Accident Prone

~ Seattle, Mia's apartment ~

Tuesday

5:25 PM

In Mia's apartment…

"Thanks Mia…", Liz said while accepting her third glass of wine. She told Mia about Tyler during first two glasses.

"I can't believe that piece of sh*t came to disturb you again.", Mia said angrily. "Did you tell Max?"

Liz shook her head indicating that she didn't. "He is at work and I need to calm down before I talk to him about this."

Liz looked around. "Is Hunter at work?"

"Yeah."

"How are things between the two of you?", Liz asked cautiously.

Mia knows that Liz's question is related to the secret around her family. "Hunter and I are good. I told him most of it and we are planning to go to Portland so that he can meet my family, but before that we are doing some preparations."

Liz remembered Mia stabbing a flying apple and guessed that preparations Hunter is doing are related to that. "Ninja training?"

Mia stifled a laugh. "Feel free to call it that."

"What about Hunter's parents? Did you talk to them since Saturday?", Liz asked with concern.

Liz knows that Hunter didn't go to work on Monday, and the fact that he went today should be a good thing. Right?

"I didn't talk to them.", Mia responded with slight discomfort before adding: "I know that Hunter loves his parents. He spoke about them often in a good way and he thought that they will support him... After Saturday's dinner he is disappointed."

Liz does not think that Nathan and Madeline are bad people. Sure, they are overenthusiastic about the possibility of being grandparents, and slightly meddling, but that comes in a package of parents who dote on their children.

"I think that they are good people. Concerned for their kids.", Liz voiced her thoughts.

"I don't blame them for their behavior. It only shows that they care about Hunter. But that is his family and I will leave it to Hunter to handle."

Liz smiled. "I am happy that you and Hunter are solid."

"And so are you and Max.", Mia reminded Liz.

Liz confirmed. "Yes, yes we are…"

Liz looked at her glass and felt a pressure in her stomach. "I think some of this liquid wants out. Can I use your restroom?"

"Sure…", Mia gestured toward the door on the left.

As soon as Liz closed the door behind her, Liz's phone vibrated, and Mia saw that the caller ID is 'My handsome boyfriend'. Mia stifled a laugh while taking the phone to answer it. She knows it's Max and if Liz does not answer, he will be worried. She will just tell him that Liz is at her place and to call later, because Liz is busy at the moment.

"Hey Max, Mia here…"

Max paused before speaking: "Why are you answering Liz's phone?"

"She is in the restroom, and I thought that if no one picks up you will worry.", Mia explained.

"You are at her place?", Max guessed.

"No. She is at mine."

Looking at the time and that Liz is not at work or home, and that he has a missed call from Liz… Max had a bad feeling about it. "Did something happen?"

Mia exhaled. She does not want to lie. "Uhm… Liz should tell you about it."

Max felt anxiousness swell inside him. "Did Tyler bother her again?"

Mia's lack of response answered his question.

"What did he do?", Max growled.

Mia had an internal conflict. What should she do? Well, she can't keep quiet, and Max is upset and… "Tyler waited for her in the underground garage after work. He was sleazy and Liz took care of him. He didn't hurt her, but she is shaken up."

Mia heard heavy breathing from the other side of the line.

"Max? Are you still with me?", Mia asked reluctantly.

"Stay with Liz, please. Tell her that I will be late. I will pick her up from your place."

"OK." Mia responded, but the line was cut off already. She wondered if Max heard her 'OK' and what is on his mind.

~ Seattle, Alpha group HQ ~

Max is gripping his phone after his talk with Mia and trying to calm down enough to think.

That morning Nathan announced that Max will start driving the meetings while Nathan will attend them as an observer and help out when needed. It's obvious that Nathan is gradually passing CEO tasks to Max.

Thanks to that, Max was super-busy and stuck in meetings (or preparing for them) for most of the day. He exchanged few texts with Liz during lunch break, and Liz told him to focus on the work. He knows that she cares about both of their careers and her encouragement boosted his desire to do his best. After all, Max wants Liz to be proud of him and only if he excels, he will be worthy of standing by her side.

