Rockin' the Boss (11 page)

“Thank you, Max. I can see you care
deeply for my daughter and her welfare. I hope this matter does not interfere
with the relationship the two of you have.”

Max reached over and took my hand.
“Yes sir, I do, and I shall never allow anything bad to happen to her. None of
this business with Richard will interfere with our relationship.”

“You have quite a diverse
background, Max. I’m impressed.
Quite a jump from British SAS
to rock star.”

“Yes, sir, however, I started out as
a rocker. When I was younger, my singing career seemed to wane, so I decided to
try something different—thus my career with the SAS.”

I noted that the two men seemed
genuinely at ease with each other. I felt a slight smile cross my lips, and
though I tried to keep my expression solely for Max, I noticed out of the
corner of my eye that it had not been entirely lost on my mother. Once Max
acknowledged me with a lustful look, I made eye contact with my mother and
grinned broadly.

“Is there no way you and Max could
spend the night, Ashleigh?” she asked. “We haven’t seen you in months.”

“I’m afraid not, Mama. Max has
obligations this entire week in Manhattan for interviews and such on late night
and early morning shows. We’ll work something out as soon as this media blitz
is done.”

“What about Labor Day weekend?” Papa
compromised. A subtle way to let me know they wanted more time with me and to
get to know Max better. “We plan on having our usual end-of-the-summer party.”

“We’d love to come,” Max replied,
“provided my schedule is clear.” He looked in my direction and a naughty smirk
crossed his face.

“Right now your schedule is open
that weekend,” I replied. “I hate to leave Papa, but we need to think about
getting back into the city.”

Chapter
Eight

On the trip back into Manhattan, I
leaned against the seat. “My parents, they liked you. And thank you for helping
me with the situation regarding Richard. I knew my father would want more
facts, and I was dreading the thought that I would have to lie to him.”

“I knew you weren’t looking forward
to having to tell your parents, my love.”

“Max, what do you think we’re going
to have to do for the feds? I can’t imagine us walking into a couple of
Richard’s clubs is all they have in mind, can you?”

“I’m not sure, outside of teaching
you to use a weapon and me practicing. They may want to train you on how to
react in certain situations, in case that might arise. Why do you ask,
sweetheart?”

“I’m curious, that’s all.” I replied
as I looked out the window.

“You sure that’s all? Come here.” He
pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me. “Everything will be
fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know you won’t. It’s just…I’ve
never done anything like this before.”

“You’ll be fine. What else is
bothering you, my love?”

“My
mother’s remarks.
She speaks without thinking sometimes. Children are
something we’ve never spoken about, Max.”

“No, we haven’t. I know what you’re
thinking, Ashleigh, and don’t go there. To put your busy little mind at ease,
I’ll tell you my thoughts on the matter. Then, we’ll talk about it after all
this is over and not a minute before.”

“Go ahead, Max,” I replied
anticipating the worst.

“While I love children, I’ve never
much had the desire to have my own. Call me selfish, but there are too many
children in the world who come from broken homes, or worse. If the urge were
ever to come to me, I’d like to think we could adopt, if we couldn’t have our
own, of course. Okay?”

“Yes, thank you, sweetheart.”

* * * *

Before either of us knew it, the
week of non-stop media blitz was over, and Agent Keller had us both on a firing
range.
Max needed little practice as he’d kept his skills up, by
way of letting out his frustrations. To everyone’s amazement, I proved to be a
far better markswoman than they had first thought.

“She’s a natural,” I heard Agent
Keller tell Max as I completed another perfect test.

“Yes, she is.” Max replied with
pride in his voice. “I think she surprised herself.”

“Well, she’ll have no problem
passing certification.”

I continued to listen to the two men
from my current location a few feet away, while I pretended to study my firearm.

“Keller, I didn’t want to bring this
up in front of Ashleigh today, but what’s our next move?”

“I thought the two of you might
visit one of Richard’s Manhattan clubs, sort of a test run.”

“What sort of test run?”

“Just pop in, have a couple of
drinks. Look around while you are there, and leave. That will be enough.
Richard videotapes everywhere, so someone is bound to recognize the two of you.
Ashleigh especially, we hope, and that will get back to Richard.”

“And?”

“Wait and see. Then, we’d like you
to go out and visit one of his Los Angeles area clubs. This new deal of yours
in Vegas will make it easier to get you both to L.A. without arousing
suspicions.”

“I do have some studio time in L.A
already booked.”

“Perfect. That will make it easier
getting you both out there.”

Ashleigh walked closer and joined
the two men as she tried to feign her ignorance of their conversation.
“I don’t
like the look of this. Whatever you are talking about looks serious.”

“It’s nothing, love. Keller and I
were merely discussing how well you took to shooting.”

“I was simply telling Max you two
will be going to one of Richard’s clubs here tomorrow night. No big deal. All
you’ll do is walk in, have a couple of drinks, and leave.”

I glanced toward Max, seeing if he
would confess the truth.
“That’s it, sweetheart, just like he said.
 
In and out, nothing more.”

Should
I be mad that he’s hiding things from me? What else is he not telling me?
“I guess I
can handle that.” I replied, eyeing them both suspiciously. “Can we leave if
there isn’t anything else, Agent Keller?”

“Of
course.
I’ll be in touch with further details. Max will take you
shopping for some appropriate attire before then.”

“What sort of attire?”

“Come on, love, let’s get out of
here, okay?”
Max walked me outside to a waiting car and helped me in.
Getting in beside me, he closed the door and sat back. “Would you like to go to
lunch?” He glanced over toward me. I was sitting with my head against the back
of the seat. “You okay, love?”

