Stay With Me (M/L, ADULT) Epilogue 13/June/10 [COMPLETE]

[Janetfl]

A huge thanks goes out to the wonderful Monica who did this awesome banner for me!!!! You are talented sweetie!!!!

Nominated for Favourite Supporting Role of Tess Harding

Title: Stay With Me
Author: Janetfl (Jan)
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Roswell ... sadly that belongs to the powers that be!! No infringement is intended.

Pairing: M/L.
Rating: ADULT.

Summary: Max and Liz are co-workers, or rather co-enemies. What happens when their boss sends them to a conference in Vegas?

Author's Note: Keepsmiling7 was runner up in the Support Stacie Auction. She won a 5,000 min word fic ... which might prove to be longer. I'm just going to see where the story leads me. I hope you enjoy.


A huge thanks goes out to my wonderful beta reader Lilloucfer!! Thanks so much for all your help and ideas!!


Prologue.


She started to stir from her deep slumber as the sun shone through the cracks of the curtains. She felt safe, warm and comfortable. She didn't want to wake up; she wanted to sleep for the rest of the day.

As the sun shone brighter she finally groaned and tried to open her eyes. As soon as she attempted to, pain shot through her head and she immediately closed them again.

Another groan left her lips.

"What the hell did I do last night?" she thought to herself ... and then she froze.

She could have sworn she'd just felt something brush against her leg. She tried so very hard to open her eyes but the thumping pain behind them stopped her from doing so. She raised the bed sheets over her head and then opened her eyes.

"Oh good god, no!" she whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping form beside her.

The white bed sheets were a stark contrast to the deep tanned muscular legs that were tangled in them.

She raked her eyes across the beautiful form, starting at those gorgeous legs, moving to a perfectly round, almost peachy, muscular ass and the sexiest back she had ever seen. This man that lay beside her was just perfect in every way.

She quickly whipped the sheets from her head and turned very slowly to see who was lying beside her naked as the day he was born, although a lot better formed, she mused.

All she could see poking out of the sheets was his perfect muscular back and brown hair. She started to get a dreaded feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"No, surely, it can't be," she whispered to herself, raising a hand to her mouth.

She was trying her hardest to remember what had happened last night. She remembered the conference but anything after that was pretty much hazy at best.

She slowly rose into a sitting position and gently leaned over him to get a better look.

A groan left her lips when she saw who was beside her.

This just can't be possible! What the hell happened last night? Why the hell was he in her bed? More to the point, why the hell had she allowed him in her bed? Oh this was so not good!

All of these thoughts and questions ran through her mind like a freight train. She turned around slowly and gently eased off the bed so she didn't disturb him. It was only then that she noticed something on the bedside cabinet.

It was if everything suddenly went into slow motion. She could see her hand reaching for the paper but felt more like she was watching a TV screen than actually living through it. You see her mind had decided to detach itself from her body for a short period of time so it could cope with the shock it was about to receive.

As her hand moved towards the paper, the writing became clear. A Certification of Marriage between one Elizabeth Parker and Maxwell Evans.

"No, this can't be..." she whispered to herself.

It was then that she noticed that she wasn't even in her own room. She rose off the bed, found her bra and top, put them on quickly, slid on her skirt, picked up her shoes and left the room as quickly and quietly as she could ... taking that piece of paper with her.

With a shaking hand she pulled the key card out of her purse and ran it through the scanner. The door opened immediately and she made a beeline for the bathroom.

She slammed the door shut, sat down on the toilet and started to cry. How the hell could she have gotten herself into this mess ... especially with the one person she hated the most on this planet or any other?

It was then an idea struck, surely if she didn't remember then maybe he wouldn't. Maybe she could get this thing annulled before anyone finds out.

********

Max suddenly felt cold and it stirred him from his deep slumber. The light that came through the hotel windows was blinding and he threw the sheets over his face to try and block it out.

He felt like he'd been hit by a sledgehammer and it wasn't going to go away any time soon. He could smell the faint odor of something fruity, like perfume, but shook the thought from his head as he gingerly got up out of bed and went to his bag to get out some paracetamol for his thumping head.

He went over to the mini fridge, grabbed a bottle of still water and took the pills. His arid mouth demanded more water and it wasn't long before the whole bottle was gone.

God, exactly how much had he drunk last night? He remembered meeting Liz at the conference, had a few drinks but after that it all became incredibly hazy.

He decided that it was time to go and see Liz. Maybe she had some answers for him.

He decided to take a shower to wake his tired and very achy body. He stood under the jet spray of the warm water and placed his tired face directly under it hoping that it would in some way wake him up.

As the warmth engulfed him an image of Liz, naked in the shower assaulted his mind. Now he was used to these kinds of thoughts but somehow this felt ... more real, like it had actually happened.


He could feel her small hands skim over the expanse of his chest as he watched the bubbles of the shampoo trail down her skin, through the valley of her breasts and then to the small dark triangle of hair between her legs.

The vision of her standing there with water cascading down her luminescent skin was so incredibly goddess like it literally took his breath away.

His hand followed the soap trail and elicited a moan out of Liz's mouth as he inserted his fingers into her warmth.


"What the hell..." shouted Max to no one in particular as he was shocked out of his reverie.

He'd always thought about Liz in a certain way but never had his imagination been so vivid.

He had to get that vision out of his head otherwise he wouldn't be able to face her this morning without it coming back to haunt him at the most inappropriate time.

He shook his head vigorously in the hopes of getting that incredibly sexy image out of his mind and concentrated on his shower. It was now imperative that he speak to Liz and find out what the hell happened to him last night.
 

[Janetfl]

Wow thank you so much for all the feedback!!! Since you've all been so nice and encouraging I've decided to post another chapter!!!

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I hope you enjoy the following chapters. I hope I do your idea justice Carolyn!!!!



Chapter 1.



Liz had just finished getting dressed after her shower when she heard a light knock on her door.

"I'll be there in a second!" she shouted from the bathroom as she twisted her long hair and then pinned it up with some hair grips.

She smoothed down her skirt and took a look in the mirror before she opened her door.

"Sorry about that I just ..."

She had a sudden look of confusion on her face.

Standing by her door with his mouth agape was Max. Her stomach did summersaults hoping that he hadn't remembered what happened last night. There had to be a way of getting out of this mess without alerting him to the fact that they were now married.

A sudden bolt of fear ripped through her body as he just stood there and continued to stare at her, almost looking through her, as if he was remembering something.

Her throat felt dry as she tried to recall what had transpired between them the night before. Whether he recalled anything or not, she put on her usual cool persona in the hopes that he would see that nothing had changed between them.

In a rather cold stern voice she said...

"Max? What can I do for you this morning?"

"I ... I just ... I wanted ... too ..." he couldn't think straight as the image of Liz in his shower came back in full force.

"A bit tongue tied this morning, aren't we?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

He cleared his throat with a small cough.

"I was just wondering if you would like to join me for breakfast, you know and go over some of the notes we made at the conference last night. We have to give in that report as soon as we fly back so we'll have to work on it together..." he almost added 'unfortunately' to the end of that sentence but stopped himself just in time.

For some reason he couldn't bring himself to be his usual pompous ass with her. Had something changed between them ... he wasn't sure.

"Oh right, yeah breakfast. Okay, give me a few minutes to collect my notes and I'll meet you the down there."

"Okay," said Max as he turned away from the door and headed towards the elevator.

She closed the door and rested her forehead on its cold surface. The only way to find out if Max really remembered or not, was to go down there and fish for information. She couldn't remember a damn thing so even if he only had snippets of information it would be more that what she currently knew.

She steeled herself for the conversation with Max, left her hotel room and headed for the breakfast area.


*******


As Max entered the breakfast room his nose was assaulted with the aroma of bacon and eggs and his stomach lurched. The hotel was serving Continental and Full English breakfasts. The urge to gag was strong but he swallowed hard and made his way to the coffee machine.

He got himself a double espresso hoping that would wake up his tired and addled brain. He chose to eat plain old cereal this morning. He didn't think his stomach could take anything else without violently protesting.

