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“What?” I blurt out. “Why are you mentioning him, when I specifically said—”
“Just wait!” he interjects. “Trust me, you want to see this.”
“I doubt it,” I murmur, as I watch him scroll on his phone. My heart is racing and my insides are churning with unpleasant anticipation.
“So, you know how much I enjoy these feel-good videos about people doing something nice for animals or other people,” he says, his eyes still glued to the phone.
“I can’t wait to see where you’re going with this,” I say.
“So, yesterday, I was just scrolling on my usual sites, and a local viral video popped up that… oh well, you just gotta see it.”
He taps his finger on the screen, and a video starts playing, as he hands me his phone with a conspiratorial grin, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
On the screen, a chaotic scene unfolds. Two teenagers, a girl and a boy, are seen confronting a car that seems to have cut them off in traffic. The situation escalates quickly as the car’s driver, a burly figure, steps out and advances toward the teenagers with aggressive intent.
But then, out of nowhere, a man bursts into the frame, moving with such speed and precision that I can’t help but be captivated. But then, I realize that it’s Chase, who intervenes, positioning himself firmly between the teenagers and the irate driver. In the blink of an eye, he wraps his arms around the driver’s neck, executing a rear-naked choke with expert precision.
I watch in amazement as the driver struggles, his face turning crimson as he gasps for air. Chase’s grip remains unwavering until the driver’s resistance dwindles, and he releases his hold. The driver drops to the ground, dazed and defeated.
The video captures the teenagers thanking Chase, their faces filled with gratitude and relief. Chase, on the other hand, looks visibly worried for both the teenagers and the driver. His head turns back and forth between the man on the ground and the kids, and he doesn’t even seem to notice how many people are watching him.
I hand Max’s phone back to him, my mind racing with a mix of emotions.
“Quite the hero, your guy, isn’t he?” Max says, excitement flaring in his dark eyes.
I nod, feeling a sense of complexity about Chase that I hadn’t considered before.
“I mean, the way he just jumped in there to help those kids!” Max goes on, almost jumping up from his seat. “And that quick and unyielding move! So elegant and efficient. He really saved that boy’s ass. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t stepped in.”
I don’t know what to say, and take another sip from my lemonade as I contemplate how I’m feeling right now.
“Would a bad man do that?” Max probes, his eyebrows arched as high as possible, when he looks at me.
“Being a hero in the street doesn’t automatically turn him into a good person, Max,” I say.
“But a bad person would not have done this,” Max insists.
I shrug. “Maybe.”
Max sighs and leans over the table to reach for my hand. “Madison, I know he hurt you, and I know he has acted like a complete idiot, but maybe, just maybe, it’s because… well, he’s overwhelmed.”
I let out a dismissive huff. “Overwhelmed? With what? Me?”
“Um, yes!” Max says. “I mean, yeah, maybe he just wanted to get into your pants and convince you to sell, but maybe… not? What if what he said was genuine, and now you’re not even giving him a chance to make things right.”
“He can make things right,” I retort. “By letting go of this buyout.”
Max nods. “Yes, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like he may actually be looking for a compromise.”
“Do you not remember what he did to me? He called our investor and told him I was an unfit CEO!” I exclaim, a little too loud. I slouch in my seat, when I notice eyes from all around turning in our direction.
“You don’t know for sure that he did that,” Max adds for consideration.
“Who else would have done it?” I retort.
“I don’t know,” Max says. “Maybe it’s all a big misunderstanding? He said it wasn’t him, right?”
“Well, yes, because he was lying,” I maintain, even though I feel a sense of doubt at the back of my mind. Chase insisted that it wasn’t him who talked our investor into backing out, and he looked visibly shocked when I approached him at the restaurant. And I know that there’s a very small chance that it was my uncle. He denied any involvement in this when I asked him about it, but he could be lying just as well.
