by Alexa Davis
"Will you stop asking me questions I've already answered?" he shouted. "I'm fine! Just fine! Now get out of here and get to your audition!"
"Fine, I'll see you later tonight," I said as I turned and walked out the door.
#
I felt like I was floating on clouds the whole way home from the audition. I'd nailed the part and the chemistry between the actor who would play George and I was spectacular. The director had said he was almost certain that he wanted me to play Hedda, but that they had one more audition to see before they'd make their decision. I floated out of the theater and down the street singing I Feel Pretty, much to the delight of several small children playing on the sidewalk in front of the building. Max had sent the car to pick me up and I was soon whisked away to the penthouse where dinner awaited me.
"Max? Anna?" I called as I stepped out of the elevator. As soon as I called her name, a small gray ball of fur came flying past me headed toward the kitchen. I followed her and found Max scooping some kind of exotic cat food into her bowl as she danced around his feet purring and chirping. "Don't let her get used to that. Once this gig is over, I'm not going to be able to afford your fancy cat food."
"It's nothing too special," he said. "Just a mix of tuna and some leftover salmon."
"That's what I said, too expensive!" I laughed as he put the plate down and we both watched Anna make quick work of her special treat. "And hello to you, too."
"Hey, sorry, how was the audition?" he asked as he unpacked the bag of Thai food he'd picked up on his way home. It smelled like heaven, and I was ravenous.
"It was fantastic!" I said as I pirouetted and then took a bow. "The director loved me and said that they have one more audition to see and then they'll make their decision, but that he'd almost completely sure that they'll pick me!"
"That's fantastic, Lexi," he smiled. "Good job; I guess you broke a leg, huh?"
"Hardly," I laughed. Something about Max was subdued and I wasn't sure if I should push or let it go and wait for him to tell me what was going on. "Hey, how's your brother doing?"
"Oh, he's not well," he said looking down at the plate he was filling with Pad Thai for me. He didn't look up as he handed it and a roll of silverware to me.
"I'm so sorry, Max," I said as I took the offerings and moved toward the kitchen table. "Is there anything I can do? Flowers? Magazines?"
"No, it's pretty much past that," he said darkly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. I wasn't sure what he needed, so it seemed like asking was the best way to find out.
"Not really," he told me as he brought his plate over and sat down across from me. Anna had finished her dinner and joined us under the table. She mewed, patted my foot until I told her to stop, then she turned her attention to Max and when he didn’t respond, she curled up on top of his foot and went to sleep. "Let's talk about the wedding, shall we?"
"Sure. I called around and got an appointment for a dress fitting next week, and I've got some places that can make us a cake big enough to feed a huge crowd," I said. "Where are you at?"
"I called the venue this afternoon and booked it," he smiled.
"Where are we getting married?" I laughed. "Or is it a surprise for the faux bride?"
"It's either The Rookery or the Newberry Library," he said as he dug into the plate of food. He took a few bites and then pushed the plate away.
"It's not good?" I asked.
"No, it's fine. I'm just not hungry." He reached down and scooped Anna up off of his foot and held her as she purred and mushed on his hand. He flashed me a weak smile, "Late lunch."
"Max, what's going on?" I asked. Something was off and I couldn't tell what it was.
"Nothing, just…" he trailed off and focused on petting the kitten in his hand. She loved the attention, but I was disturbed by his silence.
"Just tell me, it's not a big deal," I said. Suddenly, I wondered if he was talk to me about the night before and let me down easy. "I'm a big girl, I know how to handle all kinds of news."
"I just wanted to," he said and was cut off as the buzzer for the elevator rang and he got up to answer it. I heard him telling the doorman, "Oh, yes, send her up."
"Who is it, Max?" I yelled from the kitchen as Anna came tearing back in and slid across the tile floor.