He sat down at the first available table and jumped started his body with the bitter tasting, caffeine high, smooth hot liquid. Just as he was about to delve into his cereal Liz walked in with her notes under her arm and a briefcase in her other hand.

She walked over to the table, set her things down and then made her way to the continental breakfast table.

There she picked up two butter croissants, jam and black coffee. She too needed that extra kick of caffeine after the shock she'd received this morning. She could feel Max's eyes follow her every movement and when she turned around to look at him, she noticed a strange look come across his face.

She coughed nervously and then sat down opposite Max.

"So this report Max, how are we going to handle it?"

For a moment he just stared at Liz and it was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Max?"

He shook his head slightly and blushed.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Look is something wrong Max?" asked Liz.

"Wrong? No, why would anything be wrong?"

"Seriously Max are you feeling okay?"

"No to be honest I'm not ... I ... I can't remember much about last night," he stumbled with his words.

"Well you were pretty far gone when I left you Max. How long did you stay drinking after I left?"

"Y - You l ... left?"

"Don't you remember? I said that we had a flight to catch today so I left you to it."

A slight groan left his lips.

"Max, what's wrong you're acting really strange?"

"I ... well ... I woke up this morning and ... I could have sworn someone had stayed with me last night ... I"

Max was interrupted by Liz holding up her hand.

"Look Max do I really need to hear this. I don't want to know about your sex life!" Liz whispered harshly.

Oh she was on a roll now. As soon as he started stuttering she knew he didn't remember. Maybe, just maybe she would be able to get away with this.

"What? No, it's nothing like that ... well at least I don't think it is. Look would you just hear me out for one second," he was starting to get frustrated with her as usual.

This is how it had always been between Liz and Max. From their very first meeting they seemed to get on each other's nerves ... well actual truth be told ... from Liz's side there was irritation ... from Max's side there was pure lust. He loved getting her all riled up because she looked beautiful when she was feisty, almost like she'd been ravished.

Liz rolled her eyes...

"Go on, explain away but I swear to god if I hear anything about sex in there, I'm out of here, understood?!"

"Yes UNDERSTOOD," said Max doing the 'quote' sign with his fingers.

"Well I must have had way too much to drink last night because when I woke up this morning I could have sworn I smelt perfume in the room and I ... well I found this and I've never seen it before."

Max showed Liz the earring.

"GOD DAMN IT" she thought to herself.

"Why the hell didn't I notice it was missing? How am I going to get that back from Max now?"

"It looks like a real diamond as well, expensive ... but ..."

"There's no need to spell it out Max. You are trying to tell me that you believe you brought a woman to your hotel room last night, probably had sex with her and then she upped and left in the morning without waking you. Is that about right Max?"

"I'm not like that though Liz. I don't normally bring women back to my home or hotel room. I ... well I just don't do it. I like to get to know a person first."

Max felt like he had to explain ... if he had any chance with Liz, he believed he'd just blown it.

"Right, well shall we get back to the report now Max. Like you said earlier, we have to hand this in today. How do you want to do this? Work on it together and then I type up the report?"

"Yeah, whatever, that's fine."

Now this was the first time that Max had ever agreed with Liz, without fighting her on it.

"Oh right, okay. Well let's get down to business then.”

[Janetfl]

WOW everyone thanks so much for all the amazing feed back!!!!

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Thank you Lou for all your hard work, suggestions and changes!!!! You ROCK!!!!!



Chapter 2.


The flight had been delayed which gave Liz a chance to type up the report that had to be handed in today, before they boarded the plane.

As the car, that was sent to pick them up from the airport, drove through the busy New York streets, Liz took a moment to look out of the window at the great city.

She loved living here after moving from her small town of Roswell, New Mexico. She'd worked very hard to get to where she was today, worked hard all through High School, went to Harvard, passed all of her exams with distinction and yet somehow she ended up having to work with someone like Max.

When she was first introduced to him her first initial thought was that he was hot! A gorgeous looking guy who just screamed manly, that was, until he opened his chauvinistic mouth.


FLASHBACK.

"Liz, it's good to have you on board. We are going to pair you up with our best man in marketing. He will be able to show you how things work around here. I have no doubt that you can handle our clients on your own but we do have a certain way of doing things around here. Max will be able to show you. He's a nice guy once you get to know him."

"Thanks Miss Harding," said Liz while shaking her hand.

"It's Tess by the way, come on let me introduce you to him."

As they walked through the open planned office, Tess stopped at an office that was open.

"This will be your office Liz; it is right next door to Max's so that you can work together easily. They also have adjoining doors."

Liz was very proud to see her name in gold letters on the door.

"Thanks Tess."

"No problem Liz, I'm expecting great things from you."

Tess stopped at the door next to Liz's office and knocked loudly then said...

"Max, it's Tess are you free?"

"Come on in Tess."

They both entered the large, spacious office.

"Max, I would like you to meet our new recruit, Liz Parker. Liz this is Max."

Liz held her hand out to Max but he didn't even look up at her.

"Nice to meet you Liz, now could you go and fetch me coffee and then we can get started."

Liz turned to Tess in confusion.

"Oh, don't worry about that Liz. He did that the first day he met me until I told him that if he wanted to come back to work the next day he'd better get me coffee instead! He didn't realize that I owned the company," laughed Tess.

Max finally looked up from his files.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something?"

"Max this is your new partner, Liz," said Tess.

A look of shock crossed his face.

"I'm sorry I thought you just said ... my new partner."

Liz slowly lowered her pro-offered hand and looked hard at Max.

"That's right Max."

"But I thought it was going to be Doug from ..."

"No, that didn't work out Max. Liz is your new partner. I want you to show her the ropes."

"Oh right, well thanks for the warning Tess."

"Do you have a problem with me Mr Evans?" asked Liz.

"No, of course not, I just ... I just,"

"You just thought I was your secretary or something?" offered Liz.

This elicited a laugh from Tess.

"I think you two are going to get along great!" she said leaving them to it.


Oh yes, that was her very first encounter with the GREAT Maxwell Evans and ever since then they had this uncanny knack of annoying one another, plus trying to also outdo each other on the business side of things.

Liz sighed as the car pulled up outside the office.

"Back to reality," she thought to herself.

Max and Liz both exited the car at the same time. Neither of them had really spoken to each other since breakfast. Max seemed to be in a world of his own and Liz was preparing herself for the report they were about to give to Tess.

"Well there's no way he can sabotage this project," she thought to herself.

As Max approached the doors he stopped to hold them open for Liz and allow her to enter the building first.

This gesture, of course, was a shock to Liz. Normally Max would walk through those doors and just let them slam shut again regardless if someone was behind him or not. The fact that he'd stopped for her made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Are you alright Max?" asked Liz.

"Huh?"

"You held the door open for me..." said Liz with a smile on her face.

"Yeah ... so?" he looked confused.

"Well you normally let it slam in my face Max. What suddenly changed?"

"N ... nothing has changed ... I just ... I guess, do I really do that?"

"What let doors slam in people's faces?"

He nodded.

"Yes Max, you do it all the time."

"Oh well, sorry if I've done it before to you Liz."

The fact that Max had suddenly turned into 'Mr. Nice Guy' really threw Liz off balance. She wanted to make a sarcastic remark about the GREAT MAX EVANS saying sorry, but decided to keep her mouth shut. She didn't want to rock the boat too much, until she had this mockery of a marriage dissolved.

*******

Liz entered her office and immediately got her laptop ready to print the report.

As the last page was printing her secretary's voice came over the intercom.

"Miss Parker, Miss Harding would like to see you in her office right away."

"That's fine, just tell her I'm printing the last page of our report and then I'll be there."

"Okay Miss Parker."

"Thanks."

Liz stood up and gathered her report from the printer, placed it in a binder and headed to Tess' office.

*******

Max had just sat down in his comfy, black leather, office chair when his secretary's voice came over the intercom.

"Miss Harding would like to see you right away Mr. Evans."

"What, already? We've just gotten back. Get me coffee would you and then tell Miss Harding that I will be with her."

