400 Weekend in Sin City 16

As the party progressed, guests approached Quentin and Brianna with questions related to the marriage and to congratulate them.

"I didn't know you are married…", a woman in her mid-thirties said to Quentin, unable to hide her disappointment. She is a designer that goes by the name Bonnie.

Quentin smiled and tightened his hold on Brianna. "The married part is recent, but Bri is the only one in my eyes since the day we met and to be honest, I don't remember how I managed to live without her by my side."

Bonnie smirked. "Love at first sight?"

Quentin glanced at Brianna. "I would be a fool if I failed to recognize right away the only woman for me."

"Oh… well, congratulations.", Bonnie said to both Quentin and Brianna with a forced smile and walked away.

Brianna exhaled loudly and Quentin had enough of these fake congratulations. No one is genuinely happy for them, they only want to probe the situation and maybe get some gossip.

Quentin pulled Brianna toward him and they started dancing.

"How are you holding?", Quentin asked Brianna.

Brianna rolled her eyes. "This is not a wedding reception, no one is forcing them to come and pretend to be happy for us."

Quentin pursed his lips. "You know how people are. Selfish. Greedy. Jealous. They see everything through their personal lens and if they are not benefiting from the current situation, they will either ignore it or dislike it. But they feel obligated to exchange pleasantries because they want to maintain a good relationship with Reynolds Media, especially now that we are expanding."

Quentin gazed into Brianna's eyes and smiled. "You know... I am no different than anyone else. You are the only one in my eyes and I don't care about others. If they drown in jealousy, that is their problem. Most of these people either work for me or are my business partners. And from tonight, they know that you are the boss as well. If anyone shows disrespect, fire them, or break the contract. We can always find someone else to fill that spot. The only one irreplaceable is you, my love."

Brianna smiled. "Thank you, Q."

"No, no… Thank you for agreeing to be Mrs. Quentin Reynolds. Ah, that has a good ring to it.", Quentin chuckled and made Brianna twirl before pulling her toward him until their bodies stuck to each other.

"Let me know when you want us to leave…", Quentin murmured close to her ear.

"You are the host of this party if I understood it correctly. You can't leave early."

"I don't think you heard me well, Bri…", Quentin half-growled while the intensity of his hold on her increased. "The only one that matters is you. So, let me ask you again… Do you want us to leave now?"

"Yes…", Brianna whispered. "But the hotel is too far away."

Quentin's lips lifted into a smirk. "I know something closer."

"Take me there."

Quentin gave a small nod. "Come."

"Oh, I will…", Brianna said cheekily, making Quentin burst into a laugh as the two of them made their way toward the backstage.

There is a number of rooms in the back and Quentin was sure that they will find at least one empty, considering that everyone was attending the party.

Max and Liz danced, and Liz was lost in their bubble which isolated them from the rest of the world.

It was only Liz and Max, holding each other and swaying slowly at the beat of their own music while disappearing in each other's eyes. Their smiles were matching and both of them suppressed their urge to kiss, out of fear that it will be impossible to stop.

"Max!", a female voice burst their magical bubble and made both Max and Liz frown for a second.

Max looked at the woman in her late twenties whose tight dress accentuated her curves while revealing plenty of cleavage that spoke: she is ready to party.

The woman smiled at Max and ignored Liz while Max looked at the woman blankly. With his torturously good memory, Max immediately recognized the woman as one of his previous hookups, but he could not believe that she approached him openly like this, interrupting his obviously lovey-dovey moment with Liz. Is she tired of living?

"Jenny…", she said while gesturing to herself and gave him a suggestive look. "Don't tell me you forgot. Two years ago, party at the Haller Lake."

"Jenny…", Max repeated robotically. "What brings you here?"

Jenny grinned happily. "I have business deals with Reynolds Publishing. Or should I call it Reynolds Media? Anyway, I didn't think you would be here. It's a surprise. A pleasant one."

