334 Thanksgiving (1/2)

Thursday

Madeline was super-excited for this year's Thanksgiving. They never had so many guests. All her kids had a partner and it was very harmonious. Last year it was only five of them, and this year with Ashton, Liz, Mia, Isaac, and Foxy, that number doubled! And Sabrina is pregnant!

The only thing that dampened Madeline's mood was that Max is in the wheelchair, but his condition is improving so it was not very bad.

”Ah, I wish that Rhonda is here.”, Liz said.

”The lady who works at the Franciscan Medical Center?” Isaac asked.

Liz confirmed. ”If she is here, everyone who cares about me would be here.”

”Don't forget Bri and Q.” Mia reminded Liz.

Liz made an apologetic face. Brianna and Quentin went to San Francisco, to spend the Thanksgiving with Brianna's family.

After dinner, Max asked Nathan if they can have a word in the study. Elizabeth joined them. She didn't want to hear about Irene, but she can't avoid the women's existence and by being by Max's side, she is showing her support in dealing with this problem.

…

In the study…

Nathan looked at Max in disbelief. ”What do you mean by... she is your ex-girlfriend from college? The one who made you drink your life away? The one who made you go to those senseless parties and endanger yourself?”

Max exhaled. ”She didn't make me do that, dad. I did that myself because she left me, and I needed a way to vent my frustration.”

”Vent your frustration.” Nathan snorted. ”That is an interesting way to say that you gave up on yourself.”

Nathan's eyes moved to Liz. ”You are OK with that?”

”I am not, Mr. A.”, Liz responded. ”However, that is in Max's past and it will not be fair to judge him for it because Max showed us that he changed. However, that woman is back and that is a problem.”

”In his past?” Nathan frowned at Max and his temper flared at the thought that he was driving drunk and he nearly died. ”Is that why you got drunk and ended up in an accident?” Nathan gestured toward the wheelchair angrily. ”Are we back to that again, so that I don't know if in the morning they will call me from the hospital, police, or the morgue?”

”No, dad…” Max said dejectedly. He knew this is coming. ”That evening, Liz found out who Irene was, and we had an argument.”

”So now it's Liz's fault?” Nathan asked grumpily. ”First it was Irene, and now it's Liz? When are you going to take responsibility for your actions? Are you going to get drunk and try killing yourself whenever you face a problem in life?”

Nathan looked at Liz. ”Is this why you forgave him? Because you fear that he will kill himself if you don't?”

”What kind of help?” Nathan asked suspiciously. He was not convinced that Max will not go back to his old ways. Max drinking last week proved that he could do it under some circumstances.

Nathan decided to talk to Max about responsibility, just how he did many times before, but this time he will make a point that with this behavior he is practically blackmailing Liz to stay by his side or he will ruin his life. What kind of a man does that?

Nathan listened to Max's theory that Irene is not in the Alpha group only for the job.

A few minutes later…

”You are saying… that she might be here because of you or because some of our competitors set me up to hire her.”, Nathan mumbled while rubbing his chin.

Max confirmed. ”I don't see any other explanation why Irene would accept a job at the Alpha group. She knows my name and she knew that our family is behind the Alpha group. That was never a secret. Unless she has a hidden agenda, why wouldn't she disclose the fact that she knows me while you talked to her about the job?”

”Her resume is amazing, and so is her experience. I personally checked her references, and everything was spotless.” Nathan defended his decision to hire Irene.

”That can be fabricated.”, Liz said. ”But even if it's legit, you can't deny that something is off. She pretended not to know Max.”

Nathan nodded while remembering that Irene introduced herself to Max at the party. Even if she thought that the future CEO is some other Maximilian Anderson, there is no way that she didn't recognize Max when she saw him.

”Is this why you wanted Foxy to come here today?” Nathan asked Max.

Max confirmed. ”Whatever Irene's agenda is, I don't want to allow her to impact the Alpha group. I want us to sync up with Foxy and Hunter. I don't trust anyone else to keep an eye on Irene until we figure out how to deal with her. I also want to look into the contract…”

Liz didn't want to be there for the talk about their company. Max will summarize important parts for her later. She left the study with a task to ask Hunter and Foxy to join Max and Nathan.

Hunter was watching the pre-game show with Ashton, Madeline was not in sight, Mia and Sabrina chatted on the side and Foxy was talking with Isaac.

”You two are getting along well…” Liz told Isaac when Foxy left.

”She is a nice lady.”, Isaac responded.

”Foxy is single.”

Isaac frowned. ”What is that supposed to mean?”

Liz shrugged. ”Nothing. I was just saying… Foxy is single, and so are you. If you are getting along, maybe you should consider seeing her again.”

Isaac's eyebrows shot up. ”Are you coercing me to have a date with Nicole?”