Accident Prone 238 Ambiguous Photographs

Wednesday

10:53 AM

Liz entered a crowded coffee shop and glanced around.

It's close to eleven in the morning, and people are chatting like they don't have a care in the world. 'Don't they have work to do?', Liz wondered.

Elizabeth is in Seattle for almost three months, and she is still amazed at how much Seattleites love their coffee. Other than the large chains like Starbucks, there are many other (smaller) chains and individual coffee shops, and all of them are always lively.

Liz ordered a white chocolate mocha and found a small table in the corner. Liz is not in the mood for coffee, not so close to lunchtime, but she needs a beverage so that she does not look out of place.

"You came early…", a sultry voice of Andrea Halek got Liz's attention.

Liz looked at the attractive woman in a perfectly tailored dark red Armani suit.

She wanted to say that Andrea came early as well, but Liz kept that part to herself. She didn't come here to make enemies.

"Of course, I would never be impolite to make you wait.", Liz responded and gestured toward the chair opposite from her, for Andrea to sit.

Andrea smiled, obviously pleased with Liz's response. "I will get myself a coffee and join you in a bit."

Liz nodded and watched Andrea make her way toward the counter.

The people made way for Andrea naturally, and a young man who was about to order coffee offered her to cut in line in front of him, ignoring the frowns of displeasure from the patrons behind him. Liz was not sure if they are frowning because Andrea is cutting in line, or because they are not the ones who allowed her to do so. A woman like Andrea has such an impact on people.

Liz questioned if coming here was the right thing to do.

Why is she in this coffee shop? Last night, Liz got a message from Andrea. The message was short: "I have something that can shake up your relations.h.i.+p with Max. Are you curious?"

Of course, Liz was curious. No matter how scheming Andrea is, she would not lie.

Liz wanted to tell Max about this, but she is aware that Max is extrcautious of Andrea and if Liz told him about this meeting, he would either join her or send a bunch of his men to follow her.

Liz does not like Andrea, but there is no hostility either.

Sure, the last time they met in the ladies' room at the fundraiser, Liz was caught by surprise, however, now it's different. Other than awareness of Andrea's nature, Liz's confidence in her relations.h.i.+p with Max is more solid and Liz wants to know what Andrea has that can shake them up.

The dislike Liz feels toward Andrea is only tied up to the fact that Andrea and Max are business rivals, and Liz believes that if the circ.u.mstances are different, she and Andrea might be friends.

Andrea is a powerful young woman, and Liz finds Andrea's intelligence and confidence appealing.

Andrea is a woman who knows what she wants, and she is not afraid of going for it, she is an Alpha female, and these are characteristics that attract Elizabeth. Liz can't help but admire Andrea.

Liz is aware that her idea of friends.h.i.+p with Andrea might be too far-fetched, but it can't hurt to try. And the first thing Liz can do to show her goodwill is to come without an army of bodyguards. Besides, they are in a coffee shop, it's not like Andrea will knock her out and drag her out of there in the broad daylight. Right?

Andrea placed her coffee on the table and took her seat. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Liz is not the one to beat around the bush. "I a.s.sume there is a reason you called me here, instead of using whatever you found against me and Max."

Andrea smiled. "Going straight to the point. I like it."

Liz nodded and returned Andrea's smile.

Andrea took a sip of her coffee and observed Liz's expression. "I like you, so I don't want to hurt you. As for Max, I don't care."

"I like you as well.", Liz admitted. "And I will appreciate if you don't sugar-coat your words."

Andrea looked at Liz questionably, indicating that she does not understand.

Liz explained: "You said that you don't care about Max, and I believe that you dislike him."

Andrea laughed and waved her hand, indicating to Liz how that is not the case. "I really don't care about Max, however, my father is different."

Hearing that it's related to Andrea's father, Liz understood: "I a.s.sume this is not only about Max, but the whole Anderson family."

Andrea didn't deny it. "The ones involved with the Alpha group."

Liz leaned back into her chair and thought for a second. "I see. So, your father has a grudge against Andersons, and you are his soldier. You found something against Max, but because I am involved as well, you are reluctant to use it."

Andrea looked at Liz with admiration. "My initial a.s.sessment of you is correct. You are not only beautiful, but intelligent as well. Max does not deserve you."

Liz laughed. "Such praise coming from you, I must thank you. I might even blush."

