Chapter 9: 48 hours

Maddison’s POV 

Those were the last words she spoke, cruel and vengeful screams plucked from her belly, directed at Tyler, at all of the months of believing, but now she lashed those words at the man who was before her.

And they hit him hard.

There was a minor change in Grant Harrison; nothing anyone but Maddison, whose entire universe now was packed into this hospital room, could feel it as deeply as one would feel an earthquake. The pale mask of being patient all of a sudden disappeared and he sat up straighter, shoulders squared, and the easy creases around his eyes hardened and became sharp. The air within the room became cold, charged with something stronger, and then Grant drew his hand back slowly, and put the business card on the nightstand next to her bed with a gentle click.

His voice, when he did speak once more, had shed the original gentleness; it was even and firm. "You are upset because you are hurt, and I can understand that but you are letting one failure dictate the course of your whole life, and that is a horrible thing to do…Even for the class valedictorian."

"You don't know anything about my future," she whispered almost inaudibly, her fists curled on the blanket.

"I know talent of your kind is very rare," he growled, his deep voice husky and insistent. "Loyalty is a fine thing Maddison but misplaced loyalty is a tragedy." He leaned closer, his gray eyes fastening hers to the bed. "You just saw a tragedy."

Those words were different to Maddison; loyalty became sinister, tragedy? how could he possibly comprehend what she was going through? He was not a recruiter or savior anymore but an observer that now knows too much, and his knowledge of her situation itself seemed to be another weapon pointed directly at her broken heart.

"You have no…" she whispered softly. She tried to sit up to create some room, but her hip screamed out in pain, a sharp burning agony that reminded her she was trapped. "You have no right to talk about my life."

He leaned closer to her in the chair as their gap narrowed until she was sensing tension off of him. His cologne, sandalwood with an edge of cold wind, cut through the odor of the room while his face turned into a face of determination. She knew at that point that the smooth businessman had disappeared and was replaced by a hunter who simply caught his prey.

"I am not requesting any more Maddison," he told her quietly but insistently, an order that shook her very bones.

"You have two days," he went on. "48 hours from now, I want you to call the number on that card," he waved at the nightstand, "I want you to join my company."

It was no longer a question, now it was a command. Fear and cold anger ran through her; what did this man think he was? she wondered.

"Or what?" she defiantly taunted, voice shaking but firm.

A flash, no one could interpret it, went through his eyes. "I know what you can do, I saw it in your work, I saw it in your eyes when you were on stage, and I will not stand here and allow you to waste your talent because of someone or something that never was yours."

The chill truth pinched and she did feel that she couldn't breathe, hated him for noticing this, hated him for being right.

"Please leave," she stated, shifting her head to one side of the bed. Her eyes were burning with tears, blisters of anger, and humiliation. "Please, leave my room."

He was still and she felt his eyes on her, unyielding, and as the monitor of the heart continued more loudly, each pulse a pound against her forehead.

Finally, just when the silence between them had become too lengthy, there was a soft knock at the door and it swung open, a smiling nurse with bright scrubs walked in, small tray in hand, and it was her warm presence that melted the awkward moment at Maddison’s bedside.

“Good morning,” said the nurse, whose tone was as warm and inviting as a hug. “I’m Sarah, the doctor sent something to help you sleep and be comfortable.”

The nurse appeared so quickly and easily, it was as though a new chapter had started, and the air in the room, once dense with silent struggles, was temporarily pushed aside by the smell of hand sanitizer and scuffling feet. 

Maddison looked from the nurse’s smiling face to Grant’s hard one; she felt a rush of needed comfort. She needed a third person who saw everything, and at that moment, Grant could not keep pushing.

The nurse came close, moving smooth and confident. "I'll give this through your IV. You'll sleep quickly and for a long time because it's important you have good rest to heal."

As Sarah turned around to fix the IV stand, Maddison watched the small bottle and clear liquid filling up a syringe. The calm work was a welcome break from the man still sitting next to her bed but as Maddison's gaze was on the nurse, Grant made a move.

His movement was quick and effortless, almost too fast to see, he stood to his feet and reached for her bag, and maybe a nurse had placed it at the edge of the nightstand. He hid the move with his body as Maddison’s eyes stayed on the syringe, and then he took the business card and slipped it into the purse's outer pocket before zipping it up quietly but firmly.

He put the purse back just as the nurse turned around.

"All done," Sarah said smiling at Maddison. "Just relax now."

Grant buttoned up his jacket. "I will leave you to rest," he said, voice steady again and then looked at Maddison with a face that no one could decipher.

She was feeling the medicine’s touch; a warm, heavy feeling spread through her arms and legs, and the sharp pain and fury started to fade away, while her eyes felt heavy.

Turning towards the door, Grant stopped and looked back over at her sleeping face. He whispered so low the nurse barely heard, "You don't know what you are running from, or what I am offering."

And then he was gone, leaving only the sweet smell of his aftershave and the echo of his cruel words behind him as Maddison's mind whirled with pictures; Tyler's grotesque smile, Grant Harrison's grim gray eyes. She was haqlf asleep already, but the 2-day deadline pounded against the closing eyes, and within a short time she was fast asleep.