"Oh now isn't this cute?" a woman's voice said as she rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen. She was tall and curvy, and she had the most severely chopped bob haircut I'd ever seen. Her hair was jet black and was so shiny I felt confident that if I stood in front of it, I would be able to see my own reflection. She was wearing a low cut halter-top that looked like it was connected to the flowing wide length pants she wore. On her feet were a pair of silver sandals that showed off her black toenail polish. She carried a small black clutch and a pashmina, and the only jewelry she wore were two enormous silver bracelets, one on each arm. Her makeup was flawless and the red lipstick she wore looked like it had been made especially for her.
"Hi, I'm Lexi," I said offering my hand.
"Hello, Lexi. I'm Natalia," she said, smiling as she looked around at the kitchen and then back at me. "Are you kitchen help?"
"No, Nat, she's definitely not kitchen help," Max interjected. He'd changed his clothes while Natalia and I had introduced ourselves, and was now wearing a black tuxedo. He looked like a totally different man than the one who had been eating dinner with me, and snuggling Anna not fifteen minutes before. "Lexi is my business partner in my jewelry store venture."
"Oh, I see, you're the sales girl!" the woman laughed, making me feel very self-conscious standing in the middle of the kitchen still dressed in my wilted work clothes while they looked like a photograph out of Gatsby.
"No, not just a sales girl, Nat," Max's voice contained a dark note and the woman stopped laughing. "She's my business partner. Lexi, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about this function tonight. I told Natalia I'd go with her before all of this planning began. I'll be back in a few hours and we can pick up where we left off, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, no problem," I nodded as the other woman sized me up and gave me a hard look.
"But, Max, you promised you'd take me out after the play!" she cried as she fidgeted with her bracelets. I had learned enough about jewelry to know that one of them cost more than my entire month's salary at Max's – both jobs included. She was wealthy and spoiled, and I realized I had no idea who she was aside from her name. When no one volunteered any information, I spoke up.
"So, Natalia, how do you and Max know each other?" I asked as I donned my best sales girl smile.
"Oh, we go way back, don't we, Max?" she smiled and raised an eyebrow as she looked at him and suddenly it dawned on me that she was the one he was sleeping with. She was his girlfriend and he was afraid to tell me because he didn't want to screw things up at the store.
"I see," I said nodding. "How far is way back?"
"We were teenagers, weren’t we, Max?" she laughed as she rested her hand on his arm in an obvious display of ownership. "My God, we were such idiots back then. You know how it goes, don't you, Lexi?"
"Oh, absolutely! Of course," I nodded, eager for both of them to leave so I could go back to my room and feel like an idiot in private. Of course, Max would have a girlfriend, and of course, she would be a gorgeous socialite who had known him his whole life. I squirmed uncomfortably as I realized just how much of an outsider I was and how very little I really knew about Max Malin.
"I'll be back in a few hours and we can continue this conversation," Max said quietly to me. Natalia was pulling on his arm urging him to hurry up or they'd be late.
"Sure, whatever," I said as I looked down at my feet. I felt like an outsider and by the way Natalia was behaving, I knew for certain that I was one.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Max
"My, my, my, she's certainly a cute one, isn't she?" Natalia teased as we rode to the theater. She reached out to run her hand down my thigh, but I shifted away
.
"You didn't have to be so rude to her," I scolded and looked out the window.
"You're mad," she observed. "You're always a pain when you're crushing out over some new girl. This too shall pass, Max."
"It's not Lexi," I said darkly.
"Then, what's got you so moody tonight?" she asked impatiently. "You're not going to be any fun if you keep this up, and I've arranged for you to meet some potential investors tonight, so you'd better put on a cheerful face or they're going to be completely turned off by your bad attitude."
"Kristov is dead," I said flatly.
"What?" she gasped and reached for my hand. "Oh, Max, no!"
"He was executed this morning in his bedroom," I said without looking at her. I pulled my hand away and stared out the window as I recalled the scene and the way in which I found my brother. "He was with a couple of girls. They were killed, too."
