TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

As Vonda stood up from her chair, she noticed Max exiting his office with his work bag in hand. It was evident that he was ready to leave, which was not unusual since it was already the end of the workday. However, in her memory, Max had never left the office early. He usually waited until the office was a bit quieter before heading home. But that Friday afternoon seemed to be an exception.

Max looked at Vonda, who was tidying up her belongings, and proceeded to close the door. “I’m heading out first. Have a great weekend,” he said.

Vonda smiled. “Sure. Have a great weekend too.”

Perhaps it was because Vonda and Max first met in an unusual situation, and their relationship had developed in even stranger circumstances, that their dynamic in the office seemed less professional. There was no typical boss-subordinate formality between them.

As Max exited the room, Vonda continued to organize her things, feeling a bit rushed due to a call she received a few minutes ago, which urged her to finish her work quickly.

However, instead of heading home immediately, Max took an elevator to the upper floor. He walked hurriedly towards a beautiful woman sitting at the secretary’s desk. She stood up and greeted him, “Good afternoon, Mr. Maxwell Hernandez.”

Max smiled in response, “Luc-” he blinked and shook his head once, “No. I mean, is Mr. Hernandez inside?”

The beautiful secretary named Vlora Anderson. She smiled, “Yes, he’s in.”

“Thank you. I can go in by myself, no need to accompany me,” Max quickly said when the secretary tried to stand up.

“Alright.”

Max proceeded to the office and muttered under his breath, “Come on, Max. You’ve been working here for two weeks, and you still haven’t seen the newlywed. Unbelievable.”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Max knocked on the door three times before hearing a voice from inside, “Come in.”

Max cleared his throat, prepared himself, and opened the door. As he entered, he immediately saw a man standing up from his desk.

“Look who’s here!” Lucas exclaimed.

Max winced, placing his work bag on the sofa momentarily without stopping his stride. He walked towards his cousin, who was also the company’s CEO.

“Lucas,” Max greeted, embracing the warm hug. “Don’t make me feel even worse.”

The embrace between the two grown men ended.

“Feel worse?” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “For calling you during office hours?”

Oh no.

Max winced.

I’m getting criticized already, and we haven’t even started.

Max scratched his head, pointing at the sofa. “Please have a seat, Luc.”

“What?” Lucas’s eyes widened.

Max facepalmed. “This isn’t my office, is it?” He forced a nervous laugh. “Sorry, Luc. Sorry.”

Lucas grinned, brushing off Max’s apology as he indeed sat down. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Max taking a seat in front of him.

“So,” Lucas began, “I’ve been waiting for a few days. Almost two weeks, actually. I thought I’d let you take the initiative to contact me, or maybe you’d suddenly show up at my house, but-”

“I didn’t come.” Max chose to finish the sentence himself. “I know I messed up this time, Luc. It won’t be forgiven in a lifetime, especially considering that you won’t have another wedding.”

Lucas’s eyes widened. “Don’t speak recklessly, Max. I had a hard time getting married.”

“Well, that’s exactly it, Luc. Haven’t you thought about having a second wedding? To make it more memorable? Marrying the same woman twice.”

Lucas fell silent for a moment, then slowly grinned. “So that you have a chance to redeem yourself?” His grin turned into a smile. “Forget it. We don’t need to discuss it anymore. What matters now is when you plan to come to my house.”

“Ah,” Max looked away.

“Do you have any plans to visit?” Lucas inquired. “Or?”

“Of course, Luc,” Max replied quickly. “I will definitely come to your house as soon as possible. I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but… recently, I’ve been preoccupied with something urgent.”

Lucas shot a probing look at Max but held his tongue momentarily when the office door was knocked once, and Vlora walked in, serving two cups of tea to them.

After making sure the door was closed again, Lucas continued to inquire while Max raised his teacup, sipping the reddish-brown drink.

“Preoccupied with the girl you were playing horsey with in the car?” Lucas guessed with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Pruuut!

The tea almost spurted out from Max’s mouth, causing an embarrassing moment. Lucas burst into hearty laughter, while Max helplessly tried to stop his cough, feeling almost desperate as he wiped his mouth with two tissue papers.

