Sex and the Billionaire Crime Boss - Season 2

Ch. 4: Truth and Lies

It's Wednesday, and I haven't spoke to Max since that awful conversation Monday night. At least a half a dozen times I've picked up my phone just to send him a quick text during the day, then remembered.

Max and I aren't together anymore.

Martina comes into my office just as I'm finishing up a motion that needs to be filed in court.

"How are you doing?" Her face is full of concern. So maybe I haven't been holding in my feelings as much as I thought I was.

I shrug. I told Martina yesterday that I wasn't seeing Max anymore, but that I didn't want to talk about it. It still feels too raw. Plus, I don't really want to tell anyone the reasons why, not even Martina.

She slides into my visitor's chair. The door to my office is shut.

"I saw Gabe last night."

I look at her, not sure what I'm supposed to say about that.

"So you're actually seeing him as in dating him?"

"Well, it's early days, but yeah. I really like him."

She frowns. "The funny thing is, he didn't say anything about you and Max breaking up. In fact, he was telling me that he won't be around this weekend because he's has to go on a business trip to New York. He said you were going with Max, but I guess Max just hasn't told him yet that things have changed."

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I still have to go to New York."

Her eyes widen. "So it's business for you, too? I assumed you were just going along so you guys could, you know, have some time to do things in the city when Max and Gabe aren't tied up with business. To be honest, I was kind of hoping Gabe would ask me to come too so you and I could hang out together, do some shopping."

My desk phone buzzes with an interoffice call, so I put it on speaker. It's my grandfather's legal assistant, asking if I could stop by his office when I have a moment.

I agree, and then hang up the phone, wondering if anyone else thinks it odd that Andrew Reese uses his assistant to make an interoffice call to his own granddaughter. But maybe he's just one of those old school lawyers who has his assistant place all his calls, leaving the other party waiting on hold until he comes on the line.

The law firm may have the absolute latest in IT and other technology, but my grandfather himself sometimes seems like he's stepped into the 2020's directly out of another era, with his three piece suits, pocket squares, old world decor, and the overly formal atmosphere in an office where even the other lawyers call him Mr. Reese.

"Hey," Martina says. "I'll let you get to it, but you want to grab a drink after work today? I have questions."

I reluctantly agree, not sure I'm ready to answer her questions, either about the breakup or why Max is still insisting I accompany him to New York.

But I also want to protect her from getting too involved with Gabe without knowing at least a little about how I understand Max's business works. I know she was the one who first told me that night at the club that Max was some kind of a crime boss, but that seemed more like an excited rumor - this club is owned by a reputed crime boss - than actual knowledge on her part. If she really is getting involved with Gabe, not just having fun, then I want her to understand that he's a lot more than just the co-owner of a security firm. He's Max's right-hand man, and from what I've seen, anything illegal Max is involved in Gabe is right there with him.

* * *

I head down the hall to my grandfather's office, hoping he has a case referral to discuss with me, and isn't just going to resume the conversation about how he's forbidding me to date Max, and how continuing to be seen in his company is not only dangerous for me but could also compromise my career as a lawyer and damage the law firm.