by Hadley Quinn
Roger pursed his lips. There was a vein in his temple that was pulsing just a bit more than usual.
“What are you not telling me?” Max leaned across the desk with a stern expression. “Roger? Spit it out. You’re my fucking lawyer, you can’t keep shit from me.”
“I can because it doesn’t have to do with you,” he answered simply, lacing his fingers together on the desk between them. “But…it’s not something you’re going to like.”
“Just tell me.”
“I can’t.”
Max took a deep breath to compose himself. His father had created some kind of loophole or legal addendum to fuck him over, right? That was so like his dad, going behind people’s backs to protect his own interests.
“Can you at least give me a hint?” Max asked impatiently, his jaw clenched. “Some idea of what I need to prepare for?”
Roger sighed and cast him a level gaze. “If I manipulated my words to clue you in on your father’s private business, how could you trust me not to do that to you as well? I’m being professional here, Max. I work for you, but I also can’t give you classified information about someone else.”
As much as it sucked, Max understood. It wasn’t easy to trust anyone who worked for Craig McCallan, but Roger Eichs had always been fair and upfront with him. Unfortunately, if he was going to sever his ties with his father, he needed to let his lawyer go as well.
Max stood and somberly stated, “Regretfully… I can’t have you represent me anymore. I’m sorry. Thank you for all you’ve done for me, though. I respect you and your work, and hope this doesn’t end on a negative note between us.”
Roger dejectedly nodded his head as he stood and held out his hand in a friendly manner. “I understand, Max.” They shook. “And I wish you the best, I truly do. I’m sorry it’s had to come to this, but I admire and respect you as well. Best of luck.”
As Max left his office, he paused in the hallway. He’d shut one more door on his life but didn’t feel anything good or bad from it. How the hell was he supposed to go through life not knowing if his decisions were the right ones? How long was he supposed to wait for some sort of contentment with his life, business or otherwise?
Whether he’d done the right thing or not, he now needed to find new legal representation. But as he left the building that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about what his father could have up his sleeve. He knew the man covered all his bases, which is why the bastard was always so smug against threats. Craig had assumed Max was bluffing when he first told him he wanted to go out on his own, but he’d most likely made a few strategic moves to fuck that up just in case.
Max pulled out his phone and scrolled until he found the contact he was looking for. If anyone could find the information he needed, it was this guy.
“Hey man, what’s going on?” Cole answered the call.
“Hey, uh… Well, I’d say ‘not a lot’ like usual but… I need to hire you.”
There was a brief pause. “Okay, sure, anything you need. What’s up?”
Max explained what was going on, glad his friend knew quite a bit about his life as it was. Cole had lived in California for several years and hung out with him and Teague when they were younger. He’d always been kind of a mysterious character, though. Max never knew anything about his past or if he even had any parents growing up. Cole had just always had their back, somewhat of a bodyguard in some random situations. He’d moved back to Jersey for a bit, but he and his wife were now residents again, just outside of L.A.
“Hmm, okay,” Cole finally said after listening in silence. “I’ll let you know when I find out.”
“When you find out. You’re such an arrogant prick.”
Cole laughed. “Hey, not gonna deny I’m good at what I do. But let me get a jump on it right away while I don’t have anything pressing right now. Give me the name of your lawyer—eh, the one you just fired—and we’ll get it figured out.”
Max spoke to him for another minute before they hung up, and when they did, he wasn’t sure if he felt relief or more worry. He knew he could count on Cole to find the truth, but what would it consist of?
Only time would tell, and patience was not Max’s strong suit.
***
“I haven’t been able to get a hold of you,” an exasperated Jillian exclaimed the second Max entered the mansion. It was his personal assistant’s way of asking where the hell he’d been since he’d gone cell phone silent, but he knew she’d never dare ask such a thing. “You’ve got a seven p.m. dinner with the executives at Paramount tomorrow evening. I rescheduled your meeting with Yvonne Clyson for next Thursday. She was being nosy and asked why but—”
“Hold on,” Max interrupted. “I asked you to cancel it, not reschedule it. I’m not taking that part, so there’s no reason for me to meet with Yvonne.”
“But your father said—”
“I don’t care what my father said. I want it canceled. You can tell her I’m not interested in the movie at this time.”
“And if she persists?”
“Tell her I’m dying.”
Jillian paused wide-eyed, like she actually believed him.
“For God’s sake, I’m not dying,” he sighed. “But if you have to hang up on her, then do it. That’s how much I care, okay?”
She nodded submissively. “Yes, sir.”
He walked through the house until he entered his private office. Jillian was right behind him and placed a folder on his desk as he sat down.
“Grover was here,” she informed him. “He wants you to attend two of these events this month, so if you could look them over and mark which two, I’ll put them on your calendar. He also brought over two suits for you from Audra Malloy—they are gifts to you—for her Fashion Zone VIP party. That’s next weekend, if you forgot.”
Max hid his displeasure to both pieces of news as he indifferently flipped open the folder and perused through his choices. A charity gala here, a speaking engagement there, two movie premieres for films he didn’t care about, and a few ass-kissing high society social events. “He’s kidding, right?”
