To Have It All(42)
“Just hurry,” she ordered, her voice low.
I’d barely opened the door when a short bald man with dark eyes and stained teeth, cackled, “Max-a-million.” Reaching out his hand he grabbed mine and attempted to do some weird bro handshake, knuckle-dap thing I didn’t know how to do, so it ended awkwardly. Stepping back, the man assessed me, looking me up and down with confusion. “Switching up the wardrobe, I see,” he laughed.
Glancing toward the elevator, I saw Braxton waving frantically at me. “I tried to stop them sir, but they bulldozed right through. Should I call security?”
“I told you we’re friends,” the bald guy hollered at Braxton. Then returning his attention to me, seemingly forgetting all about Braxton, he added, “You got the whole ruffian/metro look going. I like it.” He laughed some more, incredibly humored by himself. I hated to be someone that made assumptions about other people, especially ones I just met, but something told me this guy probably got the shit beat out of him in high school on a daily basis. The way he moved quickly, kept lightly punching my shoulder and laughed, annoyed me ridiculously. He was trying too hard. And for a moment I wondered if this was really who he was, or if this was who he was around Max. This stranger, loud and obnoxious, was already enough for me to deal with, but of course, there was more. As it always seemed to be when it came to being Max Porter, there was always more.
Flanked at the bald man’s sides were two women, both beautiful, wearing heels and trench coats. Even with the coats on, in the middle of summer I might add, it wasn’t hard to tell there wasn’t much else on underneath them.
“You haven’t been to the club, and Wallace said you like to approve all the girls. He had to take his kid to summer camp today and asked me to bring ’em.” Then, leaning toward me, “I didn’t mind volunteering for this one,” he divulged in a hushed voice before rolling into laughter again and slapping my arm.
“The club?” I questioned. My question wasn’t meant for the short man. I was speaking to myself, trying to understand what was going on here.
“Yeah, you forget about it? Wallace said he hadn’t seen you in about a week. Anyway,” he moved on before letting me answer, “Here they are. Can we come in? Unless you wanna give the stiff over there,” he jabbed a thumb in Braxton’s direction, “a free show.”
From inside the apartment, Pimberly cried out, and I jerked the door shut. “No!” I boomed.
Baldies mouth pursed, and he raised one brow. “You got a baby in there, Max?” His tone was riddled with equal amounts of shock as his expression.
“And if I do?” I snapped, becoming increasingly annoyed with this guy. Even if he did know Max, it wasn’t any of his business whether he had a baby in his apartment or not. He was like a flea, bouncing around everywhere and annoying as fuck.
Holding his hands up in surrender, he took a step back. “Sorry I overstepped, boss.” He looked at each lady, before saying, “Boss won’t be sampling today, girls,” he informed them. My stomach turned as realization dawned on me. Max must’ve been involved in some kind of strip club and apparently liked to approve the women the club hired himself. Did he make these women perform for him? Or did he make them do more? What a fucking skeeze.
“Boss man can still get a peek,” Baldie added. “Open those coats and give him a look.”
“Uh . . . no . . .” I stammered, panicked. But it was too late, the women had their coats open in the blink of an eye. I only got a quick look—giant breasts and hairless skin—before I groaned and turned away, clenching my eyes closed. “Cover the fuck up,” I ordered. After a few seconds, I turned back to find the girls frantically tying up their coats. Grabbing baldie by his shirt collar, I dragged him toward the elevator.
“Don’t bring these women or any other women from the club here again,” I seethed. “You heard I had a baby in there. This is my fucking home, and you’re going to have them get naked in my hallway where my neighbors could see? What the fuck kind of douche bag are you?”
“I’m s-s-sorry, boss,” he stuttered as his hands clutched my wrist. Shoving him away, he landed against the elevator doors with a hard thud. Both women rushed to him, one calling, “Vince.”
“Get ’em out of here, Vince,” I ordered. “And don’t come back.”
“I’ll escort them out myself, sir,” Braxton added. “You better get back inside before your lady friend sees. That wouldn’t be good for any of us.”
I scowled, unsure of what he meant by ‘us,’ but I didn’t bother to ask. I didn’t care, really. I just wanted Vince and the women gone.
The women helped Vince get back on his feet, checking him over. He glared at me, the look of a man that had just been embarrassed and belittled, but he didn’t say anything. Maybe he feared Max, his money and stature, or maybe it was me since I just pushed him around, either way, he didn’t want to rock the boat, which was smart. If he’d tested me, I’d likely have knocked his teeth out. I was pissed at this situation, the obnoxious guy, at Max for once again proving what an asshole he was, and I didn’t doubt my coming off the steroids was adding to it. I wanted to punch something. The one and only bright side to this incident was Waverly didn’t see them. I can only imagine the rampage that would have set her on and rightfully so.