Accident Prone 141 Isaac comes to Seattle

Friday

10:52 AM

Joshua is killing sixth wave of zombies on his phone. It's late morning on Friday (workday), and there is not much to do. Morning packages were delivered already, people are at work, and their guests as well, and Joshua is playing games to keep himself awake.

"Excuse me…"

A bone-chilling deep male voice startled Joshua and he bolted out of his chair and dropped his phone.

"Yes!", Joshua responded much louder than intended.

He cleared his throat awkwardly while his eyes roamed over an imposing man in front of him.

At the first glance, Joshua estimated that the man in front of him is in his mid-fifties, about 6' high, black hair with grays at the temples makes him look like a noble even without his expensive light gray suit. Joshua ended up staring at the man's sharp facial lines, but what stood out the most are his piercing black almond-shaped eyes which made Joshua believe that the man can read minds or maybe have some other mental super-power (he is playing too many video games).

Joshua took a second to compose himself before asking: "How can I help you?"

"I am here to visit Elizabeth Williams."

Joshua reminded himself that this person in front of him came to visit a tenant of Continental Views building where HE is the gatekeeper, and HE needs to get himself together and do his job. "And you are?"

"Isaac Williams, her father."

"May I see an ID to confirm that?"

Isaac reached for the inner pocket in his suit jacket and got his driver's license from the wallet.

Joshua confirmed the name. "I will ring Miss Williams…"

Isaac raised his hand to stop him. "I would like to surprise her, if possible."

Isaac did his best to look friendly, even though he is boiling on the inside.

Why is Isaac here? Why is his mood off? Because last night he got a call from Dr. Christian Snow and he told him that Elizabeth is being tricked by some womanizer up to the point of neglecting her work. Isaac wanted to call Liz and confirm what is that about, but he remembered that Christian told him how Liz is completely under that man's spell and he guessed that talking over the phone might not be beneficial. Isaac does not want to meddle in Elizabeth's love life, but if it's impacting her career, then it requires an intervention.

It's not that Isaac does not trust Chris, but he still called Chairman Lee from the Franciscan Medical Center to confirm if Liz is coming to work or not.

What can Isaac do after Chris' words and Chairman Lee's confirmation? No man wants to believe that his precious daughter fell prey to an unscrupulous man, but considering what he found out, he was unable to get a good night's sleep. Isaac cleared up his Friday schedule and flew to Seattle to see in person how Elizabeth is doing and with whom she is associating herself with.

Joshua observed Isaac's expression which was becoming darker by the second, and he hesitated with the demand to let the man up to surprise Elizabeth.

Before Joshua said anything, Isaac added: "If it will increase your comfort level, you can check Elizabeth's emergency contact. You will see that it's me."

Joshua checked information for tenants and confirmed: 'Isaac Williams, relationship: father' is listed as Liz's emergency contact.

Joshua thought for some time and concluded that there is nothing bad in allowing father to surprise his daughter. He is not blacklisted and based on everything it seems that they are in a good relationship, but…"I still need to check if she is in. What will you do if she is not in her apartment?"

Isaac frowned slightly. "You don't know if she is in?"

Joshua shrugged. "When tenants take the elevator to the garage level and leave with the car, I have no way of knowing who gets in and out of the building… If Miss Williams answers, I can tell her that there is a delivery, and that is why I'm checking if she is in."

Isaac nodded in agreement.

…

Up in the apartment 31A…

Olivia is done with her work, and is about to leave Liz's apartment, when she heard the intercom.

"Yes?"

Joshua recognized Olivia's voice and asked: "Hi Olivia, is Miss Williams in?"

Olivia wanted to say that Liz is across the hallway in Max's apartment, but then she remembered that Liz went out for a morning of girl-pampering with Mia and Sabrina. Hunter is working, so Mia is free, and Rina and Mia decided to go for a spa treatment and Liz ended up going with them.

"No. Miss Williams is in the town. Why?"

Joshua paused and his eyes moved to Isaac. He reminded himself that Isaac being here is a secret. "Uhm… there is a package."

"I can take it.", Olivia responded without missing a beat.

