Pure Passion (20 page)

Lara

Max kept fidgeting as we sat in the lawyer’s office waiting
for Uncle Felix and his attorney.  It was definitely strange to see a big,
strong guy like Max so nervous and jumpy.   It was totally out of character.

“Everything will be fine,” I assured him and squeezed his
hand as the two of them appeared in the hallway.

“Good afternoon,” Felix said, as he entered the room. 

Felix shook Max’ hand before coming over to give me a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re alright sweetie.”

“Yeah, I’m glad Max was there for me,” I replied, trying to
cast a positive light on the whole ordeal.

“Yes. When I heard how the ordeal began, I wasn’t too happy
with you, Max,” he said as he pulled up a chair.  “But, then I talked to Lara's
parents and got their take on everything.”

“You did?”

It surprised me that Mom hadn’t mentioned anything.  She’s
normally a blabber-mouth.

“Yes. Then I talked with Max the other day, and he pretty
much corroborated both sides of the story for me.”

“That’s good.  You can trust, Max,” I asserted, not sure why
he had done so much investigating.

“I thought so, Lara, but I had to make sure,” he replied,
pulling some papers out of his briefcase.

Judging by the thickness of the documents that Felix pulled
from the briefcase, this wasn’t going to be a social gathering.  Felix was here
for a purpose, and that’s why his attorney had come along.  My mind began
racing as I thought about how I told Max he could trust Felix.

 “I’m sorry to admit, but I’ve had an ulterior motive right
from beginning, Max,” he started out saying.

Uncle Felix, what are you doing?

“That’s the only reason I requested forty percent of your
company upfront,” he continued.

“I knew that was pretty excessive, but I managed to justify
it at the time,” Max replied.

“Now, I’m going to push it one notch further,” he said, to
my complete astonishment.  “It’s now a fifty-fifty partnership, but that
includes the $50,000 that I pledged toward the credit line.”

“So, you basically bought another ten percent of my company
for $50,000.  I fucking knew it was too good to be true,” Max replied, his
cheeks turning bright red.

Oh my god, my own uncle is screwing Max...  I can’t frickin'
believe it!

“All I need is your signature here on the bottom line,” he
said, as he pushed the papers in front of Max.

“Ok, what the hell.  Forty percent. Fifty percent. What’s
the difference?  But I’m not going one percent past fifty,” Max replied,
staring Felix right in the eyes.

“I don’t blame you for being hostile, Max, but, if you trust
me, everything will work out in the end.”

“I don’t know why you’re doing this to him,” I chimed in,
feeling tears welling up in my eyes.  “This business means everything to Max,
and you’re trying to take more of it from him?”

“I’m going to ask you to trust me as well, Lara.  How many
years have you known me?”

“My whole life, obviously,” I replied, trying to keep it
together.

“Okay.  Do you think I would intentionally hurt you or Max?”

“No. I told him you wouldn’t, but now you are,” I replied,
completely at a loss.

“Just trust me and sign the document,” Felix reasserted.

After staring him in the eyes for a few seconds, Max looked
over the page momentarily and signed.  “Now we’re fifty-fifty partners I
assume.”

“Yes, for the moment,” he replied, with an egotistical grin.

Great, now he’s got another curve ball for him?
Judging
by the expression on Max’ face, he had reached the limit of his tolerance, and
I didn’t blame him.  Felix was acting really strange as he pulled out another
set of documents and shared a mutual smile with his attorney.  I was starting
to wonder if I knew him at all anymore.

“Okay, Lara. I need you to sign here,” he said, pointing to
the bottom of the second set of documents.

“Me?  Why?” I replied, wondering what I had to do with any
of this.

“Trust me and sign,” he nodded, holding the pen in front of
me.

“Alright, but this better not be hurting Max.  He’s already
giving up enough,” I told him, my head spinning in a state of bewilderment. 
Too flustered to read, I signed on the line.

“Alright, good,” Felix said, “Now, I need you to sign this
one, next to Max’ name.”

I simply stared at him in disbelief. 
Why is he doing all
of this?  It makes no sense?
  I could see that Max was every bit as
confused as I was, but just sat there glaring in silence.  Neither of us had
any idea what we were signing.

With a sigh, I said, “I have no idea what you’re doing or
why I’m signing these things, but you have always been like a second father to
me.  The only reason I’m signing them is because I trust you.”

Tears popped along the inside edges of Felix’ eyes as he
listened to what I said.  He gave me a slight smile and nodded at the papers. 
I knew right there, that my signature would lead to something good.  For some
reason, my heart suddenly leapt as I signed my name next to Max’ signature.

