Chapter 63
Liam
“There’s one thing you should know that I haven’t really told anyone yet,” I say to Max as we head to the bar.
I feel extremely uncomfortable, and I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision.
However, Max is my attorney, and he should be loyal to me.
No matter what. I study his intense blue eyes as he gazes at me, and I try to ignore the scrutinizing look he gives me.
“What’s that?” He frowns slightly as he looks me over, as if he's trying to read my body language to figure out if what I have to say is good or bad. It's good for me, but I'm not sure he will like it. “Please don’t tell me that you’re being investigated by the government or that you’re part of the CIA or anything like that.”
“Then what is it?” Max frowns again as his eyes bore into mine. “You’re not secretly harboring money in offshore accounts?” He really is taking this far more seriously than I thought he would. Maybe he's not the partner that I should be talking to about a sensitive matter.
“Stop!” I say, staring at him and quickly thinking that I should keep my mouth shut.
“It’s nothing like that. In fact, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when I tell you what it is that I’m hiding.
” I stare at him for a couple of seconds, and I smile warmly.
It's a trick I learned in a psychology class. When you want to lie or give someone bad news, always have a warm and kind expression on your face. It makes it so people don't associate you with any negativity. I don’t actually think that he’ll feel better about what I’m hiding, but I’m hoping that he will, at some point.
I can tell by the quarrelsome look on his face that now is not the time to tell him my news.
He's gone soft since getting into a relationship.
“What’s going on, Liam?” He gestures towards the bar. “Is this something that I need to have a beer in my hand to hear, or should I hear it before I get a beer?”
“I mean, that’s totally up to you. I personally wasn’t going to get a beer." I cock my head to the side. "What about some gin or whiskey? I was thinking that maybe we could have some old-fashioneds tonight.”
“You and your old-fashioneds,” he says, shaking his head and smiling slightly.
I'm sure he's remembering the trip he made to London a few years ago, where we'd had old-fashioneds in a castle with a couple of models before playing poker for the rest of the night with some of my uni friends. “I didn’t really want any hard liquor tonight.”
“I know that you're not turning down hard liquor.” My tone is aghast, but I'm only teasing him. Keeping things light and easy. Hopefully, he will forget that I'd mentioned having to tell him something.
“What? A man can’t want to be sober when he gets home?”
“Oh, so Lila’s not going to want to have fun with you tonight if you are sloshed?” I tease him, even though I doubt she'd care. "She’s got that ball and chain waiting for you?"
“Don’t bring up Lila like that,” he says, shaking his head angrily and glaring at me.
The man has lost his mind. I would laugh if it wasn't so sad.
I never thought I'd see the day when Max Spector lost his shit over a woman. “Have some respect.” His tone is slightly angry, and I realize that he is far more sprung than I’d initially realized.
The man is in love. I shudder at the thought.
I'm definitely not telling him why I'm here.
I don't need him trying to change my mind or talk me out of what I have to do.
“Whoa! I’m not disrespecting her. I was just joking.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “No need to rip me apart like a vulture. I’m not circling your woman.”
“Sorry,” he says, letting off a deep sigh. “I’m just a little stressed out. Things are kind of crazy around the office, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed there was a little bit of tension. What’s going on?”
“I think Gabe is upset that Kingston, Remington, and I are all in relationships now, and he’s single.
We’re all a bit upset that he disappeared, and we still don’t know where he was for all those months.
” He frowns. "And now, my sister, Marie, is going to be working for him.
Which I think is a crazy idea, especially considering she's pregnant. "
“You still don’t know what he was doing?
” I look surprised because I am. “I mean, I thought he was gone for months and months.” I don't dare bring up his sister Marie and her pregnancy.
I already know, based on listening to whispered conversations between Lila and Skye, that Max is not happy that his little sister is about to become a single mom.
“He was gone for months and months and he's keeping mum about the reason why,” Max says, his voice frustrated. “So you’ll have to forgive me for now wondering what your secret is, as well. I don’t know how many more people around me I can find out are keeping secrets from me.”
I nod slowly. I know I'm not telling him anything right now. I don’t want to put him in an awkward position.
And I don't want to argue because I know I'm not going to change my mind. “It doesn’t matter,” I say quickly.
