Chapter 11

Malcolm burst into laughter. "I've never heard a woman use such a wildly inventive reason to turn me down before." Abigail grinned. "Well then, should I feel honored?" "The more you act like this, the more I'm drawn to you." Malcolm admitted playfully. "And the more you act like that, the more repulsed I am." Abigail's grin vanished as she replied with a serious tone, "Mr. Cobain, I have zero interest in you, now or ever. Don't waste your energy on me." Malcolm found her candidness amusing. "Abigail, you really remind me of your boss, Mr. Zane. You both reject people without any regard for their feelings, leaving them absolutely mortified." Abigail shot back. "But I don't see Mr. Cobain losing face at all." Malcolm was speechless. 'Dang! I lost a verbal battle to a woman.' "Why are you hiding here chatting with my assistant instead of attending to your guests as the host?" Xander's rich voice suddenly sounded behind them. Abigail turned around and saw him standing a few steps away. She did not know how long he had been there or how much of their conversation he had heard. Her feisty demeanor vanished instantly, and she obediently walked to his side. "Mr. Zane." Seeing Abigail become compliant, Malcolm found the situation even more fascinating. "Xander, your assistant is always picking on me. You should do something about it." "Did you pick on Mr. Cobain?" Xander asked with a barely concealed smile. "No, I didn't." Abigail shook her head vigorously. "I wouldn't dare to mess with Mr. Cobain on his own turf." Malcolm loved stirring the pot. "Xander, who do you believe, her or me?" "Tonight, you're the host, and she's the guest," Xander didn't directly take sides, but the implication was clear: even if Abigail teased Malcolm, as the host, he had to bear it. Malcolm clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Xander, you've changed. You're putting romance before friendship now." "Xander would do that?" Max joined the conversation, holding a glass of wine. When he saw Abigail, his eyes darkened. "Why are you here?" Abigail thought to herself, 'I didn't provoke this guy, but every time we meet, he's never friendly. People might think I insulted his ancestors in a past life.' Xander raised an eyebrow. "Do I need your permission to bring someone?" Max laughed awkwardly. "Xander, I didn't mean it like that." Malcolm quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Now that you're here, Max, let's all have a drink." "Mr. Zane, you can't drink tonight." Abigail remembered Dr. Sander's warning to keep an eye on Xander and not let him touch alcohol after he stopped taking his medication. Malcolm clicked his tongue again. "Xander, your assistant is as controlling as a wife." Abigail glared at him. "Mr. Cobain, if you don't talk nonsense, nobody will mistake you for a mute." Malcolm complained. "Xander, look, she's picking on me again." Xander suggested, saying, "I'm not in the mood for drinking tonight. Let's do something else." Abigail finally relaxed upon hearing this. "Dancing? Poker? Or something more thrilling?" Malcolm proposed. Xander was not interested in any of those, but since it was Mr. and Mrs. Cobain Sr.'s golden anniversary, he could not leave too early. He settled for a compromise. "Let's play poker." "Great idea." Malcolm agreed. "We have the perfect number for a game, four players." The four of them left the bustling banquet hall and made their way to the game room, eager for some excitement. Abigail knew the basics of poker, but she was far from an expert, which often resulted in her losing. Felix and Melody constantly teased her, joking that if she only used a fraction of her intelligence on playing cards, she would not look like a rookie every time. Malcolm, always up for a challenge, was particularly interested in the stakes. "How much do you want to play for tonight?" Abigail had seen wealthy people play cards before and knew that some could lose enough money to buy a house in a single night. She could not afford that, as she still had not saved up enough for a down payment. "Mr. Zane, I'd rather not play. Can't you find someone else?" Malcolm quickly shot back. "Xander, you can't keep indulging her like this. Otherwise, she'll end up walking all over you." Xander stayed silent, and Abigail knew she had no choice but to join the game. Max kept casting glances at her and suggested, "Let's play Truth or Dare tonight." Malcolm chimed in with enthusiasm, "I'm in. What about you, Xander?" Xander