Accident Prone

Irene stood up. "I didn't expect that you will be here."

"I can see that…", Liz said.

Irene was not sure what to say, so she went with the first thing that came to her mind. "Since I saw you for lunch, does that mean you spent your day here? Do you usually stick to Max and wait in his office until he is done with meetings? Don't you have a job?"

"It's none of your business how I spend my day. And I don't remember Max telling me that you are so close that you can call him by his nickname.", Liz said icily. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

Irene regretted speaking without thinking. It seems that Liz is not a timid girl who will allow someone to bully her. Irene reminded herself not to argue with Liz on a personal level because Liz is Max's girlfriend while Irene is just an employee. Right. That will work! This is her office building, and she has no reason to yield to a simple girlfriend. As long as she keeps it professional, she will be fine. Max should be here any minute, and she needs to act as a director. "I'm waiting for CEO Anderson."

"Who let you in?", Liz persisted. She was confident that Foxy would not allow Irene to be here unattended. Especially because Foxy knows that Liz is here.

"He said that his last meeting ends at five and that I can stop by."

Liz wished to give Irene a good beating. Does Irene think that she can avoid answering Liz's question? Why can't she just go away? Liz knows that a spy in the Alpha group, close to Max, is more important than her inner peace, but she is eager for Irene to be out of their lives. Hopefully in jail.

No matter how frustrated Liz is, she reminded herself to stay cool. Everything is being recorded.

She can't make a scene here because Max has a plan for Irene and Liz does not want to jeopardize it, but she can't let this go either. Irene is obviously up to something. If she was going through Max's desk or for a file cabinet, it would be incriminating. However, Irene was only sitting on the sofa… waiting for Max. Which screams of the possibility that she wanted to seduce him. Ah, Liz regretted exposing her presence. If she stayed in the suite, she would be able to gather evidence against Irene and now it's only Liz's word against Irene's. Liz can't physically attack Irene. A fight will only make Irene seem pitiful, and she might even call the security. Liz got an idea…

"Did Max say that you can wait in his office? Or did Foxy tell you to wait inside?", Liz asked even though she knew the answers.

Irene realized her blunder. Coming to Max's office without Foxy's approval might fly if the one who found Irene was Max, and she didn't expect that someone else will show up first. "That…"

Irene stopped talking when she saw Liz walking to Max's desk and taking the phone.

Without introducing herself, Liz spoke as soon as the line connected: "There is an unauthorized person in the CEO's office. Please come right away. She might be violent."

Irene frowned when she realized that Liz called security.

"Was there a need to call security?"

"Yes. You are not supposed to be here without permission. There is a chance that Max told you to meet with him at five, but you should wait outside until someone lets you in. Don't tell me that you are a newbie who does not know these basics because it applies even outside the corporate environment."

The truth is that Liz didn't want to call security, but she didn't want to be alone with Irene in Max's office. This is not a place where they can argue (or fight), and considering that Irene is an employee, Liz thinks that she is at disadvantage because other than the title 'girlfriend', she does not have much going on for her. To even up the odds, Liz needs witnesses and a performance that will shake up Irene.

It didn't take long for security to come. Foxy was one step behind them.

Two men stood at the door awkwardly and looked from Irene to Liz, unsure which one called, and which one is unauthorized. They know that Irene is the director, but Liz is the girlfriend.

"I apologize, Miss Williams...", Foxy said guiltily while approaching Liz. "I don't know how director Brooks got inside..."

That answered silent questions two security guards had.

Liz smiled and waved them to come in. "How do you deal with people who get into areas without proper authorization?"

"It depends on a person and the area. It can go from kicking them out of the building to calling the police. And sometimes they get onto a no-entry list.", one of the security guys responded.

By the time the security guard finished his explanation, Max was by Liz's side.

"What happened? Are you OK?", Max asked Liz like no one else is in the room. He was visually inspecting her as if he is checking for injuries.

Irene frowned. Why is everyone ignoring her?

"To be honest, I am shaken up.", Liz said without removing her gaze from Max's. "I thought that you were done with your meeting early, but instead of you, I found director Brooks relaxing on the sofa. I believe that we should find out how she got in and why."

Max understood that Liz wants to teach Irene a lesson and that she is letting him handle it.

"I was not relaxing!", Irene hissed.

Max didn't pay attention to Irene, he looked at Foxy. "Why was director Brooks in my office?"

Foxy lowered her head guiltily. "I apologize, CEO Anderson, but I don't know. I became aware that she is inside when the security guards arrived. The only explanation I have is that she entered on her own when I stepped away from my desk."

Max exhaled loudly while thinking about how to handle this situation.

It's obvious that Irene got inside on her own and Max knew this because Ian alerted him.

From the conference room where the meeting was held, Max watched on his phone live feed of Irene getting inside his office, and Max cut his meeting a few minutes short so that he can rush here.

Normally, Max would let Irene on her own so that he sees what she will do, and he even thought of heading home for the day. But Liz was inside as well, and he didn't want to leave Irene and Liz alone.

This is not enough for Irene to be fired, and he would like to avoid firing her or making this escalate. However, if he lets it go, Irene will get bolder and everyone present might think that Max has a soft spot for Irene.

"Director Brooks, do you know what you did wrong?", Max said after some time like he is reprimanding a child.

Irene blinked. "You said that I can come at five o'clock for a meeting."

Max thought that he is experiencing a déjà vu. Irene's innocent expression reminded him of their many interactions from the period they dated. Now, he can see that she is lying, but at that time he believed her and even thought that it's cute. He was so stupid.

The more he looked at Irene, the more disgusted Max felt. With her and with himself. He can't believe that he was so naïve. She played him like a fiddle. No wonder so many laughed at him when he was dumped. He believed that they are jealous and mean and… now he knows that they were telling the truth. He walked proudly with Irene attached to his arm, without realizing that he was wearing the biggest green hat in the world. The one he created for himself because he allowed Irene to manipulate him.

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