Page 53 of Smart Ass

Wally walked out the door, muttering under his breath about proof and show him and probably all sorts of similar things before the mics were out of range.

Maxamillion wished he could storm out, too.

Charles was supposed to be a good guy, and Max knew that Ben looked up to him, or at least got on well with him. Max had imagined him as principled but friendly, focused but open.

This man? Max didn’t want to get near him. He’d use Max like a commodity or sell him to the highest bidder.

Even worse was the way Charles had treated his son. It was like he’d planned for Wally to lose the argument before he even said a word.

Wally was certainly a bully, but seeing him with his father put everything in a new perspective. The way that Wally would bark out Curran when he saw Ben was exactly the same tone Charles had used for his son’s name. Only when Wally tried it, he looked kind of silly and sad, while Charles was clearly out for blood.

What had Wally ever done to deserve that?

And was all of his asshole-ish behavior just a way to build himself up when his father kept shooting him down?

It didn’t take a psychologist to figure that one out.

Max would never have expected it, but he actually felt a little protective over Wally. Not the same all-encompassing way that he wanted to cure Ben of every hurt and disappointment he’d ever suffered, but there was something similar about the two of them, even if they’d never see it. They’d both been hurt by their parents and the world, and they were both lashing out.

It didn’t excuse Wally’s behavior, but maybe Ben had been overreacting, too.

Maybe Max should stop thinking of him as Wally, too. The poor man’s name was Wallace.

Max retreated, unsurprised when he saw Charles talking animatedly and respectfully to his next guest, while Wallace stormed back to his own office and said something snarky to the next person he met.

Max didn’t follow either conversation. He would just passively record them, set up a few alerts, and synthesize everything later.

The whole thing left him feeling more alone than before.

He went back to watching Ben sleep.