"What did Vladimir say?" she quickly asked. "He must be enraged."
"He was surprisingly calm," I admitted. "But he put the onus on me to find the killers and avenge Kristov's death. I have no idea who did this, but I am going to make them pay once I find them."
"How can I help?" Natalia's ability to change gears and adjust to the situation was one of the things I valued most about her. She might have started the night trying to seduce me, but now that she knew the situation, she switched into action mode and pushed everything else aside.
"Can you put out some feelers and see who's out there talking about it?" I gripped her hand and squeezed tightly. She nodded as she returned the squeeze.
We didn't talk about Kristov for the rest of the evening. Instead, Natalia took control as she smiled and small talked her way through the crowds of people in the lobby. She introduced me to a number of potential investors, and then led the conversation toward light topics, rather than business. She did all of the work as I hung back and tried to figure out my next move – and kept trying to push Lexi and the way her body had felt pressed against mine out of my mind.
I was relieved when we finally found our seats and the lights went down. Despite my protests, I actually enjoyed Ibsen's work and Nora's dilemma took my mind off of my problems for a short time. However, nothing to could take my mind completely off of Lexi. During the intermission, I tried to call her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. I spent the next hour trying to focus Nora's attempts to solve her problem with Torvald and the loan she'd secretly taken out, but it did little good and my mind wandered back to the penthouse as I wondered what Lexi was doing and why she hadn't answered my call.
When the curtain rose, Nat leaned over and whispered, "Go home. Go find her and figure out what's going on."
"Am I that obvious?" I chuckled.
"Probably not to everyone," she replied, patting my arm. "But I've known you for most of my life. Go find Lexi, Max. I'll put out the word on the street and see what I can come up with about Kristov."
I winced when she said his name, causing her to pull me into a hug. I was grateful, but I didn't have time for sentimentality. I needed to find out who had killed my brother before Papa did. If he found them first, then there would be an all-out war. If I could find them, though, I could take care of the problem quickly and efficiently without the mess. It wasn't that I was less brutal than Papa, it's just that I had subtler ways of dealing with those who acted out against the family. The man who killed my brother would pay – that much was certain.
"Go to her," Natalia urged, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I've got work to do here."
"Yeah, sure," I nodded as I turned and walked toward the waiting car. When I turned back to look at Natalia, she had disappeared into the crowd.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Lexi
After Max and Natalia had left for the theater, I poured myself a glass of wine and took it out on the balcony, where I sat and thought about how stupid I'd been for harboring some silly little fantasy about how Max might be the handsome prince who would sweep me off my feet and carry me away to happily-ever-after land. I hadn't realized I'd actually been thinking that until Natalia had shown up and blown the fragile dream to bits with her presence.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Viv. She picked up on the third ring and sounded out of breath.
"Hey, Wally, what's up?" she asked.
"What in the heck are you doing, Viv?" I laughed as she breathed heavily into the phone. "You sound like an obscene phone caller!"
"I'm working out!" she said. "I've got to be able to fit into whatever insanely form-fitting bridesmaid dress you pick out and I've only got a month."
"Viv?" I said shaking my head on the other end. "You do realize that this isn't real, don't you? The wedding, the dresses, none of it is for an actual wedding. It's a publicity stunt designed to garner attention for investors."
"I don't care if it's nothing but an excuse for a shopping trip with my best friend," she laughed. "I'm still going to be able to fit into a smoking hot dress!"
"You're crazy, you know that, right?"
"Crazy as a fox!" she replied. "What's going on?"
"I need advice," I admitted. I hadn't told Viv how I felt about Max, but she'd been pushing me to take things further since the start of the whole adventure. I hadn't told her about the night before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to, but telling the story without all the parts seemed counterproductive.
"Hit me up, I'll give it free of charge," she panted. "But I'm going into aerobic mode, so just keep talking for the next five minutes while I climb this hill."