“Alright!  The last thing is my signature next to Lara’s on
the transfer document,” Felix stated, as he smiled again at his attorney. 

“Max you passed every test these past weeks as I tried to
get you to outsource your supplies and hire others to do your work.  As a
result, you and Lara are now fifty-fifty partners in a custom guitar business. 
Lara, you can consider the $50,000 credit line a gift from me to you.  I’m just
glad to see you alive and well.  I don’t think I could’ve handled coming here
to attend your funeral,” he added.

Both Max and I sat there completely stunned. 
Did he just
say that
w
e were fifty-fifty partners?  Did this mean I didn’t have to
be a bartender anymore or worry about a teaching job?  Holy crap, Max is so
stunned that he’s speechless.

Max

Holy shit. I guess Lara was right when she said to trust
Felix.  Never in my life had I even considered that anyone would do something
like this.  Especially considering that I’ve only known him for a couple of weeks. 
This is insane!

“I don’t know what to say, Felix.  I can’t even believe you
would do this for us,” I said, in complete shock.

“Well, I could tell the first night at the house that there
was something very special between you two.  I had every intention of hanging
onto my stake and eventually giving it to Lara as a wedding present or
something.  After talking to Ron and Sandra the other night, though, I had a
change of heart.”

“I don’t know how to thank you, Uncle Felix,” Lara said with
tears streaming down her face.  She reached up with her good arm to give him a
hug.

“Just remember the downside,” he warned.  “If you two ever
break up, you’ll still own a business together.”

“I’m not worried,” I told him, reaching out to give him a
hug myself.

~~~

That night, Felix took us out to the country club for filet
mignon and lobster.  Walking through the door gave me an eerie feeling, as the
only other times I had been there were with my father.  As we waited for our
table, I glanced around the corner into the bar and saw the back of his head. 
There he was, drinking with the same three guys that he had sat with for the
last 25 years or more.  Just the sight of him gave me that stabbing feeling in
my gut.  The hostess informed us that our table was ready, and much to my relief,
we made it past him without incident. 
I don’t really understand why I don’t
just confront him and be done with it.  I guess I don’t really have anything to
say.

The Cristal and Courvoisier began to flow, as Felix told the
waiter it was a night for celebration.  Lara restrained herself to only a small
glass of champagne, but in conjunction with her pain pills, she was still
pretty damn funny.  Felix’ attorney turned out to be the other half of the
comedic duo, once he had a few under his belt.  As for me, I was on top of the
world.  Not only was I in love with the right woman for the first time in my
life, but now we were fifty-fifty partners in my dream business.  Everything
seemed so perfect all of a sudden.  It was strange considering that just over a
month ago, I was sleeping on a futon in my workshop, heartbroken and just plain
broke.

“So, I hear you go by the name Max Keegan now,” I heard a
familiar voice slur, behind me.

“That’s right, Dad.  Move along,” I replied, without even
turning around.

After an awkward pause, Lara piped up saying, “I guess I was
his type after all!”

Seriously?  She’s here, too?  Give me a fucking break. 

I set down my fork and turned out of my chair, ready to
confront both of them face-to-face.  Something strange happened, though.   As I
looked at the two of them standing there together, I no longer really cared. 
If
anything, I actually pity them.  What a pathetic, shallow couple.

“Why don’t you two go have dinner on me and sober up,” I
said, stuffing a couple $100 bills in my dad’s shirt pocket.

“I don’t need your money,” he blurted out, before turning
and stumbling away with my ex-girlfriend.

“That’s funny. He doesn’t need it, but he didn’t give it
back either,” Lara quipped.

“I knew he wouldn’t.  Telling him to get lost was worth $200,
though,” I replied, sitting back down to my steak and lobster.

I don’t need a guy like him in my life.  I’ve got Lara;
I’ve got some great friends; and apparently, I have a pretty spectacular
Uncle.  What more could a guy need?

~~~

Eight days later

Lara

The big day had finally arrived. 
Rolling Stone
magazine was hitting subscribers' mailboxes, and by noon, we had our first
guitar order through the new website.  By dinnertime, the total number of
orders was eleven, and Max only had to talk to a couple of customers who had
special requests.  Everyone else had configured them and ordered online.  Max
was thrilled that he instantly had six weeks’ worth of work, but equally glad
that he wasn’t completely inundated. 

