Chapter 6

• As tension hung thick in the air, Lucy watched the expressions of both men, who were glaring challengingly at each other, as if it were a tennis match.
• She had initially thought that Max's issue was a joke, perhaps just a matter of ego or a past rivalry over a girl, but what she saw between the two of them was the gaze of two men who had hurt each other, who had clashed over something more than just a casual fling.
• The offense her son had mentioned was due to an intense love.
• The question now was to determine who had been in love and who had taken it away, although she believed she knew who was the main affected party and this time she would not be left without answers. But, for now, she had to do something before these two men killed each other telepathically.
• Clearing her throat, Max released Evan's hand, who showed no sign of pain or affection, after Max had squeezed it too tightly.
• "Thank you very much, Senator, for the invitation," she said with a smile that seemed polite, but was far from it. "It is an honor to be able to assist you with your requirements."
• "Yes, we are confident that we can help you with whatever you need from Hunter Security Solutions," added Kevin, who only wanted to pat his brother on the back, but doing so in front of someone else would diminish his image as a sharp businessman.
• "Please, have a seat," Evan hurried to pull out a chair for Lucy to sit, but Max pushed him aside and smiled at his mother, who only narrowed her eyes with a clear warning that he was in trouble. "I am grateful that you could attend this working meeting..."
• "Wait a minute, Smith, let's first make two things clear. Firstly, this is not a working meeting, it is a proposal meeting. Secondly, I find it perfect that you are grateful for us being here, considering you changed the location three times," Evan said, looking at Max with a genuine smile and taking a seat next to Lucy.
• "You're right, Max, but for me it is a fact that I will be using the services of your successful and prestigious company..."
• "Don't flatter me, idiot," Lucy and Kevin flinched at the insult, but Evan remained unfazed.
• "Isn't it successful and prestigious?" Max scowled, if that was even possible. "Despite your personal disasters, Hunter Security Solutions is profitable, solid, one of the best companies in the country to work for, hire, and invest in."
• "Idiot."
• "And about the changes," he looked at Lucy and took her hand, "I apologize, but I had a setback at home and was forced to invite you to one of my favorite restaurants."
• "No problem, Mr. Smith," she said kindly, but Max was not pleased.
• "You better let go, mother, or he'll try to seduce you later," Lucy kicked him and Max winced. "Ouch!"
• "Behave, Max," was all she said, although suddenly she felt the urge to give the senator a kick too, because she had just confirmed her theory.
• "Well, if there are no more complaints, we could start discussing. I took the liberty of ordering a light appetizer," Evan said in a relaxed tone. "Smoked salmon tapas with cream cheese..."
• "I don't like those," Max said, crossing his arms, while Kevin looked at him with eyes about to pop out of their sockets.
• "I know, that's why I ordered stuffed eggs, your favorite."
• Lucy and Kevin exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding what was going on between these two, they knew each other well, but they also hated each other.
• "Idiot," Max muttered and looked away.
• "Well, your assistant informed us that you needed a new system for your office and home," Kevin said, trying not to run away from embarrassment. "We have a system that might interest you..."
• "You have many, but what I'm asking for is probably one you haven't developed yet," he smiled at each of them, even though Max wasn't looking. "I want one that not only takes care of the security of the place and my technological devices, but also knows who, when, and where is intruding on them. I don't just want security, but also a virtual counter"spy.""
• " Any particular problem that happened to you before?"
• " No, but if you have seen the news, some of the party members are getting into trouble with scandals, as a result of leaks of confidential information."
• " But that could well have been done by people from their own teams who leaked the information " Lucy tells him.
• " Yes, the problem is that that information was on their personal devices, those that our collaborators normally do not access."
• " Do you have something you don't want to be known, Smith? " Max sarcastically asks, Evan just laughs.
• " Of course, I wouldn't want them to know my account numbers, my passwords, where the rest of my family lives, I wouldn't want them to have pictures of my sister at my grandmother's birthday or of my parents cooking together " Lucy nods and takes notes on her phone of what the senator wants. I am very jealous of my privacy, unlike others.
• If words were punches, those would have knocked out Max and left him with a concussion, but as a man who respects himself, he says nothing, just drinks a little water and sighs tiredly.