"We fooled around last night, Viv," I said, deciding to go straight for the truth.
"Wait, what?" I heard something clunk in the background. "I've got to sit down to hear this. Okay, lay it on me."
I told her about our dinner on the balcony and how it had turned into a seriously heavy petting session that ended with mutual masturbation. And then, I told her how I'd run back to my own bedroom and left him sleeping on the chaise.
"You left Max Malin sleeping on a chaise on the balcony of his penthouse after the two of you had mutually satisfied each other, but not had sex?" she asked. "Am I getting the story right?"
"Yes, Viv," I said rolling my eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me," she warned then added, "And don't act surprised that I know you're doing it."
"You're impossible," I laughed.
"No, you're the impossible one," she gently scolded. "Jeez, Wally, what the hell? Why aren't you buffing his brains out tonight?"
"Now, we're getting to the problem," I said. "He's already got a girlfriend."
"Huh? How is that possible?" she said.
"She showed up to take him to the theater tonight," I sighed. "She's gorgeous. Tall, curvy, impeccable taste in clothes and jewelry, and they've known each other since they were teens. What else could you want? It's like a fairytale story – one that doesn't have room for me in it."
"Oh give me a break," she said, and this time, I could hear her rolling her eyes. "He's not involved with her. They're BFFs, it's the most common thing in the world."
"What are you talking about?" I laughed. "It's not common!"
"Of course it is," she replied. "Case in point, Rory Michaels."
"What about him?"
"He's my Max, and I'm his Natalie."
"Natalia," I corrected her.
"Whatever," she said impatiently. "The point is that he and I go places, do things, hang out, and have sex – pretty damn good sex, I might add – but we're not a couple, nor will we ever be."
"Why not?" I asked, truly confused by what she was saying.
"Oh please, Rory? Give me a break!"
"Wait, you're doing everything a girlfriend would do with a boyfriend, but you won't ever consider him your boyfriend?" I couldn't wrap my brain around what she was saying.
"Yep, that's it exactly," she said.
"That is seriously messed up." I shook my head trying to process it. "What if one of you meets someone you want to actually date?"
&nb
sp; "Then, the other one backs off and lets go," she said. "It happens all the time. What world are you living in, Wally? Have you not heard of this before?"
"No! I've never heard of this; it's insane!" I cried. "I don't…oh forget it."
"I know, you can't wrap your pretty little brain around it," she laughed. "You really need to read The Ethical Slut, girlfriend. I've been pushing it ever since I took History of Sexuality at DePaul. It changed my life."
"So, now you're recommending a course in ethical non-monogamy to help solve my problems?" I laughed. Leave it to Viv to use my personal relationship anguish to push her polyamory agenda. "I think I'll pass this time, Viv. But you've given me something to consider."
"I'm just saying that while it might look like he's involved with the woman, he might not actually be," she offered. "You'll never know until you ask. Use your words, my little friend. Use your words. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find."
"Fine, whatever," I said in an exasperated tone. "I'll ask. I'll ask when he gets home."
"No, you won't," she laughed. "But at least you'll keep your mind open to other possibilities!"
"Viv, you're a real pill, you know that don't you?" I sighed.
"Yeah, but you love me," she laughed. "Now, I need to get back to climbing this mountain, so that I can fit into the dress! I'll see you tomorrow for our shopping trip!"
"See you tomorrow, and Viv?" I said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"That's what I'm here for, Wally! Love ya, babe!" she replied before disconnecting.
I sat looking out over the city as the lights twinkled and the traffic moved below and wondered if Viv was right. If she was, this would open a new door between Max and I.
I just hoped I was prepared to walk through it.
CHAPTER THRITY-NINE
Max
We were halfway home when my phone rang. The number was the landline at Ursus, and when I answered, the voice on the other end was Feliks, my father's right hand man.
"Maksim, you need to come to the bar now," he said. "Your father had been injured and we need to talk."