201 Lunch at the Alpha Group HQ 3 (1/2)

Max looked at the photo frame with their photo in it and remembered how at that time he wanted to get close to Liz, unaware that he will be this smitten. He wondered, if he knew that Liz would have this huge impact on his life, would he do anything differently? Absolutely not. From the moment Elizabeth entered his life, her presence delivered a series of shocks which managed to wake him up, and now he is a man who is striving for something: a bright future with Elizabeth, and he is ready to do anything to make it happen.

Liz watched Max who was lost in his thoughts and she wondered, what is on his mind? He is smiling, so it must be something pleasant, she thought.

”I picked that picture because it's the first one where you are holding me.”, Liz broke the silence. She saw that Max is looking at her questionably and she explained: ”Your hand on my shoulder. No one ever held me like that. It's solid, unyielding and it makes me feel safe.”

Max smiled and kept the picture frame to stand on his desk. ”This is the perfect spot for it.”

He turned to Liz and pulled her into a hug. ”I am happy to hear that you are describing my presence by your side as solid. I will always be there for you and I hope that in time you acknowledge me as your constant pillar of support. No matter what it is... even if the sky is falling, I will hold it up for you.”

Liz leaned into his embrace and smiled. Talking about things like 'always' and 'constant' is ridiculous considering that they don't know each other for a long time, and they are dating for less than a month, but somehow… she believes that he will always be by her side because being with Max feels right.

”Do you like it?”, Liz asked while gesturing toward the photo frame which is now on his desk.

”I love it. That photo alone will make me spend more time in this office.”

Liz's smile faded. ”Oh… I was about to gift you a few more, but if it will make you spend more time at work, I'm not sure if that is such a good idea.”

Max caressed her cheek gently while responding: ”You can gift me as many as you want. I will cherish each of them equally. But no photo is better than the real thing. I will always rush back home to you. I don't know how to thank you.”

Liz smiled happily at her sweet talker. ”Lunch would be nice.”

”Right this way…”, Max opened the door of his office and gestured to her to come out.

Liz glanced at the table with a computer, and the chair in the hallway in front of Max's office. ”Is this where Foxy sits?”

Max confirmed. ”Foxy can have her own office if she wants, but she insists that like this she can keep an eye on me.” Max leaned closer and whispered to Liz: ”Just between the two of us, I think that Foxy is spying on me and reporting to Nathan when I get in and out of office…”

Liz laughed.

Max's hand was firmly on Liz's shoulder as he led her down the hallway, away from the elevators. At the end of the hallway, Max opened the door which had in bold white letters: 'CEO Nathaniel Anderson'.

Liz walked in without a word, curious to find out why are they going to Nathan's office.

”Liz!”, Nathan exclaimed cheerfully as soon as Liz entered the office.

”You said that you will be out until two o'clock.”, Max told Nathan grumpily.

”Yes, yes. I'm about to leave, but I wanted to say 'hi' to Liz first.” Nathan waved at Max dismissively and turned to Liz. ”How are you? You look lovely.”

”I'm fine, Mr. Anderson, thank you for asking. How are you?”

”Great, great…” Nathan fidgeted for a few seconds before adding: ”I am sorry about barging into your apartment on Sunday. It was inappropriate.”

Liz forced a smile. She does not like it, but it's already done. What is the point of scolding the man now? He already knows that it was not the right thing to do. ”Don't worry about it.”

”Right. You probably don't want to talk about it…”, Nathan mumbled and went to get his suit jacket. ”OK. I will leave you two kids to it… I will see you later.”

Liz watched Nathan walk out of the door and when the door closed, she observed a spacious office.

It's a corner office at least six times the size of Max's office, with two external walls covered in floor to ceiling windows which are showing Seattle downtown, and piers in the distance. The view from the 55th floor is breathtaking.

The focal point of the office is a massive U-shaped desk made out of Amazon Rosewood, with a comfy leather chair behind it and two chairs in front. On the right, there is a sitting area with a sofa and two sofa chairs around one long coffee table. Behind it, is one door, and Liz guessed that it's probably a bathroom. On the left is another sitting area with two leather reclining sofa chairs, each with a small coffee table by its side and in the far left corner, is one round table with four chairs around it… that table is set up for a meal with bells covering the plates and Liz concluded that this is where they will have their lunch.