All Is Fair In Love and Law

The allure of just a scent.

The Madden Inc. skyscraper never failed to take my breath away each time I stopped by here to see to matters . Much of the exterior was made of glass that radiated the rays of the sunlight and caused a glow to surround most of the glass . Even after decades of its establiment the architecture of it was still widely admired . I gave a quick glance to my wrist watch and was pleased , as always , of being on time . I readjusted my blazer once more with my free hand whilst my left hand held my stationary and documents .

There was a total of three stairs to be climbed before one could enter the building . It was a task I did with ease even in my shiny black heels . The footmen held the door open for me and I noticed that he was not the usual man that I always saw when I frequented here to see the previous CEO . I could not help but think that the ruthless Nicholas Madden had fired the man and replaced him with this much younger one . It was not something I would put past the man based on the countless rumours that circulated the tabloids .

I knew better than to judge a person based on what the scewed media projects but when all of the scandals start sounding the same , it does make one question thing . Nicholas Madden would not be as laid back and his late father . Nay , nay . As stern and intimidating the old Mr Madden had been , his son was a mighty worse extension of that . The media flaunted his shrewd , curt behavior and his zero tolerance for bullshit and work that is not up to his prestige level . Of course , my firm had nothing to worry about since we are the best in the country . We boasted the largest client base with a high satisfaction rate .

With that fact in mind , my nerves began to ease up and I looked around the lobby but something felt off . The interior of it still looked the same . Neat, sleek , modern , but there was far too little people present than was normal for such a major meeting . Obviously there were a handful of employees but that consisted only of the receptionists and another two people seated around a coffee table , none of which are people who needed to be in this meeting . I shook off the weird feeling and headed straight to the elevator at the far end of the lobby .

I pressed the orange lined button with an arrow facing upwards and awaited for it to arrive still feeling a little unsettled but that could be because of my nerves . Everything needed to go well today . Madden Inc. is one of our most profitable clients and losing them because of this new take over would be wholly disappointing . The elevator pinged and the doors opened slowly to the side . I lifted my heeled foot to step in when my gut clenched at the faint scent that lingered through to the air of the elevator .

I could never forget that scent nor the voice or the devastating good looks of the man who wore it , the man who made me lose all rational and sound logic , the man who made my body react in way I did not even fathom was possible . I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes imagining our bodies writhing together deliciously . It was like I could feel his touch all over again , on my neck , around my neck , brushing down my chest and across my ribcage before it charged further and met my heated mound between my thighs . My breath caught just thinking about it all but this was nothing new . The activities of that night haunted me every night since and now it would seem during daylight as well .

It was impossible that the man would be here . Knowing that I would never see him again was exactly why I let myself lose control and act out as brazen as I did . A gorgous man I met in South Africa could never be here . There was no chance . Colognes were available to everyone , I reminded myself as I calmed myself down and felt the pulse between my legs fade until it was a mild flick . I was here on formal matters of business , I chastised myself as I got into the elevator that was lined with mirrors .

I looked at my flushed cheeks and groaned but knew that the colour should fade by the time I got up there . Hopefully . I found it embarassing that just a familiar smell of cologne could set my thoughts alight but that was the lingering effects of that man . It always made me shudder at the thought that I did not even ask his name but that was good . One might of dirty fun was better with anonymity .

My heated thoughts were pushed back when the elevator pinged again signalling that I had arrived at the twenty seventh floor where the conference room was situated . The elevator doors opened to the side and I stepped out and noticed that there had still not been anyone in the sight but I could hear some shuffling coming from the way of the conference room . I frowned but made my way towards down the marble covered floors , my heels making a noise with each step against it , until I reached the oak coloured door with a silver turn handle .

I placed my hand on the door knob and twisted before pushing it open and my eyes widened in shock and embarassment combined . The large table that spread the length of the room with black cushioned seats were filled with officials , lawyers and other necessary employees . They seemed to have been seated for a while with their files and documents all spread out in front of them but no one seemed to be saying a word .

" This is utterly rediculous . I am disappointed to see that this is the type of legal firm Madden Inc. has been dealing with . Unprofessional and highly irresponsible . This meeting has been on hold for fifteen minutes because of this delay . " A million things ran through my mind all at once and it felt like I was going to have a concussion .

I knew that voice ! I knew that voice better than I should have but heck , I would know that voice in my deepest of sleep . He couldn' t see me since his six foot plus frame had been facing away from me and toward a strawberry blonde who looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole as an escape from this mans anger . His dark brown hair was neatly styles and very unlike the unruliness of the beach resort .

From the authority and entitled tone that echoed through the silent room , it was not hard to tell exactly what the position of this man was . He was Nicholas Madden . The man that I had been tangled up in the hottest most rough night of sensuality was Nicholas Madden . How ironic , I thought humourlessly . As much as I wanted to retreat and avoid him altogether , I reminded myself that I had to be professional regardless of personal matters .

Secondly , I was not late . Surely I couldn' t be . I was always early or right in time but never ever late let along being a quarter of an hour late ! There must have been some miscommunication . . A rescheduling that did not reach me . Ugh , Ellie ! She probably mixed the times up .

The lawyers and officials were still staring at me but I recovered from my shock and embarassment and inhaled before recomposing myself remembering that , right now , I had an advantage over him and I could not wait until he realised that I am Madden Inc's. legal representative . I straightened my shoulders and cleared my throat as I walked further into the room and away from the door .

" I do apologize to all of you for being late . There must have been a mix up on my part but I was told that the meeting commences at two . " Half of the room nodded understandingly but the other half twisted their lips in disapproval .

Nevermind them , I was much to focused at the arrogant man at the front . I saw him tense as my voice reached his ears , I watching his ears twitch before his brows dropped as he turned to see the reason for this meetings delay and the head of the law firm he just questioned in the most direspectful manner in front of a room full of prestige officials . Perhaps whatever that tabloids had said about was true . A monster in the corporate world . A force not to messed with . I scoffed mentally at having my preset assumptions about him all prove itself to be true .

Nicholas swung around and the look on his handsome face was priceless . His eyes widened in surprise whilst his green eyes glittered sharply in my direction . I looked him straight in the eyes and perhaps I should not have done so because my stomach started to do somersaults and my breath felt stuck in my wind pipe at the look of them . His eyes roamed my face , before it moved down to my lips , which he lingered on for a moment , before he took in the rest of my attire . He was still very annoyed but his displeasure had dissipated the tiniest of bit and that tiny bit was replaced by raging heat . I couldn' t withstand this any longer and I was still highly aware of the many pairs of eyes fixated on us so I looked away and moved to a vacant seat at the end of the table right across from him . It was a blessing that this table was exquisitely lenghty and put enough space between him and I .

I hid a grin when he faked a cough and narrowed his anger filled eyes again at me . " The lack of order on your side is not my problem , Miss Moore . " He still sounded intimidating but I could tell that he still had not fully recovered from his shock of seeing me here in his conference room as part of his newly acquired multi - billion dollar cooperations legal representative .