p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maya's stomach grumbled away, filling the office with the despair-imbued cries of a lonely, empty gut. As if on cue, as soon as the sound died out, Maya herself lifted her head from the couch to holler, "Nick... I'm hungry!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You don't have to shout, you know," Phoenix looked up from the papers in front of him to eye her for a minute. She made a face as soon as their gazes met, something between a grimace and a pout. "Besides," he continued, going back to his work, "I told you I'd take you out when I'm done. Not that it's been that long since you ate."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, but I'm hungry now. Real hungry." When that plea was met with absolute silence, she finally felt the need to bring out her strongest weapon: the puppy eyes. Mustering a whiny voice, she called to him yet again, "Niiiiiiiiick."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix sighed, lifting a hand to his temples, "Hey, why don't you go choose a movie to watch when we get back? Or, I don't know, maybe go talk to Charley for a bit?" However, her strategy did have some effect, she noted, as the lawyer's voice grew softer, "This is important work. I'll get it over with faster if you stop interrupting me."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maya huffed annoyedly. "Fine." She got up from the couch with a noisy clap from her sandals and made her way out of the room. Following his advice, she rummaged through the pile of DVDs they still kept at the office. Most of them had already made their sneaky way to Phoenix's apartment and, to be honest, Maya guessed Mia wouldn't really care either way. After all, that's were their movie nights usually took place, what with the office being sort of cramped and all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Still, it wasn't the old, washed out covers that grabbed her attention. Rather, what enticed Maya was a treasure trove she had never before dreamed of. Apparently, her sister (or it could have been Nick, who knows) had amassed quite the collection of cooking magazines. Now this, the girl thought while all but drooling on the colorful pictures lading the pages, this was downright cruel. Hey, but maybe, just maybe, this could also be the solution she was looking for./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Giddily, she made her way back into the room were Phoenix was, clutching two or three DVD cases close to her chest. "I'll wait at the apartment then." She grabbed the keys on the desk and gave the man a smile before continuing her merry way without so much as waiting for an answer./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Huh?" Phoenix muttered, somewhat dazed. He looked at the clock, "Well, if you're sure... I'll grab some takeout on my way, then." When he looked over at her, she was already at the door, so he raised his voice, "You be careful. Ring me up if anything happens."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, yeah," and she shut the door behind her. Then, with her lips twisted into a wicked grin, she opened one of the cases and retrieved the piece of paper she'd smuggled inside it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Of course, being away from the office meant her fun was just about to begin. She had picked a fairly simple recipe and, even if she couldn't find all the ingredients she needed in Nick's kitchen, that just meant she would have to improvise, right? With a spring to her step, she hurried all the way to her new invention ground where, Maya was absolutely sure, the next step in human nourishment was mere moments from being discovered./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Meanwhile, as the hours dragged by in their unaffected, leisurely pace, Phoenix saw himself grow increasingly restless. Was he worried about leaving Maya unattended in his house for long? Yeah, that too. But even more so, he could never shake the feeling that the office felt too big, too empty when he was alone in there. Charley, despite all his charm and grace, wasn't good at holding conversations for long and turning the tv on for some background noise often did more harm than good./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So, leaving a pile of documents behind for the Phoenix-of-tomorrow (or, more accurately, the Phoenix-of-when-he-couldn't-postpone-it-any-longer) to mind, he gathered his things and set sail to the apartment, making sure to stop by Maya's favorite burger joint on the way./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When he did set foot inside his house, he was met by eerie silence. "Maya?" He asked tentatively. Immediately, his mind rushed to the worst possible scenarios. His hand flew to his phone and, in an attempt to call the girl, he managed to mix up her phone number with the police station's and the hospital's, all at once. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"During the split second of his breakdown, Maya came into the hall to greet him, wearing a strangely wide smile on her face. "Oh, hey Nick. Did you finish all that /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"work already?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh! I thought you'd be watching tv or something, so when I didn't hear any noise..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix's eyes narrowed as a realization dawned upon him. "Maya," he began slowly, "why did you come from the kitchen?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl's smile wavered as she answered, "About that... Well, I guess it's no use hiding it from you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He trailed behind her as she made her way into the kitchen. There, he was met with a surprising, yet not totally unpleasant, sight./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Amidst the mess of dirty pans and just overall chaos before him, he could make out something that looked like dinner (though you never could really tell with Maya, he reminded himself). Before he could open his mouth, however, Maya was already explaining herself./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know, you've been working so hard and... I always feel I don't do anything to help, so I thought maybe..." when he glanced over at her, she sheepishly moved her gaze away. There was a hint of pink on her cheeks. Phoenix couldn't help but revel in that rare display of vulnerability, making his insides all warm and mushy./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix neared her so he could lay a hand on her shoulder. That, in turn, made her look up at him. "You do so much already..." his lips curled into a gentle smile as he let the sentence drift off so a pregnant silence could reign upon the kitchen for perhaps a second or two. Then, he continued, "I'm still eating my share, though."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After that last remark, all and any tension in the room vanished into the Ether. Maya felt a grin tugging at the corners of her own lips. "Thanks, Nick," she half-whispered before moving away from his grasp. "In that case," she raised her voice to its usual tone, "I guess I'll leave the cleaning duty to you, then." When his expression soured (much like in often did in court), she allowed herself a sharp giggle. "Thanks, Nick!", she all but yelled as she made her way to her bedroom./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Left once again to his own devices, Phoenix could do little but sigh, but, as it happens, that sigh quickly became a goofy side grin. Cleaning after Maya's constant hijinks wasn't something he actively disliked. Rather, it gave him a small sense of purpose./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And besides, he mused, her food was really damn tasty, so he owed her at least that much./spanspan id="docs-internal-guid-163384ee-7fff-da9f-c39e-018ab6153d5a"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You don't have to shout, you know," Phoenix looked up from the papers in front of him to eye her for a minute. She made a face as soon as their gazes met, something between a grimace and a pout. "Besides," he continued, going back to his work, "I told you I'd take you out when I'm done. Not that it's been that long since you ate."