"Certainly Mr. Evans."

Max waited for his coffee to arrive and then made his way to Tess' office.

*******

As Max walked into Tess’s office he could see that Liz was already sitting down waiting for him.

"Max, good to see you," smirked Tess as he walked into the office and sat down next to Liz.

"Sorry, had to get some coffee," he stated as an explanation.

"No problem. Now how did the conference go? Was it beneficial to you or was it a complete waste of money?"

"Well we did a report on it, which Liz has been working on so I'll let her explain."

Now this totally shocked Liz. NEVER had he given her the floor before ... he'd always tried to take the lead with every project they had done. She'd always taken a step back so she didn't look like an idiot in front of Tess but as soon as they went back to the office she would chew his butt off.

Now he was just taking a back seat? This 'changed' Max was really starting to worry her. Maybe he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he was going to use the whole Vegas trip against her soon. She'd have to watch her back.

"Thanks Max. Tess, it was a very informative conference and there were a lot of high powered Marketing people there but Max and I both felt like it wasn't really worth the time or expense. We've created a report on the reasons why we don't think this would be beneficial for the rest of the group."

Liz stood, handed Tess the report and sat back down in her chair. She stole a glance at Max but he just sat there stoic.

"So did you two have a good time at Vegas?" asked Tess with a slight gleam in her eye.

"It was business," said Max firmly.

"What? You two didn't even have a little fun on the machines ... or blackjack table?" asked Tess.

"No Tess, we just had dinner and a few drinks then went to our hotel rooms," replied Liz.

She couldn't believe that Max was being so ... quiet. She couldn't understand what was going on in his head right now but she was going to find out.

"Well, glad you enjoyed it," said Tess a little disappointed her plan hadn't worked.

"Like I said, it was business," replied Max.

Oh yes, that was it. She knew that something must have happened in Vegas but wasn't quite sure what. This was going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

Max seemed in a world of his own and letting Liz do all of the presentation, was highly unusual. Plus he hadn't really looked at Liz since he'd entered the office.

Her plan was set in motion; she just hoped it worked out otherwise she could lose the two best marketing people she'd ever employed. But if these two got together then they would be unstoppable.

"Well there is a lot of work to get back to so I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for checking out that conference for me. I don't think we'll send anyone else."

Max and Liz stood up and left the office, closing the door behind them.

As soon as they'd disappeared from view Tess smiled a knowing smile.

[Janetfl]

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Chapter 3.


One month earlier...

Max and Liz had been working together for nearly six months now. Tess had initially paired them together because she thought that Liz could handle Max, which she could, but she also noticed a growing tension between them.

She knew that Max was definitely interested in Liz because he'd never really bothered with other women before. He'd always been a pompous ass and believed that there was no way they could knock him off his top spot.

But Liz, well Liz was a different story altogether. When they worked together they were hot. Nothing could beat them. They won all business no matter who they went up against but when they fought against each other it was a nightmare.

Now Tess had noticed that Liz always took the high ground. If Max undermined her she always bit her tongue, but chewed him out later in the office. Tess always knew what was going on with her employees; she'd made it her business to. That's why she was so successful.

She knew that there was chemistry between them and if they'd just admit it then they could be a great team. Either they had to have mind blowing sex and get it out of the way or they could actually have a budding relationship. Of course it could go totally the other way and Tess could lose one of them ... but it was worth the chance.

That's when she came up with the idea of sending them to Vegas. She thought the bright lights, big exciting city, would finally get them to relax with each other and maybe they would finally realize that neither one of them were as bad as they thought.

She could understand it from Liz's point of view. Max was an ass from the first introduction, thinking she was his secretary but Tess knew that Liz was feisty enough to deal with his macho ways.

It made her laugh inside when Liz had asked if he had a problem with her. When he finally looked at her ... well he was instantly smitten. Tess could tell, even though he couldn't or wouldn't ever admit that to himself. So she took it upon herself to play matchmaker.

She got on the phone to her secretary and arranged the trip to Las Vegas for them. She used the Marketing conference as an excuse. She almost died laughing when she saw their faces, after she told them they would be taking a little trip together, it was simply priceless.

Liz looked horrified and Max ... well Max looked mildly amused by the idea. That was the only way she could describe the fleeting look that passed across his face.

Now Liz spent most of the month trying to get out of the conference. It was either she was too busy, or a client needed her on that particular date. She tried every trick in the book but Tess wasn't having any of it.

"So Liz, are you ready for the conference next week?"

She knew what the answer was going to be but played along anyway.

"Well I was hoping that I wouldn't have to go. I've just taken on the Howell account and they are going to need my full attention."

"Sorry Liz, this trip is not an option. I need both of you to go. I need to get a good idea whether it's worth sending other candidates on this trip. I'm sure that the Howell account can do without you for a couple of days. They won't even start the project until next month."

Liz sighed ... she'd tried all different ways to get out of going. She would have to spend two days with Max and she knew that by the end of it she would be pulling out her hair.

Just lately, Max had done nothing but antagonise her. It's almost as if he enjoyed the fight. She however, was getting rather fed up with it. She was starting to wonder when she could work the accounts on her own.

"That's fine Tess, I'll go. Can I just ask you a question though?"

"Sure go ahead."

"When are you going to allow me to work on my own clients, without..." Liz stopped herself just in time.

"Without?" questioned Tess.

"Well, without the expert guidance of Max?"

"Oh nicely put Liz," thought Tess.

"I don't think that day is too far away now. Maybe once you've done the conference we can talk about it."

"That would be great."

Liz left Tess's office knowing that very soon she wouldn't have to put up with Max's shit.

She could also prove that she is worthy of her position in the company and whip Max's butt at the business side of things. Oh god she would love to see his face when she won an account from him!!!

[Janetfl]

Because chapter 3 is so short I decided to post two chapters today. I hope you all enjoy......


Chapter 4.


Liz popped her head around the door and smiled.

"Hey Tess, I don't suppose I could have a quick word with you."

"Of course, come on in and sit down."

"Thanks," said Liz as she took the seat opposite Tess.

"I know it's only been a couple of days since the conference but I was wondering if you would mind me taking one afternoon off either this week or next?"

"Well, like you said before you left for the conference, you know you have the Howell account to deal with and they want to get started right away. I believe both you and Max are booked to see them all of next week?"

"Yes that's right. We have several meetings with them."

"Then it's going to be difficult to actually give you the time off next week. I really want to do this for you Liz, because I know you've been working really hard and you've never asked for time off. It's just with the new account, I'm afraid it's impossible."

"Is there a possibility I can take an afternoon off or have an extended lunch break this week? You see, something has come up that I really need to deal with urgently."

Tess narrowed her eyes slightly, something about Liz's demeanour was screaming to Tess that she was incredibly uncomfortable asking for the time off. Tess started to get a little worried ... maybe she was going for an interview with another firm. Maybe spending two days with Max finally pushed Liz over the edge.

Tess fixed Liz with a stare.

"Are you alright Liz?"

Liz could feel her face become flush as Tess held her under scrutiny. It felt as though Tess was literally reading her mind. She'd been on edge over the last couple of days wondering how she was going to get out of this mess, plus Max had been acting really strange around her. All this was making her feel incredibly uncomfortable and she'd decided that the only way to deal with it was to organize the annulment as soon as possible.

"No ... no, nothing is wrong Tess. I just have a slight family emergency that needs to be dealt with. Like I said it shouldn't take that long."

"Okay, well as I said earlier you've never asked for time off and have worked really hard, so how about taking an extended lunch break this week. Just let me know what day you want to take it."

Tess could see the relief on Liz's face and she was happy that she could do something to ease the girl's worry.

"Thanks Tess. I'll let you know as soon as I do."

"No problem. If you need more time off after next week, once the Howell account is set up, just let me know and we'll see what we can do."

"Thanks."

Liz released a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding as she exited Tess' office.

*******

Liz entered her office, shut the door, sat down in her chair and immediately picked up the phone to dial the number.

"McKenzie and Wright, how may I help you?"

