Dead-ends

"Yes, dear," Max answered in a jovial tone.

"Come, I'll walk you out; I have a patient coming in soon," Terry spoke, easing out of his lap, something that she found very difficult to do. "Max?" she hummed as she and Max walked hand in hand down the hall.

"Yeah?"

"You do have a suit, don't you?" Terry asked, looking over at him.

"I do, it might have been five years since I've been to the Metro Gala, but I do have a suit," Max answered, not hiding his smirk at how quick Terry's head snapped over to him.

"But I've never..."

"You have; you just weren't paying attention to me and you were kind of married at the time. Don't you remember the kid being escorted out of the event when someone tampered with the instruments five years ago?" Max asked in a juvenile tone.

"Yes, I do," her eyes went wide with recognition, "God, it was horrid; how did you do it and not get caught?"

"So not telling," Max said with a devious grin.

"Well, you better behave yourself Sunday; my date shouldn't go around embarrassing me, no matter how humorous it might be," Terry spoke as she snuggled up to Max. "Now, you get back to the office before someone notices you're missing," she said in a loving tone before passionately kissing him. "I'll see you tonight at your place," Terry cooed, backing away.

"Can't wait," Max uttered with a smile.

Waving to him as he pulled out of her parking lot. Keeping the fact that this one act showed her that he did love her even though Max hadn't said the words. Pressing her fingertips to her heart, feeling how steady, how strong it felt as well as how much it fluttered when she thought about Max. Admitting to herself, she was in love with him too.

Chapter Five

That Sunday night... three hours before the event...

"Terry, you know it won't matter to Max what you wear, right?" Stephine asked, watching her sister running around her old bedroom.

"I know, but I want to look sexy for Max," Terry muttered as she stood in her underwear as she pushed one dress after another aside in her indecision.

"Oh, is that so, is my big sister thinking of getting lucky tonight?" Stephine teased.

"If I am?" Terry asked, casting her sister a look.

"About time," Stephine muttered. "Max must be hard up with all the fucking I hear he's done; he must really like you to give that up." Smiling when she noted how her sister's cheeks heated. Walking up to her sister and hugging her, "I'm happy, you're happy sis; go with the blue one shows off your figure better," she said, waving to Terry over her shoulder as she walked out of her sister's room so she, too, could get ready.

Terry's head snapped over to the door when the doorbell rang out throughout the house. Racing out of her bedroom, not caring that she was only in her bra and panties. While her family home might be large to what most people would think of a mansion, yet it wasn't anywhere near as large as the Monroe manor. Her red hair dangled to her left as she peeked around the wall that opened up to the small mezzanine that overlooked the front entrance. Noting how her father's suit jacket sat proudly on his shoulders as he walked towards the front door.

"Hello, Max, glad you could join us this evening," Greg greeted, holding out his hand to the man. Slyly running his eyes down the crisp black Yves Saint Laurent suit, Max was wearing. He knew the style. He had a few of them himself and knew how much one of them cost. To say he was surprised to see Max wearing a twenty-five hundred dollar suit was an understatement.

"Hello, Mr. Archer," Max spoke, shaking Greg's offered hand.

"Please, why don't you come in," Greg gestured as he stepped aside.

Terry felt herself getting wet as she gazed... more like undressed Max with her eyes and mind fucked him at how good he looked in that suit of his. Ducking her head back behind the wall before Max could see her, not realizing he already did, and kept his smirk to himself.

"Let me introduce you to my wife," Greg said in a friendly tone as he led Max off to the lounge. "Darla," leading the way into the room, "I'd like you to meet Max, Terry's boyfriend," he spoke, shooting Max a knowing smile.

"I think you should have taken me up on that offer, Mr. Archer," Max said, getting a very good look at Terry's mother as she elegantly rose from her seat. Feeling Greg's meaty hand patting him on his right shoulder as he barked out in laughter. Seeing the amused smile on Darla's lips as she sauntered over to them.

"Hello, Max, I've heard a lot about you," Darla greeted, holding out her hand to him.

"It's a wonder why your daughters haven't been named national treasures yet," Max said, laying on the charm as he slipped his hand into hers.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Larson," Darla cooed. "Would you care for a drink while we wait on them to decide on what to wear for this evening," she said in a gracious manor, gesturing to the bar.

