Love To Term

Stupid!

Stupid!

Stupid me!

Lily inwardly cursed herself. She shouldn't have agreed to come here at all.

It's been what? Three years since their paths crossed and suddenly they bumped into each other and with lack of words to say, he invited her to his birthday party and stupidly, she's here. Against better judgement. Stupid Lily!

She had even baked him a cake.

When she got out of the cab, cake in hand, she stood there in the middle of the garage, trying to muster courage. What could possibly go wrong? Maybe being here was just what she needed to distract herself from all her troubles.

Or it could be one of the many wrong choices she had been making lately. Her love life has been really terrible. Kathryn- her best friend, had told her she attracted the worst kind of men. She always ended up believing them and trusting too much to know when she was being made a fool of. Few months ago, she'd grudgingly ended a talking stage. Kathryn and her mom had nagged her into doing it because the guy was taking too long to ask her out. It had hurt, but she realized that was something she should have done a long time ago.

Finally deciding to get up there and get it over with. She had barely taken a few steps forward when she heard it- a car heading for her, the headlights blinding her. Without time to think or even dash out of the way, she let go of the cake. That was when the tires screeched to a halt, few inches away from where she was transfixed. Lily was visibly shocked by that near death encounter.

Holy hell!! Lily's face was contorted with unmistakable horror. Her heart was beating too fast that she thought she was going to pass out. Breathing frantically, she turned towards the car. Almost immediately, the driver's door opened and a tall, big bodied man stepped out.

"Are you crazy? You almost hit me!" she fired, her voice shook as she was still out of breath.

The man advanced closer in two short strides, towering over her. Before he could speak, she gasped as her eyes landed on the dumped cake at her feet. It had fallen on the side.

"Oh my God!" she crouched down to observe how the impact might have affected the cake. Unfortunately, like she'd feared, the cake had fallen apart in the box.

"No! No! No!" she cried when she saw she couldn't save it. Realizing then that it was someone else's fault, she reared her face up to the man who had started ruining her night. Already.

"I'm so sorry I almost ran in..." he started to apologize but was cut short.

Lily didn't want to hear him speak. "Sorry? You almost sent me to the ER and you stand there and say sorry?!" she could feel herself losing it. This was definitely not how she imagined her night to go.

What could go wrong? It just got worse!

"Well, it's not entirely my fault. I mean, you appeared from nowhere -"

If Lily was horrified, now she was mortified. What!

She looked down at the floor, then at the cake. She shut her eyes briefly, dragged air into her lungs because it was suddenly feeling so stuffy in there. Slowly turning her eyes to him, "I spent hours baking that cake," her voice taut with reserved anger, with her right forefinger pointing down at the cake, "and you ruined it!"

The man looked down at the cake and Lily watched in fury as he pressed his lips together, then raised a palm to his forehead. He was obviously thinking of what to say in his defense and if he dared say anything foolish, Lily was afraid she might maul him to death.

But even if she tried, the man could easily fend her off if she took into account his size. Still-

It seemed like he'd decided on what to say, because he straightened up and looked at her.

"I'm sorry I almost hit you. I'm also sorry about the cake," he gestured to the object of attention- the cake. Lily watched as he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a phone without breaking eye contact. Continuing, he added, "What if I bought you another cake? Please, it's just my way of apologizing and making up for ruining your cake."

For a while, Lily couldn't speak. She was thinking it through.

"Yes? Please let me make it up to you." He insisted, his eyes running over her face.

While he was waiting for an answer, Lily mulled over the request.

First, she can't walk into a birthday party empty handed. That cake was going to serve as her present and she had hoped to make an impression. The other reason? She might be angry but she wouldn't want to put him through the trouble of running around for a cake. Besides, he can't get a cake readily in few minutes.

Unless, he's a baker and has a bakery around the corner. Which she strongly doubted.

Realizing she was wasting time, she cleared her throat and leveled eyes with him. "How do you intend to get a cake here in few minutes?" Her voice was taunting, her anger dissipating.

Then he grinned. Lily, for a second was charmed by that. He has really good dentition, she noted. He shrugged, still grinning at her. "I have my ways. You just give me the address and it'll be delivered in less time than you can imagine possible." He spoke with so much assurance Lily decided to take him up on his offer.

Squaring her shoulders, she crossed her arms over her chest, while still holding her small silver purse in one hand. "Third floor. Apartment 3B," she saw him raise an eyebrow and could've sworn she saw a small smile dash across his face.

He nodded swiftly and pressed the side of his phone, then turned his attention back to her. "Can I get a name?" he asked, flashing that grin at her again.

She smirked and started walking away from him, making her way to the elevator. Feeling his eyes on her back all the way. "You will when I get a cake!" she called behind her and then disappeared into the elevator.

Interesting!