"I'm sure it is.", Max said and glanced at Liz. "This is Elizabeth, my girlfriend."

Jenny's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and she eyed Liz. "I heard that you settled down, but it's difficult to believe that a man like you can be satisfied with only one woman by his side."

Max's eyes narrowed in anger, but his voice was calm. "You said that we are going a long way back; if that is true, then you should also know how many women I introduced as my girlfriend. Now, did you come here with some purpose, or only to cause a rift in my relationship with your poisonous remarks?"

Jenny opened her mouth to respond, but Liz was faster.

"Don't worry about me, Max.", Liz said with a big smile while hugging Max tightly. "If shameless women can cause a rift between us, we would not reach this far. After all, you are handsome, rich, and your endless libido is providing me with multiple orgasms every night. I would be a fool to step down so that women like Jenny can put their paws on you."

Max was surprised at Liz's words, and proud as well. Jenny's shocked expression was priceless.

"How can you call me shameless, yet you talk so openly about having sex with him?", Jenny uttered in disbelief at Liz.

Liz giggled. "I spoke about his good looks and loads of money also, don't act like that is not important. I called you shameless because you are coveting my boyfriend and flirting with him like I'm not here. Feel free to call me names, I don't mind because the only thing that matters is that Max doesn't give a shit about you while he introduces me as his girlfriend. His ONLY girlfriend." Liz ended smugly.

Liz grinned at statue-like Jenny and then looked at Max. "Honey, can we go and get some air? Something smells here…"

"Absolutely, love…", Max said dotingly and led the way outside without letting go of Liz.

Max and Liz stepped out on the terrace where about a dozen people were standing in groups of twos and threes. The music was heard, but it was much quieter than inside, so people could talk without raising their voices at each other or getting too close.

Max and Liz went to a corner away from others, and Max pulled Liz into his embrace.

"I'm sorry about that, Liz."

"Don't be sorry. It was not pleasant, but I know it's not your fault.", Liz said, and she observed Max's troubled expression behind the crooked smile. "It's OK. Really. When I accepted you as my boyfriend, I knew that something like this might happen. That woman is not the first one to have her eyes on you, and she will not be last. As long as you stay by my side, I will have the confidence to shoo away any despicable woman."

Max was moved to hear that Liz is ready to fight for them. He cleaned up a lot from his past, but it seems that there are things falling through the cracks. He felt guilty because Liz needed to handle these situations. "Maybe I should organize a party and announce our relationship to the world. What do you think about it?"

Liz didn't see the point and she rejected the idea. "People who are important to us already know that we are together. As for others… Shameless women will be shameless regardless if you are single or taken, and they will not stop even if we are married."

"Would you like that?", the question came out of Max before he was able to stop his mouth from opening.

Liz didn't get it. "Would I like, what?"

"For us, to get married."

Max regrated his words when he saw Liz's eyes widening in shock. But he dropped the bomb and the only thing he could do was to brace himself while waiting for the explosion.

Liz blinked. Is he proposing? Shouldn't that happen with flowers and him getting down on his knee? And let us not forget about a ring! Even if he does not have any of those, the minimum requirement is a straightforward question like: 'Will you marry me?'

What is with this vague question?

She can say, 'yes, I would love to marry you…', but he didn't ask properly. And if he says, 'no way', then she will hurt his feelings.

This was not about if she wants to get married or not, but about him putting her in an ambiguous situation. How is she supposed to respond?

"Are you serious?"

Max realized his blunder. This can go wrong on so many levels! Think Max, think! But Liz was glaring at him intently and his brain refused to come up with anything useful.

"Uhm… I was just wondering what are your thoughts on that topic. You… married… to me…"

"Max, you know that I love you but…", Liz paused, and Max felt his stomach dropping at that ominous 'BUT' which came out of Liz's mouth. Is she going to break up with him? He held his breath and waited for Liz to continue talking.

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