334 Thanksgiving

Thursday

Madeline was super-excited for this year's Thanksgiving. They never had so many guests. All her kids had a partner and it was very harmonious. Last year it was only five of them, and this year with Ashton, Liz, Mia, Isaac, and Foxy, that number doubled! And Sabrina is pregnant!

The only thing that dampened Madeline's mood was that Max is in the wheelchair, but his condition is improving so it was not very bad.

"Ah, I wish that Rhonda is here.", Liz said.

"The lady who works at the Franciscan Medical Center?" Isaac asked.

Liz confirmed. "If she is here, everyone who cares about me would be here."

"Don't forget Bri and Q." Mia reminded Liz.

Liz made an apologetic face. Brianna and Quentin went to San Francisco, to spend the Thanksgiving with Brianna's family.

After dinner, Max asked Nathan if they can have a word in the study. Elizabeth joined them. She didn't want to hear about Irene, but she can't avoid the women's existence and by being by Max's side, she is showing her support in dealing with this problem.

…

In the study…

Nathan looked at Max in disbelief. "What do you mean by... she is your ex-girlfriend from college? The one who made you drink your life away? The one who made you go to those senseless parties and endanger yourself?"

Max exhaled. "She didn't make me do that, dad. I did that myself because she left me, and I needed a way to vent my frustration."

"Vent your frustration." Nathan snorted. "That is an interesting way to say that you gave up on yourself."

Nathan's eyes moved to Liz. "You are OK with that?"

"I am not, Mr. A.", Liz responded. "However, that is in Max's past and it will not be fair to judge him for it because Max showed us that he changed. However, that woman is back and that is a problem."

"In his past?" Nathan frowned at Max and his temper flared at the thought that he was driving drunk and he nearly died. "Is that why you got drunk and ended up in an accident?" Nathan gestured toward the wheelchair angrily. "Are we back to that again, so that I don't know if in the morning they will call me from the hospital, police, or the morgue?"

"No, dad…" Max said dejectedly. He knew this is coming. "That evening, Liz found out who Irene was, and we had an argument."

"So now it's Liz's fault?" Nathan asked grumpily. "First it was Irene, and now it's Liz? When are you going to take responsibility for your actions? Are you going to get drunk and try killing yourself whenever you face a problem in life?"

Nathan looked at Liz. "Is this why you forgave him? Because you fear that he will kill himself if you don't?"

"What kind of help?" Nathan asked suspiciously. He was not convinced that Max will not go back to his old ways. Max drinking last week proved that he could do it under some circumstances.

Nathan decided to talk to Max about responsibility, just how he did many times before, but this time he will make a point that with this behavior he is practically blackmailing Liz to stay by his side or he will ruin his life. What kind of a man does that? 

Nathan listened to Max's theory that Irene is not in the Alpha group only for the job.

A few minutes later…

"You are saying… that she might be here because of you or because some of our competitors set me up to hire her.", Nathan mumbled while rubbing his chin.

Max confirmed. "I don't see any other explanation why Irene would accept a job at the Alpha group. She knows my name and she knew that our family is behind the Alpha group. That was never a secret. Unless she has a hidden agenda, why wouldn't she disclose the fact that she knows me while you talked to her about the job?"

"Her resume is amazing, and so is her experience. I personally checked her references, and everything was spotless." Nathan defended his decision to hire Irene.

"That can be fabricated.", Liz said. "But even if it's legit, you can't deny that something is off. She pretended not to know Max."

Nathan nodded while remembering that Irene introduced herself to Max at the party. Even if she thought that the future CEO is some other Maximilian Anderson, there is no way that she didn't recognize Max when she saw him.

"Is this why you wanted Foxy to come here today?" Nathan asked Max.

Max confirmed. "Whatever Irene's agenda is, I don't want to allow her to impact the Alpha group. I want us to sync up with Foxy and Hunter. I don't trust anyone else to keep an eye on Irene until we figure out how to deal with her. I also want to look into the contract…"

Liz didn't want to be there for the talk about their company. Max will summarize important parts for her later. She left the study with a task to ask Hunter and Foxy to join Max and Nathan.

Hunter was watching the pre-game show with Ashton, Madeline was not in sight, Mia and Sabrina chatted on the side and Foxy was talking with Isaac.