“Well…I don’t think so. He seemed a little mad, too.”
Max shut the folder and slid it out of his sight. “Because I’m making his job impossible,” he murmured.
He didn’t want a fucking image consultant telling him what he should and shouldn’t do; he’d been less than compliant lately. Grover was the best at his job, and so was the rest of the public relations team that worked relentlessly for the McCallans, but it just didn’t fit Max’s life right now.
“If that’s all, Jillian, you can head home.” He opened his laptop and typed in his password. As his homepage loaded, he noticed Jillian had not moved. Glancing up, he asked, “Was there something else?”
She paused as Gretchen entered and set a mug of hot tea on the desk. The house manager left as quietly as she’d come in.
“Well,” Jillian finally began. “You’re supposed to bring a date to the Fashion Zone party. The last few times I’ve asked…”
Yes, the last few times she’d asked who he wanted her to send an invite to, he’d been a bit pissy about it. His father always voiced his own opinions, and Jillian was only doing her job by passing it along, but it got tiresome.
“Grover suggested Sophia Nixon,” she added. “She just got cast in that new James Young movie so it would be double exposure for you both.”
Max automatically objected. Sophia was his cousin’s old hookup. Nope, wasn’t going there.
“Your father mentioned Thalia Gerard or Savannah Roseberg.”
“No to both.”
She cleared her throat. “What about Joelle Martin?”
Max dabbled with that idea for a moment but shook his head. “I’ll think about it. Let it be a surprise. Have a good night, Jillian.”
“You too, sir.”
She left, closing the door behind her.
Max exhaled, trying to relieve himself of the tension he’d been fighting
since returning home. He clicked open the work he’d planned on diving into, even shutting his phone off for the rest of the night.
The world could cut him some slack right now.
Chapter Three
The sound of a little voice was always welcomed in his house, and Max made his way through the front room of the mansion to greet it. The house manager was already heading for the kitchen to prepare some food, but Chase paused in the entryway when he saw his dad.
“Hey, big guy!” Max smiled, genuinely excited to see him.
Chase smiled shyly like he always did at first. Either there was so much time in between seeing his dad to make him feel uncomfortable, or Kate had found ways to make him feel that way. Max didn’t know and chose not to dwell on it, but when he picked him up, Chase seemed a lot bigger than before.
“Hi, Daddy,” Chase hugged him gently around the neck. “Is it swim time?”
Max was just in a pair of shorts and chuckled. “You wanna go swimming already? Sure thing, buddy. Let’s go get ready for the pool.”
Kate always made it her mission to avoid him, so he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t even see her face. It was better they weren’t in the same room anyway. Even just a basic conversation could turn into something heated. In the past, he’d been quick to battle with her. He’d never felt so much disdain for someone. Lately, it just seemed like a waste of energy.
After taking Chase to his room to get a pair of swim trunks on, they both headed out back for the pool. It was ninety degrees out, so the water would be perfect to cool off in.
“Sunscreen first, kiddo,” Max told him before Chase could make it to the poolroom to choose his water toys.
With a groan, his son dragged himself over to be slathered in sun protection. “Hurry, Daddy,” he whined.
“You sound like a two-year-old,” Max teased him.
“I’m four!” he giggled. “I wanna swim.”
“You know the rules. And the water is still gonna be there in the next minute.” Max got the last bit of his legs and stood upright. “Okay, dude, go pick your arsenal.”
The kid didn’t know what an arsenal was, but he walked quickly to the poolroom and came out with an armful of toys and floaties, dropping half of them on his way to the shallow end.
Scooping them up along the way, Max joined him at the steps and set all of it at the edge. “You ready?”
Chase gave him that do I hafta look, but Max held his ground. He had strict rules when it came to water safety and one of them was that Chase was required to have a short swim session before he got in to use the floats and toys.
There were no exceptions.
“Come on,” Max motioned, stepping into the water. He waited waist-deep for Chase to join him. “The sooner you practice all your skills, the sooner you get to play. And guess what?”
“What?” Chase asked curiously as he made his way down the steps. The water was to his chest and he paused, waiting for an answer.
“Kellie and Tate are coming over, too.”
“Yes!” Chase pumped a fist into the air before he lunged forward into the water, swimming along the edge like he’d been taught. He dipped his face in the water, blew bubbles, held his head under for a few seconds, and then treaded water again.
After all of that was repeated three times, his quick swim session was complete.
“Good job,” Max praised as he walked through the water, stopping at the edge of the pool for the toys. “Which one do you want?”
“That one.” Chase pointed to the car with the water guns on the side. No surprise. Max put it in the water and helped him into it, just as Kellie and Tate came through the patio door.
“Cannonball!” Kellie yelled as she hurled her already swim-ready body into the water.
Pregnancy didn’t slow that girl down, and really, her personality was one of the few things that could get Chase to open up instantly.
Chase squealed as the water splashed him. “Tide-o wave!” he laughed as the water lapped up against his car, rocking him back and forth.
“Tidal wave? What are you sayin’, mister?” she teased as she swam over to him. “Mmmuah!” she kissed his head. “I’ve missed you, Chasers.”
