~ Seattle, Ocean views hotel ~
Liz woke up next morning with plans.
Previous night she decided to go and see one more time both apartments before making her final decision.
Who would have known that she will wake up with a fever of 38.7 degrees Celsius? She caught a cold. And a bad one.
Liz would facepalm herself, but her head feels like it's going to fall apart and her hands weight like a ton each.
It's all her fault. Yesterday she got drenched, and only half-dried herself before going for her job interview, and then she headed straight for lunch and by the time she was looking at the apartments, the clothes dried on her completely.
Great. Now what? She has until afternoon to confirm which apartment she wants, or there is a risk she will lose both of them. To make things worse, her whole body is aching, and she is sweating and shivering profusely, and she is all by herself in a hotel room. Her mind was so fuzzy due to the cold that it took her some time to remember that there is a room service. She ordered hot tea and asked staff to bring her over-the-counter cold medicine.
After the tea and medicine, she felt a bit better. Her fever went down to 37.9 degrees Celsius, but she was still aching all over and her mind was not clear.
Liz spent the day in bed, mostly thinking about her current sorry state. Luckily there is a room service. What would happen if she is already in her apartment? By herself? There would be no one to give her medicine or prepare a light meal. She decided to hire a girl. Someone who can come to her place, at least when she is not working. Few hours a day to help clean up, maybe cook, but mostly for some company and to make sure she is OK.
Liz imagined a scene of her slipping and banging her head into a corner of the table… and they find her corpse weeks later! Because there is no one to check on her! Horrible.
Without delay, Liz took her tablet and found a website where she can hire a house helper. The site even does background checks, so she can be assured that her candidates don't have a criminal record. Liz picked several college girls who are looking to earn extra money while willing to work few hours a week at random times and sent them emails to get the conversation started. As long as they are friendly and responsible enough to come and go when they agree on, Liz will be fine.
She checked the time. It is afternoon. The deadline to decide on the apartment creeped on Liz without her realizing. Which one? The walking distance to work, or the view. She tried thinking logically. She spends most of her time at work… so… even if the view is mind blowing, how much will she enjoy it?
After going back and forth several times and always reaching to the point that she will not be able to enjoy the view, she decided: short commute it is! It's a fourth floor unit and has everything she needs. Liz reached for the notes she made previously. She needs to make that call because of the deadline and because cold medicine is wearing off. She can feel that the shivers are starting again.
Liz was happy to hear that the unit is hers as soon as the building manager confirmed wire transfer of the deposit.
"I will let you know when the paperwork is processed, and you can move in. We don't expect any issues, so it's just a formality, but it needs to be done.", the man explained.
"I understand. Thank you.", Liz responded in a nasal voice before ending the call.
She was relieved that this is done. Now she can have some more hot tea, another dose of medicine and go to sleep.
Hopefully, by tomorrow she will be OK.
The apartment comes furnished, but she would like to buy few decorative items and give her personal touch to her home for the next year.
~ Seattle, Black Rose nightclub ~
Later that evening, Max is with Quentin in a booth on the lower level of the nightclub.
Number of young women are seductively dancing, out of beat to the blasting music, close to their table while throwing amorous looks at Max and Quentin. None of the women dares to come and sit with them. Not without an invitation. They already know the drill: Max and Quentin spend some guy-time, and then two lucky ladies are invited to join them.
As much as Max and Quentin love ladies, if any of them dares to come on her own and intrude on their guy-time, she will be sent packing.
Max finished telling Quentin his story from the previous day: accident, annoying woman, hospital, and how he used her idea to get his parents to stop nagging.
"I can't believe it, Q.", Max excitedly spoke. "It's 24 hours how they didn't throw a single jab about me getting serious. If I knew this, I would make up a relationship a long time ago."
Quentin observed his friend. "There is only one thing I don't understand."
"Which one?", Max reluctantly asked while fearing that Quentin will ask about Liz.
"Why are you faking a relationship?" Quentin saw Max's shocked expression and explained: "Look at them." He gestured toward the women who are swaying their hips, obviously showing their interest in Max and Quentin. "You can have any of those. Actually… you probably did. Let's say… Angelina. She is a great looking girl. Why not make her your girlfriend? She is willing."
Max choked on his saliva and it took him some time to catch his breath. "Sure, she is willing. Oh, she is more than willing. Trust me, I know." Max gave him a knowing look. "But if I declare that she is my girlfriend, she will stick to me like a leech. I will not be able to get rid of her. I'm getting goosebumps just by thinking of spending my life with her."
Quentin chuckled. "I would not mind spending my nights with her."
Max sneered. "Nights are one thing. But what happens in the morning? Ah, there is no way I'm getting trapped by any of these who are only after my money and all the perks which come with the last name Anderson."
Quentin rolled his eyes. "Are you saying that all these girls are the same? There is not a single girl who is not interested in your money?"
Max crinkled his nose. "They are all the same."
"But…", Quentin made a dramatic pause. "They can't be all that bad. You just told me a story about a girl who is immune to your charms. And she even used you to hitch a ride… and then she just left." Quentin stifled a laugh. "It seems to me that girl does not want to have anything to do with you, let's not even mention marrying you for the money."
Max exhaled and shook his head. "I knew that I made a mistake by telling you about her."
"Are you kidding me?", Quentin gloated. "A girl rejected you. You went full-blown-charming-Max and she rejected you. And then you told your parents that she is your girlfriend! This is gold, man. I'm not going to pass on this."
Quentin laughed for some time before asking: "How long will you have this pretend-girlfriend? You said that your mom wants to meet her."
Max shrugged. "I'm going to milk this as long as I can. Mom likes that my girlfriend is shy. I will use that. And when I can't avoid it… I will think about it then. But I should have at least few weeks of peace."
About one hour later, two ladies are sitting with Max and Quentin.
The girl next to Max was giggling and agreeing with everything he said. He found that strange and slightly uncomfortable.
"Don't you have an opinion about this cocktail?", Max asked her.
"In my opinion… if you like it, I like it.", she responded with a big smile while inching closer. It was obvious that she wanted to kiss him.
Max felt a headache coming.
"How about you go and dance some more?", Max practically pushed her out of the booth.
"What was that?", Quentin asked Max. He saw the girl make a move on Max and Max rejected her!
"Do you ever get bored of talking with girls who don't have their opinion?"
Quentin placed back of his palm on Max's forehead. "Are you suffering from some consequence of that accident? Since when are we coming here to find girls with an opinion? Or to talk with them?"
Max frowned and pushed Quentin's hand away. "I'm heading home first. I will catch you later."
Quentin was unable to hide his shocked expression while looking after Max until he disappeared in the crowd. 'Did Max just leave Black Rose empty handed? That is a first!'
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