Max

By Cary Grant

Max is a high powered lawyer, but when it comes to street smarts or his love life, he is quite naïve.

He falls in love not knowing who he has really fallen in love with.

Does he get the girl in the end, or is he duped into thinking he is in a loving relationship?

He has enemies that he thought were his friends. Who is trying to bring Max down? Is it is ex-wife Jasmine, his new girlfriend Casey, his boss or work colleagues … or that not so friendly police officer Sergeant Haye?

Max will take you on journey of twists and turns that will thrill you and keep you asking … How can you be in the thick of things and not have a clue what’s going on around you?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9780244014131

Book preview

Max

MAX

CARY GRANT

www.carygrantauthor.co.uk

Copyright

Copyright 2017 Cary Grant

www.carygrantauthor.co.uk

Lulu Digital Edition

ISBN:  978-0-244-01413-1

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the copyright owner, or in the case of the reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the Author.

For my mother and father who are no longer with us but always encouraged me to do well, I hope you are still proud of me.

Chapter 1

Max tapped his fingers softly on the polished surface of the Oakwood table as he sat surrounded by Mr Garth, the man who had been his boss for more than half of a decade, Tom Blackwood, his rival, and his colleagues, Lawrence, Jacob and Charles. The hot blonde associate whose name he didn’t know poured the champagne, giving him side glances and suggestive smiles while she did so, stooping really low to give him express view of the creamy white flesh pouring out of black lace cups. He flashed her a flirty smile, flaunting his impeccably pearly white teeth

What’s the difference between a hooker and a lawyer? Lawrence asked, grinning

Oh boy. Max thought. Not another one of Lawrence’s jokes. He emptied his champagne flute in one gulp and turned to face Lawrence, struggling not to let his eyes roll all the way into his skull

Go on. What’s the difference? Max replied

A hooker stops fucking you when you’re dead!

All the other men on the table laughed, and Max literally felt his spine turn to jelly with relief when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled out his phone from the pocket of his $1000 suit and answered the call

Okay. All right. I’m just in the middle -- no, sorry, sorry, you’re right. Okay. Be right there. I won’t be late he put the phone back in his pocket and started to pack his things

Kids? Jacob asked

Just the one. Got to go pick him up. Sorry guys Max replied and got up.

Family first Jacob got up and shook Max’s hand. Congrats again

Thank you

Charles got up to shake Max too. Congratulations. You’ll be brilliant

Yeah. Thanks Charles

Tom Blackwood shook Max’s hand briefly and walked away without a word. Mr Garth gave Max a brief hug

See you on Monday, junior partner, Mr Garth smiled at him and walked towards the door. Remember, big day. Don’t be late

I’m never late Max replied, grinning. He picked up his bag and walked out of the penthouse. He checked his watch as he walked to his car, a 1965 Aston Martin, which was obviously the most expensive car in the parking lot. He got in, started the car and pulled away from the parking lot. He checked his watch every five seconds as he struggled not to exceed the speed limit. He slammed the brakes to avoid running into the beautiful lady standing in front of the car, looking at him with crazed eyes, the wind whipping her hair wildly about her face.

Help me! Help me! For God’s sake! Help me please! she yelled at him

Max said nothing, staring at her in shock. She opened the door to the passenger’s seat and got in beside him

Drive, she ordered calmly. Max turned to look at her, the crazy beautiful lady in his car, with brown hair the colour of chocolate, falling in soft curls around her shoulders, and when she turned to look at him, Max was stunned by the depth in her dark green eyes. And as dark green eyes met slate grey eyes, they knew they could trust each other. Drive, she repeated just as calmly

What?

Drive! Just drive! she screamed, banging her fists on the dashboard

Where am I supposed to drive to?

I don’t know. Hawaii, the moon, anywhere. Just drive! She yelled at him and screamed when a huge man banged his fist on the side of the car. Max snapped out of his daze and stepped on the gas.

What exactly is happening? What the hell is going on? he asked, his voice a throaty growl. She ignored him, staring straight ahead. They were held up when the traffic light turned red, and a car pulled up by their side, and the driver was the huge guy from earlier, the one she seemed to be running from. But this time, there was another guy with him, and they were signalling Max to pull over, but Max ignored him.

