Chapter 427: Maxwell can only handle a few words
Luis and the reporter came knocking only a few minutes later. Luis because she was worried about the boys, and the reporter because she was probably worried about them, but also to confirm the status of the interview.
They had barely touched any of the issues that she wanted to after Andrew had said his piece, and that was something for her to be concerned about. She made it clear that she was okay to stop, she just wanted to know if they needed to keep everything set up, or if they should start taking it all down.
Maxwell was on the ’take it all down’ side, Luis was in agreement, and Andrew? He wasn’t sure. He needed a minute to decide what he wanted to do. He needed a last little push, and that came in Jenny.
She came into the room, having missed pretty much the whole thing, but had been kept in the loop by Luis. She was pale, her eyes wide, and she checked on Andrew first. Her demeanor, added to Maxwell and Luis being in the room with him, made Andrew feel safe enough to continue with the interview.
Maxwell sat down with Luis and was very much like a stage Mom as he stared a hole into the reporter’s head. Just witnessing him being so focused and concerned for Andrew made it 10 times easier for Andrew to continue.
The reporter stuck to her word and only asked Andrew questions based on what they had spoken of, his father, and his relationship with Maxwell. Andrew gushed about the man, even more so because he was in the room with him.
Andrew could watch in real time as Maxwell got more and more antsy as Andrew waxed poetic about the man that he loved. He could tell that he was going to get an earful, or a closet visit once he finished the interview. Maxwell had started sitting straight, legs crossed, hands on his knees. Very proper, and a mirror image of his Mom next to him.
As Andrew continued to brag about him, his ears flushed, his face flushed, and he slowly sank down in his seat until he couldn’t take it anymore. Andrew watched as Maxwell fled the room at one point, and there was no way that Andrew could stop the purely male smile that crossed his face.
The reporter had her back to the whole scene, so she had no idea what Andrew was seeing. When she looked in the direction of where Andrew was looking, she was able to watch Maxwell’s back as he closed the door behind him. She then looked back at Andrew, confused.
"Is Mr. Beckett alright?" She asked him, on camera, and Andrew chuckled. He couldn’t hide his smile as he watched Maxwell rush past the glass looking into the conference room that had been turned into an interview room.
"He’s just embarrassed. He normally is able to shut me up when I’m talking about what a sweet and kind man he is, but he can’t right now. I’m going to pay for that later." Andrew told her and she blinked, before a slow smile touched her lips.
"You don’t sound that upset about that, Dr. Knox." She said slowly and Andrew grinned, shaking his head.
"Oh, I’m just quivering in my boots." Andrew told her, and then they both laughed. The interview didn’t go on for much longer, Kim slipping in just as they were wrapping everything up.
The reporter made sure to speak to Andrew, Luis, and Kim about if Andrew ever needed help breaking the story, she would love to be a part of it. The reason she didn’t speak to Maxwell was because he was still outside of the room, refusing to come in after Andrew’s ’embarrassing display of affection’.
It felt like a win to Andrew. He’d made Maxwell so aware of his affection that he needed to flee the room.
Either way, she made her intentions clear, and Kim was the one who said that they would consider it. Not giving her a straight answer, and the reporter took it in stride. She nodded, accepting the words at face value, and then helped her team and the other reporters with her break down the equipment they had for the interview.
Andrew, Luis, and Kim left the room. Andrew was scanning the area, looking for Maxwell, but he was easy to find. He had parked himself at Jenny’s desk, taking it over as he worked away on his phone. Jenny didn’t seem to mind, watching over him like she would any of her kids.
In fairness, Maxwell did look like a disgruntled teen, his expression harsh as he tapped away on his phone screen. Almost as soon as he saw Andrew, he pulled the phone up to his ear and got up. Andrew thought he was faking a phone call until he began speaking rapidly to Mr. Newman.
Jenny shook her head, affection in her gaze as her eyes followed Maxwell, before her gaze turned to Andrew and it remained the same.
"How are you feeling? Did it go well?" She asked and Kim and Luis nodded.