"Yes this is Miss Parker may I please speak to Mr. Wright?"

"Of course Miss Parker, can I ask what it's regarding?"

"Yes I need his advice on something and possibly a meeting with him."

"Right, just hold the line one moment while I transfer you."

"Thank you."

Liz listened to the hold music until a gruff voice interrupted.

"Liz, good to hear from you, what can I do for you?"

"I'm in a bit of a fix Bob and I think I'm going to need all of your skills to get me out of it."

"What kind of a fix?"

"Oh god Bob, I don't know what to do. I got married a couple of days ago."

"WHAT?!"

Now Bob had been her father's lawyer for years and he'd dealt with numerous situations that had arisen so when Liz had to talk to someone about what happened in Vegas she knew that Bob would be the best one to help her. Even if he didn't have the skills that she needed, she knew he had a lot of contacts that would.

After a few moments of silence on the other end of the phone ... Bob decided to approach this differently.

"I take it you don't want to be in this marriage otherwise you wouldn't be calling me, am I right?"

"Yes, I know you're not a divorce lawyer Bob, but I thought you would be able to at least give me the name of a good one."

"What are the circumstances Liz? Has the marriage been consummated and what conditions where you married under?"

Liz felt totally embarrassed having to explain what happened but she had to if she was going to get the help she needed.

"I went to Vegas with ... with a colleague of mine. We ended up getting incredibly drunk ... and this is where it gets really embarrassing Bob."

"It's okay Liz, anything you tell me is strictly confidential so don't worry, just give me the details."

"Well, I woke up the following morning ... in his ... in his bed and that's when I found the marriage certificate."

"So the marriage was consummated then?"

"Erm ... I ... I ..." Liz stuttered.

Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place for Bob.

"You're not sure are you? You can't remember."

"No but I'm pretty sure it was," came the whispered response. God this was so embarrassing for her.

"Pretty sure?"

"Erm ... well I could just tell."

"Oh, erm ... okay ... right," now it was Bob's turn to be embarrassed. By what he could make out from the bits of information Liz had provided, there must have been some sort of evidence to confirm that they did sleep together.

"What am I going to do Bob?"

"Well I'm no expert Liz but I know one thing," replied Bob in a grim tone.

"What?" whispered Liz.

"Max will have to be informed if you want an annulment. The law states that even if you were both intoxicated you still need both signatures on the annulment papers."

"Oh god, no this is worse than I thought. What am I going to do?" she asked almost begging.

"There is nothing you can do Liz, unless you get his signature."

It was then that an idea started to formulate in Liz's mind.

"Bob get the annulment papers drawn up and I'll get him to sign them. Will he have to appear in court?"

"I don't think so. As long as both of you sign it and no one contests the annulment then it should go through pretty quick."

"Great when can I pick up the papers?"

"Can you fax over the Marriage Certificate?"

"Yes, I can do that now."

"Once I have that I can get Lance to draw up the papers for you. He will deal with your case. I'll warn him that it's urgent and you should be able to pick them up in a couple of days. Once he's signed them, return them to us along with the original copy of the Marriage Certificate and we will deal with it from there."

"Thank you so much Bob."

"No problem Liz."

Liz replaced the receiver down with a smile on her face ... maybe Max wouldn't have to know at all.

[Janetfl]

So sorry this is late everyone but I'm currently working my butt off to get three chapters ahead with all my stories again. A whole week of working nights has thrown me back a bit ... but I'm going to catch up!!!!!!

Hope you enjoy this next chapter. Thank you to everyone who left amazing feed back for me.....


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On with the show!!!!

Again ... a HUGE thanks to LilLoucfer who is my wonderful, hard working beta reader!!!!! You're the best!!!!



Chapter 5.


As soon as she replaced the receiver she immediately went to her purse and got out the Marriage Certificate.

“This has simply got to work!” she said to herself as she walked towards the fax machine in her office.

“What’s got to work?”

Liz literally jumped out of her skin, spun around and held the Certificate behind her back.

“No... nothing ... I mean ... what?”

“Having problems speaking today are we?” asked Max raising one eyebrow and a small smirk appearing on his face. She looked flustered and when she was like that, she was sexy as hell.

“What are you doing here Max?” asked Liz, finally getting her brain and mouth to work together.

“I was just coming in to see if you were ready to get started on the Howell account, but I can see you are obviously not quite ready yet.”

“What do you mean I’m not quite ready yet? I’ve been preparing for this the last couple of days. I have all the reports prepared,” she said indignantly.

“No I just meant ... that you seemed a little jumpy, am I interrupting something, I can come back later if you like.”

“What? No, no it’s fine come on in and we’ll get started.”

Max entered the room and sat down in the chair opposite her desk. She quickly shoved the Certificate under a mound of papers on top of her filing cabinet and came around to sit back at her desk.

“That was a close call,” thought Liz to herself.

“Look Liz, I think we got started off on the wrong foot here,” said Max preparing to say more before he was interrupted.

“No, WE didn’t get started off on the wrong foot Max; you literally shoved yours in your mouth.”

He gave a small chuckle, much to the annoyance of Liz.

“Okay, I think I really deserved that comment. I was a bit of an ass when I first met you and I haven’t really apologized since. I didn’t know my new partner was going to be a woman. Tess had told me that Doug was going to get the promotion but obviously that didn’t work out. When she introduced me to you I was still looking for a secretary at the time, so I naturally assumed ...”

“You naturally assumed because I was a woman, I was there for the position of your secretary?”

“You know Liz, we’ve been getting on each other’s nerves ever since and to be honest, I’m tired of it, so can we please just start over and try to get along. We will be working together for some time and I don’t want it to be this difficult all the time.”

“I appreciate the apology Max, I really do, but it’s not just that one time that you’ve proved that you’re a chauvinistic pig. On more than one occasion, during a presentation I was making, you either interrupt or take over. You’ve spent the last six months trying to put me down in front of the clients and Tess. If you think it’s going to be that easy to gain my trust, you have another thing coming. You have to earn it first.”

“Wow, I really didn’t realize that I’ve been that much of an ass. I was really only trying to show you the ropes and how we handle things here.”

“No, what you wanted was for me to slip up somehow, so that I wouldn’t have a job as your partner anymore, well I’ve worked way too hard to let someone like you spoil it for me Max.”

“You know what? You’re right. That’s what I started out to do. I didn’t like that fact that some fresh faced college kid happened to land one of the biggest jobs out there when I had to work my way from the very bottom up. It took me a lot of hard work, time and effort to get to this stage Liz, and somehow you just walk in here and take a job that one of my co-workers has been working to get most of his career, BUT and it is a big BUT, since working with you, I now know what Tess saw in you and you are definitely the right person for the job. Plus I’m getting tired of constantly butting heads with you ... so please can we put the past behind us and start over again?” he asked holding out his hand for her to shake.

Liz looked at him for a moment and tried to assess what his motives were. Was he just doing this to throw her off guard ... or was he being genuine?

She decided to give him a chance but made a mental note to keep a close eye on him. She firmly shook his hand and smiled.

“Okay we’ll start afresh, Hi I’m Liz Parker, it’s nice to meet you.”

Another small chuckle left Max’s lips ... “Max, Max Evans, pleasure to meet you.”

“Let’s get started with the Howell account, shall we.”

“Okay, here are my findings on the company, their marketing strategy and finances.”

“Here’s mine on previous advertisements, what failed and what worked, which companies they’ve used and which ones they thought were the best, also who their main competitors are and what position and percentage of the market they hold,” replied Liz.

They spent the next two hours in silence going through each other’s reports getting up to speed on everything they needed to know before the big meeting in a few days.

After sitting still for almost two hours, reading the reports, Max’s body felt stiff as a board so he placed the report on the desk and stretched.

Liz secretly watched Max from behind her report, glancing up at him occasionally. She could see the tight form of his muscles as he stretched the fabric of his shirt to almost tearing point, at that impromptu moment in time, a vision of his hot, sweaty, muscular body, moving languidly against hers as they made love, decided to invade her mind. Then the vision suddenly turned to him slamming himself inside of her, his eyes, holding hers hostage as he made hard, passionate love to her, finally ending in her screaming his name and him whispering that he would, and always has loved her.