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, but I'm hungry now. Real hungry." When that plea was met with absolute silence, she finally felt the need to bring out her strongest weapon: the puppy eyes. Mustering a whiny voice, she called to him yet again, "Niiiiiiiiick."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix sighed, lifting a hand to his temples, "Hey, why don't you go choose a movie to watch when we get back? Or, I don't know, maybe go talk to Charley for a bit?" However, her strategy did have some effect, she noted, as the lawyer's voice grew softer, "This is important work. I'll get it over with faster if you stop interrupting me."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maya huffed annoyedly. "Fine." She got up from the couch with a noisy clap from her sandals and made her way out of the room. Following his advice, she rummaged through the pile of DVDs they still kept at the office. Most of them had already made their sneaky way to Phoenix's apartment and, to be honest, Maya guessed Mia wouldn't really care either way. After all, that's were their movie nights usually took place, what with the office being sort of cramped and all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Still, it wasn't the old, washed out covers that grabbed her attention. Rather, what enticed Maya was a treasure trove she had never before dreamed of. Apparently, her sister (or it could have been Nick, who knows) had amassed quite the collection of cooking magazines. Now this, the girl thought while all but drooling on the colorful pictures lading the pages, this was downright cruel. Hey, but maybe, just maybe, this could also be the solution she was looking for./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Giddily, she made her way back into the room were Phoenix was, clutching two or three DVD cases close to her chest. "I'll wait at the apartment then." She grabbed the keys on the desk and gave the man a smile before continuing her merry way without so much as waiting for an answer./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Huh?" Phoenix muttered, somewhat dazed. He looked at the clock, "Well, if you're sure... I'll grab some takeout on my way, then." When he looked over at her, she was already at the door, so he raised his voice, "You be careful. Ring me up if anything happens."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, yeah," and she shut the door behind her. Then, with her lips twisted into a wicked grin, she opened one of the cases and retrieved the piece of paper she'd smuggled inside it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Of course, being away from the office meant her fun was just about to begin. She had picked a fairly simple recipe and, even if she couldn't find all the ingredients she needed in Nick's kitchen, that just meant she would have to improvise, right? With a spring to her step, she hurried all the way to her new invention ground where, Maya was absolutely sure, the next step in human nourishment was mere moments from being discovered./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Meanwhile, as the hours dragged by in their unaffected, leisurely pace, Phoenix saw himself grow increasingly restless. Was he worried about leaving Maya unattended in his house for long? Yeah, that too. But even more so, he could never shake the feeling that the office felt too big, too empty when he was alone in there. Charley, despite all his charm and grace, wasn't good at holding conversations for long and turning the tv on for some background noise often did more harm than good./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So, leaving a pile of documents behind for the Phoenix-of-tomorrow (or, more accurately, the Phoenix-of-when-he-couldn't-postpone-it-any-longer) to mind, he gathered his things and set sail to the apartment, making sure to stop by Maya's favorite burger joint on the way./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When he did set foot inside his house, he was met by eerie silence. "Maya?" He asked tentatively. Immediately, his mind rushed to the worst possible scenarios. His hand flew to his phone and, in an attempt to call the girl, he managed to mix up her phone number with the police station's and the hospital's, all at once. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"During the split second of his breakdown, Maya came into the hall to greet him, wearing a strangely wide smile on her face. "Oh, hey Nick. Did you finish all that /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"work already?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh! I thought you'd be watching tv or something, so when I didn't hear any noise..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix's eyes narrowed as a realization dawned upon him. "Maya," he began slowly, "why did you come from the kitchen?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl's smile wavered as she answered, "About that... Well, I guess it's no use hiding it from you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He trailed behind her as she made her way into the kitchen. There, he was met with a surprising, yet not totally unpleasant, sight./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Amidst the mess of dirty pans and just overall chaos before him, he could make out something that looked like dinner (though you never could really tell with Maya, he reminded himself). Before he could open his mouth, however, Maya was already explaining herself./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know, you've been working so hard and... I always feel I don't do anything to help, so I thought maybe..." when he glanced over at her, she sheepishly moved her gaze away. There was a hint of pink on her cheeks. Phoenix couldn't help but revel in that rare display of vulnerability, making his insides all warm and mushy./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Phoenix neared her so he could lay a hand on her shoulder. That, in turn, made her look up at him. "You do so much already..." his lips curled into a gentle smile as he let the sentence drift off so a pregnant silence could reign upon the kitchen for perhaps a second or two. Then, he continued, "I'm still eating my share, though."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After that last remark, all and any tension in the room vanished into the Ether. Maya felt a grin tugging at the corners of her own lips. "Thanks, Nick," she half-whispered before moving away from his grasp. "In that case," she raised her voice to its usual tone, "I guess I'll leave the cleaning duty to you, then." When his expression soured (much like in often did in court), she allowed herself a sharp giggle. "Thanks, Nick!", she all but yelled as she made her way to her bedroom./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Left once again to his own devices, Phoenix could do little but sigh, but, as it happens, that sigh quickly became a goofy side grin. Cleaning after Maya's constant hijinks wasn't something he actively disliked. Rather, it gave him a small sense of purpose./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Merriweather,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And besides, he mused, her food was really damn tasty, so he owed her at least that much./spanspan id="docs-internal-guid-163384ee-7fff-da9f-c39e-018ab6153d5a"/span/p