He had sighed. “I know, Mom, but it’s not that easy. There’s more to it. I know information about her that I wouldn’t know...shouldn’t know, I guess,” he had said, uneasily broaching the subject of how he’d used his influence with the chief of security to gather information about Nikki. “I’m not sure she’s going to be keen on how I, uh...acquired it,” he had said, not even comfortable with his mother knowing what he’d done. The way he’d invaded her personal life.
“The fact that you had James Green do a little digging into her past, Max?” she’d asked.
Why he was surprised was beyond him. As she had said...nothing went on that his mother didn’t know about.
The rest of the ride into the office, he’d listened as his mother both fussed at and guided him on his next course of action.
“At the end of the day, it’s your decision on how to go forward. Telling her who you really are...she’ll understand that. She’ll understand your reasons. They’re valid, son. As a woman I feel confident telling you that,” she’d begun and Max felt a semblance of relief.
Her next words snatched his security blanket away.
“But as for you digging into her past...go gently with that. You don’t have to tell her, she’ll never know...but tell her. If you want a real relationship, you have no other option.”
And with that sage advice, Max had gone into his office and downloaded everything onto a jump drive, both his dossier...and the one he’d collected on Nikki.
After he loaded the documents, he knew what a man facing life in prison or freedom felt like when waiting for the jury’s verdict.
Chapter 10
A few days later, Nikki woke up slowly, lazily from a night filled with restless sleep. She reflected on the past three weeks since she and Max had become involved. They had been filled with excitement and passion, and now uncertainty.
Her mind took her back to their last encounter.
It was the first time she’d spent the night at his place, and although she’d warned herself not to make too much of a big deal about it, a part of her knew that it was significant. Just as she knew there was much, much more to Max than met the eyes.
She’d known that as soon as he’d driven into the upper-end neighborhood where he lived.
Tension had fairly radiated off of him, but she’d kept silent, not asking the burning question...how does a temp manager afford to live in the clearly affluent West Austin suburb? An area like this?
She nestled deeper into the down comforter and pulled it up to her chin, not really ready to get out of bed, but knowing she had to. Her boss expected her staff to be in the office on time, and did not like to hear excuses.
Memories of the previous night still lingered. After each time they made love, their intimacy grew. But more than that, they had begun to share things with each other, things beyond the sexual.
She’d told him of her desire to be a designer at MagHard, hopefully soon as she received her master’s degree at the end of the semester.
She’d lain in front of him, warm and satisfied from his latest lovemaking.
“And I know that with dedication and commitment, I can do it. I’ve already learned a lot from my time at MagHard,” she’d confessed during their pillow talk.
He’d been silent before he spoke. “But you want more than just to be a designer at the firm, right? Don’t you want to...branch out, start your own company?” he’d asked, and she’d sighed, nodding her head in the dark, running her fingers back and forth over the back of his hand that he had wrapped around her midsection as they spooned.
She smiled. It was as though he had read her mind. Sometimes the intuitive questions he asked seemed as though...he had a blueprint to her heart. The thought was as scary as it was enticing. No man had ever...gotten her, she’d always thought.
He’d kissed the back of her neck and asked, “What made you laugh?”
She snuggled back into his embrace and shook her head, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth in the dark. “Nothing. Everything. I like you, Max Stele,” had been her only reply, the region of her heart seeming to expand with the knowledge that she was falling in love with him.
After that night’s marathon session they’d stayed up late, sharing their childhood stories.
She hadn’t wanted to pry, but she wanted...yearned to learn more about Max.
“There’s something that has been, well...on my mind,” she had said, broaching one of the subjects that she had only recently been thinking about.
He’d brought her into his arms and held her close, his head on top of hers as he feathered it back and forth.
“What’s that?” he had asked, his tone casual, yet she felt the tension that radiated from him the minute she spoke.
“Remember the night of the party?”
“Hmm, vaguely. Something comes to mind,” he had said, pressing his shaft against her butt as she was spooned in front of him, one of his big arms loosely wrapped around her waist.
She had smacked the hand at her waist. “I’m being serious, pervert!” she had said with mock anger. Even when she was trying to be serious, he tried to bring levity to the moment.
“Hey, I resemble that remark,” he had replied and she groaned before joining in his laughter.
She grew serious and plunged ahead. The question had been nagging at her all day as she recalled the evening that began their...affair.
“What’s my middle name?” she had asked lightly and held her breath, waiting.
“Francine...why?” he had countered smoothly.
She paused, bit the corner of her mouth and jumped in. “How do you know that? Have you been spying on me?” she had asked.
There was only the briefest of pauses before he responded. “Why would I do that? Are you hiding something?” And for a moment Nikki had wished with all her might that she had the nerve to turn around and face him, to see his expression as he deflected her question with a question.
She felt her gut turn. “No, just wondering how you knew my middle name,” she had asked, and waited.
“It’s in your personal file, baby. How else would I know?” The answer had made her gut sink just the smallest bit. “Although I’m the temporary manager, I had to know about all key and essential personnel, so I read a few files. Yours was one,” he had replied, his voice casual.
“Key and essential personnel? Me?” she had giggled, keeping it light.
“You’re key and essential to me,” he’d said and with that quip, he’d flipped her on her back and explained—or showed her—how key and essential she was to him.
She blushed at that memory of their lovemaking, but then grew reflective as more details unfolded from that night.
There was no way he’d gotten her middle name from the file, because she hadn’t put it on her employment record. Not her full middle name. Most thought she was simply Nikki F. Danes. She only included her middle name on one social media site, but that was not a public profile.
But he’d called her Nikki Francine Dane.
She had forced herself to rise, and looked around the simple but beautiful furnished room. She’d been awestruck when he’d brought her into his home, the upper-end condo one of only a few in the affluent neighborhood.
She hadn’t