“I wasn't going to tell you anything big, just about a business deal, and it's not that important. No need to stress out.”
“You’re going to stress me out if you don’t tell me.
” His phone rings then, and I’m grateful for the interruption.
I watch as he pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the screen.
“It’s Kingston,” he says. “Hold on.” He answers the phone swiftly.
“What’s going on? I am at the Mad Hatter with Liam.
” I can’t hear what they’re talking about, but Max’s face gets more and more twisted before he hangs up.
“I’m in need of three beers right now,” he says, letting out a sigh.
“What’s going on?”
“Just one of the cases that Kingston and Remington were working on has now been appealed successfully, and it looks like we’re headed to the court of appeals.
” He shakes his head. Wwhich is not great because I think they’re going to need me to work on the case.
I promised Lila that I would go on a trip with her. ”
“I suppose it must be really hard being a successful attorney and trying to convince the love of your life that work doesn’t come before her.”
“It doesn’t seem like Lila thinks that. I mean, she hasn’t said it in so many words.
" He frowns. "Though, I know by the hints that she gives she wants me to spend more quality time with her outside of the office.” He grins. “As much as I like to have quality time in the bedroom alone with her—” He grins and pauses. “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the bedroom right after I told you off for bringing it up, but let’s just say that she wants more meaningful dates and one-on-one time.
” He sighs. "I need to figure out a better schedule. "
“I mean, you love her, and she’s your woman, so I get that.” I chuckle. “That’s why I don’t do meaningful relationships. If I wanted someone to nag and harangue me, I would live with my mom again.”
Max bursts out laughing and shakes his head. “You’re horrible. You know that, right, Liam?”
“I’ve been called worse things,” I say with a grin. “How’s everything else at the firm, aside from this latest stress?”
“I mean, you know, we’re doing pretty well. All of our clients are pretty happy with us. I mean, you’re happy with us, right?”
“As one of your biggest clients, I would say that I’m very happy, and, once again, I want to thank you for letting me use the office and for introducing me to Elisabetta, who’s now going to be my amazing assistant.”
Max shakes his head. “I have no idea what you’re thinking. She has never done a day of work in her life. Don’t get me wrong. I love her. She’s a great friend to the girls, but I don’t think she’ll make a great assistant.”
“Did Lila make a great assistant?” I ask him, pretending it's a serious question.
He presses his finger to his lips and takes a deep breath before winking. “I plead the fifth.”
“That’s what I thought,” I say. “Is there anything else you know about Elisabetta or anything that I should know…?”
"I mean, not really.” He shakes his head. “Her dad is some successful businessman. I don’t really know much about him, just that he spoiled her in taking care of her his whole life, and she goes on a lot of dates and winds up in precarious situations.”
“What do you mean by precarious situations?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not really my information to share. If you want to know about her dating life, you should ask her.”
“I don’t care about her dating life,” I say quickly. “I mean, she’s cute, but she’s definitely not my type. No offense to you and Kingston and Remington, but I definitely do not shit where I eat.” I shudder. "I do not need that drama in my life."
“Uh-huh,” Max says with a rueful grin. “Sure, I’ve heard those words many times before.”
“I’m being serious. I do not play where…”
“Whatever, dude.” He holds his hands up. “I’m not judging you.”
A bartender approaches and asks us what we want to order. She's cute, and I can see that she's trying to give Max the eye. “What do you want, Liam, an old-fashioned still?”
I nod. “ And maybe some wings, if they’ve got any?”
“What sort?”
“I don’t know, barbecue.”
“Can I get an old-fashioned, a Corona, and a dozen barbecue wings, if you have them?”
“Sure, sir.” The petite blonde smiles at him. “Do you want ranch or blue cheese with that?”
He looks over at me. “Blue cheese all day,” I say, winking at her.
“Did you hear that?” he asks, and she smiles.
She looks over at me and licks her lips. I give her a big grin back. “Blue cheese it is,” she says. “Celery and carrots, too?”
“You got it,” I say, answering louder this time. “I always like chewing on something.” I step forward. “Though, I have to admit, I do like it when a woman is chewing on me instead.”
She blushes slightly, and Max groans. “Really, Liam?”