Page 51 of Enemy Boss

“I love you too,” she says.

She leans her head back and I move my face down to hers and I kiss her, a kiss full of love and passion and a promise for the future. She kisses me back, her kiss as enthusiastic as mine and then we break apart. We get a final rinse down and then Max turns the water off and we get out of the shower, each of us wrapping ourselves in a towel. Max leads me to the bedroom and finds herself a pair of pajamas made up of a pair of shorts and a vest top in a lilac color. She holds out a pink robe to me.

“I’m sorry. It’s the best I can do,” she says.

“I’m comfortable enough with my masculinity to wear a pink robe,” I say with a laugh.

I put it on and then sit on the bed while Max puts her pajamas on and brushes her hair. We go back out into the living room.

“I’m starving,” Max says. “Do you fancy some dinner? I’ll see what I have in the frig.”

“I’ll order pizza,” I say.

“Ok,” Max agrees. “Pepperoni and mushroom?”

I nod my agreement and get my cellphone and open my food delivery app. I order the pizza and tell Max it’s done.

“I was just thinking. It reminded me with us getting food delivered. Maybe one good thing will come out of the Ross thing. I think if Officer Reynolds calls my landlord, it might just scare him into fixing the door lock when he hears what happened,” she says.

“I hope so because I hope the next tenant feels safe,” I say. “But you’re not staying here Max.”

“Let’s see what happens first. Maybe Ross will go to prison, and I won’t need to move straight away,” she says.

“No Max, you don’t understand,” I say. “For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to find the right time to ask you to move in with me, and I haven’t found it. But after everything that has happened, I’m done waiting. You’re moving in with me.”

“So, you decided instead of asking me, you would just demand it of me,” she says, but there’s a sparkle in her eye and I know she’s joking so I nod my head.

“Yup. It’s a done deal,” I say.

“Yeah, I’d say you were right there,” she says.

“Is that a yes then?” I press her.

“Even though you technically didn’t ask, yes it’s a yes,” she says, and I grin and pull her to me and kiss her again.

“You make me happier than I ever thought I could be,” I say.

She snuggles against me.

“I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I keep thinking of that email. Who would want to split us up?” she says.

“You think that’s what it was? An attempt to split us up rather than an attempt to sabotage the deal with Mr McPherson?” I say.

“I don’t know for sure, but it seems that way. If someone else got access to the proposal and wanted to use it for personal gain, they would have had to put their name to it. If they just wanted to sabotage the deal, they could have sent it anonymously. Putting my name on it feels personal,” Max says.

I think for a moment and nod my agreement. Now that she’s mentioned it, I think she’s right. But I have no idea who it could be.

“As far as I know, no one at work even knows I go by Max,” Max says. “Except you obviously.”

“And I am always careful not to call you Max around clients or other staff members,” I say. “So, by that logic, it has to be someone from outside of work who doesn’t know that you go by your real name in the office.”

“But how would anyone from outside of work know about the proposal and who to send it to, let alone be able to actually get their hands on a copy,” Max says. “Wait. Could it be a leak from McPherson’s themselves? Maybe it’s a way to get a better deal for them. And the person who sent it just so happens to be called Max. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s possible right?”

“I find it unlikely to be honest,” I say. “It wasn’t the neat copy we sent the client. It was a rough version, like the one where you transcribed the recording but hadn’t finalized it.”

“That makes no sense,” Max says. “No one had access to the first draft of that except for me.”

“Unless it is someone who works for the company and some how they’ve found out you go by Max and fucked up and signed the email that way, because someone at work could potentially have gotten onto your computer,” I say.

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