David’s POV
I leaned forward in my chair, lowering my voice like I was sharing a state secret. "I’m telling you, man, that assistant of yours is a fraud. That’s a woman right there, not a man."
Maxwell didn’t even look up from the file he was reviewing. He continued writing down sothing in his note like I hadn’t just dropped a bombshell.
"We should focus on the divorce proceedings," he said, his voice flat and disinterested. "And don’t speak to like we’re bros, Mr. Banks. We’re not. The only reason you’re in my house today is because I’m too weak to go to into the office."
The dismissal stung more than I wanted to admit. I shifted in my seat, confused. Why wasn’t he listening? This was important information - critical, even.
"Maxwell, listen to ," I pressed, trying again. "Oliver - or whatever she’s calling herself - she’s my ex-girlfriend. Her real na is Olivia. I can tell you personal things about her. Things that would prove I’m telling the truth."
Still nothing. Maxwell’s expression remained completely calm, those cold green eyes finally lifting from the docunt to fix on with an intense stare.
The look made uncomfortable, but I pushed through.
"She’s... she’s a little unhinged," I continued, "Impulsive. Does things without thinking. Crazy, really. But above all..." I paused, a smile creeping onto my face as mories flooded back, "...she’s really sweet. Especially in bed."
God, Olivia in bed. The way she’d arch her back when I touched her just right, those little sounds she’d make when...
"I could tell you where so moles are located on her body," I said, feeling excited to share. "Intimate details that only soone who’s been with her would know."
Maxwell’s hand moved to his jaw, rubbing it slowly. "Oh really?"
He said those two words with such cold skepticism that should have warned off. But I was too excited now, too eager to prove my point.
"Yes!" I sat forward. "There’s one on her left breast - just above the nipple. I used to love looking at it when I was..." I paused, the mory making my pants tighten slightly, "...when I was feeding from her breasts. Sucking on them. She’d moan so sweetly."
I could picture it perfectly - Olivia beneath , her head thrown back, my mouth on her soft skin. The taste of her, the feel of her fingers in my hair....
"There’s another one on her navel," I continued, my voice getting huskier. "Right at my direct eye level when I was eating her pussy. I’d kiss it every ti before I..."
"And what exactly is your reason for sharing this information with ?" Maxwell’s voice cut through my words like ice. "Do you want to strip my assistant naked just to find a mole?"
The coldness in his tone finally penetrated my enthusiasm. I blinked, realizing how I must have sounded.
"No, no," I said quickly, "I’m just trying to tell you that you’ve got a sweet girl working right next to you, and you didn’t even know it all this while. I an, if you wanted to..." I let the implication hang in the air, man-to-man.
Maxwell’s expression didn’t change. Not even a flicker of interest or disgust or anything. He just sat there, staring at like I was sothing unpleasant he’d found on the bottom of his shoe.
The silence stretched for a while.
I leaned forward again, lowering my voice. "Didn’t you understand the last ti I was in your office? Even after I revealed the truth to you? She’s been lying to you this whole ti. Deceiving you. Don’t you care?"
Maxwell finally set down his pen, his movent calm and controlled. When he spoke, his voice was quiet but filled with cold authority.
"Oliver is my staff mber," he said, "and a good one at that. Whatever reasons he may have for his choices regarding identity are not my business - as long as he performs his duties competently."
He paused, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made want to look away.
"It would be in your interest to drop this topic of conversation. Imdiately. Otherwise, I won’t be taking your divorce case. Are we clear?"
The threat shocked to my bones. That was the last thing I’d expected him to say. I had thought he’d be raving mad with anger by now. Calling security to co drag Olivia out. Even locking her up. But not this - certainly not this reaction.
Unless...
I leaned back in my chair, a smile spreading across my face as reality started to sink. "So you knew all along? You knew she was a woman and you just... kept her employed?"
"It’s the twenty-first century, David." Maxwell’s tone felt like he was explaining sothing to a very dumb child. "There are cross-dressers everywhere. Gender expression is fluid. Perhaps you should educate yourself."
"But that’s not it in this case," I protested. "Olivia isn’t a cross-dresser. She’s..."
"I’m tired of this conversation," Maxwell cut off, almost slamming his fist against the desk. "We’re here to discuss your divorce. If you can’t focus on that, this eting is over."
Before I could respond, the conference room door opened and Gabriel walked in.
"Everything alright in here?" he asked, his eyes moving between Maxwell and . "Thought I’d check in."
I opened my mouth to say sothing, but Maxwell spoke first.
"We’re fine," he replied. "Just finishing up so preliminary discussions. David was just leaving, actually. Weren’t you, David?"
It wasn’t a question.
I stood up slowly, feeling dismissed and frustrated and completely off-balance. Maxwell had known about Olivia this whole ti - or at least, he wasn’t surprised by my revelation. And instead of being grateful for the information, he’d threatened to drop as a client if I kept talking about it.
What the hell kind of ga was he playing?
"Yes," I said tightly. "I was just leaving. Thank you for taking my case, Maxwell."
"Oliver will be in touch about the retainer agreent and next steps," Maxwell said, already turning his attention back to his docunts like I’d ceased to exist.
Gabriel held the door open for , and I had no choice but to walk through it.
In the hallway, Olivia - Oliver - whatever - was pacing near the window, her face pale and anxious. When she saw erge with Gabriel, her eyes widened.
I wanted to say sothing to her, to warn her that her secret wasn’t as safe as she thought, but Gabriel’s presence prevented it.
Instead, I just nodded at Alex and kept walking.
As I made my way back through the mansion toward the exit, my mind was churning. Maxwell knew. He had to know. But for so reason, he was protecting Olivia. Keeping her employed despite the deception.
Why?
What was his angle? What did he gain from keeping a woman disguised as a man on his staff?
Unless...
No. That couldn’t be it.
Could it?
I shook my head as I climbed into my car. Poor Olivia. She had no idea what kind of man Maxwell Wellington really was.
Well, that serves her right for rejecting my offer.
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