glanced at Abigail, who nodded eagerly. "As long as we're not playing for money, I'm up for anything," she said. Malcolm laughed at her response. "So, you didn't want to play because you were afraid of losing money? Just look at the three of us. Who cares about winning your pocket change?" Abigail thought to herself, 'I know you all are loaded, but do you really need to rub it in?' The card game began, with dealer Malcolm playing the first hand. Abigail followed suit and played a card, only to hear Max triumphantly declare, "Four of a Kind." Abigail sighed. "Max, can't you go easy on her for once?" Malcolm teased. Max glanced at Abigail and replied, "I don't see Ms. Renee as a delicate girl. She's Xander's competent assistant; she doesn't need our pity." While Max's words were technically correct, he deliberately emphasized "Xander's assistant," as if to remind Abigail of her status. Abigail had never felt inferior because of her position, so she stayed silent and continued to play. After several rounds, Abigail still had not won a hand. Max finally won, capitalizing on her mistake. Malcolm looked at Abigail with a sly grin. "Truth or Dare?" "Truth," Abigail replied. "Was what you told me earlier true, or just an excuse to turn me down?" Malcolm asked. "It's true," Abigail answered. Max interjected. "I'm the winner; I should be the one asking. Ms. Renee, regarding you and Xan—" Malcolm interrupted him. "Max, I already asked. If you want to ask something, win the next round and ask her then." They continued to the next hand, with Abigail not feeling the underlying tensions at the table. The round was almost over when someone finally won. This time, Xander emerged victorious, with Max losing. Max chuckled reluctantly. "Xander, why did you have to win against me?" Ignoring Max's question, Xander asked, "So, Truth or Dare?" Max replied with a hint of defiance, "Truth." Malcolm was just about to fire off a question to Max when he caught Xander's cautionary glance. He quickly turned to Abigail. "Ms. Renee, your turn to ask." Not one to hold back, Abigail jumped in. "Mr. Guzman, we've never met before, so why do you seem to have it out for a lowly assistant like me?" Max's face flushed with embarrassment, clearly not expecting her to be so direct. "Ms. Renee, why do you have such a misunderstanding about me?" Max dodged the question and Abigail did not really expect an answer. Anyway, she was just reminding him that she was only a humble assistant, and no threat to him. There was no reason for him to be so hostile. The game went on, and Xander clinched another win. This time, Malcolm was the one to lose. Surprisingly, he opted for Truth without hesitation. "Ask me any secret you want to know, and I'll spill the beans." Neither Xander nor Max showed interest in Malcolm's truth, so they looked at Abigail. Abigail gleefully took on the task. "Mr. Cobain, rumor has it you're dating the entertainment world's sweetheart, Christina Martinez. Is there any truth to that?" Abigail was mainly curious because Christina was Felix's favorite actress. Malcolm smirked. "Well, I just rolled out of her bed this morning. You tell me." Abigail thought, 'Did he really need to be that explicit? Christina's studio issued a statement earlier this evening, threatening to sue those spreading rumors. So much for trusting celebrity press releases.' Malcolm teased. "Are you asking because deep down, you've got a thing for me?" Abigail just chuckled. "Ha, not in a million years." Following that, Xander continued his winning streak, and Abigail enjoyed asking more gossip-related questions. Xander glanced at her, puzzled by what she found so amusing. Malcolm grumbled. "One more round. There's no way Xander's luck is that good, beating me every single time." Xander adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and replied coolly, "As long as I don't want to lose, no one can beat me." Malcolm scoffed. "You've lost before, so quit showing off." In the next few rounds, Xander proved to Malcolm that if he did not want to lose, no one stood a chance against him. Abigail could not help but gaze at Xander in awe. 'This man isn't just a man; he's a god!' Malcolm, unable to contain his frustration any longer, decided to bend the rules. "I don't care, Xander. Even though you've won, you still have to answer one of my questions to soothe my bruised ego." Not waiting for Xander's agreement, he pushed on. "Spill the beans, what's the real deal between you and your wife?"