant.
The place being so popular meant he met a lot of acquaintances who couldn’t for the life of them pass on the opportunity to greet him.
Forced to exchange at least a couple of words with them, he resented them for taking his attention away from his date.
Every time he turned to face Adryan again, he thought Adryan was looking too serious, but then his smile widened again and it left Madden thinking maybe he was imagining it. Maybe he was overthinking it all.
‘There is a gallery opening we can go to, if that’s something you’d like to do,’ Madden offered, not sure what Adryan would like to do. ‘Or I can make a call and we can sail around the bay. They’ll get the yacht ready pretty quickly.’
Adryan blinked at him, his expression falling a bit. Eyes dropping to his plate, he twisted his fingers together. Madden reached across the table for them, but Adryan pulled them down onto his lap.