The Walker Benefit was winding down.
Tally was at the Stretton table typing into her phone, Kimmy and Brian were a couple of places away from her, and everyone else was away schmoozing or drinking. Ready to go home, Tally stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. But she didn’t get to decide when they left, it was her responsibility to be here until the bitter end.
Just as she was about to put her phone into her clutch, it began to ring. “Hello?” she answered.
“MG!” Robbie called down the line. She smiled when she heard the cheering in the background. “Max said you were coming out tonight, where you guys at? Drag his ass out of bed and get down here, Trey’s got this cocktail book, he’s so fucked up, it’s hilarious. We’re having a lock-in later, you up for it?”
Hiding her smile by bowing her head, Tally leaned back in her seat. “How drunk are you, Rob?”
“Want me to put you on speakerphone?” he asked and didn’t wait for a response. “She’s on speaker!”
A rabble cheered so loud that Tally had to hold the phone away from her ear. Kimmy and Brian must have heard the noise because they looked over at her. Tally averted her gaze and quickly turned down the volume of her handset.
Concealing the conversation, she put the phone back to her ear, and this time shielded her mouth by cupping a hand around it to direct her voice to the microphone. “Hey, guys,” she said.
“Sounds like she’s whispering,” Ryan said.
“Is Max sleeping?” Mark asked, probably assuming she’d tired him out with sex. “Wake him up. Max! Max!”
Everyone started to chant his name, their enthusiastic rhythm made her laugh. They were having so much more fun over there than she was having here. Like he’d promised her on the dancefloor, Max was playing the dutiful son, doing everything he should do, and he was watching what he said and his manners too. While being at this fancy event was a novelty for him, she was bored out of her wits.
Tally turned to stop a server as he passed. “Can you bring me three shots of tequila, please?”
The server frowned. “Tequila?”
She nodded. “Yeah, the cheapest stuff you’ve got.”
Though perplexed, he left with a nod. Another cheer echoed down the phone. “Did he wake up yet?” Robbie asked. “Or we can bring the party back to your place?”
Her place. They were classifying her place as Max’s place, which it wasn’t, and never would be.
“Guys,” she said, trying to calm them down. “Guys, we’re at a party.”
“A party? A fucking party?” Robbie exclaimed.
“Oh, and we weren’t fucking invited!” Mark shouted and everyone on the end of the line started booing.
They were just hilarious, Tally was laughing again when Blair came to sit down at the Stretton table. But Tally twisted away to block the superior beauty out when she drew her scornful eyes away.
“It’s not like that,” she said. “You know I love you.”
They kept on booing. “We’re having a party tomorrow night, right here, want an invite? ‘Cause maybe you and your boyfriend won’t get one now.”
Tally should be staying away from that part of town, especially after last time when she’d bolted, but maybe that was why she was tempted to go back, to redeem herself.
“I want an invite,” Tally said, playing along. “What do I have to do?”
“Play pool,” Robbie said, and everyone laughed.
“Yeah, for money,” another voice said, and it took her a minute to recognize Doug had been the speaker. “Give me a chance to get even.”
Tally raised her eyes as someone passed her and sank into the seat beside hers. Max identified himself by sliding a hand along the back of her chair, but she leaned forward away from it.
“Who’s on the phone?” he asked, but might not have been talking to her, because Blair answered.
“Her boyfriend,” Blair said. That wasn’t true, and she had no idea how Blair had reached that conclusion. Surprise made her twist, and Tally found herself being met by glares from everyone at the table, the most intense being Max’s. “She said she loves him.”
Had she said that? “What the—” Before he could swear, Tally took the phone from her ear and held it out to Max. His scowl deepened, but he took the handset from her and put it to his ear. “Yo?” His expression loosened as clarity came to him and a second later he smiled. “Yeah, I’m awake now, what’s up? Jesus, fuck, Rob, you’re wasted.”
