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I blush at that last bit and avoid eye contact with him.
“So, about this whole marriage thing, what do we do about all this?” I ask reaching into the purse on my lap, pulling out the ring I woke up with and pushing it toward him.
MAXWELL
She’s gorgeous.
She’s awkwardly gorgeous and I’m not completely sure I want to let go of her just yet. I’m not sure what my intentions were when I saw her. But I do know that I want to hold onto whatever this fairytale is before completely giving it up.
“I’ll be here in town for a week, how about we get to know one another?” I offer her.
What the ever living fuck?
I’m staying a week?
Where did that come from?
She looks taken aback by my offer, which is rightfully so as she presses her hand to her sternum. Her lips form a tiny little “o” and I’m imagining improper things that I would like to do to this stranger.
Technically, in the biblical sense, she wouldn’t be a stranger. I woke up naked, and I’m pretty sure that if I asked her, she did too. So, I’m thinking that we did some things that would make us more acquainted than we seem to recall.
While it’s been a few months since the trip to Vegas, my body is amplified around her, so while I may not recall much, maybe my body’s reaction to her is telling me something. Something that I should pay attention to.
“You’re here for a week?” She asks.
“I am. I have clients here in LA and I purposely scheduled appointments, so while I’m out of the office—it would appear that I’m not fucking around. I can still bill for the time away from my actual desk and make any surface a work station.” I explain.
“Are you always so detailed and serious about work?” she asks.
“I have to be. I deal with clients that are high in stature. I need to present myself as the utmost of professionals and that means making myself available.”
“What if your clients caught you at an opportune moment?”
“I wouldn’t put myself in that situation. There are times when it’s clear that I’m conducting business. Other times, such as during the Vegas weekend, I left my cell phone in the hotel room. Probably a dumbass idea for that night, but I did wake up with two phone calls on my phone that looking back, I’m glad I didn’t answer.”
“I see. So, Mr. Maxwell Addison—” She begins, but I cut her off.
“Please, call me Max. Maxwell is so formal, and I would prefer that we get to know one another on a different level after all this is not a business transaction. I’m not buying your company and you’re not planning one of our events.”
“Ok, so Max, tell me about yourself? You say we should get to know one another, so let’s do this?”
“I wasn’t saying we have to know everything right now.” I tell her.
“Foundations. Let’s learn about foundations. Tell me, how did you grow up?”
“Wow, hitting hard. That’s easy. Parents wanted more for me than they had themselves, but they wanted my sister and I to work for it. I got scholarships for college and started at the very bottom of the company during my junior year of college. I worked my way up thinking that it would impress my father, but I never knew whether or not it did. But I must have been doing something right. Once he passed, his recommendation was to name me partner, so here I am.” I say as quickly as possible.
“And your mother?” She questions.
“My mom is still around. The crazy old bat still tells people that she’s thirty-five and she’s happily living in Florida at one of those old folks communities.”
“Are you guys close?” she asks.
“I see her a few times a year, my sister and I take turns visiting her, so she’s not too lonely and talk to her once a week, but that’s about it. What about you? Tell me about your upbringing?” I ask.
“Once upon a time, there was this girl. She had a mom who liked to drink and a dad who liked to gamble. One ended up dead, the other is in jail. That’s about the gist of my story,” she says, as cryptic as possible.
“So, who raised you?” I ask.
