Who Gets to Marry Max?

by Neesa Hart

“He has that press conference tomorrow.”

  “It’s more than that. He’s planning something, and I don’t know what it is. He hasn’t discussed it with me.”

  “That’s certainly unusual.”

  “I suppose.” He set down his cup. “I’m sure it’s uncomfortable for him to talk about Sidney with me.”

  “Yes,” Gertie mused. “I suppose it is.”

  “So,” he slid his chair back, “I’m going to talk to Sidney again. Perhaps she’s ready to confide in me.”

  “Good luck, Philip.”

  He patted her shoulder. “I’ll need it.”

  KELLY TAPPED on the door of Sidney’s office. “You have company.”

  Sidney looked up from her computer, startled. “What?”

  “Company. Your uncle’s here.”

  She felt a simultaneous rush of relief and disappointment. It wasn’t Max. “Oh. Send him in.”

  Kelly gave her a narrow-lidded look. “Sid, are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You look exhausted.”

  That was no wonder. She hadn’t slept more than four hours a night since Saturday. She’d spent as much time as possible here in the office to avoid going home to her too quiet apartment. “I’m a little tired, but I’m okay.” At Kelly’s probing stare, she nodded. “Really.”

  “You know, if you want to talk about it—”

  “I don’t.” Sidney gave her a slight smile to take the sting out of the rebuff. “But thanks for offering. Why don’t you send uncle Philip back?”

  Kelly hesitated a second longer. “Okay. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”

  “Yes.” She waited until Kelly disappeared to wipe a hand over her face. Would this ache never go away?

  “Good morning,” Philip greeted her as he strolled into the room, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

  “Never.” She forced a smile. “Why don’t you sit down?”

  He eased into one of the chairs across from her desk. “You don’t look well, Sidney,” he said carefully.

  “I’m just tired. I’ve been working a lot.”

  “I see.”

  When he didn’t elaborate, Sidney prompted him, “Is this a social call, or was there something you wanted?”

  “Both I suppose.” He settled his hands on his knees. “We’ve talked on the phone, but I haven’t seen you since Friday. I wanted to know how you’re feeling about what happened.”

  She drew in a calming breath. “Well, Friday night wasn’t as bad as Saturday morning.”

  “That’s what I heard.”

  “You knew Carter would be at that party, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you warn me?”

  Philip flexed his fingers. “I didn’t want to cause you alarm. Perhaps I should have.” He shrugged. “I’m not certain.”

  “How did you know?” she pressed.

  “A member of Edward Fitzwater’s house staff used to work for Max. We’ve stayed in touch.”

  “Did you know Edward had hired him to investigate the details of the merger?”

  “Not until Friday afternoon.”

  “Oh.” She leaned back in her chair. “So that’s what you were trying to tell me Friday before the party.”

  “Partially, yes.”

  “There’s more?”

  Philip nodded. “Sidney, I have something to say to you that I’m not entirely sure you’re going to like.”

  “Great.”

  “Perhaps if I’d done my duty by you, I would have said this years ago.”

  “Uncle Philip, you’re quite possibly the only person in my life who even thought he had a duty toward me. I can never repay you for that.”

  “Well, yes, as to that, it’s time for you to hear this.” He leaned forward. “First, I didn’t take you in out of some sense of responsibility. I took you in because I loved you. I wanted you with me.”

  “I know,” she said softly.

  “Second, you learned harsh lessons from your mother, and from Silas, but I don’t necessarily believe they were true lessons.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve watched you for years, you know. And I’ve seen you do this time and again. You don’t want to be hurt.”

  “No one wants to be hurt.”

  “True enough. But you’re so determined not to let anyone hurt you, that you try to make all their decisions for them.”

  She leaned back in her chair to disguise the shiver that coursed through her. “I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

  “Yes, you do. You’ve decided that Max shouldn’t want you in his life, that your relationship with him is a liability.”

  “It is. Look at what happened on Friday night. For that matter, look at what happened on Saturday morning. You didn’t hear what Edward Fitzwater had to say about me.”

  “Lauren told me,” he said quietly.

  Sidney flinched. “I see.”

  “She also said that you’ve refused to take her calls all week. She wants to apologize for her father’s behavior.”

  “He’s entitled to his opinion.”

  “No, he’s not.” The vehemence in his voice surprised her.

  “Uncle Philip—”

  He held up one of his elegant hands. “Sidney, at the very least, don’t you think you should ask Max what he wants rather than making the choice for him?”

  Her stomach tightened into a knot. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Because I love him, she wanted to scream. Because I’ve always loved him, and I can’t hurt him. “I just can’t.”

  “Are you protecting Max, or are you protecting yourself?”

  The knot twisted tighter. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Don’t you?” He tilted his head to one side. The sunlight from her office window gave his silver hair a slight glow. “I’d like to confess something to you,” he said quietly. “The weekend of Max’s house party? I wasn’t ill.”

  “What?”

  “I didn’t have the flu. I merely decided I was tired of watching you and Max dillydally around each other. He has always cared for you, and you for him. The two of you have a certain chemistry that I believed then, and continue to believe, deserves a chance to flourish.”

