Accident Prone

~ Seattle, the Continental Views building ~

Friday

7:47 AM

Max and Liz are having their morning coffee while relaxing on the sofa in the living area.

As usually, they are chatting about the day ahead.

Max will go to work around 8:30 AM, and today Liz plans to attend the farewell lunch for Dr. Snow.

This morning's hot topic is McKenzie.

As the party at the Andersons family villa is approaching, Liz and Max are preparing for taking on McKenzie. Well, Liz mostly because Max is only assisting Liz.

Jackson will be there as well (probably), but for him, Max is still gathering information related to Jackson's epilepsy and until they have that ready, Liz will observe Jackson while trying not to arouse any suspicion.

However, McKenzie is a different story.

McKenzie made a move against Liz, and if she thinks that she can get away with it, she is gravely mistaken because Liz is ready to retaliate.

Per Liz's request, Max arranged some of his men to follow McKenzie and to report about anything she is doing.

"She withdrew five thousand dollars in cash yesterday.", Max said while reading the report from his tablet.

Liz's eyebrow arched questionably. "That is a lot of money. Did she buy anything?"

"Not yet. Do you think this is related to the upcoming party at my parent's house?"

Liz shrugged. "We can't be sure until we see what she will buy with that. I assume that she will pay for the dress with a card."

"Since Hawaii, McKenzie is more-less acting normal. I thought that it's unusual that she is spending most of her time shopping, but then I saw her history of spending, and realized that it's normal." Max looked at Liz. "How come you don't shop so much?"

Liz snorted and took the tablet from his hands. "Why do you sound like that is a bad thing?"

"I don't know. I thought that most of the girls are into shopping and spas and girly things."

Liz threw him a side glance and didn't respond. She decided to read the report herself instead of relying on Max's summary. There is so much in it, and Max only mentioned one cash withdrawal and McKenzie's shopping.

Max was amused by Liz's reaction. He concluded that Liz does not like to be compared with other women. Or maybe just not with McKenzie. Well, Liz can't be compared with any woman because she is so much better than all of them, but that does not mean that Max can't tease her a bit and enjoy the variety of her expressions.

Max thought how since he met Liz, he is aware that she went only once for a spa treatment, and that was with Rina and Mia. And also, related to shopping, she also went once, before going to meet with him at the Alpha group. He remembered that when they went on a date and he got her an outfit, she returned it. Based on Isaac's status and her job, Max knows that Liz can buy many things, but she doesn't.

He observed her face which focused on the information from the tablet and smiled at the realization that Liz does not care about materialistic things. Sure, her closet is full of good quality dresses that are fashionable, pleasing to the eye, and fit her well, but she is not the one to hoard them.

Max's deduction led him in the direction that as a wife, Liz will not be wasteful. She will buy good things that they need and use money efficiently and he will not mind giving her access to his bank accounts. And this is important because no one ever had access to his accounts.

Max paused his thoughts. Is he thinking about marrying Liz? He reminded himself to keep his poker face on. What if she notices? Just recently she told Isaac how the two of them only started dating and that it's too early to plan for the future. Is he thinking about proposing rashly like how Hunter proposed to Mia? Oh, no… if he blurts out his thoughts it will be even worse because he does not have a ring! Hunter at least had that.

Max wondered, should he buy a ring? His gaze moved to Liz's left hand. Her fingers are long and slender and… she is not wearing any rings, must be a surgeon thing.

Max took a mental note to find a way to measure sneakily Liz's ring finger. There is nothing worse than popping the question, and she says 'yes' and then the ring does not fit. Ah, he is thinking about proposing!

"This is interesting…", Liz mumbled without moving her gaze from the tablet, and Max swallowed hard. Can she read his thoughts? Does 'interesting' mean that she is interested in his proposal?

He cleared his throat and asked coolly: "What is interesting?"

"McKenzie is taking medications to manage anxiety since she returned from Hawaii." Liz explained, absolutely oblivious about the fact that he is thinking of proposing, right at this moment, on a Friday morning, with coffee, before work.

"Someone's guilty conscience is shoooooowiiiiing.", Liz said in a singing voice, and Max was not sure if she is talking about McKenzie or about him.

It took Liz a moment to see that Max's expression is off. "Don't tell me that you are worried because she is anxious enough to see a doctor about it. You remember that she pushed me off a cliff, right?"

Max exhaled in relief when he realized that the 'guilty conscience' part was for McKenzie and that she is not aware of his thoughts related to the ring and the marriage.

"No, no. I was just wondering, why do you think that is interesting?"

Liz thought that Max's behavior is unusual, but she told herself to focus on the topic at hand: McKenzie and her anxiety. "Many people have anxiety, however, only when it interferes with your normal life you will go to see a doctor about it. And she saw her doctor two days after returning from Hawaii. She must feel awful while thinking that her action against me landed you in a hospital."

Max didn't understand why is this important. "She must know that I'm fine and going to work."

"That does not erase the fact that you got hurt because of her. This proves that she didn't give up on you because we are together and this only reinforces my guess that she will try something at the party.", Liz paused before asking: "How is the security at the event?"

"Nathan will arrange for a number of bodyguards, and most of the guests will bring theirs. We have security cameras at the property, but they don't provide full coverage of the inside. I can get our people to wear hidden cameras and someone will be watching the feeds..."

When Max ended his explanation of security, Liz reminded him: "Let's make sure we know where those five thousand dollars in cash ended up."

"Don't worry. My men will not miss something like that. Other than following her, we are tapping into her phone and monitoring her emails as well. And they are professionals, she will not find out.", Max said confidently.

Liz thought about how Max got it covered. Suddenly, she was hit by a possibility… "Max? Do you have someone following me?"

"Do you want me to get someone to follow you? Do you feel unsafe?"

"No. I was just thinking that… If you have someone follow McKenzie and she is not aware, are you doing that to me?", Liz asked flatly.

Max looked at Liz in disbelief and his disappointment was obvious. "Is that what you think of me?"

Liz felt guilt wash over her. How can she even suspect that Max is doing such a thing? "I am sorry. My imagination ran crazy a bit and I…"

"It's OK.", Max interrupted her. "Considering what we talked about, your question is reasonable, and I overreacted. No, I don't have anyone to follow you. I would never spy on you. If I have any doubts, I will ask you and I trust that you will tell me the truth. But if you feel that you are in danger, let me know. I can arrange for people to ensure your safety and they will not be in your way. You will not know that they are there."

"Thanks. There is no need for you to arrange for people to protect me. I am not a celebrity or a gangster. I was only curious. Do you have bodyguards?"

"No. Andersons are involved with the business. Who does not know us will not bother with us, and who knows us won't dare to try anything. We have people who can do things for us as needed, but unless we have some event, we travel light. Normally, those people are employed as security at the Alpha group." Max explained and pulled Liz into a hug. "Liz, feel free to ask me anything, even if you think that it's coming from your crazy imagination. In front of you, I have no secrets."

Liz leaned onto him and wrapped her arms around his torso. She hummed in approval of his words. "Mhm… thank you, but I will still keep some of my questions for myself."

"Why?"

"You might think that I am weird."

Max chuckled. "Those are exactly the questions I want to hear. How can I get you to speak up?"

Liz pursed her lips. "Well, there is one way and it includes a lot of wine."

Max laughed.

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