Since my ribs were feeling better, I spent the afternoon
making Max a nice dinner.  Derek and Hadley were both jealous, as they had to
go to work while Max and I got to enjoy our evening at home. 
I love being
at home with him.  Even though I don’t turn 23 for another month, I’ve dreamt about
marrying Max for as long as I’ve known him.  I must admit, though, I’m not
quite as obsessive now that I’m back on a lower dose of my meds.

“Just got another order,” Max announced, as he looked down
at his phone after dinner.

“We need to celebrate,” I replied, moving in behind him.

“Do you want to go out?”

“No.”

“A bottle of champagne?”

“Not even close.”

 “You must be feeling better,” Max smiled, turning out of
his chair.

“Yes, and I’m definitely ready.”

Without another word, Max scooped me up in his arms and
carried me up the stairs.  He made a comment about the perma-smile that had
been plastered on my face all afternoon.  I couldn’t help it.  As my physical
pain began to recede, I had been realizing that all of my emotional pain was
fading, as well.  For the first time in my life, I actually felt great.  Life
was good, and there wasn’t a cloud of impending doom hanging over my head
. 
It’s not the meds either, despite what my mother says.
  It was because I
felt secure.  I totally believed what Max said to me while I was lying on the
pavement that night after the accident.  He had proven it to me every day
since.

When Max made love to me that night, it felt like nothing I
had ever experienced before.  There was more tenderness in his touch.  It felt
like the lust that had driven his passion in the past had been replaced by
love.  The way he touched me, held me and made love to me was so sensual. 
Maybe he was just being extra gentle because of my sore ribs, but it felt like the
ten-day wait had really changed the way both of us viewed sex.  It was no
longer about doing something crazy to get each other off, but about really
sharing a deep emotional connection.  Feeling him move inside me that night was
more special than even our first night together.  This was despite the fact
that it was just plain, old, vanilla, missionary position.  No handcuffs or
wine was necessary.

After several minutes of slow, tender lovemaking, Max arched
his back and began stroking me deeper.  I looked up at his extended
well-muscled arms and knew that all I wanted was that view for the rest of my
life.  If our business was successful long term, that was just an added bonus. 
All I needed to be happy was the love of the man that I had always loved.

My baby is going to have one hell of a hot father.  I
never did get my period.  One mistake, one night and this fertile little missy
is having a baby.  Just one more complexity added to the most rollercoaster
month that I could ever imagine.

Initially, I didn’t even want to tell Max, but when I did,
he handled it like the man I hoped he would be.  He sat there silently for
about 30 seconds with a slight smile on his face and then said, “Well, I guess
we’ll have to get our own place.” 

Mom had her normal reaction of bursting into tears when I
told her. 
I guess having your daughter move in with a guy, almost get
killed in a car accident, get a DUI and get knocked up, all in the span of a
month, was reason enough to cry.  I’m actually surprised she hasn’t had a total
nervous breakdown.

Max and I began talking about a small wedding on the beach
somewhere.  After all of the fuss that night at The Deuce, both of us agreed to
keep things on the down low.  A quiet little ceremony with family and close
friends seemed perfect.

Max

Looking back, the second best thing that ever happened to
me was hitting rock bottom.  The best thing that ever happened to me was almost
losing Lara that horrible Saturday night.  If things had gone any other way, I
most likely would’ve never realized just how much I love her.  As my business
took off, I would’ve gone to all of the concerts and after-parties, intoxicated
by my fame and fortune.  Instead, I’ll be building guitars in my workshop and
raising a family, just as my granddad did.  Who knows, maybe one day I’ll have
a grandson named Max Keegan who will carry on the family tradition.

Like every other family, I’m sure we will have our ups
and downs.   We'll both slip up, but Lara will keep me in line, and I’ll do the
same for her.  Regardless of what happens, I know two things for sure.  First,
I have come to realize that Lara is my true soul mate.  Secondly, I am my
grandfather’s son, not my father’s.  He taught me values, gave me self-worth,
and instilled the desire to be a good person.  After a lot of thought, the main
thing I learned from my actual father is what I don’t want to be.  My mom
raised me, and once she was gone, so was my family.  My sister calls a couple of
times per year, but she hasn’t been home since Mom’s funeral.  That’s honestly
why I wasn’t upset when Lara told me she was pregnant.  It seemed to complete
the picture and instantly gave me back the family that had been missing from my
life.

Why am I convinced that Lara is my soul mate?  It’s because
when I’m with her, there’s usually a smile on my face.  If you find someone who
makes you smile, you should hang on to them.  It really isn’t any more
complicated than that…

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