"You two are getting along well…" Liz told Isaac when Foxy left.

"She is a nice lady.", Isaac responded.

"Foxy is single."

Isaac frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Liz shrugged. "Nothing. I was just saying… Foxy is single, and so are you. If you are getting along, maybe you should consider seeing her again."

Isaac's eyebrows shot up. "Are you coercing me to have a date with Nicole?"

"Nicole? Everyone calls her Foxy and you are using her full name? And I am not coercing you into anything. I only noticed that the mood was good and unless you try, you never know if something might come out of it. I like her and I would not mind calling her step-mom. One day I will get married and I will enjoy my happiness more if I know that you are not on your own."

Isaac's smile froze. "You are getting married?"

Liz blinked. "What? No. I said, 'one day'. Do you think that I will be unmarried forever?"

Isaac released the breath he was holding. "You never mentioned marriage before."

"I have no plans of getting married and I would hate leaving you on your own. So, if you want me to get married and give you grandkids, you better work on your side first. Did you get Foxy's number? Max knows her well. If you need conversation starters you can ask him for tips." Liz said teasingly and winked.

Isaac shook his head. "I'm going to join Ashton and watch the game."

"Think about it!" Liz shouted after Isaac who was walking away.

"Think about what?" Madeline asked as she approached Liz with a plate full of bite-sized snacks. "Try these…"

Liz took one snack and answered Madeline's question: "I saw that my dad is enjoying Foxy's company and I suggested that they see each other again."

"A date?" Madeline asked while chewing.

Liz wiggled her eyebrows in response.

"What's the chat without us?" Mia asked when she and Sabrina joined Liz and Madeline.

"Just a bit of matchmaking.", Liz responded with a smug smile.

"Your dad and Foxy?" Sabrina guessed.

"You should gossip less and focus on my grand-baby…" Madeline said while rubbing Sabrina's belly. Her eyes moved over Liz and Mia. "Which one of you will be next? I want a lot of grand-babies!"

Liz and Mia froze.

Liz pointed at Mia. "She is engaged. She should go first."

Mia widened her eyes at Liz. "That can be fixed easily! ... Why are you looking at me like that? If Max pops the question, will you say 'no'?"

Before Liz could come up with a response, Sabrina was talking: "Don't tell us you didn't think about it. You are dating for a while; you love each other, both have careers and are financially stable. Is there something else that should happen before marriage?"

Liz opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. Nothing seemed right except… "Shouldn't you be talking to Max about this?"

"Hehehe…", Mia snickered. "The day has come when Elizabeth Williams is thinking about marriage."

"I am not. But you two mentioned it, and I only stated a fact." Liz saw that Mia is about to say something else to tease her, and Liz grabbed a plate with snacks from Madeline's hands and pushed it into Mia's. "Eat these, they are great."

Mia laughed. She knows that Liz is trying to prevent her from talking, but she is not the one to decline food.

The rest of the evening passed in a good mood.

Nathan, Max, Hunter, and Foxy returned from the study and as soon as they entered the living room, all of them had smiles on their faces as they re-joined the party.

Men watched the football game, and ladies chatted while playing dominoes.

The evening ended with desserts and drinks.

"Thank you for inviting me.", Foxy said to Madeline and Nathan. "I was prepared for a day at my home, but this was more fun."

"Are you leaving already?" Madeline asked when she realized that Foxy is ready to leave. It's not that it's early, but everyone else is still sitting.

"Yes. It is late and I prefer to stick to my schedule." Foxy explained. "I will call a cab. Can you inform your security to let him in?"

"I can drop you off." Isaac offered to Foxy while ignoring Liz's excited gaze. "I was getting ready to leave myself, and my rental car is here."

"Oh…" Foxy let out a sound. "I don't want to trouble you."

"It is no trouble. It will be my pleasure."

Foxy was not sure why is Liz smiling so much, but if the man is offering… "Well, then… thank you."

Liz and Mia exchanged knowing glances.

"Are you setting up your father and Foxy?" Max asked only for Liz to hear.

Liz blinked innocently. "I'm not setting up anything. I only pointed out that both of them are single and that if they are having a good time together, Isaac should take initiative to spend more time with her and… be open to the possibilities."

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