Accident Prone

Chris surprised himself with this outburst. Why did he say that he held Liz's hand? He didn't want to say this, but he was upset that Isaac is accusing him, and he called that man 'Max'? That means that Isaac met him. What's with the sudden change in attitude?

Isaac's eyes flashed when he heard Christian's words. He remembered that Liz told him how she stopped having lunches with Christian at work. He wondered if this is the reason.

Seeing that Chris is emotionally compromised, Isaac continued probing: "So, you touched her? Was she happy that you are holding her? Did she frown? Or did she try to get her hand out of your grip?"

Christian is not easily intimidated, but the way Isaac is looking at him is how predator looks at its wounded prey. "What do you mean?"

"You are a strong man. Much stronger than my Liz. If you want to hold her hand, there is nothing she can do to prevent it. Did you harass her?"

"I didn't harass her. I only wanted her to stay and listen until the end what I had to say.", Chris admitted under Isaac's icy gaze. Isaac's pressure was too much for him to handle.

Isaac exhaled loudly. "So, you held her hand, and she struggled to break free."

"I did nothing wrong.", Chris said immediately.

"Really? Did you apologize? Did she accept it?"

"I sent her flowers on the next workday.", Chris said in his defense.

"And?"

"She gave it to the nurses."

Isaac was frustrated that he needs to pull words out of Christian, but he wants to find out what happened. And he needs to keep this momentum going before Chris composes himself. "And?"

"I assumed that it's not enough, so on the next day I sent more. Much more."

"And?"

"She gave those to the patients."

"And?"

Chris waved his hands defensively. "Nothing. That's it. There is nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

Chris sighed. He remembered that there IS more. And Isaac knows about this because Chris called him on Thursday. "On Wednesday I saw her at work and apologized in person and she told me not to worry about it."

"Is that the time when you saw her with Max? Because you told me on Thursday that he is the reason she is not coming to work."

"Yes. She just said not to worry about it and left, and I… wanted to talk with her more and then I saw them coming out of the radiology. They were laughing and he was obviously fine… Faking an injury only to keep her away from work."

Isaac's lips twitched. How can Chris say that Max is faking an injury? The man fell off a cliff! Isaac saw Max's medical records with his own eyes.

"Chris… Listen… I know my Liz from the day she was born. She is a nice girl. Friendly with everyone. She would never avoid a person without a reason, and she is avoiding you."

These words hit Chris like a sledgehammer. How can she avoid him? Why would she do that?

He looked at Isaac in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

Isaac is more than happy to clarify: "She rejected your flowers twice. You should not go for the second time if the first one didn't work. Liz was never the one who needs more of those nonessential luxury items. When she told you not to worry about it on Wednesday and then left without giving you a chance to talk further, she was just avoiding you."

Isaac paused, allowing Chris to comprehend his words before continuing: "Liz is not a girl who holds grudges. Are you sure that all of this is just because you held her hand for some time? She stopped having lunches with you and rejected your apologies. There must be more. And knowing Liz, it's work related."

Isaac scrutinized Chris whose lips were pressed into a thin line. The way Chris avoided Isaac's gaze told Isaac that he is right: there is more to it, and it's work related.

"Christian, either you tell me, or I will have my dinner today with Chairman Lee. I can assure you that Chairman Lee will be happy to tell me everything related to Elizabeth."

Chris was unable to look Isaac in the eyes while speaking: "The second time I sent flowers, it was a lot and it disrupted the flow of the hospital. Chairman Lee blamed Liz and sent her home."

A dark vein popped on Isaac's forehead from anger: "Where were you at that time!?"

"I was working. When I found out what happened, it was already too late."

"Christian, where did you find the courage to call me and say how Max is a bad influence? You held her against her will, repeatedly sent her flowers despite her refusal, cost her to be reprimanded at work. Am I missing something?"

Christian felt that there is a lack of oxygen. Why does all this sound like he is the bad guy? "Dr. Williams, that man is bad for Elizabeth. He is a womanizer. He has hundreds, maybe thousands of women in his past, all just casual hookups. Is that what you want for Elizabeth?"

Isaac took a deep breath to calm down so that he does not commit murder in broad daylight. Because he felt the urge to strangle Chris. "What else are you going to make up?"

"I am not making up anything. Look him up online! Search for his name! You will see numerous websites showing that man with other girls. Thousands!", Chris spoke frantically while reaching for his phone. He googled 'Max Anderson' and paled a second later when the results were shown.