“Lucas!” Max exclaimed. “There’s no need to bring that up.”

“I guess that girl is the reason your arranged marriage with Olivia got called off,” Lucas speculated, his eyes squinting with amusement. He grinned mischievously. “Am I right?”

Max sighed wearily, feeling useless to lie about this matter, so he nodded.

“Damn!” Lucas laughed again. “I never thought you’d actually get into a serious relationship, Max. I thought your whole world was just about cars.”

“To be honest, if you ask me anything about cars right now, I probably won’t be able to answer,” Max admitted.

A furrow appeared on Lucas’s forehead, urging Max to continue talking.

“My world is no longer about cars, but rather a rollercoaster of emotions. I didn’t even think about getting my car serviced last week. Argh! I’m so stressed out.”

“Stressed? What do you mean?” Lucas inquired.

Max took a deep breath, looking at his cousin and speaking softly. “I can’t tell you what’s bothering me.”

Lucas observed the tired expression on Max’s face. “Ehm… it seems you need some rest, Max.”

“I really hope that resting will bring some peace to my soul. But… how can I rest when my phone keeps ringing all the time? And I always get the same question-when am I getting married?”

“I can imagine Aunt’s face asking you that question,” Lucas chuckled. “Don’t feel too pressured. Getting married is when you’re ready.”

“Oh! If only my Mom, who’s so eager to carry a baby, could think about this.”

Lucas laughed again.

“Mom said she’s tired of carrying kitten. She wants to carry a baby. My baby. Impressive, right?”

Lucas tried hard to stifle his laughter. “Enough, Max. You’d better go home and rest.”

“That does seem like a good idea.”

“Remember! I’m waiting for you to come to my house soon,” Lucas reminded. “One more thing! Don’t come alone.”

Max’s face changed.

“Bring the girl you were playing horsey with.”

Max groaned. “Thanks a lot for making me even more stressed, Luc.”

A few moments later, Max left Lucas’s office, traversing the floors in the elevator while contemplating his future life.

If Max did not have to be aware of his surroundings, he felt like messing up his hair. He remembered how Riley was so familiar with Vonda, even though they had only known each other for a few days, and warning signals in his head were ringing loudly. It was like a sign that it was not a good thing.

Actually, Vonda was beautiful, even if she was a bit crazy. Her personality was warm and friendly. It was no wonder Mama liked her. He couldn’t imagine how Mom would react if he had to end this fake relationship. She would definitely be furious.

The image of Riley lifting a pan and pointing it at him sent shivers down Max’s spine. He shuddered with horror, especially since he was now in the parking lot. The dimly lit surroundings heightened the horror vibe surrounding Max.

However, speaking of ending our fake relationship, Vonda seemed to take it lightly, didn’t she? Bringing up Andrew again and comparing me to him. Does she really think of me as-

“Oh my God! Are you crazy?!”

One shout interrupted Max’s thought. He stopped abruptly in the middle of his path to the car. The voice of a girl caught his attention, and his alert signal rose.

“You’re the crazy one! Okay, we’re breaking up. But not like this. You’re acting like a little kid.”

“Excuse me? A little kid? Whose little kid? Okay, let’s assume I’m a little kid. So, you, as the big kid, are still talking about car installments with a little kid? Moreover, you even want to use my car?”

“Damn!”

“Hey! Watch your attitude! I’m your boss, you little dick!”

“You-”

“Ah!”

Max saw it clearly. Vonda covered her face with both hands, ignoring Andrew’s other hand holding her wrist tightly, causing her to scream in pain.

Andrew took a step back, raising his other hand.

“Miss Scott, I’ve been looking for you everywhere, and it turns out you’re here.”

Both Vonda and Andrew were startled by the voice. The voice that made Andrew quickly let go of Vonda’s hand. They both turned to the source of the sound.

A frightening face approached them. Max’s eyes locked with Andrew’s for a few seconds before shifting to Vonda. Unintentionally, it made both Vonda and Andrew exclaim the boy’s name.

“Sir.”

*