He rose from the table and wandered away, touching her cheekbone with an absent fingertip as he left.
“Rob?” Blair asked.
“One of Mr. Flynn’s friends,” Tally said, straightening up everything in her reach on the table.
“You know his friends?” Kimmy asked, moving down to Blair’s date’s chair to get closer.
“Uh, some of them, yeah,” Tally said. “I met them when I went to his apartment.”
“What’s it like? His apartment?” Kimmy asked.
Tally couldn’t blame her for being curious about her brother. Blair’s interest was more unsettling.
“It’s an apartment,” she said. “One bed, shower room, open plan living area.”
“And it’s on the south side?” Kimmy said and rested a hand on Blair’s forearm as she shivered. “Weren’t you just terrified to go over there?”
Tally shook her head. “No, I didn’t really think about it being dangerous when I went the first time and after I met Max, he always made sure I was safe.”
That statement raised some brows. “Max?” Blair drawled.
Oh, oops, her cheeks heated. “Mr. Flynn, I apologize.”
The server came over with the three shots on a fancy silver tray. It looked crazy, but he placed them in a row and she smiled.
“Thank you,” she said, and pulled a bill from her clutch to hand it over.
The alcohol was free at these events, but finding cheap liquor like this probably took some time, so tipping felt right.
“You visited him a few times, didn’t you?” Blair said. “Do you think he trusts you?”
Tally didn’t get a chance to answer because Max came back, handing over the phone as he sat down. “They’re having a ball over there,” he said and examined the shot glasses. “What’s this?”
“A reward,” she said, lifting two over to him while she took one.
He raised his glass to her and they tossed back the first shot together then he quickly threw the other down his throat too. “Oh, I love that shit,” he murmured and again stretched an arm along the back of her chair, but this time he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Let’s get a room and fuck, right now. I’ll do you fast and dirty, baby, any way you want it.”
Oh no, maybe the tequila had been a bad idea. The taste was an instant reminder of their encounters in Fitzpatrick’s, which were always steamy. Tally could already see Max’s other hand sliding off the table and it would be a short journey for him to reach her leg. With Blair so close there was no way the act would go unnoticed.
But Tally was saved from having to stop him when Teddy marched over to the table with fury spread on his face. “Miss Taylor, are you consuming alcohol?”
Ah, fuck, oops. She shouldn’t have drunk that tequila! For some reason with Robbie on the phone and Max nearby, she’d forgotten all about the no-alcohol rule.
“Sir,” she said, the center of the table’s attention. There was no way to miss Blair’s smug enjoyment of her embarrassment. “I apologize, I—”
“Your services for the evening are terminated,” he said. “I am heartily disappointed that you would flout our long-held rules.”
“Yes, sir,” she said and rose. “Again, I apologize.”
“Wait a minute,” Max said and stood up beside her. “She was drinking with me. And she’s worked hard keeping me in line tonight. She deserves a reward.”
“You don’t understand our procedures yet,” Teddy said.
Max inhaled, but Tally rested the back of her hand
against his chest, remaining side-by-side with him. “Don’t,” she murmured.
“She used his first name a minute ago too,” Kimmy said, and Teddy’s jaw literally fell.
Damn, the meddling little minx never passed up an opportunity to get someone in trouble. Tally’s face was burning, she was usually classed as the good, responsible one. It seemed those days were gone.
“That was an accident,” Tally said, “I apologized and—”
“Whoa,” Max said. “I told her to use my first name, I don’t like all this Mr. Flynn shit.”
“You have to get used to it,” Kimmy said. “It’s a mark of respect. A subordinate using your first name is insolent.”
Kimmy had been taught by her father so of course she felt that way. “Well I guess I like that,” Max said.
“Stop it,” Tally said and tipped her chin up to look at him.
It was clear that Max was angry, and she was touched that he was standing up for her. But, he didn’t understand that all he was doing was damaging them both.
