Brute

46. Max

"Fuck." Max woke up in a cold sweat, his eyes felt heavy and his head hurt. He looked down at his body, clothes were still on, he was all by himself in a hotel room that was definitely his. So what had really happened?

He sat up in bed, taking a gulp of water trying to recall whatever he could. Bits and pieces were coming back to his mind, his little rendezvous with Kalki was engraved in the back of his mind. Max didn't want to complicate things, he wanted to know what this meant for them without the whole game of acting hot and cold.

He grabbed his phone off the side table, they needed to talk. In person. The sooner the better it would be.

You: hey can we talk over some breakfast?

Sulky Kalki: How about lunch? I've got quite a mess to clean up

You: exactly why we should meet right away.

Sulky Kalki: See you at the breakfast bar in 20 minutes.

Maybe he should change the name he'd saved her contact information with. He'd come to accept what he felt towards her, maybe just maybe Max hoped she felt something too. And hopefully it wasn't hatred or resentment.

He took a shower and put on a fresh set of clothes and headed to the restaurant, Kalki wasn't here yet. He waited for a while and then placed an order for the two of them, even if he didn't want to, he recalled what she liked. It was always the same, a glass of orange juice, a breakfast wrap of sorts and a muffin.

Kalki was here, she was walking towards him. Her expression was unreadable, she took a seat opposite to him. He let her know that he'd already gone ahead and ordered them some food. Max tried to be as pleasant as he could, but he felt like it was making her feel more uncomfortable.

"What's the mess at hand?" He asked.

"Finally! I thought you'd never ask." She rolled her eyes.

"Please continue." He said.

"So. Someone, well almost everyone that was in that spot of the club saw what happened between us. Not a lot of people have figured out it was me but rumours are flying around left and right."

"Before we discuss those rumours can we actually talk about what happened between us?"

"You've got to explain yourself to me." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You've got to explain why you didn't back out either." He laughed. "Fine. I'm attracted to you. I have no regrets about what happened and I actually liked it a lot."

She looked surprised for a second, her doe eyes had widened even more for a moment. He couldn't really pay attention to what she was saying, her lips kept making him drift back to the evening before.

"Are you even listening?" She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Honestly? No. I just want a one word answer, do you regret what happened yesterday?"

He looked at her face, hoping to catch a hint of what she was going to say. She'd mastered the ability to keep her face straight, pristine, emotionless.

"I can't answer that." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"For now I'm just going to ask the PR team to release a statement that you request privacy and I'm denying that the woman was me."

"But why? It was you Kalki. You were the girl I wanted to-" She placed her finger on his lips. Telling him to shut up. He didn't realise how loud he was being.

"Being involved with you in a scandal is not what I need right now. My career here will end before it even starts."

Max was taken aback, "My feelings towards you are not a scandal. Two people being attracted to each other isn't scandalous."

"It's not about feelings Max," she shook her head, "You don't understand how detrimental this could be for me. To the outside world you're in a position of power and I'm an employee. It looks like a weird power dynamic."

"What if I told everyone I actually pay you to boss me around?" He smirked.

"Why do you find a way to make it sound gross?" She frowned.

"I still need an answer to whether you regretted it or not."

"I'm not telling you that."

"Well I need a yes or no because I believe in consent and I realised I didn't really ask you last night and that didn't sit right with me once I fully came to my senses."

His words made Kalki laugh, her sweet laugh that made her eyes scrunch shut. She looked at him and shook her head. "I didn't regret it. But it doesn't mean that I love you or anything. It didn't mean anything."

"It's okay. I'm just attracted to you physically anyway." He lied through his teeth.

"How flattering." She said sarcastically. "And no. I'm not interested in whatever you want from me."

"How will know if you never try-"

"Max." She glared at him, "In case you've forgotten, who was the one who gave me that advice of being professional and not mixing things? On my birthday that to."

"Oh." Max looked at the table blankly, "Well, I can't really explain myself it's all so complicated."

"And I'm here to simplify it. I can't work for someone like you, now that the season is over and focusing on Kai." She explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Our reporting relationship ends here. It's been a pleasure working with you in Formula One even if it was a short stint." She smiled.

"No! What?"

"I told Raymond the truth, you'll be getting a new manager from next season."

"I don't want another manager, you're good at your job and I want the best person there is to keep my brand intact." He protested.

"Yes but currently I'm being seen as a taint to your image and I don't like that. I'm saying goodbye before things get worse. I don't care if you don't get it right now but it's what makes sense for both of us."