8 - Drinks (2)

Max was content to stare at Celine while she fiddled with his phone. 

Celine, on the other hand, kept scrolling through the names on Max’s phone and found that Lana was the most frequently dialed number. So she secretly added another Lana entry with her number in it. 

‘Heh! You don't get my number that easily. I'll let you figure that out later,’ Celine smiled, pleased with herself. 

“Heeeey! What are you smiling at?” Max peered over his phone.

“Don’t give me your boss’ phone number or your favorite chicken restaurant, okay?” 

He looked at the number she was entering and saw it had the area code for San Diego, but he was suspicious because of her smile.

Celine grins. 

“I promise I wouldn't do that to you." Max looked at her with doubt as he took his phone to look at it.

"Here, let me dial my number, so you’d know I’m telling the truth." Celine did not want him to find out her secret so she tapped the entry on his phone. 

Max felt reassured when he heard her phone ring, so he disconnected the call and placed his phone inside his pocket without looking at the entry. He wanted to concentrate on Celine before she decided to walk away.

“I’m from San Jose, but I'll be here often enough since we are doing a big project with this company. Would you mind if I called you so we could go out on a date?’ He was eager for her to agree but understood why she hesitated.

Suddenly, Celine felt apprehensive. He was from another city, and she was worried they might never see each other again. She shuddered at the thought of having a one-night stand, and even though Max was handsome and charismatic, she wasn’t willing to compromise.

Her love life was almost non-existent, and now the prospect of a long-distance relationship gave her a sinking feeling. 

“Hmmm… I see…” Celine pursed her lips while thinking. 

She envisioned meeting somebody from out of town and eventually falling in love with them. But a plane ride away was way too far. 

Celine wants to marry for life, like her parents. They loved each other deeply, and the tragedy their family experienced had not torn them apart. They were childhood sweethearts, so they had a stronger bond. 

Her dad still blames himself for what happened, but her mom always said it was an unavoidable tragedy and that they should rely on each other to be stronger. 

Celine wanted something like that but was never lucky enough with love. 

After the accident, they banned her from leaving the house and hanging out with her friends. 

The only time her parents allowed her to go out was when she went to college, so nights like the one they were having right now were pretty rare. 

Her dad was still paranoid and did not let her out of his sight.

It took a long minute for her to answer, but Max was patient. 

'I should go out with him, right? I worked too hard to win his attention all night, and this might not even go anywhere. Who knows?’

“Sure, call me the next time you’re in town. When are you leaving?”

“We’re heading home tomorrow night, but I was wondering if you would have lunch with me. What do you think?”

She smirked, “Sure if you can find me.” 

Max frowned, not understanding what she meant, so he shrugged it off.

On their way back, he invited Celine to say hi to his friends, convincing her that they needed to start now so she could decide if he was worth dating. 

Celine agreed because she was definitely more comfortable in a group setting. So they walked back towards the group to introduce her to everyone. 

“Guys, this is Celine. We met outside the bathroom.” Everybody laughed. It was the reaction Max was looking for. 

“This is my brother Jeremy, my sister Clara and this…”

“Hi Mr. Colfer,” Celine said shyly. 

Everyone from San Diego knew Sebastian Colfer. He had been in the news lately, and women in the city fantasized about him being their husband.

Max frowned at Celine’s reaction. ‘How does she know Sebastian? Did they use to date? You asshole!’ 

He glared at Sebastian. ‘You can’t have my sister and Celine at the same time.’ 

Max stewed while everyone exchanged pleasantries.

‘I’m going to beat this guy up if he dated Celine.’ His mind was racing with all these terrible thoughts, and his nose flared with anger.

Jeremy shakes his head as he finishes his drink and gazes into the empty glass. It was typical of his older brother to pursue a married woman, look for a cheap thrill, or get beaten up by a jealous boyfriend by the end of the evening. 

Max had a reputation for being a ladies' man who never asked enough questions when it got to potential partners.

“Ms. Jacobs,” Sebastian nods at Celine. 

“Nice to see you here. Are you enjoying yourself?” He wasn't really paying attention to Celine because it caught him a little unaware when Max said Clara and Jeremy were his siblings. 

‘Siblings? The report about Clara said nothing about that. Wait! Maybe it did, and I disregarded it because none of them looked alike.’

Clara's thoughts were going in the same direction as Max's. ‘Celine better not be dating this guy. Let’s see who wins this pissing match. I’m with Max,' she looked from one to the other and grinned when she saw Max glaring at Sebastian.

“Ms. Jacobs works in our accounting department,” Sebastian explained to clear the air when he saw the way Max stared at him, “and her dad works in our finance department.” 

Clara shrugged while sipping her drink, 'That definitely explains why they know each other.'

“I thrive in knowing all my employees, no matter what department they work for.” 

Sebastian explained he walked around the company, from time to time, to observe and talk to people in different offices to ensure that his employees were well cared for. He was a hands-on individual, even though people always thought he was very standoffish. 

This explanation cleared the air for Max, and he was glad Sebastian and Celine had no dating history. It certainly improved his chances with Celine. Competing the CEO would be very difficult. 

After some time, Max tries to recount their encounter at the restroom. He tells everyone what Celine said, mimicking her voice, which he was doing horribly, “If you stalk me or try to sell me something, I will give your number to the sex hotline.”

She laughed, the sound coming from her belly as she used to when she was a kid. It was a kind of laugh that was unique only to her.

Clara stared at Celine, her arms outstretched with tears slowly running down her face.

Celine felt embarrassed. “That’s not what I said? Don’t exaggerate.” 

She laughed once more before slapping Max's arm. Not aware of Clara’s reaction.