364 The conference in Portland 6 (1/2)

'This might be a good thing… Instead of worrying not to mess up my presentation, I am concerned not to fall on my nose…', Liz laughed internally at her predicament but she has no regrets. Max has many ways to make her scream in ecstasy and she cherishes every memory of his gentleness mixed with intensity.

If pleasing a woman is a sport, Max would be the world champion and Liz is confident in this even though Max is the only man who ever touched her intimately.

Liz is sad that Max had to leave, but he is not one of the participants so there was no point in him lingering and waiting for her to finish in the hallway or in the hotel room. She would not be free until lunchtime anyway.

Max made sure to give her plenty of kisses and wish her good luck before she left the room.

Liz was nearly startled when she reached the lectern that had a laptop with her slides on it... that was a sign that it's happening!

She took a deep breath and raised her gaze. ”Good morning, fellow surgeons…”

Liz's gaze swept over the audience as she introduced herself: ”My name is Elizabeth Williams, and I am a neurosurgeon at the Franciscan Medical Center in Seattle. It is my honor to…” Liz paused, and her lips stretched into a smile when her eyes fell on Max. He was leaning on the wall, next to the main entry door, and watching her with an encouraging expression and that small smile at the edge of his lips she adores.

Liz cleared her throat, and her eyes didn't leave Max as she continued: ”It is my honor to introduce you to the upgrades we did recently to the neurosurgery wing and to share the impact…”

The rest of the presentation went without a hitch. Max told her to imagine her audience wearing silly clothes (brown sacks), but she delivered her presentation to Max only. He was the only important person and others were irrelevant spectators, at least in her mind.

Her talk was eloquent, slides of the presentation on point, her stance was perfect, her hand gestures impeccable, and in her eyes, the whole room was reduced to Max.

At the end of the presentation, the irrelevant spectators (how Liz saw them) had many questions and Liz answered them until her time ran out, and then she promised to answer all unanswered questions over lunchbreak.

Her smile fell slightly when she didn't see Max standing next to the door anymore. She wondered, did she imagine him? Probably not. But he was there during the presentation and then he left when the questions-answer session started because he has his work as well. She is grateful for the time he gave her, and she will make sure to thank him in the evening, with a lot of kisses. And more than kisses.

Liz went backstage to return to the organizers the microphone that was attached to the lapel of her suit jacket. It was not cold, and Liz could have gone in a pencil skirt and shirt, but she feared that she will sweat due to anxiousness and she decided on a jacket as well. Luckily, the jacket was perfect for attaching the microphone and concealing the recording device at Liz's back.

”Your presentation was good. So far, you got the loudest claps.”, the lady said as she detached the microphone from Liz's jacket.

”Thank you.”

Liz turned for the lady to detach the device from Liz's back. It took less than two seconds, and Liz was free to return to the event hall where the conference is being held.

”Thank you...”, Liz said to the lady and lifted her gaze.

She blinked, unsure if she is imagining things again. ”Max?”

Liz walked toward Max, as if an invisible force is pulling her in his direction.

Max stood in the hallway that connects the event hall and the backstage with his shoulder leaning on the wall. His eyes were locked on Liz and his charming smile could stop the traffic. ”You skipped breakfast and I thought that pastries will be better than chips.”

Only then Liz noticed a brown paper bag in Max's hand.

Liz rushed those last few steps toward Max and slammed herself into his embrace. ”Oh, Max… you think of everything…”

Max touched her chin, lifting her head so that he can see her face. ”That is not true. I am thinking only of you.”