"Not possible. What happened?", Chris said under his breath while slapping his phone (like that will work).

Isaac angrily grabbed Chris's phone from his hand and checked the results. "I see that Maximilian Anderson has a business degree from Stanford… Honors… Acknowledgements… Alpha group." Isaac tapped the link and it navigated to the page with upper management, showing Nathaniel Anderson as the CEO, and right after him was Maximilian Anderson.

Isaac is not interested into any industry other than medicine, but Alpha group is a huge company, and only if he lives under a rock, he will not know about it.

Isaac thought how 'Alpha group' rings a bell for more than just his knowledge from the business section of the newspapers. He moved his head to the right and saw the tallest building in the skyline with a huge logo: 'Alpha group'. That reminded him. Their headquarters is in Seattle, and it's right there in visible range!

"Uhm… what is your explanation to this?", Isaac said with an icy tone while returning the phone to Chris.

Chris had a mental meltdown. How is this possible? He remembers looking up Max during their lunch together and there were dozens of sites about Max as a lecherous scoundrel. What happened? Why is there only Max's professional profile on LinkedIn and few business related articles?

"I… I don't understand.", Chris muttered. "It was here. It was all here. Thousands of girlfriends. I told Liz that she should not allow herself to become one of his hookups because that is not her. She deserves better than that."

"Thousands of girlfriends?", Isaac said through his teeth. "Do you know how many is that? Even if he goes out on most of the evenings and every night has a different girl, that is three years. Are you saying that a man with a degree from Stanford who is next in line to lead Alpha group spent three years chasing skirts?"

"No, no…", Chris shook his head vigorously. "You need to believe me. It was here. He removed it!"

"I see. So first, he can manipulate Elizabeth, and now the Internet as well? Do you hear yourself?"

Chris looked at Isaac with crazy eyes and suddenly he realized: "He manipulated you as well!"

Isaac inhaled sharply. "What are you talking about?"

Chris shook his index finger toward Isaac while talking: "Yes! I am right! He got to you as well. You are not thinking clearly because he cast his spell on you! He is a smooth talker, a manipulative bastard, definitely capable of doing such a thing…" Chris' voice trailed away.

Chris was too consumed in his rambling to notice ominous aura coming from Isaac.

Isaac stood up, removed his bib, and placed it on the table. His icy voice made Chris freeze.

"Watch your mouth, Christian. I can see that you are interested in Elizabeth, but she is NOT interested in you. If I hear that you disturbed her again or impacted her work negatively, I will call Chairman Lee and your parents. I wonder what will they say when they hear that you joined Franciscan Medical Center with a sole purpose of getting close to Elizabeth."

"What?", Chris asked weakly before swallowing non-existent saliva.

Isaac arched his eyebrow threateningly. "Stop stalking my daughter and meddling in her life. I am watching you. If you anger me I might call some of my friends from publishing as well. I will make sure you never work as a surgeon. You know I can do that, right?"

Chris stared at Isaac and was unable to move or say anything. He was absolutely petrified.

Isaac walked out of the restaurant in large strides.

On the way out he stuck his hand in his pocket and got out of his wallet a hundred dollar bill which he placed on the station of the restaurant greeter. "This is for the tip. That man over there will handle the bill."

Isaac stepped out and took a deep breath. He felt… relieved. So many things fell into place and he finally understands the situation.

Isaac shook his head and smiled when he remembered Max's words: "I could tell you, but… will you believe me?"

Isaac nodded to himself while confirming that if Max told him all this, he would not believe him. But he didn't tell him. He gave him few hints and allowed him to find his own truth. The one he will believe in.

Isaac confirmed that Max is a smart young man who is taking good care of Elizabeth. He punched Chris when he saw that Chris is holding onto Liz against her will. And he jumped off the cliff into the jungle below in order to protect her.

No matter how Isaac thinks about this, Max is a good young man and that was Isaac's initial opinion of him, before Chris muddled it with his delusions.

Now what? Isaac should probably go back to Liz's place and voice his approval of that relationship, if any of them cares. Probably not.

Isaac remembered the dinner. He is invited to attend the dinner at the home of the Anderson family! Well, he should not waste an opportunity to meet Max's family. He is already here, so… Liz told him that it's his mother, father, sister, and Hunter and Max. That makes five people to buy presents for. He needs to leave a good impression! And by doing so, he will show his approval of Max as Liz's boyfriend.

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