  “Uncle Philip.” She stared at him, astonished.

  “Max knows,” he said. “He’s known since that weekend.”

  “He didn’t tell me.”

  “He didn’t tell me either until the other night.”

  “I can’t believe you did that.”

  He shrugged. “I knew Max would be under considerable pressure that weekend. I could think of no better way to force the two of you to own up to your mutual attraction.”

  Sidney dropped her head in her hands. “You manipulated us.”

  “Yes, I did. The rest of the staff knew.”

  She stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. Haven’t you wondered how you and Max were always able to find yourselves alone in that house full of people? I assure you, it took an enormous amount of effort on our parts.”

  “The entire staff?” She couldn’t believe this.

  “Everyone. We had a meeting.”

  “Oh, good Lord.”

  Philip smiled at her. “If it helps, we’ve all been quite content with the outcome—until now, that is.”

  “I can’t tell you how much it comforts me to know you’ve all been discussing this over coffee and cards.”

  “How else do you imagine you and Max were afforded so much privacy?”

  It all made sense to her now. Had she not been so distracted by Max, she would have noticed. Max’s life was generally cluttered with people. When she’d lived with her uncle, and later when she’d visited him, she’d noticed how often people were clamoring for a piece of Max’s attention. Yet, in the past few weeks, his digital phone almost never rang. With the exception of Colleen and Warren’s late
night visit, there had been no unexpected callers. His pager had remained silent, his staff invisible. Even the weekend they’d spent at the Keswick had been blissfully quiet.

  Sidney shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it. Everyone was acting so odd.”

  “Max was quite explicit in his instructions. You were to be given every consideration.”

  “I know. He had everyone calling me Miss Grant all of a sudden. I was half expecting you to start doing it.”

  “Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

  “What? That he has bizarre whims?”

  “That they love you,” Philip said firmly. “All of them. And they love Max. They’ve watched both of you grow up, and only a fool wouldn’t have noticed the chemistry.”

  “Did you know,” she asked quietly, “that he investigated Carter during my divorce.”

  “I did.”

  “I wish you’d told me.”

  “Why? So you’d be uncomfortable?”

  “No, because I had a right to know. What else has he done?”

  “Pursued you with a single-minded determination that most women would find flattering.”

  “I’m not most,” she said softly.

  “And that’s precisely what he likes about you.”

  Sidney took a deep breath. “Uncle Philip, look, I know you’re trying to help, but Max and me—well, it’s just not possible.” He could hurt her too much. She’d known from the beginning that he would leave an unbearable void in her life. Now, she’d been fool enough to fall in love with the man.

  Philip studied her for long seconds, then shook his head. “You always were stubborn.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “I know. I don’t give up easily.”

  “You should give up on this,” she said softly. “Believe me.”

  With a shake of his head, he rose to his feet. “I’d like you to do one thing for me—for Max, actually. It’s a simple thing. You won’t even have to speak to him if you don’t want to.”

  “What do you want?” she asked cautiously.

  “He’s holding a press conference tomorrow to introduce the prototype of the new Max doll.”

  “The animatronic version.” Sidney nodded. “He told me.”

  “With Edward’s accusations fresh on everyone’s mind, the press is likely to be hostile. I think Max would appreciate knowing that you, at least, don’t hold him responsible.”

  “He knows I don’t.”

  “He’d like to see you there, Sidney.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “It’s tomorrow afternoon at three. In the conference room at his office.”

  She worried her lip with her teeth. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Please do,” Philip said. He rounded the desk to kiss the top of her head. “And we’ll talk later.”

  “Okay.”

  “Get some rest.” He gently squeezed her shoulder. “I promise you everything will work out.”

  AT PRECISELY three o’clock the next afternoon, Max took a deep breath and stepped into the crowded briefing room. When the cameras began flashing, and the media began clamoring for his attention, he decided the world had been right about him all along. He had lost his mind. That was the only possible explanation for going forward with this press conference.

  Beside him, Paul Wells gave him an encouraging nod. Max scowled at him as he strode onto the dais. The box he held in his hand was his hope for the future. The crush of people in the room couldn’t possibly know how much he had riding on this.

  He set the box on the lectern, then pulled his notes from his inside jacket pocket. His hand froze, and his heart stopped beating when he saw Sidney seated in the back row. Philip sat beside her. When this was over, Max decided, he was going to fall at Philip’s feet in gratitude. Sidney looked pale, but calm. Max held her gaze for long seconds until she acknowledged him with a tremulous smile. In that smile, he found the strength he needed.

  He left his notes in his pocket, deciding he wouldn’t need them.

  A reporter stood up in the front row. “Is it true, Mr. Loden, that you deliberately devalued Fitzwater stock to ensure the firm’s takeover?”