Just go through the light, she said with that same blank voice she had

No, he replied just as calmly. This is a 1965 Aston Martin. There is no way they can keep up with me, he told her with a smug look, moving forward when the light turned green

I’m not so sure about that, she murmured, watching the other car catch up in the rear mirror. When the other car was parallel to them, the driver kept slamming his car into Max’s, trying to swerve Max’s car off the road

Do you need legal representation?! he yelled above the noise of clashing metal and revving engines

What?! she yelled back

It seems to me like you need legal representation!

She turned to him with stunned eyes, and screamed suddenly. Turn right here!

Max obeyed, and turned sharply into the lane on the right, only to find a dead end, with the other car pulling up behind him. Max panicked for some seconds, then, watching the two men through his rear view mirror, he bumped up the curb, and driving on the pavement, shot out of the alley and back into the main road

Are you crazy?! she screamed frantically at him

Do you want me to get out of the car and leave you to deal with those two guys, or do you want me to continue driving?

She kept quiet and turned her face to the window. Max turned up the stereo to fill the tense silence in the car. He drove her to his house, took her inside and locked the door. He went to the bar, got out two brandy snifters, dropped some ice cubes in them, poured some expensive looking scotch in, walked up to her with the two cups and handed her one. He downed his brandy in one gulp, turned to her, his slate grey eyes filled with enough frost to make a snowman out of flames, and asked, his voice a throaty growl,

Well?

Well what?

Well are you going to explain what the hell that was?

She lowered her thick dark lashes, took a healthy swallow from her cup and sighed

It’s my ex. Ronnie she said, looking into her cup as though there were secrets written in it

Is he violent?

Yes she whispered, swirling the remaining liquor in her cup

Has he issued any death threats?

Yes

Explicit threats?

Yes

You know you could press charges for that. Do you have any written or recorded evidence of these threats?

Do I … I don’t know, why are you … that’s not –she took a deep breath look, what I’m trying to say is... He’s stalking me, all right? He’s stalking me, and I can’t relax, even for a moment, ever, and no, I don’t think I have any pieces of paper lying around that say, ‘I’m going to kill you

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you he said softly

She looked up at him then, and he was struck by the vulnerability in her beautiful green eyes. She was really beautiful, he noted, wondering how he had not noticed it before. Her skin glowed as the sunlight from the window kissed her skin, bathing her in a soft, golden light. Her hair looked like it was begging for him to run his fingers through the full, rich mass of curls. He reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. I was only trying to help

I know. I know you were. I’m sorry, she said, sighing

Have you ever thought of going to the police?

They can’t help

"Why not? You know they’re trained to handle issues like this right?

They just cannot help she snapped, and downed what was left of her drink. Max poured himself another scotch and downed it just as quickly. The woman might be beautiful, stunning even, but she had some serious issues, issues he wasn’t equipped to deal with in his personal life at the moment. The silence was so tense it stung his ears. He dropped his cup on the table

I need to take a long hot shower right now. Make yourself at home. Put on some music, dance, do whatever. I’ll be gone a while

Right. Sure

Yeah… I… like to shower he said, sporting a suggestive smile

Okay, she replied, grinning. He walked to the bathroom and locked the door. The opened it again

You could fix yourself another drink. If you want

Sure, she replied, chuckling softly. He shut the door again, and after she heard the shower begin to run, she took off her shoes and sank them into the plush rug, which covered the hard panelled wood floor in the living area and gave a little Ooh of awe and admiration as she looked around. The entire living room was done in earthly colours. The rug was chocolate brown, the chairs were beige, the walls were coffee brown, giving an impression of a lot of money and a very simple but classy taste. On the wall hung pictures of him and a little boy who looked very much like him. She had to admit, the man was gorgeous.

There was a seventy two inch plasma television on the wall in front of her, a floor to ceiling shelf on the left, which held what were probably hundreds of books, and a smaller shelf to the right, which held some records. The wall behind her was made entirely of glass, with a breathtaking view of the city below. She managed to pull herself out of the comfort of the beige coloured sofa she sat on and walked to the glass wall and looked down at the city she loved. After some seconds, she couldn’t withstand the temptation anymore and waltzed through the living room to the shelf and began to look through the records. She had to admit, the man had good taste. She picked out a record and put it into the record player. It had been a while since she had danced, and she had enough space to herself, and the shower didn’t sound like it was going to stop anytime soon. So she let herself get lost in the music. She danced, losing herself to the dance and the tune, in a world where only the music existed. She didn’t notice when the shower stopped, or when the door opened. She didn’t hear Max’s footsteps or notice when he stood at the doorway watching her.

