364 The conference in Portland 6

'This might be a good thing… Instead of worrying not to mess up my presentation, I am concerned not to fall on my nose…', Liz laughed internally at her predicament but she has no regrets. Max has many ways to make her scream in ecstasy and she cherishes every memory of his gentleness mixed with intensity.

If pleasing a woman is a sport, Max would be the world champion and Liz is confident in this even though Max is the only man who ever touched her intimately. 

Liz is sad that Max had to leave, but he is not one of the participants so there was no point in him lingering and waiting for her to finish in the hallway or in the hotel room. She would not be free until lunchtime anyway.

Max made sure to give her plenty of kisses and wish her good luck before she left the room.

Liz was nearly startled when she reached the lectern that had a laptop with her slides on it... that was a sign that it's happening!

She took a deep breath and raised her gaze. "Good morning, fellow surgeons…"

Liz's gaze swept over the audience as she introduced herself: "My name is Elizabeth Williams, and I am a neurosurgeon at the Franciscan Medical Center in Seattle. It is my honor to…" Liz paused, and her lips stretched into a smile when her eyes fell on Max. He was leaning on the wall, next to the main entry door, and watching her with an encouraging expression and that small smile at the edge of his lips she adores.

Liz cleared her throat, and her eyes didn't leave Max as she continued: "It is my honor to introduce you to the upgrades we did recently to the neurosurgery wing and to share the impact…"

The rest of the presentation went without a hitch. Max told her to imagine her audience wearing silly clothes (brown sacks), but she delivered her presentation to Max only. He was the only important person and others were irrelevant spectators, at least in her mind.

Her talk was eloquent, slides of the presentation on point, her stance was perfect, her hand gestures impeccable, and in her eyes, the whole room was reduced to Max. 

At the end of the presentation, the irrelevant spectators (how Liz saw them) had many questions and Liz answered them until her time ran out, and then she promised to answer all unanswered questions over lunchbreak.

Her smile fell slightly when she didn't see Max standing next to the door anymore. She wondered, did she imagine him? Probably not. But he was there during the presentation and then he left when the questions-answer session started because he has his work as well. She is grateful for the time he gave her, and she will make sure to thank him in the evening, with a lot of kisses. And more than kisses.

Liz went backstage to return to the organizers the microphone that was attached to the lapel of her suit jacket. It was not cold, and Liz could have gone in a pencil skirt and shirt, but she feared that she will sweat due to anxiousness and she decided on a jacket as well. Luckily, the jacket was perfect for attaching the microphone and concealing the recording device at Liz's back.

"Your presentation was good. So far, you got the loudest claps.", the lady said as she detached the microphone from Liz's jacket.

"Thank you."

Liz turned for the lady to detach the device from Liz's back. It took less than two seconds, and Liz was free to return to the event hall where the conference is being held. 

"Thank you...", Liz said to the lady and lifted her gaze.

She blinked, unsure if she is imagining things again. "Max?"

Liz walked toward Max, as if an invisible force is pulling her in his direction.

Max stood in the hallway that connects the event hall and the backstage with his shoulder leaning on the wall. His eyes were locked on Liz and his charming smile could stop the traffic. "You skipped breakfast and I thought that pastries will be better than chips."

Only then Liz noticed a brown paper bag in Max's hand.

Liz rushed those last few steps toward Max and slammed herself into his embrace. "Oh, Max… you think of everything…"

Max touched her chin, lifting her head so that he can see her face. "That is not true. I am thinking only of you."

Liz felt warm and fuzzy on the inside and she melted under his gentle gaze that caressed her face. She got on her toes and kissed him.

Max cupped Liz's cheek with his free hand while the one with the bag circled around Liz's back, and he kissed her softly. Once, twice… and he was not sure if Liz forgot where they are or she didn't care, but he made sure to return all of her kisses, without wasting a single one.

Max and Liz were lost in a world of their own, unaware of the figure that was staring their way from further down the hallway.

Dr. Snow knew that Liz will go backstage after her presentation to return the equipment she was wearing. He headed that way with a goal to congratulate her on a job well done and to offer his praises because last night she mentioned that she is insecure. He also planned to mention that he will share his feedback on her presentation over lunch, with an intention to secure her presence by his side... and he was not ready for the lovey-dovey scene in front of him that made him freeze.

Dr. Snow balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth at the pain of his heart shattering and coming back together only to be shattered again.

He didn't want to watch Liz kissing Max.

Dr. Snow didn't want to see Liz kissing any man other than him, yet he was unable to look away.

Jealousy mixed with anger at Dr. Snow's impotence of doing anything about the heartbreaking scene in front of him, and he cursed himself internally because if he didn't mess up things six months ago, now this would be him holding Elizabeth and that would be the best thing ever.

Max hummed in satisfaction while slowly inching away. He caressed Liz's cheek with the tips of his fingers and she tilted her head into his touch. 

Her dreamy expression told him that she is happy, and Max was delighted to know that it's because of him.

Max's smile reached his eyes when he reminded her: "You are missing on presentations, and I should go to work."

Liz exhaled. "Yeah. We need to go back to reality."

Max chuckled. "Lucky for me, you are my reality."

"And you are mine.", Liz half-whispered. "I will see you tonight."

"As I said… I will be waiting for you." Max handed her the bag with pastries. "Don't forget to eat. You need extra calories." He winked playfully, making Liz blush as she remembered what they did that morning in her hotel room.

Max pecked her lips again and they held hands as they walked down the empty hallway.

In front of the entry to the conference hall, their hands parted, and Max continued down the hallway toward the door that leads to the main entry hall of the hotel. Only when he was out of sight, Liz released the breath she was holding and went to the event hall.

The next presentation ended and the question-answer session was in progress so no one paid attention that Liz returned. No one, other than Dr. Snow.

Now that the stress of the presentation was over, Liz realized that she is hungry. She took a cup of herbal tea from the side-table and sat on her spot, happily snacking on pastries that Max got for her.

With every bite, his words rang in her mind: "I am thinking only of you…", and she was happy.

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