Her wondrous thoughts were interrupted by his very sexy, deep voice.

“Okay, look it’s getting really late, how about I take you out to dinner. We discuss the reports while filling our stomachs with much needed sustenance and then hopefully we’ll have something tangible to work with tomorrow.”

She couldn’t believe how frustrated that vision caused her to be. As he stared intensely into her eyes, the vision of that night came back to haunt her. Her face flushed a bright shade of red and she avoided eye contact with him at all costs.

“Liz?” asked Max, slightly confused by her now, standoffish body language. Did he say something wrong? Oh maybe she thought he was coming on to her somehow, well actually that’s exactly what he was doing, but he didn’t want to spoil the bridges they’d just built.

“Okay look maybe asking you out to dinner, even if it was a business dinner, was a little too soon after just putting the past behind us. I’m going to prove to you that you can trust me Liz. I promise.”

With that he got up and left her sitting there with the vision of his body, grinding against hers, bringing her to the heights of pleasure that no other man has ever made her reach before. What was it about this man that she obviously couldn’t get enough of that night? Even with all the hatred running through her veins for him, she had still given him her mind, body and soul that night ... or was it really hatred that she felt for him?

That one single thought was enough to scare the living shit out of her. She frantically searched the papers on top of her filing cabinet for the discarded Marriage Certificate she’d placed there earlier. The sooner she had faxed that damn document, the better.

The only problem was ... if she was starting to remember ... was he?

[Janetfl]

Thank you for all the feed back you guys are amazing!!!!


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Chapter 6.


She breathed a massive sigh of relief as the final section of the Marriage Certificate was fed through the fax machine... soon it would be over and hopefully Max would be none the wiser.

Just as she placed the document back in her drawer and locked it, her stomach growled with hunger. Maybe she should take Max up on his offer, after all, it was only a business dinner and he would probably expense it back to the company.

Funny thing was neither Max nor Liz ever used the adjoining doors between their offices. They always seemed to give each other the common courtesy of knocking on the main office door.

She popped her head around his office door ready to knock and agree to go to dinner with him, but what she found there, literally made her eyes pop out of their sockets.

Okay, let's face it, she'd been in his bed and seen his magnificent body the day after their sham of a marriage, but watching every single muscle ripple as he removed his old shirt and replaced it with a new one, made an ache between her thighs suddenly appear. Her face flushed red as a reminder of his body moving against hers, flashed through her mind.

His hand slowly, moving down to her...

It was only the sound of Max's rather strained sounding cough that she noticed him staring at her with a bemused look on his face.

"How long have you been there?" he asked in a rather, dangerously low, sexy voice.

"I was ... erm ... how long ... what?" she asked, shaking the steamy thoughts from her, obviously, over sexed brain.

This made laughter erupt from his god damn, fine, sexy mouth.

"You seem to have trouble forming sentences today Liz," said Max, with a charming, not annoying, grin on his face.

She tried her hardest to concentrate on the words coming out of her mouth, rather than the fine, chiseled, tanned chest that was on show at this moment in time.

She unconsciously licked her lower lip at the sight, before she managed to get control of herself.

"I was thinking about taking you up on that offer for dinner. My stomach has just protested about not having any food inside of it today!"

"Well then, we can't have the lovely lady going hungry, now can we? Where would you like to go Liz? It doesn't matter, wherever your heart desires."

"To be honest I'm completely famished, so how about that Chinese restaurant around the corner from here?"

"I love Chinese food, just let me finish getting changed and I'll be right with you."

"Ch ... changed?" asked Liz.

"Yeah, I bring a spare shirt and pants to work so if I need to go out in the evening I'm all fresh and ready."

"God why didn't I think of that," said Liz, as she looked down at her slightly crumpled suit.

"Liz, you look good in whatever you wear. To be honest you could wear a sack and it would still look sexy, so don't sweat it," said Max, with a genuine smile on his face.

Liz ducked her head slightly, to hide the sudden blush that was creeping across her face. Max thought she would look sexy no matter what she wears?

She wasn't used to this Max and it was still un-nerving her slightly. Was he really a nice guy? Or did he remember what really happened in Vegas? If he did, what game was he playing now?

She was a smart woman and decided that it would be best to just go along with Max at the moment. Under no circumstances was she being blindsided by him. She would keep a close eye on him over the next couple of weeks to see if there was any sign of foul play.

"Thanks for saying that Max, but really, I do need to bring a change of clothes with me ... to make sure I'm prepared for whatever might come up."

"Do you want another tip?" asked Max, buttoning up his shirt.

Liz couldn't help the disappointment she felt as that fine chest disappeared under the fabric of his shirt.

"Su ... sure, any help would be greatly appreciated. As you so poignantly pointed out earlier, I'm new to all this, where as you are experienced."

"Well I always keep a small suitcase already packed with the essentials, just in case the client requires us to travel without notice. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's best to be prepared."

"I'll do that tonight when I get home. Thanks for the tip Max."

"Well, if you will excuse me, I need to change my pants," said Max, starting to unzip is trousers.

"Oh god, right, sorry, of course, I'll ... come into my office once you finished getting ready," said Liz, turning a bright shade of pink.

"You're really cute when you're flustered, did you know that?"

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute," said Max, in a seductive tone.

"I'll see you in my office, when you've finished getting changed," stated Liz, as she walked off towards her own office.

There was no way she wanted to get caught staring at his firm, muscular thighs, or his incredibly tight, firm ass, or... god don't even go there woman!!!!


*******


Just as she sat down in her chair, Max knocked on the door, fully dressed and ready to leave.

"Ready, Liz?"

"God, yes, I'm starving!" she said, with a smile on her face.

"Have you really not eaten anything all day? It's not good for you to do that you know. You need to keep your strength up. This is going to be one tough week."

"To be honest I normally do eat, but I've been a little pre-occupied lately."

"It doesn't have to do with our trip to Vegas, does it?" asked Max.

"V ... Vegas? Why makes you say that Max?"

"Well it just seems that you've been acting really strange since we left the hotel. Have I done something wrong, or something to upset you?"

"WHAT? No, of course not! It's just ... it's just ...?"

He walked behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It's just what, Liz? Look, if this has anything to do with what I told you at breakfast then I'm really sorry, but I have no clue right now what happened and it's driving me nuts!"

"NO!" shouted Liz, a little louder than she expected, "it's just, I have a lot of personal issues going on at the moment, but it will be sorted out shortly."

"Well, if I can help somehow, please don't hesitate to ask. After all, we are supposed to be partners, and partners support each other, right?"

"Right, thanks Max."

"Come on; let's get some food into that empty stomach of yours."


********


Surprising to Liz, it actually turned out to be a rather pleasant evening. Max avoided all topics relating to work and concentrated more on what Liz had to say but there was just one point that was niggling at her mind and she had to ask.

"I've had a really pleasant evening tonight Max and I'm sorry if this is about to spoil it but..."

"God that sounds ominous," he chuckled.

Liz thought how gorgeous he looked, lit up by the candle light that was on the table. There was a certain sparkle to his eyes and he seemed, relaxed, non confrontational.

Liz was feeling a little inebriated with the wine that she had been drinking during the course of the dinner. Unfortunately that caused her to be a little less inhibited as she usually would be.

"I can't quite work you out. I mean, tonight you've been nothing but a gentleman, listening to me blabbering on about my personal life, explaining more about yours and generally being nice. I find it kind of refreshing and sexy actually but why, when we are working together, do you feel the need to put me down all the time? I know you explained about your friend Doug, and I really do understand that it was a shock for you to be paired with me, but surely I've proven myself time and time again. I can hold my own against you and yet you seem determined to push me off course. Why is that Max?"

"God is that how you really see me Liz?" asked Max, slightly shocked at her honest admission.

"Well, yeah, to be honest, that's exactly how I see it."

