“David.” She looked at the young girl with long sandy blond hair standing next to him and smiled. “Emma! This is a fantastic surprise. Come in.”
Emma grinned and ran in, giving Max a hug. “Dad took me to the de Young Museum yesterday. They had a really cool photo exhibit of the national parks. Have you seen it?”
“No, but sounds like something I would like.” She glanced at David. He was not smiling. “I’m thrilled to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be on a plane?”
“We have time,” David said. He said to Emma, “I need to talk to Max, then I have a surprise.”
“Tell me.” Emma practically jumped. She was twelve, between the age of excitement and teenage apathy. Max was glad she was less apathetic and more excited about life.
David pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. She opened it and squealed. “OMG, first base? Really? Giants versus the Mets? The night we get back? I can’t believe it, you hate the Giants.”
“You love the Giants, I love the Mets. One of us will go home happy.”
Emma hugged David. “Ten minutes and then I’ll be back. Can I have five bucks?”
“Charge whatever you want to my room,” Max said.
“Thanks, Max—you know you’re in trouble, right?”
“I didn’t think your dad drove thirty miles out of his way before a five-hour flight to tell me how much he loves working for me.”
Emma left and Max sat back down at her desk. “She’s grown two inches since last summer.”
“Brittany told her she could get her belly button pierced when she’s thirteen.”
“You didn’t come here to bitch about Emma’s mother.”
David raised an eyebrow. “You usually enjoy it when I complain about Brittany.”
“Am I that obvious?”
David sat down on the chair across from her, but he didn’t relax. There were a lot of similarities between David and Detective Nick Santini. Max dismissed it to their military backgrounds. David could have easily been a cop. Max had asked him once why he didn’t go into law enforcement, and he’d never really given her a good answer.
“We have a problem.”
Max waited for David to tell her what was bothering him, but she feared the worst. “We have a problem” never led to anything good. It led to people quitting on her, or her firing them. “We have a problem” was always an ending, never a beginning.
David didn’t say anything, either.
“Don’t leave,” she said quietly.
“I can’t do my job if you lie to me.”
“I don’t lie.”
“You neglected to tell me that you were nearly run over in that damn parking garage, or that you saved Dru Parker’s life.”
“So she’s okay?” She’d tried getting information from the hospital this morning, but they gave her the runaround and she grew impatient.
“Don’t.”
“David, I didn’t want you doing this.”
“What? I don’t get it, Max. What am I doing that pisses you off?”
“Nothing.”
“You told me that I was your right hand.”
“You are. You know I don’t trust anyone else.”
“And that’s a lie.” He stared at her. “You don’t trust anyone.”
“David—”
“I need to be in the loop, Max. The need to know loop. Always. I have to be able to trust you to be honest with me.”
“This coming from the man who’s told me more than once that I’m too honest?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
How did Max explain to David what she wanted? What she needed? “For years I investigated on my own, wrote articles on my own, did research all by myself. I can work all day and all night and live off caffeine and chocolate and it doesn’t impact anyone but me. You have a daughter you never get to see.”
David leaned back. “Now I’m clueless.”
“This is your time with Emma. You get only four weeks with her a year. I’m not helpless, and I’ve already had you working when you should be ignoring my calls.”
David didn’t say anything. Max couldn’t stand it. “Dammit, David, you’re a good father. I’m not going to ruin that.”
“You couldn’t. I’d much rather Emma have you as a role model than Brittany.”
Max was surprised. “I’m not a role model for anyone.”
“You have your moments.” But he smiled, and for the first time since David sat down, Max relaxed. But his smile disappeared and he leaned forward. “Next time, don’t leave out the details.”
“All right.”
He seemed to assess her sincerity, and Max wished she could promise more, but all she could do was try. She didn’t want to lose David—as an employee or a friend.
“I have some information.” He handed her a sheet of notes written in his small block letters. “Here’s the financials details on Evergreen, and the agreement with ACP. Evergreen would have filed bankruptcy by the end of the fiscal year, no doubt, if this didn’t happen.”
He glanced at her two trifold boards. “You have a lot of information already.”
“Not enough. But my uncle is financing the sports complex, so I have an in with Jasper Pierce. I’ll find out exactly what his connection is with Evergreen and the Hoffman family. No one hands over a multimillion-dollar contract with no bids for no reason.”
“And the Lindy Ames board?”
“That’s just personal.”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“It’s your disapproving grunt.”
“I don’t disapprove.” He looked back at her. “I think you need to find out what happened or it’ll be one more thing that keeps you awake at night.”
“Go,” Max said. “Enjoy Emma. Have a safe trip. And please don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t, and Max was relieved. She wasn’t used to having a relationship like the one she had with David.
He opened the door. “I’ll see you Saturday.”