Scuttling into the room, Amanda felt herself soften as Max bestowed her with another cherishing smile. He was currently sat behind his desk but had looked up at the appearance of the soft clicking of Amanda's heels on the shiny, pale green flooring paving the path along the 18th floor corridor.
Amanda was elegantly dressed as always in a high-waisted black pencil skirt, which flaunted her slim, stocking-covered legs. Her cream coloured, frilly blouse was tucked in, it's plain, smart colour a sharp comparison to the bold and vivid colours she often used in her designs, much to Max's approval.
"Come on in Amanda" Max smiled as he stood, indicating for her to take his chair and use his desk. Amanda made her way towards him. She knew that the office would have a field day if they found out she was going to be spending the afternoon alone with her boss, given there was already speculation as to just why Amanda "sucked up" to him so much.
The truth was, Amanda admired Max. His flair for clothing designs had inspired her own love of clothes. Her position at Mad Style had been her dream job. Perhaps she devoted too much time to it. Amanda had always been a strong career-orientated woman she knew what her goals were and how to achieve them. As a result she was often competitive, and considered mean.
Amanda's hard shell was just a form of self-protection, her often moody and sarcastic demeanour a cover up for a softer side, in particular a soft spot for Max Madigan, who was currently surveying her through his thick rimmed, heavy-lensed tinted spectacles. Dropping gently into her chair, she slid her portfolio onto the chocolate coloured bureau, very aware of Max, stood behind her, fingers gripping the back of the seat.
"Now, now Max, no peeking" Amanda half giggled, scolding him with a false air of confidence. She was sure he could hear her heart pounding whenever he came too close, or complimented her. Max was the only one who really made her feel at home in the office, that and her love of the job.
"I was hoping you'd forget I was here, so I'd get to take a look" Max sulked childishly, moving reluctantly around the desk, much to both his and Amanda's well-hidden disappointment. Max contented himself with perching on the edge of the desk, tugging at the mass of fluffy brown curls in quiet contemplation, legs swinging and hitting the desk with a distracting thud.
Amanda gazed up from her design, one of the many suits for Mad Style's Prom Season range. She opened her mouth to ask him to stop kicking her workspace, but spotted his normally perfect posture, hunched and submissive, as though a heavy weight was physically crushing him.
"Max…" Amanda began tentatively, immediately wishing she hadn't spoke, as it hit her she had no clue what she was going to say. All she knew was that it unnerved her slightly to see her usually chirpy and excitable boss so dejected and helpless looking. Softly she got up from Max's comfortable chair making her way towards him as he looked up.
She didn't know why her feet were carrying her, what purpose she had for moving closer to her boss. Yet she often felt closer to Max than just the boundaries of colleagues. Amanda frequently got the impression from him that he considered her a friend, over the many years of her working at Mad Style he'd often confided in her, telling her everything from his rivalry with Simon Crostini, to the loss of his fiancée Sophie Gérard.
Max stopped pulling gently on his hair and lifted his head to gaze at his Vice President. His eccentricity often had him deemed stupid by a lot of his opponents. Max was a lot of things, forgetful, absent-minded and occasionally flamboyantly compulsive. However, he was far from brainless. His brown eyes glittered with an air of intellect, which Amanda was struck by as she chanced a proper glance at Max.
Amanda would often avoid eye contact with her boss, not because of lack of confidence, or because she didn't want to. She knew he had a keen mind and could quietly suss out most things. Amanda knew that if Max had the chance to gaze in her eyes for too long he would stumble across her desire for what she was looking at.
"Max what's wrong?" She continued bravely, and somewhat foolishly. She was well aware that if Max was in one of his rages, she risked being fired on the spot. As it transpired she wasn't going to lose her job. Max peered at her, his mind ticking behind his glasses.
"I need to think." Max muttered more to himself than to Amanda.
Max stood up from his desk examining every inch of its structure. Much to a bemused Amanda's bewilderment, she mentally kicked herself for letting her eyes drift over her bosses bent over form strictly longer then necessary, and felt her cheeks grow pinker as he straightened up. Thankfully he was absorbed in his tangent.
"Amanda… how do these desks stay together?" He questioned her.
Temporarily nonplussed Amanda found herself unable to answer.
"Components Amanda… each of these parts works together to keep the desk sturdy." Max said, waving his arms around like a windmill in a hurricane.
"These don't work then the whole desk falls apart." Max concluded eyes wide as though he'd just explained something vital to her. He smiled not seeming to see her flummoxed face at all.
"Amanda." He suddenly brightened, face breaking into a grin. "Would you like to accompany me to Happy Berry Yum Yum? My treat." Amanda stared, flabbergasted at the sudden change of mood. Max leapt from the desk, which he had perched back on, pressing softly on the small of Amanda's back, steering her out of the office.
*****
Amanda was immensely grateful that no one from work ever went to Happy Berry Yum Yum. She slurped still a little confused at her vibrant pink, strawberry flavoured, frozen yoghurt, brow furrowed in thought every so often gazing at Max who was suckling on snowy, white vanilla deep in thought.
A comfortable silence fell between the two executives broken only by an odd gulp of ice-cold yoghurt, a murmur of pleasure and finally a squeak of pain and clatter of metal on metal.
"Max?" Amanda uttered looking concerned as his face twisted, and eyes popped. He twitched his nose in discomfort as he yelped, breathless.
"Brain freeze…" Amanda couldn't help but chuckle, as his face returned to normal, fingers massaging his temples.
The man behind the counter rolled his eyes knowingly mouthing to Amanda.
"He always gets brain freeze" Amanda found herself smiling in spite of her desire to hide it with a scowl. As Max's eyes came back into focus, he found a wide grin playing on his lips, the bright sparkle of an epiphany alight and dancing in his chocolate eyes.
"I need to eat more frozen foods…" Stated Max. "Amanda, I want an urgent meeting called."