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Max Shine
Max Shine sat at his desk in his home office looking at videos of famous weathermen and women. He was compelled to study their approach to delivering the weather to millions of viewers. If he was going to start interviewing for national jobs, he would have to hone his craft. He wanted so badly to be a household name that he spent a majority of his free time working on his spiel. He would often videotape himself imitating his contemporaries in an effort to see if something they did could fit his personality.
Today’s choice was the man he wanted to have as his mentor. This bald headed, quirky man had made it as one of the most sought-after meteorologists in America. No matter what was happening in the world of doppler radar, this guy was on top of it. Natural disasters were his thing. Hurricane season had made this man a fan favorite because he was always in the thick of things. Hell, the man had even once been filmed clinging to a pole in one hundred thirty mile per hour wind during a category four storm.
That was the kind of action Max craved. Only his conservative news station refused to send their local celebrity out into the thick of things. They preferred to send an intern out on dangerous assignments instead of their cash cow. He had to get a presentation together to present to the executive producers so that he could take his career to the next level.
Checking the time on his phone, he realized he needed to get ready for this party he was invited to. His belly was vibrating like there were hummingbirds trapped inside, fluttering around for a taste of nectar. Max had been looking forward to this event since he had been invited. Lattimore Aston was someone Max looked up to. The man was wealthy but was so approachable he made people forget his status. Lattimore was one of the few people he felt comfortable around. One day when his pockets matched his worth, he would use the man as an example of how to treat people.
After jumping in the shower, he groomed his beard and mustache. There was sure to be some choice women at this party and he wanted to make a good impression. Maybe he would meet someone he could bring home with him. You never know. He wasn’t a bad looking dude. In fact, he had been told he was quite attractive. That is until he opened his mouth and began talking about his profession.
He knew he was a nerd and even embraced it. The problem was most of the sexy women he encountered wanted a man who talked about anything other than science. He made an internal note not to talk too much shop tonight. He would let the women he encountered determine the direction of the conversations.
Max looked in the mirror for the third time since getting dressed. He wanted to stand out at this party. He was excited to meet the person that was Lattimore Aston’s best friend. Whoever he was, he had to be awesome because Lattimore was a chill dude. Maybe this guy, PJ would have some connections that would help him get a step closer to his dream. Either way, he would be a potential buddy to hang out with on his off days.
Plucking an errant string from his shirt, he dropped it in the trash before picking up his lint roller and sprucing up his shirt. Black held lint like nobody’s business, and he wanted to be sharp when he stepped into the room. Tonight he would let loose, have fun and dance his ass off. Lattimore always threw great parties and there was always dancing. Ladies were drawn to men who could move, and he definitely had the moves.
As Max made his way down the hall toward Lattimore’s apartment, he realized that he was arriving empty handed. That was not the way to make a good impression. Instead of being rude, he decided he would run down to the store and grab a bottle of wine. He had read an article once that said you couldn’t go wrong with wine as a gift for the host.
Sauntering into the wine store, he looked around at what he estimated to be thousands of bottles of wine. He had no idea where to start so he caught the attention of a clerk who was restocking the shelf down the aisle from him.
“Excuse me, miss. Can you please help me?”
The young woman placed the bottle of wine on the shelf and wiped her hands on her apron before looking up at him. When their eyes met, her face contorted causing her to look like her eyes were going to pop clear from her head.
“Oh my goodness, it’s you. I can’t believe it. Max Shine is in my store!”
The clerk was bouncing on her toes with excitement. Max smiled as the lady ran her hand over her hair to smooth it down, trying but failing to make herself more presentable. She only managed to encourage the cowlick, that had been waving at him, to start acting like one of those air dancer things you see at car dealerships. It was hard for Max to hold in his laughter, but he managed it. He looked down at the woman’s nametag and spied her name. He had learned early in his celebrity life to call people by their name whenever he could. It made their interaction more personal, and they would give you just about anything you asked for.
“Yeah, well I need your help, Sara. I am going to a party, and I need a bottle of wine to gift my host. The only problem is I know nothing about wine.”
“Does your host like red or white wine?”
“I’m not sure, but I am sure whatever you pick will be just fine. I have a feeling you are great at your job.”
Flattery usually got him anything he wanted when he was dealing with store clerks. It didn’t hurt that the woman seemed to be a little starstruck. Max plastered on his famous smile and the woman looked as if she wanted to pour him in a glass and drink him.
After licking her lips and examining Max’s body with lustful eyes, Sara reached her hand out and grabbed his. She tugged on his arm, and he followed the woman down the aisle where she stopped in front of a display of wines labeled local.
“Now. I’ll choose the perfect wine for you, but first I need you to do a little dance for me.”
Shaking his head, Max grew more embarrassed by the moment. He really didn’t want to dance for this girl, but he needed that wine. Why did this always happen to him? The expectant look the woman gave him made it impossible for him to say no.
“Okay, but just a little step. I really need to get to my appointment.”
Max did a little two step that caused the clerk to cheer. She flung her arm out in excitement causing a bottle of red wine to go crashing to the floor. A gorgeous woman dressed in a sexy white jumpsuit was standing by waiting to collect a bottle from the shelf when the wine splashed all over her.
“Fuck, my shoes!” The lady exclaimed as she jumped back about three feet.
The customer was clearly angry, but only about her shoes. The wine had also splashed onto the pantleg of her jumpsuit, but that did not seem to faze her. Max looked down expecting to see a pair of fancy designer shoes, but what he saw made him chuckle. The woman was wearing shell toe Adidas, white ones with black stripes and red shoelaces. She had a different kind of style than most women he ran across. He decided he liked it very much.
“Do you see something funny about my shoes being ruined? These are classic Superstars! That red wine will never come out. I can’t believe you’re standing there laughing.”
That only made him chuckle harder, causing the woman to roll her eyes. She snatched the four remaining bottles of the wine the clerk was about to sell to him and made a b-line to the check out line. As she left, she mumbled ‘Asshole’ under her breath.
Max had no idea what to do. It wasn’t his fault the clerk spilled the wine. It damn sure wasn’t his fault the woman’s shoes had been stained, but he felt bad about the whole ordeal. Maybe if he offered to buy her another pair, she would be happy. It would please him to put a smile on her face. It bothered his spirit to let a lady walk away from an encounter with him in an angry mood.
While Sara ran to get supplies to clean up the mess she made, Max snagged a bottle of Chardonnay with the same label as the broken one and rushed to the front of the store hoping to catch the angry lady. As he approached the register, he saw the woman waiting in line, but she was distracted with reading a sign advertising a local vineyard. Now was his chance. He stepped in front of the woman, officially cutting the line. All he had to do was use his charm to straighten things out.