"I wouldn't mind wetting my whistle," Max answered.

"So tell me, Max, what are your plans for the future?" Darla asked, leading him to the sitting area while Greg fixed the three of them their drinks. "Thank you, dear," she uttered, smiling up at her husband as he handed her a glass of red wine while he and Max sipped on their Scotch.

"I see you've drank Scotch before," Greg nodded in approval.

"Yeah, used to raid my father's cabinet when I was younger, learned quickly it wasn't a gulping whiskey," Max stated, tasting the richness of it on his tongue. "Although, just not as good as this one appears to be. As for my future, I can't say at the moment, Mrs. Archer."

"Why's that?" Darla asked curiously.

"Well, what I had planned went out the window when I met your daughter," Max said truthfully.

"That so, and why's that?" Darla inquired, smiling into her glass.

"Have you ever met an angel before? I hadn't until that fortuitous elevator ride," Max said, seeing Greg arching an eyebrow and noting how Terry was peaking around the doorway. Thinking he couldn't see her from the corner of his left eye. "So I'm in a holding pattern waiting to see if Terry would like a more intimate relationship, after her divorce is settled, of course."

"And what are your plans with the company? I know you're up for a promotion..."

"Can I be frank with you, sir?" Max asked in a serious tone.

"Of course, feel free to speak your mind," Greg answered with a wave of his hand.

"The position I'm in, there is no promotion waiting for me. My manager sees to that, so unless something else comes up, I might have to see about another line of work, seeing how I've gone as far as I can at your company," Max stated truthfully.

"Why haven't you applied for a mid-level management role?" Greg asked, keeping his face placid while making a mental note to speak with Max's manager.

"Why would I?" Max retorted. "I know running the company might not give you a lot of time to keep a watchful eye on things, yet we worker drones see everything they do."

"Like what?" Greg asked, very interested in hearing the happenings that take place at his company.

"Well, the managers, at least mine, take a considerable amount of our money that we make when we're sent out to a site," Max said, noting how Greg's eyes narrowed at that. "This is just hearsay from what I've heard from the other worker bees or what some of their managers call us their drones and treat us as such. As well as telling the programmers to put holes in the software so the people buying the product would constantly be shutting down their operations and constantly sending us out to fix it."

"You sure this is what you've heard?" Greg asked, knowing if this was halfway true, then he had a lot to do on Monday morning.

"Mmmhmm, just over a month or so ago, I had to go to Goldbloom & Sacks, as you know," seeing Greg nod that he remembered, "well, the cause of the problem was all the damn holes the mid-management people had them put into it that caused their servers to shut down. If I hadn't created my own program to patch these holes, it would have required me to reinstall the program and lose all their data in the process," Max stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You created a program to fix the flaws?" Greg asked in astonishment.

"I did; otherwise, most of the jobs I've been sent to would take over a month to fix."

"Monday, I want you to come to my office and show me this program of yours. If what you said is true, then the program I and the rest of upper management were shown is not what is going out to our customers," Greg spoke in a stern tone. Knowing heads were going to roll if it turned out to be true, which it was.

"I can be there bright and early," Max nodded, turning his head to the left. "You going to peek at me all night, Terry, or are you going to show me how beautiful you look in that dress?" He nearly dropped his glass as Terry eased out into the doorway. His breath was stolen at how stunning she looked in that blue dress of hers.

"What do you think, Max?" Terry asked in a soft tone as her hands were folded out before her, holding her matching blue clutch in her hands.

"Well, I know for certain that you're radiance will only grow as the years pass," Max uttered with a charming smile. Ignoring how Darla was whispering to her husband as his eyes couldn't look away from Terry, nor did he ever want to.

"Do you mean that, Maxwell?" Terry uttered in a bashful tone.

"Most definitely," Max nodded firmly. Knowing just how beautiful she would be when Terry reached her mother's age. Watching how she so sensuously sauntered over to his side, trying not to ogle her ass in front of her parents as she lowered herself beside him.

"You look very handsome in that suit," Terry said, placing her hand on his knee. Keeping the shock from her face at how fine the material felt beneath her hand.

"Not as stunning as you do in that dress," Max spoke, slipping his hand into hers.

