Windows Tinted

Inside a red magma Maserati GT, two shadows were intertwined. MIB2 glanced at MIB1 who was seated behind the wheel and asked, "Do you see what I see?" MIB1 grunted at the vagueness of his partner's question and didn't dare to make a comment. MIB1 knew the double-meaning behind that question and his silence made MIB2 chuckle in his seat. "Geez. Loosen up, bro! I am just saying that million-dollar baby needs to get its windows tinted." MIB1 shushed his partner, his big palm covered MIB2's mouth, when the two shadows inside the car before them pulled apart.

Inside Maxen's car, he wrapped his hand around Olivia's wrist as she wiped the red lipstick smudge on his lips.

"Fiction," Olivia answered.

"Unfortunately, that's a fact and you know it too."

"You see, the thing about facts are they didn't tell the truth, Max. They are only a piece of the puzzle. Get your facts straight next time because what happened twenty-five years ago was an accident and definitely not related to the Pyxis. Might be one of Henry Lin's ploy for all we know. Game over, Max. Let's go," Olivia rebutted, pulling away Maxen's finger that was caressing the skin under the strap of her tank top.

She rolled her eyes and lightly shook her head at how busy his hands were, holding everything it could, in their brief proximity. Maxen flashed a smug smile, feeling every bit like a lottery winner, even when his game was cut short. He took a sharp inhale and unbuckled his seatbelt before alighting the car, rounding up to the other side to pull the door open for Olivia who shivered in her spot when the island's night wind blew past.

"Welcome to Nisia, where the mornings are summer and the evenings are fall," Maxen whispered in Olivia's ears and pulled his suit jacket from her grasp, covering her with it. The suit jacket that was twice her size covered her petite frame. "And thank you for my suit jacket to keep you warm tonight," Maxen smirked, annoying Olivia to the core. "After you," Maxen gestured towards the building, his hand hovered at the small of Olivia's back.

Upon entering the building, Olivia peeled the jacket off her and gave it back to Maxen. "Thanks," she said while her eyes wandered around the place. Her brows furrowed as she could hear nothing from the outside, even when she saw a plane which just took off.

The building's superintendent rushed to their side upon seeing Maxen. He welcomed them with a brilliant smile on his face and shook hands with the pair. He toured them around the building and did all the talking, from the square foot of the building, to the number of offices and bathrooms, plus the cafeteria on the second floor.

Maxen had a smug look on his face the entire time as he waited for Olivia to find anything to trash talk about the place yet she found none. After they checked the entire vicinity with, Olivia finally asked the question that bugged her mind.

"How much is the lease?"

The superintendent jerked in his spot when his eyes met Maxen's. He was told this morning that the prince would come in for an ocular inspection, but was not told that His Highness's private hangar would be put up on a lease. "Uhh… uhhh…" the superintendent stammered, sending codes through his eyes to Maxen who suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

"Do you like the place? Does it pass your standards?" Maxen asked.

"Just one more box to tick off."

"The price."

Olivia nodded to his words. She knew this place would come in a hefty price tag what with how it was built for a very special purpose: the security system is top notch, soundproofed windows providing a noise-free environment which cancelled out the air traffic noise outside, and it has its own hangar too that could cater up to three private jets. She could not help but feel as if the place was built for her.

"It's cheap. $50K a month, all-inclusive: maintenance, tax, the works," Maxen casually replied, his hands dipped inside his pants pocket. His statement earned him a raised brow, both from Olivia and the superintendent.

Who was Maxen kidding anyway? Why would the lease of a building be priced lower than her penthouse suite? But what shocked the superintendent the most was Olivia's counteroffer.

"I'll take it for $45K/month. It's a bit far out from the city, don't you think? How much is the square foot value of this property?" Olivia shamelessly countered. She had an inkling that this property belonged to Maxen after hearing that bargain-priced lease. Why not milk him out of it and save her thousands of dollars? If she could be thick-faced enough, she could just ask for the place for free, but she won't because she may be a miser but she's definitely not a freeloader.

"You heard that," Maxen faced the superintendent and wiggled his brows.

"Yes, your High Highness. I will let the owner know," the superintendent clipped his chin in affirmation to Maxen's order.

"Come on, Max. Don't make it hard for him. We all know this place is yours," Olivia called him out on his pretenses which made Maxen chuckle that his shoulders shook and his eyes formed like a crescent moon. The superintendent marvelled in awe at how carefree the prince looked like and subconsciously mirrored the same expression. "You heard her. Go draft the contract for Ms. Olivia Lin," Maxen ordered and the superintendent was out of sight in a beat.

Maxen leaned forward to tease Olivia and whispered in her ears, "It's not under my name though." Olivia's ear perked at Maxen's bold statement, a corner of her mouth tugged up. Maxen knew if there's one thing that excites her, it's knowing secrets that people like him hide.

"Sooo…" she dragged the last syllable in her most sexy and confident voice while her finger flirted under Maxen's collar, stiffening him in his spot. "Besides the one in the contract, what other aliases does His Highness go by?"

Caught off guard with her reaction, Maxen grabbed the naughty little finger that was toying with the emotions in his heart and down under his pants. He decided to play along as he saw the glint of deviousness in Olivia's eyes. So he yanked her closer to him, and Olivia naturally wrapped her arms around his neck. Olivia gasped when she felt something hard poked her belly so she stayed still as Maxen's hot breath tickled her ears. For a moment, she felt her head buzzing as the strong scent of his cologne assaulted her nose. She closed her eyes to focus on what he was saying, but she was so distracted that she forced herself to pull away from him.

"Wha… what were you saying?" she asked, catching her suspended breath. She sent an evil glare towards Maxen who was annoyingly smug that she wanted to crumple his face.

"I said, only my wife could know."