The one word that really stood out of that sentence for Max was "sexy". So she found him sexy? He couldn't quite understand his feelings towards Liz at this moment in time. He knew that before Vegas he'd always tried to rile her, get a rise out of her, generally because he loved the way she looked when she was mad at him ... but something in Vegas had changed him, changed the way he saw Liz. He had to think quickly, he didn't want to ruin all the work that he had done to reach this point with her.

"Okay, in the past, I have to admit that I've been a complete ass and I also have to agree with your initial assessment of me, but since I've worked with you for the last six months, I've realized that you are extremely good at what you do and also the fact that we make one hell of a team. Well, that is, when we are actually trying to get along with one another. I've started to realize that if we just put our heads together we are virtually unstoppable ... and ... well I've never had that kind of relationship with a partner before. I enjoy bouncing ideas off you and listening to your point of view, even though I might not agree with it all the time. We seem to work pretty well, don't you think?"

"Well, yes I suppose we do but in the meetings..."

"In the meetings, I was being a controlling jerk. Thinking that maybe you'd screw it up somehow because you were new ... but now I know that's not true. You are perfectly capable of landing any damn account you want to. In fact I believe that I would not have got some of the accounts if you weren't there. You were right when you called me a chauvinistic pig ... I did misjudge you and for that I am truly sorry. I just hope we can move past all this and pull in the clients.”

"Max Evans, I like this new side of you," said Liz, with a smile and shaking his pro-offered hand.

"Me too Liz, me too, you seem to bring the best out of me!"

"Well you seem to bring out my fiesty side!" stated Liz, to which Max laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I do."


********


They both spent the next hour just chatting about anything not to do with work. They both really enjoyed each other's company. There was a slight awkward moment when their fortune cookies came ... apparently they were both going to meet someone they wanted to spend the rest of their life with ... both of them laughed at that thought ... marriage ... not a chance ... way too busy for something like that.

Max made sure Liz was safely in a taxi and on her way home before he whistled for one himself. On the journey home he couldn't quite get rid of the feeling of déjà vu from his whole body.

His whole attitude towards her had changed and he had no idea why, but maybe it was about time he found out.

[Janetfl]

Wow thank you for all your responses to this fic!!! I'm glad you are all enjoying it!!!! Sorry about the delay in posting fics but as some of you are aware my little son had swine flu so most of my time was taken up looking after him. Hopefully everything is finally returning to normal!!!

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Nitpick23: Thanks for your PM and help!!!
Destiny




Chapter 7.


It had been a couple of very hard days since Max and Liz sat down to their wonderful meal at the Chinese restaurant.

They never seemed to stop, always working late into the night, ordering meals in and their secretaries working their fingers off to get all the reports done for the big meeting, which was set for tomorrow.

Liz loved the buzz of a very busy work day; she seemed to thrive on pressure, as did Max. She was starting to settle into their little routine nicely. Every morning Max would pop his head around the door to say good morning to her, or the other way around if she arrived after him.

They seemed to be getting on rather well, much to Tess’ delight. She loved the fact that something had seemed to change between her two best employees. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened in Vegas but she was keeping a close eye on them. So she was a little shocked when Liz knocked on her door with a panicked look on her face.

“Listen Tess, I’m sorry to bother you but remember I asked for some time off so that I could sort out that family emergency?”

“Of course I do Liz. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the full time off.”

“No, that’s okay, it’s just I received the call yesterday and to be honest, totally forgot about it because I had so much going on. I really need to go and sort it out today. It should only take maybe a couple of hours or so, maybe less.”

“Well I think you and Max have got everything under control now, so I don’t see a problem with you leaving now if you wish Liz.”

“Thanks Tess, I can’t believe I forgot to do it yesterday.”

“Was it that important? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“NO!” said Liz, a little louder than she intended.

Tess jumped back slightly at the force of her answer.

“I’m sorry, I mean it’s nothing you can help me with, but thanks so much for the offer.”

“Not a problem Liz,” replied Tess, as Liz walked out of her office.

Tess now knew that there was something fishy going on with Liz. The thought of her going to another firm entered her head again, before she quickly dismissed that idea. If Liz wasn’t happy she would tell her ... wouldn’t she?

No, this had to have something to do with Vegas. Both of them had been acting out of character for a few days now. Plus she noticed that Max had put in an expense claim for a restaurant around the corner for him and Liz, although the rest of the time they had stayed in the office to eat.

“What the hell happened there?” she asked herself.

She decided that she would make it her mission to find out.


*******


Max walked into Liz’s office to talk to her about the final draft of the report, but was shocked when he didn’t find her there. Maybe she’d popped to the ladies room or something. He turned around and was about to head back into his office when he heard Tess call him.

“Hey Max, can I have a quick word with you in my office please.”

“Sure, I’ll be right there.”

She probably wanted an update on the Howell account so he grabbed what he could from his desk and headed straight to her office.

“Sit down a second please Max,” said Tess, indicating the chair opposite her.

“That doesn’t sound too good, is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong Max. You and Liz have been working hard together and really well I might add. Now you know that we’ve been friends since you started here four years ago and you practically tell me everything.”

“Well yeah, I don’t have any secrets from you. I think you know it all!” laughed Max.

“Well there is one thing you’re not telling me.”

A look of confusion came across his face.

“I don’t think so Tess, you pretty much know everything.”

Oh yes, Tess knew almost everything. She knew about his previous conquests, how he likes his meat cooked, what women he preferred, what he really wanted out of life but still there was a gap about Vegas.

“What about Vegas?”

Max’s face hardened slightly ... he didn’t want to be reminded that he might have blown all chances with Liz after sleeping with someone he doesn’t even remember.

“What about Vegas?” asked Max, in a gruff voice.

“There, see, that’s what I’m talking about. Why has your whole demeanour changed when I mentioned Vegas?”

“It hasn’t changed ... it’s just ... it was just business,” he quickly finished.

Tess raised her perfectly manicured finger in the air and swished it side to side.

“Nope, you don’t get away that easy Max. Come on ... spill!”

“What’s the obsession with Vegas anyway?” asked Max.

“Nothing, it’s just ... well since you two have returned from there, you seem to have moved your WORKING relationship forward. You seem to be getting on with each other rather than under each other’s skin and I’m wondering what has changed.”

Tess knew she was pushing her luck with Max. She shouldn’t really be discussing this at work with him but they had been really close friends from that very first meeting and she knew he would understand ... after all he’d bugged her about Kyle.

“I can see that you’re not going to drop this anytime soon!” he stated.

Tess crossed her arms across her chest in defiance.

“You got that right!”

“Okay look if I tell you, you can’t let Liz know. I don’t want her to think that we discuss things behind her back.”

“That’s won’t be a problem Max. You know I never discuss you with anyone else.”

“Okay, well on the last night in Vegas I got very drunk. I thought Liz had too but apparently she left me at the bar to get an early night. She was the sensible one, knowing that we had to get up early for our flight.

Anyway, I woke up in the morning feeling like I was missing something. I had the worst hangover you could possibly imagine and couldn’t remember much about the previous night. To be honest nothing was in my head at the time because it hurt like hell. After taking a shower and sorting myself out, I noticed that the bed had been slept in on the other side. I noticed a smell of perfume in the room and I found a diamond earring on the floor.”

“AND YOU CAN’T REMEMBER WHO IT WAS CAN YOU!” shouted Tess, getting a little over excited.

“Shhhh, no I can’t and to be honest, it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Do you think it was Liz?”

“WHAT? NO! I showed her the earring the following morning and ...”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“I showed her...”

Tess groaned.

“Please tell me you didn’t let on that you had sex with a woman and couldn’t even remember!”

“Well, yeah I did. I asked her if she remembered anything from the night before. Like maybe she saw me talking to the woman but she told me that she left early. What does it matter if she knows anyway?” asked Max, in a curious tone.

“Shit,” thought Tess.

“Well, only the fact that you would have gone even further down in her estimation! You never tell a woman something like that.”

“Well I tell you all the time.”

Tess rolled her eyes.

“Yes but I’m not your typical girl Max. I’m more like one of the boys. Can you imagine what Liz must have thought?”