• " Well, I can start developing it right away... " Kevin says, but the senator stops him.
• " Don't get me wrong, Mr. Hunter, but I would like Max to be the one to do it " even the mentioned one is left with his mouth open. You see... the person who develops it will have access, besides me, so it must be of my complete trust " Max looks at him intently and can see that he speaks sincerely, without a hint of malice in his words. And I trust Max."
• " You're kidding me... " but a pinch from his mother stops him from saying the swear word. Is this a joke?
• " You know this is serious for me and when something is, I don't joke " he leans his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands. Only you will have access to my privacy, if you want in the development and testing phase, you can involve whoever you want, even your brother, but when it comes to implementation, I want only you to take care of it.
• " No."
• " Max..."
• " No, mother. Once I let myself be fooled by this idiot and lost much more than pride or ego. I stand up and look at Evan. If you want our services, let my brother do it, he is a thousand times more reliable than me. I'm leaving, I have to go to the hospital."
• " If you do, I'll tell you where he is " Max looks at him as if he had said a swear word and growls.
• " I've always known where he is."
• " Then I'll tell you why I ended up alone, like you " Max hesitates for a moment and sits back down, with the most mocking laugh of his entire life. I guess you're still the same gossip as always.
• " Yes, but I want to know how the great Evan Smith ended up lying down... I imagine worse than me."
• " You're not wrong " the waiter arrives with the appetizers, a moment that Evan takes advantage of to smile with a certain sadness. I think we both took it in a different way, you went for fun, I went to get away from people.
• " Yes, and that's why you became a senator, to be far from people."
• " Contrary to what you think, this distances you a lot from people, because they don't see you in the same way. You become just a tool to get things done."
• " That's what public service is about."
• " Yes, but in a way you start losing yourself and emotions go down the drain, you forget how to treat people... but that will be solved very soon."
• " I accept, only because I see that you are more ruined than me. At least I know what it is to have fun."
• " The fun you tell me about is not valid if you have to apologize later."
• " Idiot."
• " Great! Then it's a deal " Lucy says excitedly. I'll have the contract drawn up today, I'll send it to your assistant as soon as I have it in my hands.
• " Perfect, now we can enjoy the meal in peace."
• " I'm afraid I have to leave, I really have to go to a hospital " Max stands up. You and I have a pending conversation.
• " I'll arrange it with your assistant during the following week."
• " Whatever " he shrugs, walks to the exit, still feeling the growing curiosity of how he ended up alone, without practicing the profession that drove him crazy and sitting in a tattered chair in the senate.
• He hails a taxi, gets in and asks to be taken to the nearest hospital. Now he can complain about the pain, hug his ribs, and slump in the seat.
• While in the restaurant, Lucy and Kevin stay behind, with a surprised Evan that they didn't want to accompany him to the hospital.
• "Is it serious what he has?"
• "It could be," Kevin says without a hint of concern. "He deserves it, he ran a red light at a corner and crashed into another car."
• "How long ago?"
• "Mmm... about two hours."
• Evan doesn't say anything else, but he suspects that Max was the other driver involved in the crash Giselle had.
• Coincidences can be crazy and that's something these three characters are about to discover very soon.
• Lunch unfolds between sharing some experiences, fine"tuning software details, and by the time they finish, Kevin shakes hands with the senator to bid farewell cordially. Then Lucy approaches, pulling him a bit towards her and whispers dangerously."
• "If I find out that you're the son of a b*tch who hurt my Max, I won't give a sh*t that you're a United States senator."
• "Copy that, my lady," Evan leaves a kiss on the back of her hand and smiles.
• Lucy walks out as dignified as she can, as if she hadn't just threatened an important politician.
• "What did you tell the senator, mother?" Kevin asks as he opens the car door for her to get in.
• "Nothing important, just something a mother can say. Take me to your brother."
• Evan watches them leave through the glass, thinking for the first time that what happened to him thirteen years ago made him distrustful, but it made Max even worse.
• "I can't believe I'm responsible for his behavior... no, I refuse to admit that I hurt you so much, my friend."
• He lets out a sigh, stands up, pays the bill personally, and then leaves protected by his security team, marking the head of security to inquire about Giselle.