“Do not speak to him that way,” Teddy said. “I don’t know what’s come over you, Miss Taylor, but this is unacceptable behavior.”
Oh God, was she about to lose her job? “I’m sorry, sir,” Tally said. “Truly, I am.”
“If this is what alcohol does to you, I would say abstaining is appropriate for you. Now, if you wish to keep your job, you will retire and take the weekend to consider how important your position is to you.”
Ooh, ouch, a suspension, that was as unveiled as it could get. Blair folded her arms as she sat back, sneering down her nose. Kimmy was wide-eyed and interested. Brian wouldn’t lift his eyes from the table. Teddy was furious, and she couldn’t even bear to look at Max.
Grabbing her clutch, Tally spun around to head for the door. Getting out of here seemed like an excellent idea. It was funny how they’d worried about Max being the one to get them in trouble, yet it ended up being her who crossed the line.
She had just gotten to the top of the stairs outside the ballroom when Max caught up with her. “Baby,” he said, louder than she was comfortable with given where they were.
But he didn’t seem to see anyone except her as he rushed over wearing a scowl.
“Max—”
“Good, well at least they haven’t got in your head enough to make you question using my name,” he said, clasping her elbows to urge her close, but she took a backward step. “Babe—”
“No,” she whispered. Paranoia webbed through her when she scanned the people standing nearby, who were side-eying them, and probably taking notes for future reporting to their gossip buddies. “Please, I can’t afford to lose this job, sir.”
His worry became instant rage. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t you fucking think about using that ‘sir’ shit on me. Try it and I’ll go back in there and tell that bastard to go fuck himself.”
But this wasn’t as simple as what they felt for each other. It frustrated her that he held the power to ruin her life, and he didn’t seem to understand how these little details could cause her world to implode. Tally understood that he was trying to stand beside her, but what she really needed was for him to calm down.
“I’ll lose my job,” she begged, pained that he didn’t understand how vital this family was to her existence.
None of his determination ebbed. “Sorry, baby, I don’t give a fuck,” he said. “I’ll stay as long as it doesn’t affect us. You don’t want me to touch you out here, fine.” He held up his hands and backed off a step. “But you call me sir one more time and I’m taking both of us out of here… I don’t give a fuck if it pisses you off, we’ll start again from my place. Dirt poor is better than hearing that word come from your lips.”
The most terrifying part of his vehemence was that he meant every word. His resolve was absolute. “Don’t talk like that,” she whispered. “Max, I have to leave, and you have to go back in there.”
But, he didn’t seem ready to accept the way it was. “Why?” he asked. “Why do I have to go back in there?”
“Because I’ve screwed up enough,” she said and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “What was I thinking of drinking tequila? How could I have—”
“You were safe,” he said, misinterpreting her dismay. “I was around. Doesn’t matter how drunk you get, I’ll always look after you.”
He tried to take her hand, but she moved toward the stairs. “No, that’s not it. I broke the rules, I deserve to be benched.”
“One drink doesn’t break any rules,” he said. “It’s insane. And using my name? What the fuck is the sister all about? She’s a fucking bitch trying to drop you in it.”
Tally stepped down one stair. “She’s your sister. Your family. And you have to connect with them. I have to go before I do any more damage.”
He was calming enough to start thinking. “Ok,” he said, moving forward to put his hand over hers on the bannister. “If we can’t talk here, meet me at Fitzpatrick’s.”
Having expected to go home alone, she didn’t know what to do with that invite. “What?” she asked. “I can’t.”
“The guys will look after you,” he said and must have seen her reluctance because he ducked. “Baby, you go to Fitzpatrick’s or I’m gonna kiss you right here, right now. I’ll pick you up, put you against that wall and what we are won’t be a secret anymore.”
