He was quick to answer, not even bothering to see who it was, because he knew who was calling him.
‘Hello?’
A smooth voice echoed through the phone and he sighed, ‘hello Nina, what’s wrong?’
‘I was wondering if you were awake- which you are... You don’t have anyone with you right?’
Maxwell pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. Nina Scrimshore was his publisher and bestfriend. Someone he had known since he was a young man- not saying he was old now. At the age of 35, he still found that he looked acceptable.Nina was beautiful though, she was younger than him though, at only the age of 29, but that didn’t deter their friendship at all.
‘No one’s with me Nina, everything’s fine’.
‘Oh, alright good- anyway, I was wondering- I know you have to make your way to the hotel in two hours time, but would you like to catch up for a coffee?’
He would never say not to her invitation, in fact, he had forgotten to make himself some coffee anyway. He smiled.
‘Sure, I’ll get ready now, I’ll meet you at the usual spot?’
‘Yep, the usual, see you soon!’
The line went dead and Maxwell was quick to clean the dishes and get changed into something more acceptable for outside.
The moment he stepped out into the street, he felt like staying in, fuck, why have I done this to myself? There was no point in turning back now. He had agreed and now he had to stick to the plans.The café wasn’t far away so Maxwell could easily walk there. He needed fresh air anyway, so being stuck in a car- which could get stuck in odd traffic would be suffocating.
He reached Amaretto Café in a mere few minutes but it was clear that Nina had beaten him to it.
‘How the hell do you do it!’
He put on a show of shock and she rolled her eyes before wrapping her thin arms around his large frame. She had to lean up onto her toes to reach him and he always made fun of that.
‘I’ve chosen to sit outside if that’s alright with you?’
She pulled out one of the seats for him and he flopped into the rickety chair and groaned, ‘god, I needed this- thanks by the way’, Nina hummed and passed the menu to him, ‘take your time, I know what I want’.His eyes flicked through his brow creased in interest, ‘wait- wait, have they changed the menu?’ She smiled and nodded, ‘yep, I was shocked too, but they’ve got more of a variety which is good’.
‘I’d say’.
Maxwell made sure he didn’t take too long before he flagged down one of the waitresses and he ordered for both him and Nina.
‘So, are you excited?’
Nina asked suddenly.
‘What? For the travel? Nah, not really?’
She raised her eyebrows, ‘are you serious? Hotel Mumbai’s famous for-‘.
‘Yeah I know, but let me be the judge of that’.
Nina rolled her eyes once more, ‘god, you’re so hard to impress’, he put his hands up in surrender, ‘hey, it’s the way I am’.The both of them grew silent and this was the time that Maxwell could actually look at Nina Scrimshore. As he thought before, she was a beautiful woman and he was surprised that he hadn’t really thought too much about it.
That’s the thing buddy, she’s never going to like a man like you- especially a man who loves to mess around with women.
He flinched when one of the waiters appeared next to him to pass his drink, ‘thanks’, he mumbled as he waited for Nina to retrieve hers before taking a sip.The warmth of the tea filled his mouth and he closed his eyes to take in the flavour.
‘It looks like you’re enjoying that. I can’t wait for you to taste the food’.
Although Maxwell had bacon and eggs, he had a large stomach anyway, so he was happy to grab a bite to eat.
‘So, Hotel Mumbai- you wanted to go there because of the scenery? We won’t be seeing much because we have to talk with other Publishers and I have to sign people’s books’, that was the part that Maxwell had lost interest in and Nina understood.
‘Well, there’s always the evening and we’ve got at least 1-2 days off anyway. What’s the whole point in going to that lovely place when you’re not going to enjoy it’s service?’
‘Point taken’.
It’s not long before their food is served, ‘bon appetite’, Nina said before stabbing her fork into her food.
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