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"I’m sorry," Maximus said quickly He reached out and placed his hand on ave it a quick squeeze "I didn’t ht?"

"I’m fine," I squeaked and tried to act more co to worry about, though

Anyway, Maxiain and leaned back in his chair "I forget that this is all new to you"

I must have shown my confusion on my brow because he continued, "I ht Jimmy or Dex would have told you"

At the rew cold as stone

Ji about Maximus and Portland back at the Christmas party in Dece the snot out of Dex’s girlfriend Jenn, that it hadn’t real y sunk in

"It must have slipped my mind," I said somewhat truthful y

He scratched his cheek, his stubblea scratchy sound "No worries But here I a if I should look you up Then Jiave you the push?"

What did Jimmy have to do with Maximus anyway? It had struckDex and I about him

"You real y have been out of the loop, haven’t you darlin’?"

I wasn’t a fan of the word darling, but it sounded oh-so char out of histo Jimmy, you knohat happened"

He nodded with sympathy "Yes, I do I heard That’s partly why I’m here"

"Here, in Portland?"

"No I was always planning onhere, or at least the Pacific Northwest, anyway But I got in touch with Ji if there was any work for o to the same school, remember well , Jimmy wasn’t too sure about me and my ways, I could tel

But then a position became…available"

I looked at him sharply "What position?"

"We want you back on the show"

Whoa

"Show…," I stammered "Experiment in Terror?"

"Yes ma’am," he said, and leaned forward across the table He smel ed like cinnamon

"I quit the show" Boy, did I ever, in the world’sscene

"We know But the reason you quit wasn’t because of the show itself It was because of who the caht of Dex

"I reckon I’ inquisitively into mine Man, I kneas so easy to read

"Wel , yes But that’s not the whole thing"

"So you wouldn’t come back on the show if there was another cameraman?"

"No," I blurted out I didn’t even think about it but that’s what my first reaction was No way, no how Dex or no Dex, I was done with that whole thing It was life-threatening, unpredictable and an unreliable way to hosts didn’t get me first, and, to be honest, I didn’t want to be in any situation that would haveDex ith me

He cocked his head "You sure about that?"

OK So I wasn’t I looked down atful of milk, then up at the counter where Shay and Ash were busy

I was probably pushing it by continuing to talk to Maxiet back to work," I said, getting toaround towith someone over a foot tal er than me, wrapped in very firainst his hard chest

"I’m real y sorry about what happened," he said into the top ofbut he held me there

Final y he released me and my cheeks went hot from the unexpected intimacy

"Don’t worry about it," I said shyly, stepping back and avoiding his eyes

"You don’t have to answer me now, you know You can think about it There’s so on the side, so it’s not a huge rush We just think it would be a great thing, for all of us"

"I’l think about it," I told hiawking at me

I took a step toward them and was about to tel Maxirabbed my arm He pul ed me back to him His boldness surprised me

"That’s not the only reason I’e I saw his cheeks flush the same color as his hair

He dropped his arm from mine and reached into the front pocket on his shirt He snapped it open, pul ed out a cream-colored business card and held it out for me

I took it from him as he handed me a pen from the other pocket

"Could you write down your nuht Yes" I wrote it down on the back and gave it back to hi to cal you now," he said simply "Wil you answer?"