Part 4 (1/2)

This is the part that would be the hardest, I thought. Offering that kind of money to someone was a potential blow to their pride, but the rehab part of the deal could be a lot worse.

I moved next to her on the couch and put my arm around her. ”No, you won't. Hear me out, okay?”

I explained it to her, and she took it surprisingly well. By the time we were done, she had promised me that she'd think about it.

”One thing, though,” I said. ”Let me know soon, okay? And in the meantime...”

”I know, stay away from that crowd.”

Jesus. I felt like her mother, but I knew it was the right thing to do. She needed help and Max's offer was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get her life back on track. She'd take the deal. I just had to give her a little time.

”Oh, hey,” she said as I was getting up from the couch. ”What did Max say about the Kevin thing and you leaving your job?”

I didn't want to tell her that Max had offered me a job as his a.s.sistant. It might have only made her feel worse about what lay ahead for her. While she was facing rehab and getting her entire life back on track, my problem had seemed to work itself out in a matter of days.

So I just said, ”He called Kevin a 'f.u.c.kwit'.”

”A what?”

”That's what I said.”

We enjoyed a good laugh over the word and it saved me from having to tell her the rest of the story.

Later that evening, I talked to my parents and found out they'd be arriving that Friday. Grace was coming, along with her kids, but my brother-in-law was staying home.

I felt a mixture of happiness and dread about the whole thing. Maybe it would go well. Or maybe it would just go fast. After all, they'd only be here for a couple of days.

I had to warn Krystal about it. She had known my family for years and I didn't want them to see her in the state she was currently in. Part of that was for her own good-she'd be totally uncomfortable, especially around Grace. Part of it was for mine-if my parents found out I lived with someone who was into cocaine and did p.o.r.n, I'd never be able to deal with their fury.

”They're not going to stay here, are they?” she asked.

”No. G.o.d, no. They'll stay at a hotel. But I know they'll want to see where I live.”

”Okay, well, I can hide in my bedroom or something. Keep the door closed. You can tell them I'm working or something. They won't want to see my room.”

Maybe she'd forgotten how nosey my parents were. ”We'll work it out.” I started to head back to my room. ”Oh, and one other thing. I'm not telling them about Max. And they don't know about me quitting the agency. So, if for some reason you do end up seeing them....you know, just go along with whatever I say.”

She laughed. ”d.a.m.n, girl. You're having to hide everything.”

”Story of my life.”

EIGHT

Max called me first thing Monday morning and told me he'd talked to the editor of the tabloid.

The editor had already heard from Liza Carrow, and said they were going to run a story clearing up their previous one.

”That sounds easy enough,” I said, ”but didn't you want to give him a bunch of s.h.i.+t for what they did?”

”I wanted to. Definitely. But it's better this way. If I had come across like an a.s.s to the guy, he might never take my calls again in the future when their next bulls.h.i.+t story runs. Which I don't think it will, but you never know.”

I was silent for a moment.

”Of course,” he said, ”next time I'd probably go over there and bust the place up with a baseball bat.”

”Then you'd end up on the front front page.” page.”

”Excellent point, once again,” he said. ”What would I do without you?”

Late that afternoon, I got a call from Kevin. Of course I let it go to voicemail. When my phone chirped, I checked the message. I hated hearing his voice, but I listened anyway. Big mistake. I should have deleted it without giving it a single second's worth of my attention.

”Olivia, I won't bother you anymore after this. But let's please discuss what happened. I'm really sorry. I need you. I mean, I need you here here. Working.” Pause. ”Think about it. Please?”

Pathetic. He was begging, and there was only one reason: he was afraid he would lose out on the Jacqueline Mathers deal.

I was feeling particularly spiteful that day, so I decided I would let myself feel no guilt for letting him wonder and worry.

On Thursday night, I told Max that Krystal said she wanted to take him up on the offer. We were at his house, spending time together before my parents would arrive the next day.

I was brus.h.i.+ng my teeth in the master bath when Max put his arms around me from behind. ”I'm going to miss you.”

”It's only a few days,” I said, with my mouth full of toothpaste. Real s.e.xy.

”So you're not going to miss me?”

I rinsed out my mouth, and when I bent over Max lifted my s.h.i.+rt. I was wearing one of his t-s.h.i.+rts, and nothing else, ready for bed. He cupped my a.s.s and gave it a squeeze.

With my mouth now free of toothpaste, I wiped my face with a towel. ”Of course I'll miss you.”

”A few days of not being inside you is going to kill me.”

I stood straight up, still facing the mirror, and saw that familiar intensity on Max's face. He reached around to my front and took my b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands and caressed them beneath the t-s.h.i.+rt. My nipples puckered at his touch, and I pushed back to feel his erection. He was wearing only boxers and so far, they were still holding his c.o.c.k back, although I thought I could feel the head as Max pressed against me.

He separated my legs and told me to stand on my tip-toes.

”I want to see your face in the mirror when I go inside you.”

We watched each other's reactions as his c.o.c.k pushed into me. Max kissed my neck as we kept our eyes trained on each other. We stood like that for a minute or so, just feeling each other-him feeling my tight warmth, me feeling his rigid length and thickness.

He turned me around and lifted me off the floor, kissing me, devouring my mouth. He carried me out of the bathroom and over to his bed, laying me down on my back. I wrapped my legs around his waist, urging him to push inside me.