Off the Rails by Isabelle Drake Page A

when you said no to being on her special team?”
    “‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go. Poor performance . Kevin will back me up. You can clean out your desk now, in front of everyone, or you can come back tonight, after nine, and do it while the cleaning crew is here. Either way you get an escort from security. Your choice about the time, though. Now? Or later?’”
    Tia didn’t even bother trying to hold back her laughter. “Poor performance. That can mean a lot of things.”
    Madison tapped her bag of desk crap with her foot, smiled weakly, and said, “Yeah, but she who arranges severance in exchange for divulging stupid secret plans has the last laugh.” With that, she tucked the hefty check she’d talked Ms. Holmes out of in exchange for the little she knew about Kevin’s stupid secret plan into her purse.
    “Now that you have some money and can buy whatever amazing outfit you need to make Drew lose his mind, we can put this whole reunion stress behind us, right?”
    “Fuck no. Money isn’t everything. I still have something to prove—I need the full package.”
    At the mention of Drew’s name, Madison realized it had been two weeks and two days since she had talked to him. Two days was more than long enough to get started picking up where they left off. What was wrong with the guy?
    Madison slid her phone over and sent Drew a Skype message.
     
    Madison: Hey. What’s up, Taggster?
     
    Ha, ha . She was so funny she nearly made herself laugh. Or maybe that was stress bubbling to the surface. In either case, her mouth was starting to pucker and her eyes were getting wide. Tia noticed the change, and that feisty, I’m-about-to-give-somebody-a-hard-time look passed across her face. Madison spotted it and cut her off with a question about work, a topic Tia actually loved to talk about because she actually loved her job. It worked. Tia went off on a verbal bender, describing every detail of one of her newest accounts. About the time Tia was circling back to compare that new account to her other most recent account, a Skype notification made Madison’s phone blink.
     
    Drew: Hey, Taggette. What’s up yourself?
     
    Madison stared at the screen. She’d waited over two weeks for that?
     
    Madison: I contacted everyone and have the list of preferred names just about ready.
     
    Drew: Great. Thanks.
    Madison:(:
    Drew:How about I call you tomorrow? I have to figure something out.
     
    Madison’s fingers hovered over the screen for several seconds before she finally just went with: Okay.
    And that was the end of it.
    But the disappointment lingered.

Chapter Eight
    Baby Fat
     
     
     
    “I don’t care what you say,” Madison clutched her phone to her ear, shouting over the roar of traffic as she hurried down Ash Street. “I’m doing it. If I look pregnant and happy at the reunion, everyone will assume the rest.”
    Predictably enough, Tia started going on about how ridiculously Madison was behaving. But really, who could take anything Tia said seriously? Her life was so perfect, she wouldn’t know desperation if it showed up wearing a tutu and bit her in the ass.
    “Don’t even bother trying to show up and stop me. You won’t make it in time. And if you do show up once I’m inside, you’ll just make a scene.”
    “As if you aren’t going to make enough of a scene yourself?” On Tia’s end, a horn honked and then, after screaming something, Tia clarified, “It’s a little obvious that you aren’t pregnant, you know.”
    Madison patted her flat stomach. “I’m not showing yet.”
    “What are you going to tell the salesgirls at the shop?”
    “I like to plan ahead. I’m excited about the baby. I heard they were having a great sale.”
    “Okay,” Tia sighed. “I guess you’ve thought it through a little bit. I won’t have to turn my phone off for a couple hours, so you can call if there’s an emergency.”
    Madison crossed the street and, with the shop directly in her