"Tell us, Max, what's your family like?" Darla asked, flashing her daughter a motherly smile before seeing something coming over Max's demeanor.

"I don't speak to them, not if I can help it," Max answered in a monotone voice.

"Why?" Greg asked, confused.

"You see," reaching forward and placing his glass on a costar and leaned back, "they aren't like this family, given what Terry has told me about you all," Max spoke, feeling Terry squeezing his hand to offer him her support. "I would rather not have that kind of... people in my life if I can help it."

"But they're your family."

"Mr. Archer, no offense; if you knew what my parents and sister were truly like behind closed doors, you, too, would toss them out into the cold and slam and lock the doors for good measure. They are not what they seem to be," Max uttered pointedly.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that; I hope Terry can entice you to stick around a little longer," Greg stated, flashing his daughter a smile.

"She is heavily tilting the scales in her favor," Max agreed, seeing Terry's face growing red hot. "Told you you're cute when you blush," he whispered into her ear.

"Max, stop?!" Terry muttered, pressing her body closer to his.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Stephine called out as she ambled down the stairs. Her eyes bugged out, and her movement came to a halt as her eyes fell onto Max and the suit he was wearing as he and Terry rose to their feet. "How the hell can you afford a three thousand dollar suit?!" she stammered; she could recognize high dollar suits at a glance.

"Stephine?!" Darla snapped. "You do not insult Terry's boyfriend."

"Sorry, Mom, Terry, Dad, and you, Max, but I know what you make, and there's no way you could afford that kind of suit so quickly," Stephine said, running her eyes down Max's form.

"You think I should tell her?" Max whispered to Terry.

"Tell us what?" Greg inquired, wondering if this was what he had sensed that Friday in his office.

"Only if you want to, Max; they'll find out eventually if they act like you believe they will," Terry answered, looping her arm around his left.

"I'm a Monroe," Max stated, dropping his bomb on them.

"As in 'The Monroe's', the Monroe's that live in that huge mansion at the other end of this community?!" Stephine stammered in shock.

"The very one," Max nodded.

"But your last name is Larson," Greg muttered in confusion as he peered at Max.

"Legally changed my last name so I wouldn't have any ties to them or their money," Max responded truthfully. "If I was going to survive on my own in this world, I didn't want their name following after me the rest of my life, among other personal reasons." Shooting Stephine a smirk as she just stared at him as her mouth hung agape.

"He's mine, Steph. Don't you go trying to woo him now that you know he's from a rich family," Terry taunted her twin sister. Chuckling when Stephine released an 'Ugh!' and spun on her heel and stomped towards the front door.

"You know Max, I and a few others have a lovely brunch with your mother every Tuesday and Thursday. She doesn't come off as unpleasant. A bit snobby but not all that unpleasant. I just can't imagine her being all that repulsive," Darla spoke, walking arm in arm with her husband to their limo they always hired to drive them to the Gala.

"Of course, she is when she's in public, she and my father are birds of a feather when they're behind closed doors and no public eye to expose their true natures to the world. That just wouldn't do, not for them; their public image is everything to them," Max stated, ogling Terry out from the corner of his left eye. He knew she knew he was doing it, given the coy smirk he saw on her lips.

"I see; I'll have to keep that in mind the next time we have brunch," Darla mused.

"Why is it you always get the rich guys, huh?" Stephine whispered to her sister as Max climbed into the back, as Terry settled onto the seat behind the driver.

"Jealous?"

"Duh?!" Stephine rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Stephine, I'm sure you'll find that man you're looking for," Terry cooed, patting her sister's knee.

"You know, Max, or would you prefer to be addressed as Maxwell?" Greg spoke as he closed the limo door, telling their driver they were ready.

"Max is fine, Mr. Archer."

"Max, why don't you join us at the lake next month. I know Terry would love for you to join us," Greg stated, seeing his daughter dropping her chin.

"Only if Terry wants me to attend; I'd rather her not feel I'm intruding in her family life," Max said, while he couldn't see it due to the dark interior of the limo, but he knew she was blushing.

"I want you to come; it would mean so much if you did," Terry replied in a soft, caring tone as she gently squeezed his hand. "You're my boyfriend; you'll never be intruding on my family life," she whispered, her hot breath played along his ear as her lips teased it.

