416 The revised deal (1/2)

Wednesday

Max ended his meeting and headed to his office. He was in a good mood, knowing that Liz is waiting for him so that they can have lunch together.

He was worried that Liz will be bored coming to work with him, but she seems to be holding up well.

During yesterday's checkup, Dr. told Liz that her recuperation is going well and on Monday she will resume her work and start seeing her patients.

Instead of pesky stiff bandages, Liz got a shoulder brace that allows her to move her right arm a bit. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. The brace is easily removable, which is convenient when she takes a shower. Also, the dose of painkillers she is taking went down and that means she is not so drowsy anymore.

All those are good news and Max is happy that Liz got to hold onto him last night.

With Liz resuming her work, she will not spend so much time in Max's office, because she will be at the Franciscan Medical Center in the mornings (not every day) and meet with Max for lunch after which she will spend the afternoon at the Alpha group. The variety of activities will help her pass the time until the shoulder brace is completely off, and Liz gets back to her bubbly self.

Max found Liz on the sofa with her laptop.

”Ready for lunch?”, Max asked.

”Come here. I want to show you something first.”

Max saw that Liz is excited and he sat next to her that Liz has an article opened on her screen. It's from Dr. Thomas, about her stay in the lab in South America. There are no specifics about her research or location, but she is mentioning that she was imprisoned and rescued by four brave youngsters.

”There, you are famous.”, Max said half-jokingly.

”WE are famous.”, Liz corrected him. ”It's good that our names are not mentioned, and she published it under an alias so that no one knows it's her. I guess she wanted her story to be heard even if people don't know that it's her.”

”How did you find out about the article?”

”She emailed me the link.”, Liz responded and kept her laptop on the side before turning to Max. ”How was your meeting?”

”It was fine. Let's talk about it during lunch.”

”Sounds like a plan…”, Liz responded in a singing voice and went to get her purse.

She does not mind spending her days in Max's office. She got to learn about his work, and she does not feel that she is obstructing him. It's like she got a secret glimpse into his life, and she is glad that he let her in.

Max watched Liz with a lingering smile on his face.

Max never thought about settling down and having kids, but with Liz in the picture, those things seem natural.

”Max?”

”Hmm?”

”I asked you… are we going?”

”Yes, yes…”, Max responded clumsily, unaware that he spaced out.

Liz giggled at Max who said 'yes' but he is still sitting on the sofa. ”What's going on with you, Mr. Anderson?”

Max pulled Liz to sit on his lap and pecked her lips. ”You happened, Miss Williams…”, he said in a low voice, and then he kissed her again.

…

While Max and Liz enjoyed their time together, Irene was in a restaurant and not happy.

She called the man who convinced her to come to the Alpha group in order to sabotage it, and she wanted to start the plan, but then she hesitated.

It's not that she cares for the Alpha group, but she fears for her reputation and career. As for Max, she is aware of how what she is feeling toward him is not love. Did she ever love him? Irene is not sure. But she knows that his constant rejection and the fact that he moved on, hurts her pride. And every time she sees Liz or hears office gossip about how CEO's girlfriend is around is making Irene's blood boil

She went back and forth between going with the man's plan or not, until she decided.

”I will not do anything unless I see you face to face.”, she told him sternly.

”Miss Brooks, you are not in a position to have demands.”, the man said in a low voice.

”And you are not in a position to ask me to take risks while you sit in the dark and I have no idea who is pulling my strings. If you expect me to be a brainless puppet, you better find someone else.”

Eventually, the man relented and here she is… in a restaurant… waiting for the man to arrive and he is late.

”Miss Brooks…”, an older man greeted her. ”I hope you are not waiting for long.”