Chapter 8 #4
An hour and a glass of wine each later, Annie stood to leave, Max walking her to the door.
“You’re all set now! You’re going to crush that meeting next week.
I know it,” Annie said, excitement bubbling behind her blue eyes as she slid her boots back on.
Max reached around her to grab her coat and handed it over.
“Thanks for your help. I, uh, I’m not the best at asking for it… Or receiving it for that matter… So thank you.” She didn’t know why she was sharing this part of herself with Annie, but it felt important.
“I’m always happy to help where I can. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I had a lot of fun.”
Before Max knew what was happening, Annie wrapped her arms around her, pulling their bodies gently together in a hug that lasted for what felt like minutes because all she could focus on was the feeling of the length of their bodies pressing together and the faint smell of jasmine lingering in Annie’s hair.
“Bye, Max. I’ll see you soon,” Annie said, slipping out the front door, leaving Max speechless in her kitchen.
* * *
The following Tuesday, Max sat tucked away in a rarely used conference room back in the administrative office section of the country club.
She tapped a gray pen repeatedly against the top of her laptop, the plastic casing clicking rhythmically.
Willis was officially fifteen minutes late, and Max was pissed.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the constricting fabric of the black slacks Annie had helped her pick out specifically for this meeting tight against her skin.
Her head whipped around, tapping stopping when the doorknob turned, muffled voices on the other side.
Max strained, trying to make out the words, but a moment later the door was pushed open as two people entered the conference room.
Willis Windsor was a short man. Standing next to him, Max—at five feet nine inches—could see clear over the top of his head. “Maxine, hello,” he said, his overly botoxed face barely moving to form a smile.
Max held out her hand, shaking his firmly before extending it to the blond woman standing to Willis’s left.
“And this is Jordyn. She’ll be sitting in on our meeting today.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Maxine—Max Martin.”
“Delighted,” the woman said, a hint of a refined English accent slipping into her response.
Willis and Jordyn took seats opposite Max. As they settled in, Willis leaned over, whispering something to Jordyn that made a sneer curl across her face.
Max took a deep breath, summoning all her confidence as she began her presentation.
“Thank you, Mr. Windsor, for taking the time to speak with me today.” She tapped the forward key on her laptop, triggering the screen transition.
“Today I’ll be walking you through the trial wine expert position.
I’ll begin with the results.” She tapped the key again, noticing Willis whispering to Jordyn once more, annoyed at the audacity of this man for being so rude.
But Max persisted, determined to get through her presentation.
But two slides later, she couldn’t take it anymore, her temper finally getting the better of her. “I’m sorry, I can stop if you need time to finish your conversation,” she snapped, looking expectantly at Willis and Jordyn.
Willis looked back at her with empty eyes. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I was going over some important context with Jordyn. Continue, please.”
Max inhaled deeply, willing herself not to react in any way to the blatant rudeness and misogyny on full display. But still, she continued.
She made it through her presentation, annoyance high as she waited for Willis to say something.
“Well, Maxine, you’ve done a great job highlighting the need for McCallum-Windsor to employ a full-time sommelier. We appreciate your willingness to tackle this for us, and I think you’ve done an excellent job preparing Jordyn with everything she’ll need to be successful in her new role.”
Max froze. What? New role? Jordyn? “I’m sorry, Mr. Windsor… Did you say new role?”
“Precisely. I play squash with Jordyn’s father and we were chatting over the holidays and wouldn’t you know it, Jordyn here was looking for a new job.”
Internally, Max wanted to scream. Externally, however, she kept it together, not wanting to make a scene.
“I thought,” she said slowly, trying to quickly and concisely organize her thoughts into a sophisticated arrangement.
“We had discussed at the beginning of last year how this trial would yield a new position for me and cover any training and accreditation costs,” she finished, trying to gently remind Willis of their agreement.
A sickening smile played on Willis Windsor’s face. “Did you get that in writing, sweetheart? Unless you have it in writing from me, I’m under no obligation to follow through.”
Rage welled up inside Max, starting in her chest and rapidly spreading through her entire body as the lid blew off her careful control.
“You know what,” she said, making no attempt to hide the way her voice shook with anger.
“I quit. You can fuck all the way off,” she spat, reaching for her laptop and the stack of papers beside it.
“Fuck this club, fuck your nepotism, fuck your gatekeeping, fuck all of this. I’m done.
I’ll clean out my locker and turn in all my keys on my way out.
” She huffed, taking in the stunned faces of Willis and Jordyn in front of her.
Her chest heaved as her anger began to wear off and Willis reached for the phone in the center of the table, bringing the receiver to his ear.
“Security, please, conference room seven. We have a disgruntled former employee who needs an escort.” He hung up, placing the phone back on the cradle, then got to his feet.
“Miss Martin, I trust you know better than to ask anyone from McCallum-Windsor for a reference moving forward. And I will be having a conversation with Dave Norwich about your concerning outburst here today.”
Fine. Do that, she thought as she crossed her arms over her chest, not giving Willis the satisfaction of a response. Dave loved Max and loved what she had done for his business.
“Please wait for security to escort you to the staff locker room,” Willis said as he ushered Jordyn through the same door they entered from, the latch clicking behind them.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Max sank into the chair. Running her fingers through her long dark hair, pulling at the roots in frustration.
God. That had been so stupid. So fucking stupid.
She shouldn’t have quit, should have held her tongue.
Should have bit back her disdain for how Willis had treated her and held it in, but Max had never been particularly good at that skill.
Shit.
She reached into her pocket, ready to text Jack an SOS to give his dad a head’s up about Willis’s impending call, only to see a message from Annie.
Annie 12:48 PM
Good luck with your presentation today! You’re going to absolutely nail it, and everyone at Mcallum-Windsor will continue to enjoy your unparalleled wine experiential services. I believe in you!
Her heart did a weird little flutter/flop in her chest as she read and reread Annie’s text, forming her response.
Max 1:36 PM
Thanks. Things took a weird turn, and I ended up quitting on the spot. I’ll fill you in later.
Instantly, three dots appeared, followed by another message.
Annie 1:37 PM
Fuck them. Spoon Me in twenty?
Max grinned, both at the fact that Annie immediately was on her side without having any context to what had led to her impulsive self-termination, and also her invitation.
Annie 1:37 PM
Spoon Me the frozen yogurt place.
Not that I wouldn’t want you to physically spoon me.
Rage yogurt tastes better in my opinion
Annie 1:38 PM
I’m going to stop now. See you soon?
Max laughed out loud, enjoying the way Annie’s chaotic texts instantly made her forget how angry she was.
Max 1:39 PM
I’d love that. Going to Spoon Me and spooning you at some point...you know…just so we’re on the same page. But I do have to warn you I’m a firm little spoon.
She hit send. Sighing deeply, running her fingers through her hair once more before getting to her feet as the security guard, a woman in her late forties named Helen that Max had a fairly good rapport with, entered the small conference room to escort her off the premises.