Joshua panicked. How can Olivia take a package which does not exist?

"It needs to be delivered in person only to Miss Williams." Joshua was happy that he thought of this.

Olivia didn't think much about this. There are some packages for which delivery is specific. "Oh, OK. Miss Williams should be back soon. I will let her know to contact you when she is back. Will that work?"

"That will be great, Olivia. Thanks!"

…

Down in the lobby…

"Sorry, Miss Williams is not at home. But she will let me know when she gets back.", Joshua summarized to Isaac.

"Do you know when she will return?"

Joshua shrugged. "Her housekeeper said 'soon', but I don't know how much is that."

Isaac sighed. He can call Liz, but that will spoil the 'surprise'. After all, he came here on a short notice with an intention to see Liz WITH that despicable man and catch him red-handed. If Liz finds out that Isaac is here, they will adjust their behavior so that everything seems fine. Heck, she might even hide the fact that she has a man.

Isaac's black eyes landed on Joshua. "Tell me, young man… is there a good place nearby where I can wait for her?"

Joshua thought for some time. "There are many cafés and restaurants nearby… and there is also a garden on the fourth floor which is only for tenants and their guests. Technically, you are a guest of a tenant, so you can use it if you wish."

Isaac nodded in agreement. "Can you show me how to reach that garden?"

…

In the garden on the fourth floor…

Max is in the middle of the garden, sitting on the circular cushioned seating under a huge umbrella and working on his laptop.

Ever since Wednesday afternoon, this garden is Max's official third favorite spot in the Continental Views building (right after Liz's and his apartments).

Liz and Max spent most of the Thursday here. Max rested his head in Liz's lap and played with a strand of her hair while enjoying the sound of her voice which narrated the story of the book she was reading. Every time she flipped the page, he demanded that she leans toward him and gives him a kiss. And she did. That was the best book ever.

After that, they watched a movie on Liz's laptop while sharing earbuds.

This place reminds him of Liz. In just one day, Liz managed to leave her presence in this garden. Sitting here, makes him feel like she is right by his side.

Liz went with Rina and Mia for a spa outing, so Max needs to keep busy and he decided to work. Nathan was delighted when Max called him in the morning and asked how can he help without being there in person. From Nathan's point of view, there is no one who can do a more thorough investigation and is more trustworthy than Max.

Max was not excited about Liz leaving him for the morning, but ever since his accident, she is not letting him touch her, and she is not touching him either! OK, it's not that bad. They are hugging and holding each other, but not going beyond kissing! How he sees it, that is back to no-touching status! He feels like crying.

None of his tricks are working, and he is on the verge of officially acknowledging that Liz is immune to his charms. All his techniques got repelled with 'you are still not well enough to move'.

Max is exasperated.

At the end, he concluded that Liz needs to miss him. Yeah, that is the reason why she is able to stay away. Last night, when Mia called Liz to join them to the spa, Max thought how this will be a perfect opportunity for Liz to spend few hours away from him, miss him… and then they can go back to a touching status.

Max promised Liz that he will not move much, and she can go and bond with Mia and Rina, which she reluctantly accepted.

And here he is… sitting in the garden under a huge umbrella… not moving much… missing Liz like crazy… working… waiting for Liz to return…

With his peripheral vision, Max observed an imposing man (aka Isaac) walking straight toward him.

When Isaac was few steps away, Max turned his head toward him and they exchanged slight nods of greeting.

"Do you mind if I sit here?", Isaac gestured on the other side of the circular seating and explained: "It seems that these are the only tables available."

"Feel free to.", Max responded and returned to his laptop.

He knows that out of all the seating in the garden, only this one has tables which are curved to fit around the circular seating. Three tables are providing place for keeping things, with sufficient gap between them for people to pass through.

Isaac sat with his back facing Max's and got his laptop out of the briefcase. He will check his email and follow up on some issues until Joshua notifies him that Elizabeth is back and then he will see for himself with what scoundrel his precious daughter is spending her time.

He postponed all his meetings and flew all the way from New York and here he is… sitting in the garden under a huge umbrella… working… waiting for Liz to return…

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