  Max shook his head. “Sit down,” he ordered. The young man blinked, but dropped back into his seat. “I’m going to explain precisely why Loden Enterprises initiated the takeover of Fitzwater Electronics, and then I hope we can put this behind us.” He indicated Paul with a nod of his head. “Paul Wells, my executive vice president and CEO, is distributing a financial statement and a copy of independent research we conducted on Fitzwater’s patents after the stock began to drop. I was interested in another project the firm had been developing, and when the digital technology proved unusable, the company began to suffer serious financial setbacks.”

  Paul passed the thick reports down the row. Max waited until everyone in the room held a copy. His gaze remained trained on Sidney’s face. “Unfortunately, Edward Fitzwater had invested too much of his company’s assets in the development of those patents. When they failed, he was ripe for a takeover.”

  “And you took advantage,” one reporter asked.

  “We did,” Max said. “That’s the way business works.”

  “So if it wasn’t the digital technology you were interested in,” the woman persisted, “why did you want Fitzwater?”

  Max scooped up the box. He reached inside and produced a twelve-inch miracle. “This,” he said, placing the doll on the edge of the lectern so it faced the audience, “is the new Max doll we’ll be introducing at the annual toy fair. He represents the future of electronic technology. Fitzwater’s design team had been working on a miniature, self-charging power source that I felt had unlimited possibilities. Today, Loden Enterprises has applied it to our Real Men collection of dolls. We believe that within a few years, we’ll be able to apply it to everything from digital phones to notebook computers.”

  Another reporter stood. “What does it do?”

  Max indicated the doll with a wave of his hand. “Our research indicates that, with normal wear, the doll’s batteries hold an almost limitless charge. We’ve rigorously tested the power unit, and have been unable to drain even a thousandth of its power.”

  The reporter pointed to the doll. “It looks like the rest of the dolls in the collection—”

  “It looks like you, Loden,” one journalist called out. The crowd laughed in response.”

  The first reporter continued, “I mean, why does it need its own power source? Does it talk?”

  Max’s lips twitched. “Sort of.” He flipped the tiny switch at the base of the doll’s neck.

  The figure moved with startling lifelike animation. “Hello,” it said, giving the crowd a slight wave. “I’m Max.”

  The audience gasped. Max didn’t dare look at Sidney. From the front row, he heard someone say, “My God. It looks real.”

  The doll looked at the individual. “I’m sorry,” it said, “I didn’t hear you.”

  A rumble echoed in the crowded room. Max pointed to a reporter in the front row. “Why don’t you ask it a question?”

  “Any question?” she said.

  “Yes.”

  She looked at the doll. “What’s your net worth?”

  The crowd laughed. The doll turned to look at her. “A gentleman never discusses his financial statements. People find it boring.”

  The laughter grew louder.

  “That’s incredible,” A man near the back called out. “What the hell is it?”

  Max switched the doll off. “We’ve been working on an animatronic artificial intelligence chip for some time. For now, we’ve created a doll that will learn the play preferences and speech patterns of its owner. Ultimately, we believe we’ll be able to produce computers and other household items that are self-correcting and educable.”

  He scanned the crowd. He could tell from the way they were furiously scribbling notes that they’d begun to grasp what he was saying. “Loden Ente
rprises,” he continued, “plans to be on the front edge of the future.”

  Paul gave him an approving nod. Max finally made himself look at Sidney. She was watching him closely. More than anything, he wanted to bolt across the room, pull her into his arms, and beg her to take him back. He drew a deep breath and gripped the edge of the lectern. “While we deeply regret that Fitzwater Electronics had to come under our tent in such adverse circumstances, I do believe that the merger will prove beneficial and profitable for both firms.”

  “Then you aren’t planning to consolidate Fitzwater?” someone asked.

  Max shook his head and even managed a slight smile. “Are you kidding? My brother is going to marry Edward Fitzwater’s daughter. I think that’s enough consolidation for the next decade or so.”

  The crowd laughed again. He wished he could share their humor. Sidney still looked tense. Philip, he noted, was giving him a shrewd look that made him feel nervous and jittery. From the corner of his eye, he saw a reporter stand up. “So, Mr. Loden, you said you’d be introducing the doll at the toy fair?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t take his gaze off Sidney.

  “When will the animatronic Max be available to the general public?”

  He took a deep breath. Here was the opening he’d wanted. “We have some more testing to do, but we expect to introduce the line to the marketplace by Christmas.”

  “Will Max be the only doll available,” the reporter pressed, “or will there be others?”

  With a slight smile, Max flipped the switch again. The doll turned to look at him. “What is it?” it asked.

  “These people would like to know if you’re going to be the only animatronic doll in the Real Men collection.”

  The doll looked at the crowd. “Actually, all my friends will move and talk like I do.”

  Max nodded. “The entire line will have this technology. We are, however, taking the Max doll permanently off the market.”

  A collective rumble greeted that announcement. A young woman in the front row leapt to her feet. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes,” Max said.

  The doll nodded. “I am a one-of-a-kind prototype. I will not be available for sale.”

  “Why not?” the woman persisted.

  The doll looked at her while Max looked at Sidney. “Because,” the miniature marvel said, “the question of ‘Who Gets To Marry Max?’ has finally been asked and answered.”