God she couldn’t believe that he had screwed everything up before they had even started. Or had he? Why was Liz now being nice to him? Why the sudden change of heart? Surely that would have alienated her even more? No, something more was going on ... something that maybe even Max wasn’t aware of.

“But, why then has she seemed to soften to me a little rather than treating me like I have some form of disease?”

“That’s exactly what I was wondering Max.”

“Where is she anyway? When I looked she wasn’t in her office.”

“Well she had to deal with something away from the office. She should be back in an hour or two.”

“Anything to do with the account ... because if it is then I should be...”

Tess waved her hand in the air dismissively.

“It’s got nothing to do with the Howell account. She had something personal to deal with, a family emergency apparently.”

“That's odd, she mentioned personal issues the other day but didn't say anything about a family emergency. Anyway, has the interrogation finished now?” asked Max, raising one eyebrow.

Tess just smiled.

“For now it has but when Liz gets back I want you both back in here. I want you to go over the presentation you are going to give tomorrow and I want to see those reports also.”

“Not a problem. I’ll get my secretary to buzz me when she’s back and I’ll let her know.”

“Great, thanks Max,” said Tess, as she showed him out of her office.

[Janetfl]

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Okay everyone, I’m using creative licence in this chapter ... I’ve done some research into annulment laws in New Mexico. For an annulment to be valid it has to fall into one of the reason criteria, for example ... Duress or Fraud. You do actually have to attend court but for the purposes of this story ... let’s just assume that if the papers are signed and there is no contesting then the court will grant the annulment.

A/N: A few of you might be wondering how Tess gets to be so nosy ... all will become clear later on in the fic.



Chapter 8.


Liz pulled up outside the law firm her father had been using for almost fifteen years now. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten herself in this mess or the fact she was now going to have to sit in front of Bob or Lance and explain all the details in person.

She entered through the huge glass doors and made her way straight to the reception desk. She couldn’t believe that she forgot about the phone call yesterday.

“Hi, my name is Liz Parker. Lance phoned me yesterday to let me know that some papers where ready for me to pick up, unfortunately I couldn’t leave the office yesterday.”

“Liz Parker, you say?”

“That’s right.”

“Hold on just one moment,” the receptionist asked, as she checked over a book that was in front of her.

“Ah yes, here you are. Lance actually wanted to speak to you about the papers so he’s asked me to inform him whenever you arrived. I’ll see if he’s free at the moment. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll come and get you when he’s ready.”

“Thanks.”

The receptionist phoned Lance and informed him that Liz had arrived. Once the phone call was finished she walked around to where Liz was sitting.

“He’s just finishing with another client and then he’ll come down to collect you. He said it should only be another five to ten minutes, are you alright to wait that long?”

“Yes, that’s fine, thank you.”

Liz picked up one of the magazines that were on the table in front of her. It just happened to be Time magazine and the Law Firm, McKenzie and Wright, was plastered on the front cover. Apparently they had recently won a landmark case against a massive firm. At least she knew she was in safe hands.

She had only just started reading the article when Lance stepped out of the elevator and made his way towards her.

“Liz Parker?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hi, my name is Lance Wright and I’ll be dealing with your ... your little problem,”

“Lance Wright, as in McKenzie and Wright?”

“That is correct. I’m one of the senior partners here.”

“Great, Bob wasn’t joking when he said he would get the best person to deal with the job. It’s good to meet you,” replied Liz, as she shook his pro-offered hand.

“Let’s go up to my office where we can discuss this in private. Just follow me.”

“Thanks,” replied Liz following him into the elevator.


********


When they both left the elevator Liz couldn’t believe the size of the office. You could get lost in the place if you didn’t know where you were going. There was a maze of corridors with closed office doors on either side.

She followed Lance to one of the offices at the end of one of the hallways. He offered her a chair and then sat down behind his desk.

“Right, Bob explained the rather difficult situation that you find yourself in at the moment. Now I know that your dad has been a huge client to this Law Firm for many years but I must re-literate what Bob told you over the phone, under no circumstances will your father find out about what is going on here. You have complete confidentiality on this matter.”

“Yes, I understand that. What I really wanted to know from you is, was Bob correct when he told me that I have to have Max’s signature on the annulment?”

“Well, yes he was. Even if the marriage wasn’t consummated, which Bob explained that you weren’t too sure about...”

Liz could feel a blush creep up to her cheeks. Could this get any more embarrassing?

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well if it was, or wasn’t really is immaterial, you still need his signature on the annulment. In order for it to be successful, both parties have to agree. If the reason for the annulment is not a valid one, then the judge has the right to refuse the annulment and you will both have to attend court, but I can’t see that happening. It’s classed as duress because you were intoxicated and not of sound mind.”

“Oh thank goodness. I just want to put this whole thing behind me a quickly as possible. I can’t believe I got myself into this mess in the first place.”

“Well maybe you should stay away from alcohol for a while,” said Lance, smiling. “It was a pleasure to meet you Liz. Here are the documents he has to sign. I need a signature on both of them. As soon as you have that just return it to the office.”

“Thank you,” replied Liz, taking the brown envelope.

“I will see you out, you might get lost otherwise.”

“I can’t thank you enough for the help.”

“That’s okay Liz; you won’t be thanking me when you get the bill.”

“Now, that I can believe.”


********

“Hey Max!” shouted Tess, as she saw him walk past her office.

“Yes,” replied Max, as he stopped by her door.

“You said that you found an earring?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you hand it in to the hotel?”

“Well, I put it in my pocket in the morning so that I would remember to hand it in at the hotel. Unfortunately we were running late for the airport so I totally forgot to hand it in.”

“Do you have it here with you?”

“No, it’s at home.”

“Well, I’m off to Vegas with Kyle this weekend, so if you bring it in tomorrow then I can hand it in to lost and found at the hotel.”

“Okay, thanks Tess.”

As Max walked out of the office, a ghost of a smile graced Tess’s face.


*******

As soon as Liz returned to her office, she placed the envelope in her lockable drawer. There was no way she wanted Max seeing them before she had the chance to get him to sign them.

As if he had heard her thoughts, he popped his head around the door and knocked lightly.

“Hey, everything okay?”

“Sorry?” asked Liz, slightly confused by the look of concern on Max’s face.

“Well Tess told me that you had some sort of family emergency. Is everything okay?”

“Oh that, yes everything is fine now. Thanks for asking though Max.”

“Tess wants to go over everything before the meeting tomorrow.”

“Okay just let me get sorted here and then I’ll be right with you.”

*******

They spent the rest of the working day going over the presentation and reports with Tess. It was around five in the afternoon when they finally finished.

“Well I think you two pretty much have everything covered in the presentation and the reports. Thanks for all your hard work this week. How about we all go out for a quick drink after work?” offered Tess.

“I would love to Tess, but to be honest I need to get home and sort everything out ready for tomorrow.”

“Max, how about you?”

“The same here Tess. How about we go out and celebrate after we get those contracts signed.”

“Sounds good to me,” replied Tess. “Listen, you two go home early. Everything has been done for the meeting. I’ll see you both bright and early in the morning.”

[Janetfl]

I'm posting this a day early because I'm spending most of tomorrow trying to catch up on my other fics ... so I hope you enjoy this. WoW I can't thank you guys enough for the amount of feedback I'm getting for this fic. I'm amazed ... thank you.



Kristin
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Thank you so much for supporting this auction story. You guys are great ... don't worry all of your questions will be answered sooner or later but I can't give the plot away!!!!



Chapter 9.


Today was the day they found out whether they truly had the Howell account or not. They had researched their competitors, found out what marketing strategy they had previously used and then came up with a totally new, innovative strategy to turn the company into market leaders.

Max couldn't deny that he and Liz made an excellent team. Whenever they actually tried to work together peacefully, they always seemed to come out on top. In fact, he realized that Liz complemented his own style. He was rough and to the point, whereas, she was subtle but still got her point across.

When an account needed to be handled delicately, Max let Liz take the lead. When a company needed strong, determined leadership, he was the man for the job.

