Chapter 5

Max paced back and forth while waiting to board the plane. Four friends watched him, starting to get nervous.

"What are you going to do?" Alex asked, absentmindedly biting his thumbnail while keeping his eyes on Max, who continued walking.

"I don't know. Coming to Hawaii to pretend I know nothing, I think it was a mistake. I should be there and confront them," Gus replied, shaking his head.

"Don't tell me coming and getting out of the hell you were in was a mistake. We're your friends, and at least you had some fun, right?" Max stopped walking and smiled weakly, looking at his four friends: Gustavo and Alejandro, both Americans, Viktor and Sasha, Germans who came to work with him from Berlin.

"Of course, he's had fun shamelessly!" They all burst into laughter, seeing their friend blush and give himself away.

"Shut up, you jerk," they laughed even louder in that private boarding lounge.

"I want to know," said the tall, well-built, elegant man, crossing one leg over his knee and leaning back in his chair. "Has it been so intense that you got lost in those thighs all night and part of the morning?" Max wasn't one to share his personal affairs, and the worst part was that they knew it. His only girlfriend, who had become his fiancée, was currently in New York and part of his father's legal team.

"I've never done this. You know that," they all nodded slowly, wiping the mockery off their faces.

"But it's been done to you, hasn't it? And we don't know for how long. That vile bastard did it to you, and we all hope he gets his karma. And, of course, that you help him," they all remembered that Horacio, another friend of the group who still didn't know he was an ex-friend, was sleeping with Max's fiancée right under his nose. Max had been disappointed by their betrayal. They thought they were covering up their affair perfectly, but Max had discovered them and had gone along with the wedding plans as if nothing had happened, just to teach them a lesson they would never forget. Max despised infidelity; his mother had done it to his father, and he had always believed that being unfaithful was not something a man should do. He believed that when you love someone, it can cause a lot of pain, and even though he loved his fiancée, he would never forgive her for anything in the world.

"Let it out," Alejandro said curiously, along with the others.

"I'll just say this: a true lioness," Max replied, impressing everyone with his response. They then started clapping excitedly and amusedly, but their moment was cut short by the voice over the loudspeaker announcing that it was time to board. "Now, let's head to New York," Max announced, grabbing his briefcase.

***The flight hours to the city of New York went by quickly. Max had constantly replayed the images from the previous night and this morning in his mind, but they would fade away when he remembered that she was married, and it was her honeymoon. “Relax, it was just casual sex,” he felt annoyed and disappointed in himself. He had been the man used for infidelity. Well, maybe the husband was aware of it, but then he shook his head. He had to focus on the merger scheduled for Monday morning and still had to prepare for the meeting alongside his father. This merger was important for the family, but even more so for his father, as he would finally retire from business and end on a high note. Max would become the main figure in everything his father left behind. Though it was a lot of pressure and responsibility, he would take it on. But without a wife by his side as planned. And he didn't know it.

During the journey from the airport to the hotel where his father was temporarily staying, he pondered his next steps to achieve what he had set out to do. A bellhop carried his suitcase, and they headed towards the elevator. Before entering, he turned to his four friends.

"In the bar at nine?" They all nodded, tired from the journey and the late nights they had during their week in Hawaii. Max entered the elevator, and as the doors closed in front of him, he closed his eyes and sighed. "Let this end quickly," he silently pleaded with himself. Upon reaching the suite, he dropped off his things and then went to find his father. It was past two in the afternoon, so he assumed his father would be at lunch. He sent a message to his father's assistant to find out his whereabouts. "Restaurant," came the response. Max smiled, realizing that some habits die hard. He made his way to the restaurant and found his father at a private table with the best view of the city.

"Finally, you're here, son," his father showed excitement upon seeing him. He greeted him and sat down in the chair across from him at the table. "How was the bachelor party?" his father asked, quite curious, taking a bite of his steak. Max signaled the waiter, ordered the same thing as his father, and then watched him eat, waiting for his turn to respond.

"It was good, fun," Max said, avoiding eye contact as he looked out at the landscape. He then let out a long sigh.

"That's an unusual sigh coming from you. What's on your mind?" Max wanted to tell him that there wouldn't be a wedding, but it would have to wait for another time. He returned his gaze to his father.

"Nothing is bothering me, it's just that I'm tired and jet-lagged from the trip. But enough about me," he paused. "Are you ready for the new merger?"

His father finished eating and took a sip of his wine, then wiped his lips with the cloth napkin.

"I'm finally at ease. I'll close this final deal, and everything will be in your hands. I hope you follow in my footsteps while I can still be of service to you."

"Don't start with the topic of death and all that. You're healthy, your latest tests came back stable, we just need to cut

 down on the meat," Max's father snorted.

"Never. I love meat," he smiled at his response.

"Well, suit yourself," his father smiled back.

"My other guest has arrived," Max's father said, looking beyond him. Max turned his head over his shoulder to see who he was referring to, and there she was, elegantly walking towards their table: Irina, his current and unfaithful fiancée.