I spun around and slammed my fist into his chest, sending him stumbling off the curb while Perry cried out in surprise. I hadn’t meant to do that, the dude was usually as solid as a tree, but then I remembered the new dynamic. I felt almost bad, but that didn’t stop me from spewing, “What the hell did you mean by that?”
Maximus rubbed at his chest, his chin dipping, eyes becoming green slits. I rarely saw him mad and it was kind of scary, I had to admit.
“I mean,” he said carefully, “just because I’m involved, your first reaction is to quit. That’s how much you can’t handle being around me. I didn’t think I got to you that badly, Dex, really.”
I knew what the asswipe was doing and damn it was working. My ego never went down without a fight.
“Hey, I can handle being around you, I just prefer not to work with douchenozzles, that’s all. You’re only going to get in the way. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”
He stepped back on the curb, towering over me. “Oh, and you do? I can see how well you’ve done so far.”
“Dex? Dex?” Jimmy’s tinny voice came through the phone in my hand. I forgot he was still there.
I lifted it to my ear. “Yes, Jimmy, sorry, working out the kinks here.”
“I can hear that. If you want a minute to discuss it with Perry, I can wait. I’d try and leave your feelings toward Maximus out of it.”
“Fine. I’ll call you back in a few,” I told him and hung up. I felt like tossing the phone as far as I could, but I reigned in Hulk Dex and tried to think about Perry.
I exhaled sharply and cracked my head back and forth before turning to her and said, “So what do you want to do? We’ve got a few minutes to decide.”
“Well obviously you just want to say no and shut this whole thing down,” she said, sounding annoyed.
“Look, just a few minutes ago you were horrified at the idea of bringing him on board.”
She pulled at her hair hard, looking frustrated. “Well yeah, I am. The three of us can’t even have a conversation without a fight breaking out.”
“That wasn’t a fight,” Maximus piped up cockily.
She glared at him. “You, shut up.” She then looked at me. “I think it’s a bad idea, but I think right now, at this very moment in time, the other option is even worse.”
I took a step toward her, reaching for her hand, and lowered my voice as I gazed at her. “Baby, I told you I would take care of you.”
She smiled and laced her fingers into mine, which was doubly nice considering who we were in front of. I could feel him frowning at us behind me. “I know you can take care of me. But I have to try and take care of myself too. Let’s just give this a shot. If it doesn’t work, then we can still quit and do our own thing. But if it does work, this could change a lot of things for us. I would…I would just feel a lot better knowing I had a solid job to rely on.”
My heart felt like it had been stabbed with a very fine needle and I fought hard to keep it showing on my face. I hated, hated, hated that I wasn’t enough for her at the moment. It was stupid and selfish and immature to think I should be her world and her only world, the only thing she needed, but damn. I needed that from her like I never needed anything before.
I smiled at her, hiding everything, and said, “Fair enough. If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.” I really, really hoped I wouldn’t start resenting that.
I turned around and looked at Maximus. He was eyeing our hand-holding with puzzlement, and I couldn’t wait to rub this shit in his face but now wasn’t the time. “Fine. Perry says yes. I guess that means I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with your ginger-ass ruining everything.”
He looked my way, observing me like only he knew how to do, like he was on the inside of a joke I knew nothing about. “This is really going to tear you up inside, isn’t it?”
I forced myself to shrug nonchalantly. “Well, I got through college with you following me around like a lost pooch, so I suppose I can get through this too.”
He raised a brow but didn’t say anything. I knew what he was going to say too, that I didn’t actually get through college, that Abby started showing up and ruining everything, that he stopped being my friend, that I was locked away and everything was taken from me. But I suppose even he knew when to keep his mouth shut.
“You better call Jimmy,” he said, turning his attention to the market and the people going to and fro with bags of specialty olive oil and dried peppers.
And ginger-douche bossing me around had begun. I exchanged a tepid glance with Perry then dialed Jimmy’s number.
“Well,” he answered. “I don’t have all day.”
I took in a deep breath, looking deep into Perry’s baby blues. She was hopeful. That was all I needed. “We’ll do it. I suppose we don’t get to negotiate this a bit further.”
“Nope. From now on, you’re the cameraman and editor, same as ever. Perry is the host. Other than that, Maximus Jacobs is in charge of absolutely everything.”
“Fucking fantastic.”
“Thought you’d agree,” he said. “Now the best part of this whole arrangement is that I don’t have to deal with you and you don’t have to deal with me. Everything will be dealt with through him.”
“Where did we go wrong, Jimmy? Don’t the good times count for anything?” I pleaded mockingly.
“Things went wrong the day I met you. Take care, Dex. Watch out for Perry. And listen to the redhead.”
He hung up and I stared at the phone dejectedly before shoving it in my cargo jacket. Well, that was that.
I looked at Maximus, who was grinning to himself and pretending to not pay attention.
“I feel like I just signed a deal with the devil,” I said.
He grinned wider and eyed me briefly. “Oh, Dex, didn’t you know? I’m one of the good guys.”