“Logan didn’t tell you?” He smirks. “Candace is the lawyer I hired to work out all the paperwork of making Logan my business partner.”
“Oh.” I nod. “Right. I’m sorry, I forgot.”
Max had offered Logan a partnership the night Julian sent me the photos of him and Natalie.
After I had come back home and we had aired out all our secrets, Logan finally told me what Max had offered him. I was thrilled for Logan, knowing deep down the job was meant for him all along.
When we reach the conference room, Logan pulls the handle on the large glass door, holding it open for me to walk in first. I set the stack of files down on the table and Max does the same, setting them on top.
“Hey,” Max says, sliding his hands into his pockets. The sleeves of his suit scrunch up. “I wanted to apologize about the whole thing with Abby.”
I dip my eyebrows, confused. “You don’t need to apologize, Max. Sometimes these things don’t work out.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “No kidding. Especially if she’s already taken. I may have an appreciation for women and come across as a player, but that’s my number one rule. A rule I never break under any circumstance.”
I stop sorting my files, looking up at Logan. “What’s your number one rule?”
“To never date a woman who’s already in a relationship.”
I shake my head, not believing a word he’s saying. I resume organizing my files. “I’m sorry, Max but I think you’re mistaken. She’s not in a relationship.”
“Are you sure?” Max asks. “She was pretty adamant about it. She said she’s been in a relationship for the past few months after being separated for nearly a year. She said they met each other in college and finally met back up here in Seattle.”
I step back feeling like the wind has been knocked against my chest. The air stings my irises as I stare at Max with widened eyes. “What? Did she say what his name was?”
He twists his mouth, glancing up at the ceiling. “Actually, no. I don’t think she did.”
“Are you sure that’s what she told you?”
Max pulls his eyebrows together, no doubt surprised I don’t trust him enough to be telling me the truth. “I’m not kidding, Lena. That’s what she said, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
I give him a fake laugh. Max is one of the cockiest, sweetest men I’ve ever known. He is also quite possibly the worst at gauging a person’s mood.
My palms sweat and the back of my neck prickles with goose bumps. Why would Abby lie and keep her relationship a secret from me? She told me Max wasn’t her type, mentioning nothing about having a boyfriend. But she never told me it was because she was involved with someone else.
My first thought is Julian. Never in a million years did I think Abby would be in a relationship with my ex-boyfriend. The same boyfriend who hated her and wasn’t shy about hiding it. I also couldn’t ignore the fact that Max had painted the possibility that it could be Julian. Someone she had known in college and didn’t speak to for a year.
I swallow, suddenly needing a drink of water. I grab the pitcher of water sitting in the middle of the table and fill a glass to the top. Max stands at the end of the table, watching me in silence.
I down its entire contents then walk back over to the end of the table where Max is.
“Are you okay, Lena?” His eyebrows are dipped in concern. Finally, he caught up.
I clear my throat. “I’ll be fine.”
“Max. What are you still doing here?” Candace pushes through the door, entering the conference room. Her tight pencil skirt stretches across her thighs as she walks. She smooths it out as she sits in her chair at the opposite side from where Max and I were standing.
“I ran into Lena on my way out,” Max explains.
“Oh,” she says, opening her leather folder. She slides out a blank piece of paper, clicking her pen. She sets it down on top of the paper then pulls out her phone. “You should probably head out. We have a meeting starting here in a few minutes and we need to prepare.”
“Yes, Ms. Sawyer.” Max rolls his eyes. He turns to me, clearly forgetting about our conversation now that Candace is in the room. He leans forward and winks at me. “Like I said. Married to her work.”
“Max,” Candace groans. “Get out of here.”
He holds his hands up and backs away, leaving the room with a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. When I turn my attention back to Candace, she’s wearing a grin I’ve never seen on her before. She’s staring straight through the glass, watching as Max disappears down the hallway. Her cheeks are flushed pink, a similar shade to the shirt she’s wearing tucked into her pencil skirt.
When she notices me staring, her mouth snaps shut as she clears her throat. “What?” She pretends to organize the papers in her folder, her head down. “Don’t ask,” she mutters.
“I didn’t say anything.” I chuckle, feeling the tension of Max and I’s conversation evaporate. The idea of Abby lying to me didn’t disappear. I simply put it on the back burner for the fifty-nine minutes I would be preoccupied.
Candace doesn’t look up from her folder again until the other lawyers start filing into the conference room and if I didn’t know any better, her cheeks were still flushed with pink.
I left my phone sitting on my desk during my presentation. Once everyone has left the conference room, I quickly gather my papers and walk back to my office. My heels tap against the carpet, the fabric of my dress waving against my thighs with my fevered steps. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I needed to get back to my phone. I needed to talk to Abby.
My body was hot, my skin covered in