She stretched herself into positions that Max’s mind found impossible to comprehend. He watched her dance for minutes, awed by her natural grace and fluid languidness. She practically floated, her beautiful mane floating behind her. She was beautiful. As the song ended, she landed with grace that, in Max’s mind, only belonged to goddesses. With her face turned to the sun, its rays kissing her face, her dark hair flowing behind her in its rich, curly mass, sweat shimmering on her skin, her chest heaving with each breath she took, she looked otherworldly

Wow

At the single syllable she turned as though she had heard a gunshot

I had no idea you were such a beautiful dancer, he said, admiration glowing in his eyes

I had no idea you were watching me

I didn’t intend to. But I saw you dancing, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I didn’t have the heart to

Didn’t have the heart? she replied, eyebrows raised

You looked like you were having the time of your life

Let’s dance she said, inserting another record into the record player. She stretched her hand to him, her eyebrows raised and her mouth in a smug half smile

Me? No he replied, chuckling

Why not? Chicken?

Hell no! Let’s dance he replied, taking her hand. He placed his hand on her waist, pulling her close to him until her body melded with his, curve to curve, hard to soft. Her arms circled his neck and they swayed lazily to the music. She looked up at him. He was gorgeous. His skin was the colour of honey, his eyes a beautiful shade of grey. His hair was wet from the shower and was jet black. She felt heat pool between her thighs as she stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips on his. He growled low in his throat as he parted her lips with his tongue, plunging into the sweet wetness of her mouth. She tasted of scotch and an essence that was entirely hers. Then the kiss shifted from slow and passionate to urgent and demanding. Her heart pounded so loudly in her chest she was sure it was going to pop out of her chest and bounce all the way to Alaska. She wanted her hands on him, without the clothes in between. She tugged at his tee shirt, struggling to get it over his head.

Finally she did, and tossed it over her head and to the floor behind. She kissed his shoulder, his nipples, his neck, drawing a moan from him. He picked her up like she weighed no more than a feather and carried her out of the living room. In the bedroom she wriggled her way out of his grip and stood before him. Kissing him more passionately. Lust was a hot pool in the juncture between her thighs. She pushed him down to the bed, driving him crazy with her teeth, tongue and lips. She got rid of her clothes, bra and the flimsy scrap of white lace she had on as panties and straddled him, taking him in inch by torturous inch, until he filled her wholly and completely, drawing a groan from Max as he grabbed her hips. She rode them both to finish, arching her back like stretched bowstrings while she climaxed. After it was done she collapsed on him, her hair spilling across his chest, her heart beating rhythmically with his.

You know, he said, panting

What? she replied, raising her head to look at him, resting her chin on his chest.

We don’t know each other’s names he chuckled

She blinked at him in shock and burst out laughing

I could have sworn I knew your name she said, grinning

Well, what’s your name?

No, you first

I’m Max. Max Nichols

It’s lovely to meet you, Max Nichols. I’m Casey

Casey he repeated, rolling the name around on his tongue

Yes she whispered, tracing circles on his chest. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Mr Max Nichols?

Well, I mean there really isn’t so much to tell. I’m a lawyer. I just got promoted

Congratulations, Mr Lawyer she replied drily

Thank you. Err… I think that’s all there is to know about me

Is your dad a lawyer?

No. He wasn’t. At least I don’t think so. I really don’t know what he was. He paused. I should explain he continued when he saw her puzzled frown. I was adopted

Oh. I see. Is your adopted father a lawyer?

No he wasn’t. He was a racing driver actually. And mom was a… I think homemaker is what they call it now. This, like, old white couple. They made a ton of money. Left me everything

Oh. Lucky you

Yeah. In more ways than one. It wasn’t just the money you know. It was… They were just really kind to me. They were like real parents. I spent the first eleven years of my life getting moved from one foster home to another. And when a child lives like that, he encounters enough hell to appreciate good people when he sees ‘em’

Yeah that’s important. I’m glad they were good she replied, and then a grin began to spread across her face. So what was the first thing you did?

You’re not going to believe me, he said with a grin

Try me, she replied with a smile

I haven’t spent a penny of it

Oh come on now

I honestly haven’t he replied, laughing

No. I don’t believe you

I knew you wouldn’t believe me"

So what about all this? she asked, taking in the room with her gesture

They left me their house too. But I sold it off and used the money to get this place. I needed to live in Brooklyn, for work. So I used the money from their house to get this penthouse

So you really haven’t spent any of it?

I really haven’t

Why on earth not? she snapped, rolling off him