The days passed by in a whirlwind and before I knew it, it was Friday already. Max was still in the dark about Finn. With each second that passed, it got even harder to pick up my phone, call, and tell him. At this point, I was really scared about his reaction. I’d spent almost every night at his place, and whenever he came over to mine, Finn was in school or hanging out with Cora. I kind of hoped that he’d catch on, with the small footwear by the entrance doorway or the little, children’s books littered on the Lucite table in the living room, but so far, he was oblivious to the details, and I had no idea how to break it to him.
Yesterday, Jessy invited me over to their place again, and I was surprised at how differently Bruce and his assistant treated me. No searching. They just pulled open the gates and admitted me into the house. Turned out that Jessy wanted me to wear a cool dress of hers and save my money. Ryan was playing with the kids when I arrived but was delighted to see me as well. It all felt weird… the sudden bonding and comfort, but I tried not to think too much about it. After trying out lots of her dresses, Jessy and I sat down to talk about a range of topics that involved men, relationships, and motherhood. Her demeanor was so soothing, that I almost blurted out that I had a child as well. The way she discussed children could make even the world’s coldest woman who’d sworn to not have kids think about getting one.
When we were done, she took everyone out for lunch, and we all had fun with the children, laughing as we munched on pizza and ice cream. The dog came along as well, and everyone’s happiness was contagious. I got to know more about Ryan and his sexuality. I kind of suspected that he was gay from the onset, but didn’t know for sure, and it felt refreshing to hear him speak about his partner, Jace. I had a feeling that we would be best friends, and Jessy? She was just so awesome and with each minute we spent together, I got to love her personality even more. She was the exact kind of girl I would be friends with, even though we didn’t know the Sturm men. Our connection was so thrilling that I couldn’t help looking forward to Saturday when I would see her at the get-together, even with this painful lump of truth in my chest.
It was all happening so fast that I was drowning in the pressure. Not only am I pretending to be a sweet, normal girl in front of Max, but I was also selling the same narrative to his family and friend. They were all making a conscious effort to have me included in their grand scheme of things, and because I’d fallen in love with them, I was trying so hard to keep the pretense going for as long as possible.
No one needed to tell me how horrible I was. Believe me, that was a well-known fact, and I wasn’t happy about it.
–
I looked up from the paperwork I was working on when I heard my phone buzz. Picking it up, I slid a finger up to unlock it and read Max’s text, asking me to come over to his place for dinner. It was a little past five and Finn would be home with Cora any minute now. I heard Terry promise her a date tonight to make up for their recent fight, so I wanted to look after Finn while she was out.
Now, he was calling. Sighing, I tapped the answer button. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey, Cherry. How’s your evening going? Did you have fun at Samson’s with Jessy and Ryan?” There’s an obvious eagerness in his tone that left me feeling rough and guilty. The fact that I was bonding well with his family meant so much to him.
“Yes, love. They were awesome,” I chuckled, my heart doing a backflip in my chest as I reminisced on how terrific the afternoon was. “Ryan is one serious flirt.”
“Tell me about it,” he snorted. “He called me to yap about how lovely you were. He better not get any funny ideas about you.”
I frowned, realizing that Max was probably still in the dark about Ryan’s sexuality. I wanted to tell him that there was no way Ryan would ever be interested in me but figured it wasn’t in my place to tell. Moreover, I loved having Max jealous every once in a while.
“Anyways,” he continued. “Jessy is insisting that I marry you as soon as possible. She called me up to lecture me on all your qualities – how smart you are. How loving… all that jazz.”
My stomach dropped, and I bit my bottom lip in pain. This was so fucked up. I’d never felt so disgusted at myself at that very moment. “Max, I’m sorry but I don’t think I can make it to your place tonight.”
“What? Why not?”
“I’m working. I’ve got to finish these manuscripts.”
He scoffed. “Throw those manuscripts in the bin and get that fine arse here. I’m giving you twenty minutes.”
I swallowed. “That’s bad for business. We’ve been holding off the final publication for so damn long.”
“Remind me again why I should care about anything else but having you here. I’m waiting.”
“Max.” I breathed.
“I’ve had it with you, Elaine. No, really, I’ve been patient enough. You keep bringing up these stupid excuses so you wouldn’t have to see me. It’s so suspicious and sleazy that I’m not having it anymore.”
“It’s not my fault that I have to work extra hard because I’m your assistant,” I fired back hotly. “This is my fucking job, and you’ll not pay me if I don’t work. You’re lucky that you’re the CEO and you can make every day a holiday for yourself.”
“This is not about me being the boss, and you know it. And even if it is, Elaine, you’re now my fucking girlfriend. Meaning, you get to take the days off to be with me whenever I need you.”
“How toxic of you,” I hissed impatiently. “I am not your wife. And I don’t intend to be if you keep up with this disgusting attitude of yours. I’m a hard-working woman. I decide whether to come over or not, and you better respect it.”
He fell silent for a few minutes, perhaps shocked at my audacity. “Fine. If you don’t want to come over tonight, it’s alright. But know this if I don’t see you standing in front of my gate in twenty minutes, we’re over. Done and dusted.”
“What?’ I gasped, horrified. “You can’t do that.”
“Do you want to try me? Get your arse here or it’s over between us. And I mean it.”
Fuck. I hated it whenever he got so demanding. “Tomorrow’s the get-together, Max. We’ll have the entire day to ourselves. I need this night off. I can’t leave this house.”
“Since you’ve decided, then it’s no use trying to convince you any further. Goodbye, Elaine. It was nice knowing you.”
“Max…” I pleaded.
He hung up.