Page 123 of Magic or Madness

Cami and Pepper come sauntering in after a while, and it turns out it’s been six hours since they left and none of us noticed how much time had passed.

We take a break to order pizza, and Fallon pours herself a tall glass of wine, handing out beers for the guys.

“What a day,” she sighs, collapsing on my lap as I fan my arms across the sofa.

“It’s okay, Bambi. Go hang with the girls and take a break, we’ve got this,” I tell her, rubbing her back gently, but she shuts me down before I can even take a breath.

“Not a chance, Oswaldo. Besides, if my organization is messed with, you’ll all be sorry,” she laughs, and I concede, not wanting to poke the beast.

“Where’s Max?” Pepper asks, and we all exchange a look, unsure of how much to share with her.

It’s not that we don’t trust Pepper, but she has said that she has no interest in this side of things, or the violence. I can respect that, so I leave the explaining to Lex, as he knows better than anyone what she can handle.

“Max left earlier after a disagreement. Looks like Ozzy is in charge now,” he tells her, and her eyes light up, instantly swiveling her head in my direction.

“Oh! Congratulations!” She cheers, and I can't help but laugh at her relentless positivity.

“Thanks, Pepper. Not sure if a party is my next move, but I’m just trying to fix a mess we made.”

As if on cue, Max comes through the front door, stumbling over his own feet and mumbling to himself.

Perfect.

He spent the day getting plastered, and now we’ll all be on Max cleanup duty tonight.

“Fuckers,” he mutters, collapsing on the couch while continuing to talk to himself.

“Nice to see you too, Max.” Oliver attempts to connect with him, but I shake my head and hold my hand up.

No need to get him worked up, especially when he’s so far gone.

“After all I’ve done for you. You’d be nothing if it weren’t for me,” he slurs through hiccups, and I can see everyone trying to hold back.

I keep an arm around Fallon, ensuring the beast stays locked up inside her, too. Her smart mouth is the last thing Max will want to hear, and I’d hate to make this day any more complicated than it already is.

I nod toward the office, and we all slowly vacate the couch, leaving Max to sleep off whatever he drank, but he isn’t as out of it as I thought, firing off one last missile.

“What’s the matter,Boss? Nothing to say?” He laughs to himself, and I take a deep breath, trying to keep my composure.

“Max, let’s not make this difficult. We’ve been on this all day, and would be happy to show you what we’ve got tomorrow.”

“I’ll pass. You have fun destroying everything we’ve built, though.” He gets up and makes his way to his room, slamming the door for effect.

There’s been enough tension around here lately and I’m tired of it. We all need to loosen up, and I know exactly what’ll do it.

“Olly, grab the top shelf shit. We need a night.”

We’re getting drunk, doing something other than dwell on this job, its consequences, and Max.

“How about a bonfire?” Journey suggests, and we all immediately jump on the idea.

One thing that surprised me today was how willing he was to follow my lead after everything we’ve been through. We used to be close, but since Fallon, our bond has suffered severely. I’m hoping after this change in leadership, we can begin to repair our friendship.

He seems to be on board with everything I’ve pitched so far, and him offering to build a fire is a great example of his willingness to be a part of the team.

“Is getting everyone drunk the best idea?” Fallon wonders, and I shrug, keeping hope at the forefront of my mind, rather than worrying about the worst case scenarios.

“Let loose, Bambi. We’ve all been so tightly wound up that we deserve a night to just relax.” I pull her close, draping my jacket over her shoulders, kissing her forehead, and she scrunches her nose, looking up at me with those big, beautiful eyes.

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