And the sinister glint in his eye betrayed his veracity. That wasn’t an idle threat, he meant it. “Ok, I’ll meet you. But you have to go in there and be charming for another half hour. Don’t say anything in defense of me. Don’t even bring it up, and if anyone else brings it up, you say nothing, understand?” He growled, showing her his clenched teeth. His need to protect her made her smile. “I know you’ll want to. But it will only make things worse…” Lowering her voice to a whisper, she straightened his tie. “Teddy wants to talk to you about moving into the mansion. You have to do it. You have to say yes. You know you have to.”
Swagger flavored his smile. “You asking me to move in with you?”
Exhaling a laugh of sorrow and appreciation, she smiled at him. Just looking into his eyes, some of her troubles drained. “God, I love you,” she whispered, without really thinking to make the admission aloud.
“Good answer,” he said and picked up her hand to tuck it into his elbow.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he began to lead her down the stairs.
“Putting you in a cab, I’m not sending you out there alone. I’ll get you a ride, then go back inside and make nice. I’ll meet you at Fitzpatrick’s in an hour.”
The valet was waiting outside and hailed a cab for them. Max put her inside and spoke to the driver, giving him money and the address before patting the roof and watching her go.
Tally closed her eyes and rested her head back to watch the city drift by. This night had been full of downs and shocks, but she’d been impressed by how well Max adjusted to minding his manners. He didn’t like spending time with Teddy, but she’d noticed him being polite to others who spoke to him and he was honest in answering questions without being crass.
She hadn’t expected to be dismissed tonight because of her actions, but she was proud of Max for making it through.
Going to Fitzpatrick’s dressed like this would be a nightmare, white would get dirty in a hurry and she didn’t feel like customizing another of her dresses. So, Tally slid to the front of the seat and redirected the driver to Stretton Estate. If she was quick, she could change and still make it back to Fitzpatrick’s before Max got there.
THIRTEEN
Ok, so she’d been wrong.
Tally paid the cab driver and dashed into Fitzpatrick’s to see Max there already at the bar, leaning over to talk to Trey as the other guys jeered him for his apparel. But when someone noticed her, they all called out and Max spun around to pin her under his disapproval.
She went to him, pouting her apology. The guys parted to let her move up close to him.
“Thought you stood me up,” Max said when she pulled the strap of her hobo bag over her head to dump it on the bar behind him.
“I went home to change,” she said, holding her hands out to present her ruched-bodice, strapless black dress with its micro-mini layered skirt.
“I like it,” he said.
Before he could touch her, Tally reached up to loosen his tie. He watched her with keen eyes as she opened the top few buttons of his shirt. “How’s that?”
He rubbed his throat like it had been constricted for days. “I can breathe again.”
Pushing his jacket from his shoulders, she laid it on the bar and whipped his tie from his collar to tie it around her bare neck as a choker. Just then Trey held up a drink.
Tally nodded and smiled. “Thanks, honey,” she called out.
Instead of reaching for the drink Trey had put on the bar, she took out Max’s cufflinks and shoved them into her bag before opening his shirt in one confident tug.
Everyone whooped and cheered, while Max grinned down at her. “What’s this?” he asked but let her take his shirt off to toss it over the bar.
She drew a fingernail down the center of his chest to his navel, but when he bowed to kiss her, she leaned away and grappled for her bag.
“You don’t fit in around here, honey,” she said, running her hands into his hair to mess it up again. “Let me give you a few tips.”
“Oh!”
Everyone else jeered, but they didn’t get the joke like Max did. The corner of his lips curled and the light in his eyes glowed brighter.
Yanking the plastic wrapped tee-shirt from her bag, she ripped the packaging open with her teeth and spat the wrapper away to pull the brand-new tee-shirt over his head.
“I grabbed it from the stock in the gym,” she said, feeding his arms through the sleeves and pulling it down over his torso. “I figured you’d be more comfortable with this.”
“And you would,” he said, wrapping her in his arms now that he looked more like her Max than he had all night.
“There you are,” she whispered, and he squeezed her ass in both hands. “There’s my man. Where you been, handsome?”
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