Liz straightened her back and leaned closer. "You invited me here, so how about you tell me what you have and what you want?"

Andrea nodded in agreement and reached for her bag. From there, she took one envelope and placed it on the table in front of Liz.

Liz opened the envelope and her brows furrowed when she saw photos.

There are more than a dozen photos of her and Dr. Snow on the parking lot, next to her car. She recognized the place. It was his farewell lunch. Some photos show the two of them talking, then him kissing her hand and the angle is such that they appear to be much closer than they were. Too close. On two photos it even looks like they are kissing!

Liz carefully looked at the photos and Andrea patiently waited for her to finish.

When Liz finished observing the last photo, she kept them all back in the envelope and raised her gaze toward Andrea. "What do you think that these will accomplish?"

Andrea flashed a smile. "Max is a proud man. Do you think he will be fine with his girlfriend acting so freely with another man?"

Liz shrugged. "Max is a smart man, and he knows in which people to put his trust."

Andrea was surprised by Liz's confidence. "Are you saying that he is OK with you having another man?"

Liz stifled a laugh at Andrea's unexpected burst of emotions. Andrea is always composed and smiling and this baffled expression is cute. "No. I am saying that Max will know that nothing happened between me and that man. The man in the photo is Dr. Snow. He used to work in the same hospital as me, but I a.s.sume you did your homework and you know that already. You should also know that if I am cheating on Max with Dr. Snow or with anyone else, I could do it at work, or in a hotel, and in many other places, but not like this in open where anyone can see us. A man like Max has many eyes. Why would I risk him catching me in infidelity?"

Andrea thought how Liz's words make sense. Liz is smart and if she is doing something behind Max's back, she would not do it so carelessly where anyone can see (and photograph) her.

"The photos are fabricated?", Andrea guessed. She was already thinking of crus.h.i.+ng the person who tricked her into using these crafty photo manipulations.

Liz shook her head, indicating how that is not the case. "That is not what I said. But they are taken at an angle which makes them ambiguous."

Andrea's eyes flashed in understanding. However, ambiguous, or not, those photos can still cause damage.

"Regardless if you are faithful to Max or not, if these photos are released, they will create a splash and Max will be ridiculed. People don't care what the truth is, they are only hungry for gossip. And all the ladies who are miserable because you took Max off the market are more than eager to spread this around and blow it out of proportion."

Liz agreed with Andrea on this point. That will likely happen. "Those women will hope to get their hands on Max, and what are you hoping to achieve?"

"Max is already working as the CEO, and the only thing left is for him to officially take over the position. An emotionally compromised CEO is easy to manipulate."

"You can't manipulate Max.", Liz said confidently.

Andrea shrugged. "Not manipulate, but it will more than enough to cause problems with the Alpha group. This is the second time that Nathan is bringing in Max as his successor, and they are almost at the finish line. The first time was a failure, as you probably know, and Nathan was forgiven for a reason that Max was too young and immature. However, now it's different. If Max ends up in a scandal that is pulling his focus away from work, it will not be just Max, but Nathan will also lose the trust of his shareholders and directors. Who will follow a leader who is putting an unstable man at the head of such a ma.s.sive company? Who will follow an unstable leader? Maybe all those people like Nathan and Max, but they love their money more."

Liz frowned. Sure, if there is a gossip that she is cheating, Max will be upset, but Liz does not think it will be so drastic. "An unstable man?"

Andrea smiled knowingly. "Out of numerous hookups from Max's past, there is one relations.h.i.+p. Don't you know what happened when that fell apart?"

Liz pressed her lips into a line. Of course, she knows.

There was one relations.h.i.+p in Max's past, and Liz remembers the details she discovered while the two of them played the card game with questions on his boat.

Those are not rumors or gossip, Max is the one who told Liz that he had a girlfriend and that they went to Europe, and that their relations.h.i.+p ended when the woman left him, and she clearly remembers Max saying how the breakup scarred him. And Liz knows that Max ended up spending years drinking and partying in an attempt to forget about that woman.

All that is proof of how that woman had a spot in Max's heart.

The existence of that woman is painfully present at the back of Liz's mind, and she wondered more than once about that relations.h.i.+p and if Max still has lingering feelings. But Liz never gathered enough courage to ask Max about it, because that one woman is different.

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