• "The miss is fine, sir, at home and with all the care you recommended."
• "Did you escort her to her room, as I told you?"
• "She wouldn't let me... honestly, she's very standoffish and even threatened to hit us if we didn't leave her alone, saying she wasn't dying."
• "Are you talking about the same girl I attended to in the room of my house?" he asks, unable to contain his laughter.
• "The same. Next time they meet, I'll search her more thoroughly, to make sure she's not carrying a weapon, she's one of those people who justify gun control."
• "Keep me informed... and try to find out who the idiot was that collided with her, although I have a suspicion."
• "As you wish, sir."
• He ends the call and goes straight to his office, while a woman in his house is bored, calling everyone and doing everything, as always.
• She is lying on her bed, reading some progress reports, but she is not entirely focused, because those gray eyes haunt her, calling her while warning her of the danger of getting closer.
• "I know I've seen you somewhere else... but where."
• She looks at her phone every moment, not to check notifications, but to make sure that the man who destroyed her passenger door hasn't called her.
• "You're stupid, Giselle, you probably won't see him ever again."
• She closes her eyes in frustration just as her phone rings, it's an unknown number and her heart starts beating fast, she answers somewhat nervously.
• "Hello?"
• "Miss Sparks," says the voice of a young and cheerful woman, "I'm calling on behalf of Senator Smith, to inform you that your car will be in the workshop for at least three days."
• "That's terrible news..."
• "Also, on behalf of the senator, we need to know if you require a vehicle for transportation."
• "No, thank you," she hurriedly replies, as she already imagines that the man will send her a replacement vehicle.
• "Very well," she notes the girl's disbelief and sticks her tongue out at the phone. "I hope you recover soon. Goodbye."
• The woman ends the call and Giselle lies back on the bed, thinking that this day can't get any worse.
• Another call comes in, also from an unknown number, and she answers as quickly as before.
• "Good afternoon, I'm calling on behalf of the man who collided with you..."
• "I can't believe he doesn't want to show his face or voice, in this case. He's shameless."
• "Excuse me, I just want to ask for your home address, we will send a tow truck to remove the car and take it to the gentleman's insurance facilities."
• " Well, tell him it's not necessary, because someone is already taking care of the problem and that I hate him, because he will leave me three days without my baby."
• " I'm very sorry, please tell us your address..."
• " I'm not telling you anything, just tell that jerk to die. Goodbye!"
• She hangs up the call and lets out a frustrated sigh. She stands up to go to the bathroom, splashes her face with water and thinks about how she has spent all these years with raging hormones without the company of a man, she can continue like this for a while longer, until the right one comes along.
• The afternoon passes slowly, until dinner arrives and she finishes her work for the day, needing to rest.
• " Has my sister arrived yet?"
• " No, Miss Lilly has not arrived yet " the maid helping her gather all the papers scattered on her bed and organizes them on the desk tells her.
• " What about my father?"
• " He hasn't called either..."
• " What a family I have, they have no idea that I'm injured."
• " But you are not alone, I assure you."
• Giselle smiles back at the girl, sits down to eat dinner and then sets the tray aside, looks at her phone one last time, but there are only work messages.
• She goes to the bathroom, brushes her teeth and gets into bed, thinking that all men should go to...
• ***
• In the morning, she opens her eyes, checks the time feeling better than the day before. She starts her daily routine, but a little faster than usual. She will have to take a taxi, because her father's car remains parked in the private hangar and her sister will not let go of the car without asking for something in return.
• When she goes down to have breakfast in the kitchen, one of the security guards hands her a set of car keys.
• " Good morning, Miss, a vehicle was left for you early this morning, from the jerk " he says the last words embarrassed.
• " What...?"
• The whisper doesn't paralyze her, she walks straight to the house entrance and sees an Audi exactly like hers parked in the driveway, she walks up to it, opens the driver's door and sees a box of chocolates with a note.
• She takes it and smiles as she finishes reading it.
• "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday, I hope this one replaces it while yours is in the shop, although if you want, keep it.
• The Jerk."
• " It seems you're not such a jerk after all..."
• She goes back inside to finish breakfast, asks one of the maids to leave the box of chocolates in her room and then heads to the office in her new car.