"Sure, I'll love to join you then if I can get the days off from my manager," Max said, trying to keep his body from hardening as Terry pressed her soft, warm, inviting body against his.

"I'll..."

"I appreciate the offer, sir, but I'd rather not have anyone thinking you're playing favorites at the company," Max cut in, not seeing Greg smile at that. "Just let me know when it is, and I'll put in the request for my vacation days."

"I'll make sure you're informed," Greg nodded.

******

The shuttering of cameras as the rear door opened once they had arrived at the Gala sent Max back to his childhood in his mind. Recounting how his mother would speak to him on the ride there, warning him to behave and not to embarrass them. Which of course, Max always failed to heed the warning. It was one of the reasons they always stuck him in some out-of-the-way corner to keep him hidden from the rest of the socialites. Smirking at Terry when her head whipped around when he softly caressed her backside when she made her way to the door. Blowing her a kiss, storing the feel of her ass to memory as he, too, made his way to exit the limo. The moment he stepped foot on the red carpet, the reporters were having a field day when Terry looped her arm around his. Seeing her wave to the reporters as they shouted out questions as they followed behind her parents and Stephine.

Chatting away with Terry as they were escorted to their table. Pointing to the spot where he would normally be placed when he would attend with his parents. Seeing how she mentally smacked herself when her mind finally realized that she had indeed seen him there before. Holding out both Terry's and Stephine's chairs for them once they reached the table. Noting how Greg did the same for his wife before he moved to take his place beside Terry. Max tried to ignore his estranged family; however, they weren't playing along, much to Max's dismay. He did notice how Greg and Darla were slyly glancing over to where his family was sitting as they spoke and pointed at him.

"Max, please don't make a scene, okay?" Terry whispered low as she reached over and placed her hand on his forearm. "I know they aren't your favorite people, but this is for charity."

"I know that all depends on them," Max muttered low as his father strolled towards their table.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Archer; lovely to see you here tonight, along with your lovely daughters; always a pleasure to see the both of you. I do hope you all are doing well since the last we saw one another," Dereck greeted with a warm smile, yet his eyes were always on his son. "Might I have a word with my son? I promise not to keep him too long," he spoke, looking at Terry. Keeping his annoyance from his face when his son had yet to address him, no, Max leaned into Terry, who was nodding as he whispered into her ear. Seeing that look in her eye when his son placed a kiss on her cheek before he rose.

"If you'll excuse me, I promise this won't take long," Max stated, buttoning the top button of his suit jacket as he looked around the table seeing their nods of understanding. Feeling Terry's eyes on him as he walked around the table. Looking down when his father clamped his hand onto his upper arm and dragged him towards their table like he was a disobedient child. Which he was, yet Max wasn't going to let his father manhandle him. Wrenching his arm out of his father's grip, daring him to say something as they both just stared at one another. Yet his father only said one word, 'Follow.'

"Hello, Maxwell, I see you're with Terry Archer; what on earth are you doing with a married woman?" Tera chided once her son reached their table.

"Who I'm dating is none of your concern, and she isn't married; she's separated from her husband. At least I don't go after attached people like some that are at this table," Max uttered, matching his mother's tone, pointing at his sister as he did. "Now, do you want to tell me why the hell you dragged me away from my date?"

"Well, if you were doing everything you were supposed to be doing as her then-boyfriend, I wouldn't have been able to steal her away from you," Darcy supplied with that same condescending tone of hers.

"Darcy?!" MJ gasped.

"It's okay, honey; Maxwell needed to hear it," Darcy uttered, gently rubbing her wife's forearm.

"Uh-huh, is that all?" Max asked, looking rather bored.

"Maxwell, if you wanted to come to this event, you should have told us and not wormed your way into the Archer's coffers," Dereck stated, lowering himself back down into his seat.

"Is that really what you think I'm doing?" Seeing his father and mother nodding along. "Then you two are fucking idiots," Max hissed, seeing the shocked looks on their faces when those words left his lips. "You think I'm after money? Have the past five years not taught you a damn thing?" he growled, his fingertips pressed hard on the table's surface as he leaned on it. "I don't give a flying fuck," seeing his mother recoil at that word, "about hers or your damn money. I thought you two are supposed to be oh so smart, yet that concept seems to fucking ellude you two fucks."