Accident Prone

Mr. Stone found his wife and he was telling her to be cautious with Max and his girlfriend.

Mrs. Stone huffed. "Why are you telling me that? It is Max's girlfriend who bullied our Rita. Don't you care about your daughter? Rita was drenched and crying, and she went home…"

"Really?", Mr. Stone would probably believe her if Max didn't come to the parlor earlier. "Why would Max's girlfriend bully Rita? Do they even know each other? Let me tell you one thing…" Mr. Stone gestured toward Max and Liz who are dancing. "Look at them. That girl who is dancing with Maximilian has the backing of Nathan and Madeline. And if you paid attention, you would see that Hunter and Sabrina are friendly with her as well." Mr. Stone made a dramatic pause before continuing: "Even if she pushed YOU into the pool you need to find a chance to approach her during this party and wish her a happy birthday with a smile. Max is angry that Rita approached his woman, and you need to fix it, or our company might be at risk."

Mrs. Stone frowned, obviously not liking what she hears. "Nathan is your friend. He would not do that…"

Mr. Stone confirmed. "I am his friend, but Max is his heir and that girl is being treated as a future daughter in law. Nathan always puts family first."

"I understand…", Mrs. Stone exhaled. She knows that Rita can be impulsive, but she does not believe that her daughter actually pushed Max's girlfriend in the pool. However, if her husband tells her something with that serious expression, she will obey.

Mr. Stone nodded in approval. His wife is a sensible woman. She always was.

He does not like that Rita was caught up in this mess, but he admires Nathan for prioritizing his family. Only in that way Nathan ensures that his business rivals don't try to gain an upper hand by using underhanded methods against someone from the Anderson family. Nathan was ruthless more than once, to the point of going over the top, and he does not compromise when the issue is related to his family, but thanks to such an attitude, no one dares to try anything funny.

Two songs later, the men who left the parlor (after they received Max's warning) completed similar chats with their wives. The wives talked with their daughters and sons, and soon the word spread out that no one should touch Liz.

Of course, McKenzie heard that as well.

She downed her virgin pina colada and chewed on the ice from the bottom of the glass.

Pina colada is a delicious cocktail of coconut, pineapple, and rum, blended with ice. 'Virgin' means that it has no alcohol (no rum), and McKenzie choose this option because of anti-anxiety medications.

"Are you OK?", Oliver asked McKenzie cautiously. He noticed that she is gritting her teeth and her hands are twitching occasionally.

McKenzie gave her glass to Oliver and spoke with a forced smile: "I'm great. Can you go to the bar and get me another virgin pina colada?"

McKenzie did her best to look away from Max and Liz, but she could not stop herself. She noticed that her anxiety is swelling, and she cursed internally. She was confident that Max being lovey-dovey with Liz is too much for her to handle, so the current dose of the medications she is taking is not sufficient.

…

It took a while for Liz to get out of her lovey-dovey daze and remember that she wanted to ask Max something.

"What was that about my birthday?", Liz asked Max in a whisper.

Max gave her a knowing look and she understood that there is some purpose. And that he will not tell her what that purpose is.

The song ended, and Max led Liz to the side with his hand firmly on Liz's shoulder.

One woman caught up with them. "You are Max's girlfriend? Madeline mentioned you… My name is Amanda. Happy birthday!"

"Thank you!", Liz responded and saw that another woman is on her right.

"You are lucky to have a man like Max sing for you on your birthday. I am Giselle. Happy birthday!"

A younger man was waiting for his turn. "I was hoping to meet Max's mysterious girlfriend. He refuses to talk about you…"

People swarmed around Liz, introducing themselves and wishing her a happy birthday. And Max's firm hold on her shoulder told her that he will not leave her side.

Max's plan was to sing to Liz in private, but he changed his mind. He wanted everyone to know that for him, there is only Elizabeth. And he spiced it up by saying it's her birthday so that people have a reason to come forward and introduce themselves (while wishing her a happy birthday). Now no one will be able to use an excuse that they didn't know who Elizabeth is, or that they didn't know that she is important to Max.

...

"Still looking at the happy couple of the day?"

McKenzie cringed at the sound of Grace who was obviously mocking her misfortune.

"Why are you back?", McKenzie grumbled.

"I didn't leave…", Grace said with glee in her voice. "Why are you torturing yourself? There are so many handsome guys around. Pick any."

McKenzie narrowed her eyes at Grace. "Some girls are pickier than the others. Any guy will not do for me."

"I would praise you for such an attitude if your pick is not the king. You know that he can have only one queen… and that is not you."

McKenzie felt her temper flaring. "You…"

"What is going on here?", Oliver's question sounded like a warning for both Grace and McKenzie. "Grace, why are you causing trouble?"

Grace looked at Oliver innocently. "Causing trouble? If you didn't notice, I am trying to prevent one. The way Zi is staring at Max's girlfriend is attracting attention. If I didn't know better, I would think that Zi is up to something…" Grace smiled smugly and walked away.

Oliver didn't know how to respond to this. He noticed McKenzie's behavior as well, but no matter what he and Lewis tried, McKenzie is not listening.

McKenzie was glad that Grace left.

She accepted her virgin pina colada from Oliver while her gaze didn't leave Max and Liz. She could not make herself look away even though she was close to exploding from anger. First, Max and Liz arrived together and she heard everyone saying how THAT is Max's girlfriend, then Max publicly declared his love with a song, then they danced, and now Liz is the center of attention.

"Zi? Are you OK?", Lewis' voice drifted toward McKenzie. She was so out of it, that she didn't notice when he approached her.

"What does she have that I don't?", McKenzie asked dejectedly.

Lewis wanted to say that Liz has Max, but he decided to keep that for himself.

"Nothing. She is just a girl that caught Max's eye. You know that he will get bored of her…", Lewis did his best to comfort McKenzie.

McKenzie snorted. She was not confident that Max will get bored with Liz any time soon. After all, she is watching Max for a very long time, and this is the first time she saw him act like this. This confirmed McKenzie's resolve that she needs to deal with Liz somehow. And she has the way.

"Did you ask the bartender what is that red drink Liz was having?", McKenzie asked Lewis.

"Yes. Max got her two strawberry mojitos since they arrived.", Lewis responded.

McKenzie cringed her teeth. The thought of Max getting drinks for Liz was infuriating.

McKenzie does not need to ask what Max is drinking, she can see that he is having beer from the tap.

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