The day just got interesting, Maximillian said to himself as he started punching into his phone, while getting back into his car. When he was done, he pocketed it in his suit jacket, then drove to go park in his designated spot. He was certain that before he would make his way upstairs, the cake would be ready and waiting. He could read the disbelief in her eyes and knew she was calling his bluff when she took his offer to get her another cake. That was the first thing he found interesting.

No one has ever had to doubt him or call his bluff. He had never experienced that with anyone.

The second thing? He found her really pretty and charming.

Getting out of the car and making his way to the elevator, his phone beeped and he fetched it. Reading the message, he smiled and knew he was about to blow her mind.

She doesn't know it yet, but they would be introduced to each other tonight. As the elevator stopped on the third floor, Maximillian wondered what relationship she has with the birthday celebrant.

We're about to find out! When he got out of the elevator, the first thing he sighted in the hallway was a cart which had a box on it. Without opening the box, he pushed the cart towards 3B. Keeping it away from the door, he rapped on the door which was swung open Immediately.

There he is, the celebrant!

Kevin on seeing him, beamed all over. "Sir Max! You came!" His face told Max that he was really pleased to see him, regardless.

He returned the smile. "I changed my mind," he could hear music from the apartment. Everyone loved Kevin. He tucked his hands into his suit trousers and wondered if Kevin would eventually move out of the way to allow him in.

"At what point would you let me in?" he decided to ask. That was when realization hit Kevin and he moved out of the way, holding the door wider to allow him entrance.

"I'm so sorry, sir. Please come in. The party's just starting," he rambled.

The first person he noticed as he walked in was the girl from the garage.

She stood at a corner, a wine in one hand and her purse in the other. While Kevin spoke endlessly beside him, he fed his eyes.

He noticed she had her hair in a low burn, with few loose strands dancing free on her bare shoulders. They weren't completely bare, as they had straps of a blue gown which stopped mid-thigh. As if on cue, she turned towards him and he was hugely satisfied when he saw the shock on her face.

That's the Maximillian effect, baby!

Without bothering with Kevin, he advanced towards her, the shock still written on her face. Standing close enough and within hearing distance so as not to shout against the heavy din around them, he learned forward, a hair's breadth away from her ears. "Your cake's here," he leaned back to watch her face and he wasn't disappointed. She was utterly surprised. And she was wearing makeup too. He must admit he loved looking into her eyes. In the room that had different colors bouncing off the walls, he was sure her eyes were the shade of the emerald gemstone. They shined up at him and he was almost lost in them.

Before he could stop himself he took her by the elbow and made for the door. Maximillian was surprised she didn't try to get out of his grip. When they were out in the hallway, he let go of her and gestured towards the cart.

She looked at it, then at him and back. He saw how her forehead creased, then she went closer to the cart. There was reluctance in her approach and Maximillian found it amusing. He noted she had not spoken a word. He watched in silence as she opened the box and in place of the expression he was expecting she broke into smiles.

"I'm guessing you already knew I was coming here as you're a guest yourself," she said as she trained her eyes back on him. The smile was still there in her eyes.

Maximillian simply shrugged. "I hope that makes up for that incident earlier."

Just in time, the door was opened and there was Kevin. A frown appeared on his face as his eyes darted from him to her then at the cart. Shutting the door behind him, he fixed his eyes on her, before turning his attention back on him.

"Do you both know each other?" he asked.

He watched as the girl, looked at him and turned pale all over. When she turned her gaze briefly on him, he could guess right then what the situation was.

"Not really," she shook her head. "It's- it's a long story," the words came out in a whisper. She avoided his gaze when she said that.

"Oh Lily!"

So, Lily is the name.

The girl frowned and looked over at him. This time, he knew she really looked at him.

"Kevin, why don't you introduce me to your friend here?" he tipped his head at her.

"Sure thing! Sir Max, this is Lily... Lily Roberts," he turned to Lily and paused briefly. "She's a friend." He supplied, and quickly he continued, "Lily? This is Mr. Maximillian Johnson, my boss."

The look on Lily's face was replaced with something he couldn't really describe. It was between shock and amusement, then embarrassment. He wondered why she would be embarrassed. She'd merely stood up for herself. He admired that she wasn't intimidated by him. Most women were.

He stretched an arm towards her, a wide grin on his face. "Nice to meet you, Lily."

He sensed her hesitation before she placed her right palm in his. He closed his fingers around her small ones and he liked that they fit perfectly in his. Her hands were so soft he didn't want to let go. She just gave a curt nod and gave him a piercing look when he squeezed her palm and held on longer than he should. Maximillian must say he was truly intrigued by this woman. He caught himself feeling like a teenager who just got his first kiss from a crush.

There was a stirring inside him.

A stirring that made him want to ask her personal questions and really know her. But first, he needed to find out the relationship she has with his personal assistant, Kevin.