10 - Finding Celine

It was 10 am, by the time the SST team re-surfaced and made their way to Navio’s headquarters. All they needed to do was iron out any loose ends and answer any of their questions.

The Johnson siblings talked about what they should expect when the system is in use and all its limits and possibilities. Max did most of the talking. Clara looked like she wasn't up to it, spacing out most of the time and working on her laptop. 

Sebastian invited them to lunch before they left for San Jose, but Max declined, saying he had something he needed to take care of. Clara and Jeremy, on the other hand, accepted. They both felt embarrassed to say no after what happened last night, hoping this would be an opportunity to clear the air.

Jeremy excused himself to go to the restroom. Max followed him, saying he needed to make an important phone call. Since Sebastian seemed a little calmer this morning, they decided it was okay to leave Clara alone with him.

Outside the Office

Max scrolled through his contacts and could not find Celine’s number anywhere. He remembered hearing her phone ring when she tapped on it, and he was sure about that. When he looked at his recently called list, all it contained was his personal assistant’s name, Lana. ‘That sneaky little cheat,’ he thought, then he recalled her parting words, ‘...if you can find me…’

‘Huh! You think you’re so smart, but I’m smarter than you,’ he sneered as he walked towards the receptionist’s desk.

Max asked the secretary to call Celine Jacobs from the Accounting Department and have her report to the President’s office immediately. Alexis, Sebastian’s PA, looked at him suspiciously, but Max winked at him and gave him one of the prize-winning smiles that never failed to get him what he wanted.

Celine nervously walked towards Sebastian’s office, thinking she was in trouble. 

She has never been on this floor before. ‘Maybe it had something to do with last night. Did I say anything inappropriate? Is the President interested in me?’

‘Nah, that can’t be. I’m not interested in him, or am I? He is handsome after all,’ she shook her head to brush away her thoughts. She always found Sebastian handsome, but he was not her type.

Celine almost ran into Max because she wasn't paying attention. He was grinning at her like a cat who ate a mouse. ‘He looks even more handsome in the daylight,’ she thought as she kept her cool, totally forgetting the trick she played on him.

‘So I found you. Are you ready for lunch?’ He said in a low voice. Whispering close to her ear.

She felt excited and confused. ‘The President called me to come. Do you know what he needs from me?’ she asked Max.

‘The President didn’t call you here. I did.' 

'I couldn’t find the phone number you added to my phone, even though I remember your phone ringing. I know it was there, I just couldn’t find it. So Miss Smartypants, what name did you put it under?’ he asked smugly.

When it finally occurred to her, she laughed at him. ‘Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about that,’ she said. ‘You are pretty smart, though. I’ll give you that much. Calling me here, pretending to be the President,’ she grinned, ‘I deserved that.’

‘So as your punishment, you are having lunch with me,’ he said with a sheepish smile. He had outsmarted her, and they both knew there was no turning back.

She thought she was being called to the President's office because of two things, either she was getting promoted or finally getting canned. Her manager wasn’t really the nicest person, so she expected nothing good.

For lunch, she feigned going with someone else, so if she got canned, nobody would be there to witness her walk of shame, but then it opened up her schedule to have lunch with Max, so there was no backing out.

Celine’s hesitation did not stem from dislike. She was actually very attracted to Max, but she had a problem. He came from out of town. He won’t be in the same city all the time, which meant dating him would definitely be a bad idea. 

‘What? It’s just lunch. Don’t tell me you’re scared,’ he taunted. He knew how to push the right buttons with women, having had enough practice with the ones he’s easily snagged before. And taunting them always worked. He could see the challenge in her face when her eyebrow raised. She was assessing him, and there was definite interest in her eyes as she stared at him.

‘You know. It’s okay. I don’t want to force you…,’ Max started playing with his phone, looking at the list of restaurants he was checking earlier, pretending to show disinterest. 

‘Of course, I’m okay to have lunch with you. It’s just…,’ she hesitated. 

‘Is there a boyfriend?’ He looks her in the eye, gauging the truth.

‘No boyfriend. I just don’t see us happening.’ Her honesty made him flinch.

‘It’s lunch. What could go wrong? I’m not asking you to marry me.’

‘Fine, I owe you lunch for the phone, nothing else.’ 

‘After you, my lady,’ he gestures to the elevator. He was playing with fire and he knew it. The attraction from last night did not wane one bit. He wanted to check her out, see her again, to see if she looked as pretty as he imagined her to be last night, and maybe flirt a little, but he did not expect her to say yes to his invitation for lunch. He expected to be rejected right off the bat, and now here he is, like a fish out of water. 

Why? Because he did not take his women out for lunch in the daylight. Business associates and partners, but not his dates. He’d take for dinner from time to time, but not out where people can see them and speculate that they might be together.

Women were there for his enjoyment at night. Someone to keep him company, warm his bed and then leave before they embarrassed each other. Women knew this when they slept with him. Though most of the time, they try to change him. Nobody could get through.

‘It’s just lunch. What am I to lose? I probably won’t enjoy her company. She’d be a total bore. She looks like a pampered princess anyway,’ he thought as he smiled at her in the elevator.

So they had lunch at a nearby cafe.