Accident Prone 163 We Are A Team 1

~ Seattle, Continental Views building ~

Monday

6:24 PM

In Elizabeth's apartment…

Max returned from work in a good mood. His negotiation with Nathan went better than he planned, and Max is confident how after the fundraiser on Sat.u.r.day, Liz's standing in Chairman Lee's eyes will improve. After the fiasco which Dr. Snow caused, Liz could use help.

Max found Liz sitting on the sofa and hugging her knees while staring out through the window. That is not like her, she is usually very alert and greets him with a smile and this… she didn't move a muscle, like she is not aware that he is here.

"Hey, beautiful…", he murmured close to her ear while placing a bouquet of fragrant white and purple lilacs next to her.

He kissed her cheek and observed her expression.

It took Liz a second to snap out of her daze. "Hi Max…" 

She lifted the flowers closer to her face and inhaled deeply, enjoying the sweet scent. 

"Thank you, they are beautiful.", she said with a small smile.

She can't deny that Max's presence is lifting her spirit, even if it's just a little bit.

"Not as beautiful as you.", he beamed and sat next to her. 

"What got you worried?" He noticed that she is distracted and wanted to get that out of the way as soon as possible.

Liz thought to start with the lesser worry. "There is a fundraiser I must attend on Sat.u.r.day."

Max did his best to suppress his grin. She went straight for the topic he wanted to talk about! "Is that a problem?"

Liz nodded. "We will not be together. It will last few hours and it might be until late in the evening…" 

Liz found it strange that Max is smiling. She expected him to pout or maybe even throw a tantrum like every time she says that she needs to do something without him. And this is Sat.u.r.day evening, their prime cuddling time. How can he be OK about her not being present?

Max gave her a knowing look before asking: "What if I told you that I am coming with you?"

Liz exhaled sadly. "I am sorry, Max. Staff members are not allowed to bring dates. It's business only."

Max chuckled. "Ah, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I leave my precious girlfriend to attend a boring fundraiser by herself on a Sat.u.r.day evening? The two of us going together would make it a fun evening."

Liz shook her head and was about to say something when Max put his index finger over her mouth. 

"Liz, before you tell me how it's not possible, listen to this: you can't bring a date, and I am not a staff member, but I can be there as a donor.", Max said smugly.

Liz paused while processing what he said, and her eyes lit up when she realized: "Alpha group is invited?"

Max nodded happily. 

Liz smiled while thinking about the meaning of his nod. He is coming? Oh, that will make the whole evening so much more pleasurable. They will get to chat and give each other company and she will not need to worry about any lecherous men approaching her. Suddenly, the boring fundraiser does not look so boring anymore. Everything is so much better when Max is by her side.

"Did you think about your dress for the event?" 

Max's question pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Uhm… I didn't reach there yet, but I have no plans to go shopping. I'm sure that I can find something in the closet."

"Will you let me take care of it?"

Liz frowned for a second before giving in. "OK."

Her impulse was to reject him, but she saw his puppy-eyed look and she remembered how when they went on their first date (which she called 'not a date' at that time), he took her to some styling place and the end result was satisfactory. At the end, if she does not like his pick, she can come up with an excuse to wear something from her closet.

Max was happy that Liz accepted his offer. Next on the agenda is dinner…

"Do you want us to go out for dinner? Or order something? Or cook?" Max saw that Liz is still troubled and he voiced his thoughts: "With Sat.u.r.day evening turning from a boring fundraiser into a fun date with your handsome boyfriend, I expected that your mood will improve."

"Tyler was in my office today.", Liz said after some silence. 

She thought of how to tell Max, but there is no way to make it sound better, so she just went with the straightforward way. And she does not want to hide Tyler's visit to her office from Max. She didn't tell him about Dr. Snow sending her flowers and making everyone believe that they are in some kind of a relations.h.i.+p, and even though Max didn't make a fuss about it, Liz can imagine that Max would prefer if she told him.

Max didn't understand. Should he know this Tyler person? Probably. Why else would Liz say only first name? He thought about a girl named Tyler and nothing came to his mind. "Should I know her? Or is that a last name?"

Liz realized that 'Tyler' is a unis.e.x name, and it can apply for girls and boys and it's a last name as well. She clarified: "Tyler is a first name, and his name is Tyler Wilson. He saw us that morning on your boat."

Max's mood visibly dropped. Tyler Wilson sounded familiar, but when Liz mentioned Max's boat, there is only one Tyler which popped in Max's mind. And that is bad news. 

"Why was he in your office? Did he cause any trouble?", Max was unable to hide his irritation mixed with anxiousness.

Liz saw that Max balled his hands into fists and she put her hands over his, to calm him down. "Tyler faked a condition and came to my office saying how he is interested to find out more about me. And that some person named Suzy gave him the information where to find me. I took care of him before he could cause any trouble, but I thought that you should know. What is your history with him?"

Max took a deep breath to compose himself. "Can we start this from the beginning? Give me details, please…"

"How about we order food and talk while we wait for it?", Liz suggested.

Max agreed.

Liz told Max about her interaction with Tyler and Max was visibly upset. 

Max is impressed how Liz handled the situation, but that does not change the fact that Tyler would not pester her if she is not a.s.sociated with Max. 

"I am sorry, Liz."

"It's not your fault.", Liz responded honestly.

"But if not for me, he would not come to disturb you at work."

Liz will not deny that Max's words are true, but… "We can't fix that. However, I need to know what is your history with him? How much I remember, you didn't seem to be friendly. Will he be persistent?"

Max wanted to respond, but Joshua called through the intercom. Their dinner arrived at the lobby and he wanted to know if someone will come and fetch it, or should he allow the delivery boy to come upstairs.

"Let me get it…", Max said while standing up.

Liz held his hand and reminded him: "I asked you twice about your history with Tyler. Don't make me ask again."

Max leaned closer and pecked her lips. "I will get the food and over dinner I will tell you everything. OK?"

…

By the time Max returned with their food, Liz set up the table. 

Max was about to start eating when he saw that Liz is staring at him and not moving. He understood that she is waiting to hear his story about Tyler. Max put the fork down and started talking…

"Honestly, there is not much history between me and Tyler." Max cleared his throat and spoke slowly while choosing his words carefully. "During the last few years, before I met you… there might be few times his then-girlfriends decided to spend some time with me instead of with him. But I never made the first move, nor did I care if they are with him or not. Uhm… what I'm trying to say is that it was nothing personal from my side."

Max observed Liz's expression and he could not believe that he can't read her. He can always read her. He wondered, is he so nervous that his reading is off or is her poker face so good? 

But even without any reading, he knows that she can't be happy to hear this. And unfortunately, there is more bad news and he needs to say it before he loses his courage to talk, and before Liz loses her patience. 

"Besides the petty personal vendetta, there is another possibility which does not exclude the first one. Tyler is known as a Seattle's biggest gossip." 

Liz nodded faintly while her eyes dimmed by the second. 

"So… Seattle's biggest playboy provoked Seattle's biggest gossip." Her voice was barely audible.

Max felt a knot in his chest and swiftly took Liz's hand in his. "Elizabeth, please, don't go there. You know that I changed. Right?"

Liz heard the anxiousness in his voice and a.s.sured him: "Yes, I know."

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