“Hi,” he grinned. But then he yelled, “Tate!” the second he noticed him. “Line-a fire, hit the deck!” He squirted his water guns toward the edge of the pool but didn’t quite reach.
“Muhaha!” Tate laughed, picking up a Super Soaker. He dipped it in the pool and took a long draw to suck up as much water as he could. “I’ll show you line of fire.”
“Noooo!” Chase screamed as he tried to paddle himself to the other side of the pool.
“Too late, revenge is sweet!”
“I didn’t get you!”
“But you tried. No mercy!” Tate pumped the gun and it shot clear across the pool, nailing Chase in the back of the head.
“Eeeeek!!” he squealed, still trying to paddle away.
“You’re a bully!” Kellie yelled at her husband. “Hand me that,” she pointed to the gun next to Max. He reached to the edge and grabbed it for her, totally amused that there was a full-on assault going on in his pool.
He hadn’t expected anything different, either.
“Ha, like that’s going to do anything,” Tate mocked. He still had on a t-shirt but stripped it off, ready for battle. “You see this?” he motioned to his scarred but muscularly tattooed body. “This has taken on more than you could ever give, little lady. There’s no way you can—” He took a strong blast straight to the face. “Shit,” he coughed and sputtered, wiping at his face while blinking his eyes to clear them.
“Haha!!” Kellie laughed.
“Tate, don’t say that word,” Chase told him. “It’s naughty and Daddy puts you in timeout.”
“Yeah, Tate, don’t say naughty words,” Kellie scolded him.
“Hey, she went for the face,” he protested. “She broke the pool rules of engagement!”
“In all fairness, it was an accident,” Kellie defended herself. “I didn’t know it was going to go that far.” She tried not to laugh but was unsuccessful.
“Well if you can’t handle your weapon, you shouldn’t be allowed to use it,” Tate arched an eyebrow at her.
“Oh? And you’re an expert on, uh, your weapon?” she countered.
He jutted a cocky chin forward, “Always,” and then gave her a piercing gaze.
“Oh really? So last night you had full control of your weapon?” she asked him. “I seem to recall you needed a little bit of…ahem…assistance.”
He snorted out a short laugh. “Um, that was because you offered,” he corrected her.
She was about to reply, probably with some other sexual innuendo, but Max cut her off. “Hey now, anyway…”
Kellie only smiled, and then proceeded to play with Chase as she pushed him around in the car floatie.
Tate sat at the edge of the pool with his legs dangling in the water. The house manager came out the back door and set a tray of sandwiches and fruit on the table, along with a pitcher of fresh lemonade and bottles of Perrier.
“Will there be anything else, Mr. McCallan?” Gretchen asked, pausing for his response.
“That’s perfect, thank you,” Max replied with a nod.
After she returned to the house, Tate joked, “Well thank you, Mr. McCallan.”
“Jesus, I can’t get her to call me Max.”
“You’ve asked?”
“Yes, repeatedly.”
“Hmm. Well, tell her she’s fired if she doesn’t call you by your first name.”
Max laughed. “And then there’s that.”
“See? Problem solver,” Tate pointed to himself.
“Unfortunately she’s the one employee here who I actually like. Or…think I might like if we even spoke sociably.”
“What about Joe? He spends a lot of time with you. You gotta like him somewhat for that to happen.”
“Yeah I like him too.” Max shrugged at the mention of
his current driver/bodyguard. These were employees his father had hired. It was distressing no matter what. For a guy who liked his privacy and was naturally withdrawn from attention, Max strongly disliked having anyone in his daily affairs or routines. Even right now he knew Joe was sitting inside the mansion somewhere with an ideal view of Max and his surroundings, just in case.
Max waited for a pause in Chase’s conversation with Kellie before he called, “Hey, Chase. You hungry, buddy? Drag Kells out here to feed that baby of hers.”
They all sat around the outdoor table to eat lunch. It was so funny to see how much Chase had come out of his shell the past few months, especially when it came to Kellie and Tate. He loved them both to pieces, and as sad as it was, Max knew his son was also like that with Jay and Teague once he got warmed up. And it usually did take some time, but there was something about Kellie and how she could jump right in (literally) to set Chase at ease to have a good time.
“How long do you have him?” she asked subtly as she forked a piece of watermelon.
“Until Wednesday.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, five days? How’d you get so lucky?”
He knew she wasn’t being rude about it. She knew what a bitch Kate was and how particularly hostile she could be when his family was around Chase.
“She’s on a cruise. You know if it’s convenient for her…”
He didn’t finish the sentence. He never said anything bad about Chase’s mom in front of him; they were always able to talk about it just enough without clueing him in.
Kellie gave Max an unhappy frown, but then pointed her fork at him and said, “You know, I was thinking about Cole the other day.”
“I just talked to him last week. Funny you mention him.”
“Yeah, even after his wedding it’s hard to remember he’s back. So is he going to help you out?”
Max cast her a curious glance, hoping it was just a coincidence that she’d brought it up. “What do you mean?”
She nudged her head toward Chase, who had occupied himself with a giant piece of cantaloupe.
“Oh. No,” Max shook his head, glad he had something else to counter with. “I had to ask him to help me out with something else.”
