Chapter 120 - Fanned the Flames (1/2)

”Pfffft. Never knew the princess of Vuono was into proxy bidding. I'm curious. How did Natalia end up as your proxy bidder?” She faced Maxen, and the rest of the group darted their eyes to the pair, watching if another fight would break out from their group.

”It's her hobby. I was looking for a proxy bidder and her name was included in the list, so I picked her.”

Olivia nodded as she tried to focus and listen to Maxen when a memory flashed before her eyes.

Beside her, Maxen poked her cheek when she didn't stop shaking from mirth. It annoyed him every time Olivia would snicker randomly, although most of the time she would tell him why, what, or worse… who made her snicker.

”I met her brother back in Oxford. We were in the same class and would hang out with the same group of friends in the library or dining outside.”

The room fell silent as the usually quiet Olivia started tattling. The rest wondered if it was the hangover talking or she just felt lighter after her recent bathroom trip. They were all ears as she talked nonstop, a rare event that they wanted to cherish.

”That guy is crazy and awkward. Crazy because he bought this giant teddy bear in our class that I had to hide under my desk because he was my seatmate. It was embarrassing. I was squished between a grown man and a teddy bear for an hour. Oh, good ol' uni days. One day he stopped showing up which I didn't even notice until I heard news that he had to leave school because his dad died.”

”And by awkward, you meant?” Maxen c.o.c.ked an eyebrow which the rest saw save for Olivia who was slicing her toast.

”Oh? He pets my hair every time he sees me, it's annoying. Then, I thought, maybe he's just teasing me, so I just ignored him.”

”Who got the teddy bear? Just curious. It was huge, you said.”

”Oh, he left it at my flat. We had a group sesh that afternoon and he must have forgotten to bring it with him.”

Maxen rolled his tongue over his teeth. Just the mention of that guy vexed him to epic proportions and after hearing Olivia's story, he had more reasons to hate him.

Across Maxen, Oliver fanned the flames, blazing the fuming Maxen on his seat. ”I heard he's still single. Maybe he hadn't found his queen yet.”

Ava and Emily snorted in their seats. Their eyes darted to Maxen—a volcano waiting to erupt anytime.

”He'll find one for sure. He's a great guy. Max?” Olivia's head snapped to her right where Maxen was when she felt him throw his napkin on the table.

”I'm full. Jack, I'd like to have a word with you. Privately. If you'll excuse me.” And with that, Maxen stood and headed over to one of the bedrooms with Jack hot on his tail.

”What's wrong with him? So cranky.” Olivia commented, taking a sip of her tea. Her brows furrowed at Maxen's sudden indifference. She looked to her left when Emily brushed a hand on her arm.

”Maybe he just needs to take a nap, Livi darling.” Emily smiled at her, digging back to her slice of cheesecake.