At 5:30 Max got out of his last meeting for the day and checked his phone. He saw a missed call from Elizabeth (aka 'My wonderful girlfriend') with a timestamp 4:47 PM, and wondered: why did she call him instead of texting (how she usually does)?

He got into his office, called Liz and he didn't expect that Mia will answer and throw this bomb at him: Tyler came back.

Mia didn't tell him any details, but Max can guess that Tyler was less polite than on Monday. Why else would he wait for Liz in the underground parking lot?

Liz being at Mia's place tells him that Liz is shaken up. He wants to go and comfort her, but that will not solve the problem. And right now, the problem is Tyler.

There is no way Max will let this slide.

People who are part of Seattle's nightlife know about Max and that no one should dare to cross him, and there is a good reason behind that reputation. Max is not a patient man when someone covets something Max has his eyes on.

Earlier, it was a matter of pride and preserving his position as an alpha male, but Elizabeth brings another layer of importance. She is not some irrelevant girl who is passing through. To Max, Elizabeth is indispensable; touching her means crossing Max's bottom line, and Tyler knows it.

When Max told Tyler that Liz is his girlfriend, that was a warning to Tyler that Liz is under Max's protection.

Tyler daring to come and disturb Max's girlfriend twice… is not excusable.

It's a long time since Max confronted anyone physically, because everyone stepped aside due to Max's reputation, but it seems that Tyler forgot who Maximilian Anderson is and what all he is capable of doing when he is angry.

Max was consumed in his dark thoughts of what he will do when he gets his hands on Tyler and he didn't realize that Hunter entered his office.

"Max, are you OK?", Hunter asked Max with concern when he saw that Max is standing with his hands balled into fists while releasing suffocating aura.

Hunter was about to leave for the day, and he came to see if Max is done with his work or he can help him finish sooner. Hunter didn't expect to find his brother with an expression like he is about to commit a murder.

Max looked at Hunter for a second before responding: "Tyler Wilson is harassing Elizabeth. He came to her office on Monday, and today he waited for her after work in the garage."

Immediately Hunter understood Max's current mood. "Is she OK?"

"She is with Mia at your place.", Max responded stiffly.

Hunter understood Max's response as Liz is not OK, and the fact that Max is here means that Liz was not hurt. "Do you want to go to Liz… or you want to find Tyler?"

Max's lips curved up into a malicious smile. "You are reading my mind. I need to find Tyler."

Hunter got his phone. "Give me five minutes to find out where he is…"

Hunter is cold and aloof toward women who are throwing themselves at him, but other than that, he is a friendly guy. Most of his friends are coming from his interest in sports and outdoor activities, and it's not rare to make friends with members from the opposing team. In short: Hunter has a large circle of friends.

Of course, Hunter has Max's back. Hunter will do anything, without questions asked for Max, Sabrina… and now for Mia as well. He has no intention of leaving Max to go and face Tyler on his own.

Hunter typed quickly and sent messages to several groups that he is interested to find Tyler.

"Is everything OK?", Nathan asked from the door of Max's office.

Max cleared his throat. "Yes. Why?"

Max does not want for Nathan to find out what Max is about to do. Nathan will probably not approve, and Max wants to avoid unnecessary conflict with his father.

Nathan's eyes moved from Max to Hunter who is busy on his phone. Nathan was not sure if Hunter is avoiding him on purpose. He probably is. The whole day Hunter is in his office and other than few work-related emails, Hunter is ignoring Nathan's presence. That is not like Hunter who is usually amicable and makes sure to ask Nathan if he has lunch plans, but Nathan knows that this is Hunter's way of telling him that he is still upset. Unfortunately, Nathan does not know how to fix their current situation.

Nathan returned his gaze to Max. "Are you done with work for the day?"

Max nodded. "We are about to leave in few minutes."

"You did good today."

"Thanks."

Nathan shifted few times on his feet before waving goodbye. "Alright. I will see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

Max returned Nathan's pleasantries and turned his attention to Hunter.

It took less than two minutes for Hunter to find out that Tyler is in a VIP room of one bar.

"Let me drive.", Hunter told Max. "With your current state, we will be in an accident before we reach there. Do you want to call Quentin?"

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