“I’ve got a splitting headache. I
don’t know how, since we had ear protection.” I kept my eyes closed as I spoke.

He reached over and took my hand.
“It’s
probably tension, that’s all. We’ll go home so you can take something and lay
down for a while.”

“That sounds wonderful. Max? I love
the way you refer to the apartment as home.” I smiled at him, my eyes still
closed as I squeezed his hand.

He leaned over and kissed me on the
cheek. “I think with as much time as we’ve been spending together lately,
perhaps we should think about my moving in with you on a more permanent
basis…if you’re ready for that, my love?”

I opened my eyes and looked at him.
A smile crossed over my face. “Yes, I am, and I think this conversation
definitely warrants further discussion once my damn head stops hurting!”

“Let’s get you home, then.” He
leaned back over brushed my lips lightly with his.

Once inside the apartment, I took
something to ease my headache. Max insisted I go lay down in order to be more
comfortable.
Sitting next to me on the edge of the bed, he announced, “I
think I’ll go out for a while. I’ll pick something up for dinner, unless you’d
like to go out?”

“You don’t need to leave, Max. Just
close the door. I should be fine in about an hour.” I stared at him before
closing my eyes. “But dinner in would be an excellent choice. There’s plenty
here to hold us over until then. Surprise me, okay?”

“I will, my love. I’ll be back in a
little while. If you need anything, remember there’s an agent outside in the
hall, and I have my phone.” He kissed me, pushed to his feet, and quietly left
me to sleep.

Waking a couple hours later, I lay
quietly in the middle of the bed. Glancing over at the clock on the bedside
table, I noticed it was now midafternoon. The place sounded quiet.
I wonder if Max has gotten back.

Swinging my legs over the side, I
stretched and exited the bedroom. My headache seemed to have subsided. Nearing
the living room, I heard a noise coming from the kitchen, followed by cussing.
It was Max, and he was cursing with a thick brogue. I smiled to myself,
wondering what he’d done.

The next thing I knew, he bolted out
the door, an angry look consuming his face. He halted as soon as he saw me
standing there.

“What in
sam
hill did you do, Max?” I laughed as I stopped next to him. “I don’t think I’ve
ever heard you cuss like that. Not even about Lisa.”

“I broke a bloody bottle of red wine
on the kitchen floor. I think I got all the glass up, but don’t go in there
barefoot until I’m sure.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist as he drew me close and
kissed me gently.
“I’m sorry, love. I didn’t wake you with my outburst, did I?
How’s your headache?” He pressed his lips to the top of my head.

“My headache is pretty much gone,
and you didn’t wake me up.” I replied as I nuzzled his neck. “Is there anything
I can do to help?”

“No, but you can come sit down. Can
I get you something before I go back to my mess?”

“A glass of water would be great for
now.” I sat on the overstuffed sofa and curiously eyed some packages sitting in
a chair across from me. Max quickly grabbed them from their perch and moved
them. “What’d you get?”

“Nothing, just stuff to go with
dinner,” he replied, out of my line of sight.
“Right back
with your water.”

Max returned a few minutes later
with a glass and a plate of cheese and crackers. “Here you go, love. I thought
you could use something to eat.” He handed me the glass and placed the plate
next to me on the couch.

“Thanks.” I replied, taking a sip.
“Sit?”

“In a minute, let me go finish
cleaning up. Hopefully, I can open another bottle without it slamming on the
floor.” He smiled, shaking his head as he walked toward the kitchen.

A short time later, Max returned
with two glasses of Cabernet and handed me one as he sat down.
“Everything
okay?”
I asked, accepting the goblet.

He nodded, putting his arm around my
shoulders. “It is now,” he replied, pulling me close. “I don’t know about you,
but I will be glad to get back to Atlanta.”

“Yes, I would be happy if we could stay
in one spot for a couple of weeks. But I know that won’t happen.” I turned and
looked back at him. “Were you serious about moving into my place?”

“
Mmmm
,
quite serious, my love, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re under any
pressure. If you don’t think it’s the right time yet, I will understand, you
know.”

“I know it’s a little quick and all,
but I would really like for you to move in. I think it will be the next step
for us. Besides, I don’t think I could sleep without you next to me.”

“Spoiled you, have I? Well get used
to it, love, because I intend to do quite a bit of that.”

“Okay, then it’s settled. Now what
was in those bags, Max? And don’t tell me stuff for dinner unless dinner comes
from a boutique.”

“It’s a surprise, and you have to
wait until after dinner,” he replied as a lustful grin crossed his face.

“Maxwell Frazier, you’re not getting
off that easy.”

“Go on, if you can’t wait,
everything is on the bed.” He sighed and took a long drink.

I walked back to the bedroom and
removed the contents of the first bag. I pulled out a black lace thong with a
matching bra…or what little of a bra there was. The next one contained a pair
of black leather pants and a top made of black lace that was obviously
see-through. The final box housed the highest pair of heels I’d ever held in my
hand.

Knowing what the outfit was for, I
tried to hide my disdain. I decided I would speak to Max about the choices
before I formed an opinion. I turned around and found him leaning against the
doorframe, watching me.

“I-I can’t wear this, Max. Not in
public, anyway,” I stammered and tried not to look at him.

“Yes, you can, and you will. You’ll
be fine, and I imagine you’ll look quite fetching in them.” he replied sternly,
a glimpse of a smile donning his face.