The Howell account was really Liz's baby. She was the one that managed to set up the meeting and persuade the CEO of the company to join in the meetings. No small feat, considering he usually left this type of work to his employees. If they both managed to land this account then that would mean huge bonuses for both of them.

As he rounded the corridor and passed Tess' office, he popped straight in and handed her the diamond earring he found in his hotel room.

"There you go Tess. It's definitely a real diamond, I'm sure of it," said Max, handing the earring to Tess.

"I KNEW IT!!!!!"

Max looked at her with confusion.

"You knew what?"

"Oh nothing, these look like an old pair of earrings that were once sold by Tiffany's back in the twenties. There were only a few of them made so they are very rare, probably worth a fortune."

"So it's old and rare, how the hell do you know these things?"

"Each year, on our anniversary, Kyle buys me jewelry from Tiffany's. He's always wanted to find original or rare pieces so the probability of someone having the exact same jewelry at an event is almost non-existent. Tiffany's keeps a reference of all custom made pieces they've been commissioned to create, so someone can confirm the authenticity of the piece. I've had my name down for years if one of these pieces ever came up for auction I would be notified.”

"God, now I feel really bad not handing it in to the reception at the hotel. What if the woman returned to try and find it?"

"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that Max. I'm sure she will have left her number with the hotel, so as soon as it's handed in they will phone her."

"Okay, well I'm going to set up the room for the presentation. Is Liz in yet?"

"Yes, she got in about fifteen minutes ago."

As Max walked out of her office, Tess placed the earring in the safe that she kept in the office for very personal things. Oh this was going to be a very interesting couple of weeks. It was obvious that Max had not realized the significance of the earring.

She however, knew exactly who the earring belonged to. It was only a couple of weeks ago that she had told Liz how much she admired them, saying that she wanted to buy a pair herself. Liz had explained that the earrings belonged to her Grandma Claudia and was left to her in the will when she passed away.

Apparently, Grandma Claudia's husband had commissioned Tiffany's to make the earrings that his wife had designed, as the perfect wedding gift for her. This is why those earrings were so precious to Liz.

Tess was now wondering why on earth Liz hadn't just admitted that it was her earring when Max had shown her. Was she embarrassed about the whole situation and decided to keep it secret? Or was something else going on?

The more Tess thought about it and Liz's recent strange behavior, the more an idea formed in her head.

"NO WAY! Oh my god, could it be? No, but that would make sense!" she said to herself.


*******


Liz was checking over the annulment papers when Max came and stood in her doorway.

"They're here," he simply stated.

Liz jumped in fright and stuffed the papers inside a file that was sitting on her desk.

"Come on, grab everything and let's get moving," said Max, as Liz just sat there with a funny look on her face.

This instantly snapped her out of her trance like state and she gathered everything needed from her desk and then joined Max on the walk to the conference room.

"Nervous?"

"A little, this is a huge account and the CEO is also here, but I know we've pretty much got it nailed. I just hate the first initial meeting. Once I start on the presentation my nerves will settle down."

"You'll do great Liz, you always do."

"Thanks Max."


*******


As soon as Liz entered the conference room she headed straight for the CEO of the company.

"Mr. Donaldson, thank you coming. It is a pleasure to meet you. We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to be here and this is my partner Max Evans," said Liz offering her hand.

"Well it's a pleasure to finally meet you both. You can be a very persuasive lady, Miss Parker. Let me introduce you to the rest of my team," said Mr Donaldson as he shook both their hands.


*******


Tess watched as Max and Liz disappeared into the conference room. This was going to be her only chance to have a look for the evidence she needed to prove her theory. She quickly ran into Liz's office and started her search.

Of course it didn't take Tess long to find the evidence she was looking for. Surprisingly, Liz had left all the documents in a file on her desk. She thought that Liz would be more careful than that.

There before her, were the annulment papers for one Mr. and Mrs. Evans and a Marriage Certificate between Liz Parker and Max Evans. Tess realized that Max had no idea what had happened that night, but apparently Liz was very aware and trying to fix the situation before he found out.

She wondered how the hell Liz intended to get his signature on the annulment papers without telling him. She also wondered what kind of reaction Max would have to the fact that he is now a married man.

Oh yes, this was going to be a very interesting couple of weeks. She could see that Max had changed his attitude towards Liz without really realizing why, but Tess was about to help him find out. One way or another, those two would have to admit their feelings for one another sooner, rather than later.


*******


They had been in the meeting for over two hours. Liz had presented her part of the presentation first. Explaining how their ideas were different from the ones they were currently using and how this would benefit the company and move it into a leading position within the market. Max was currently going over all the facts and figures required to reach that point.

Something Max said about taking a hard line against their competitors brought back memories of the other night when Liz found him in his office shirtless. A small smirk graced her face as she remembered those fine, toned muscles moving with the removal of his shirt. She had to admit that he was one fine, sexy man and recently they'd been getting on well.

At that precise moment in time Max looked at Liz to see if he had missed anything out of the presentation. The sexy smile that graced her face at that moment and the flushed look she had in her cheeks brought a memory slamming back into his conscious mind, he suddenly stopped his presentation mid-sentence as the heavenly vision invaded his mind.

He was right in the middle of explaining how spending the extra money on advertising and image change would give them a bigger return in the long run.

They were both on his bed at the hotel room. Liz straddled his waist with her naked thighs, as she stroked his hard shaft. He was so close.

"Please Liz," it came out more as a moan than a request.

"Please, what Max?"

"LIZ..." he growled in warning as her hot core hovered above his throbbing manhood. She was so turned on that he could literally feel the heat emanating from her.

"Tell me Max," she commanded, her lips swollen from all the kissing they had done. Her cheeks flushed after he brought her to completion with his fingers and tongue. He could still taste her and he thought he could never get enough of it, or her.

He couldn't wait any longer and he knew Liz was just teasing him, so he grabbed her hips and impaled her on his hard, throbbing cock.

A hiss of pure pleasure left those beautiful lips of hers as she took him fully into her body. He guided her into a rhythm that suited them both, her breasts bouncing as she rode him hard. She was so wet that he could see her juices on his cock as she pulled herself up right to the tip, before she slammed back down on him.

It was like, small electrical volts where shooting though his whole body as he felt her warm walls encase him deep, time and time again. He'd never felt this way with anyone else before.

A small sheen of sweat covered her body, almost making it angelic like, glowing in the dim light of the hotel room. This heavenly creature was riding him to completion and nothing ever looked as sexy as she did right then.

Her head rolled back in complete ecstasy as her completion drew near, the soft strands of her chocolate brown hair, brushing against his thighs.

He could feel her walls start to pulsate against him, begging him to join her as she stepped over that edge.

"Oh god Max!" she shouted, as her orgasm washed over her body.

"Liz!" Max shouted, as he spilled his hot seed inside of her.

Finally, she collapsed against his hard chest, panting with the exhaustion her body had just gone through.

"Fucking hell Liz, I've never ..."

"I know, neither have I," she said before bringing her lips crashing back down on his.

A rather female sounding cough echoed off the conference wall and brought both Max and Liz out of the revere.

Tess had entered the room so that she could introduce herself to the CEO of the company. Imagine her surprise when she found a rather red faced Max looking like he was about to collapse and a rather flushed looking Liz.

Now normally she never let pleasure get in the way of business but that look that Max was giving Liz, like he was about to devour her in front of everyone, made her realize that maybe, just maybe, Max was starting to remember what happened in Vegas and she was going to help him every which way she could.

"Good morning Mr. Donaldson, my name is Tess Harding and I'm the owner of this company."

After the CEO was disturbed from watching something, he wasn't quite sure what, being communicated between the two account directors; he stood to shake the hand that Tess had offered.

"Well so far so good. It looks like we may be doing business after all."

"Although Max and Liz will be your main point of contact, please don't hesitate to call me if needed. I think now would be a great time to break for lunch. I have a restaurant booked for us all in about half an hour. Why don't you get yourself some refreshments and then we can continue the meeting after lunch."

"That sounds good to me," replied Mr. Donaldson.