Chapter 18: Family and friends

Jayden still had three more reports to assess when the door to his office flew open, forcing him to look up to see who it might be. He found Maxwell Fitzgerald, his best friend of over a decade, standing in his office looking like a fire-breathing bull, ready to spear him out of his seventh-floor office. Jayden knew Oliver's reaction at the business people submit was mild compared to what Max's reaction would be, and he was right. Oliver was his friend and a part of the troublemakers' cliques, but Max was Jayden's best friend, and they had never kept anything from each other until now.

Max has been away with Nina, his girlfriend, in the past week, celebrating their sixth month together as a couple, and from Jayden's calculation, they arrived this morning. Judging from his green polo and black jeans, Jayden was safe to assume that Max had arrived from the airport instead of going home with Nina.

Jayden set his pen down and leaned back on his seat to acknowledge his friend's presence. "