"I think we’ll see the results soon. They were saying it wasn’t going to take them long to put the piece together. She might even have a rough version of it ready tonight. She’ll keep me updated." Kim told her wife, and Jenny nodded as she ushered the group into Kim’s office. Luis started working on getting her mess cleaned up, which surprised Andrew slightly.
He had thought that she would have already had this cleaned up, but he guessed he was wrong. She must have prioritized getting Andrew ready for the interview over ordering her staff to clean up.
They weren’t even around anymore.
Thankfully, everything was mostly packed up. Wrapped up, organised. It was just the last finishing touches that she needed to do, along with calling someone to pick it up.
Kim and Jenny made sure that Andrew was sitting down on one of the couches while Luis puttered about, phone in hand as she messaged her team of people to come clean up. Andrew felt like a pampered man,
Jenny made sure he had tea in his hand, and Kim somehow found a blanket and draped it around his shoulders. They were behaving as if he had gone through a great hardship, but all Andrew had done was do an interview.
Eventually, Luis was done with her work, and Andrew was getting...upset. Maxwell still wasn’t back, and at this point, he knew that he had to do something about it. He knew that he was the one who had upset him by talking about how cute and sweet of a man he was, but this was a bit ridiculous.
Andrew carefully took off the blanket on his shoulders, resting it on the back of the couch that he had been sitting on, and Kim opened her mouth. She was about to ask where he was going, when a look crossed her face. As if she understood something suddenly.
"Do you need help?" She asked instead, and Andrew shook his head. Luis sat down next to Jenny, a small smile on her face. She didn’t say anything as Andrew left the room, able to tell where Maxwell was by scent alone.
He found him in a smaller conference room, only big enough to fit a table for six people inside. Andrew opened the door, watching Maxwell. The man was on the phone with Mr. Newman still, speaking to him urgently, but when he saw Andrew, his demeanor shifted.
His back straightened, and something flashed in his eyes before they grew calculating. Andrew closed the door behind him carefully so that he didn’t interrupt the phone call, but it was Maxwell who ended it rather quickly.
Andrew wanted to speak to him, ask him if he was okay, but Maxwell wouldn’t let him get there. As soon as the phone call was done, Maxwell reached for the blinds to the windows, closing them with a quick jerk before he flung himself at Andrew.
Andrew caught him, obviously. He wasn’t the kind of man who would let his fiancé fall if he’d thrown himself into a sudden trust fall situation. Maxwell didn’t hesitate in wrapping his legs around the taller man, his hands slamming down on his shoulders as he clung to the man. Andrew didn’t know what was happening until Maxwell’s lips smashed into his own.
The man was vibrating, his body screaming that he wanted more. Deeper. Andrew, with quiet shock, let the man get what he wanted. He found his head angled, devoured, as Maxwell situated himself on Andrew, against Andrew, until he felt secure. Andrew helped by putting Maxwell’s ass on the table, shoving a few chairs out of the way to do so.
"You demon." Maxwell accused once he came up for air. "How could you do that to me? My image I’ve cultivated for years. Ruined." Andrew, at first, was worried about the words that Maxwell spoke. Like he had actually done something wrong. It was the glint in his eyes and the way that he was kissing his neck that told Andrew that he wasn’t mad in the slightest.
"It can’t fall that easily." Andrew told him in between kisses and felt the way that Maxwell smiled against his lips.
"If they use even half of the stuff you said, I’m never going to recover my image." Maxwell told him and Andrew huffed.
"I’m not apologising." Andrew told him and Maxwell let out a laugh.
"You aren’t?" He asked and Andrew nodded.
"Absolutely not." He told the smaller man and Maxwell’s grip on his shoulders tightened, his legs also squeezing his waist.
"Are you sure about that?" Maxwell asked and Andrew swallowed. He was certain. 100%. He had a feeling he was going to like what was about to happen, given the glint in Maxwell’s eyes.
"Should I lock the door?" Andrew asked and Maxwell laughed.
"Getting hopeful, are you? What if I decide to just...punish you?" Maxwell asked and Andrew gulped.
"I...would gladly take it, but I’m not apologising for saying what’s true." Andrew doubled down and watched Maxwell’s face set into pure glee.
"You are a bad boy." Maxwell muttered before his lips crashed into Andrew’s again.