Heero's POV
The Wedding Planner Part 7
Leaving Town
"I tell you, Wufei, it's like he knows he gets on my nerves and tries to do it deliberately," I said, sidestepping a roundhouse kick.
One of my favorite methods of stress relief was sparring. And fortunately, Wufei loved it too. Martial arts had drawn us together and made us fast friends even more than the debate team. So oftentimes we'd spend evenings at our pastime, in the gym near our office building.
"He's supposed to be nice to Relena," Wufei shrugged, ducking under a right hook, and landing a quick back fist to my ribs.
"Not that nice," I countered.
"I am surprised Relena seems that taken with him," Wufei admitted, spinning away from my left cross and putting some distance between us. "She usually keeps the line between master and servant clearly drawn."
Was that a trace of scorn in his voice? I hesitated and his next strike to the side of my head gear knocked me flat.
And suddenly he was kneeling beside me, dark eyes apologetic. "Yuy! Are you okay? I thought for sure you'd duck."
I blinked dazedly. Wufei had a wicked back fist. "I'm fine," I asserted, sitting up and shaking my head to clear it. "Just took me by surprise." I fixed him with a searching look as he helped me up. "What did you mean by that last comment?"
"What comment?"
"About Relena."
"Oh. That." He shrugged, turning away and fixing a loose glove. "It's just that Relena has always seemed especially class-conscious. I'm surprised she'd let a hired man call her by her first name and get as chummy as you claim he is."
"If you saw him you'd understand," I said sourly.
"Good-looking?"
"Gorgeous." An image flashed through my head of Maxwell on the balcony at the Romefeller mansion, the wind blowing through the wisps of chestnut hair around his face, and a perfectly devastating smile directed at Relena. Yeah, he was gorgeous. There was no other word for the bastard.
Wufei raised an eyebrow, giving me a funny look. "Relena said that?"
"She didn't have to. I can see for myself."
The onyx eyes sparkled with amusement Wufei couldn't suppress. As stern as he is, the man has a sense of humor, and I could tell I'd struck it. "Maybe she should be the jealous one," he teased.
Oh, he did not just say that!
It was rare for Wufei to tease. He was usually a very straightforward and serious man. But as my closest friend, he sometimes slipped and let his dry sense of humor show. For once, I didn't find it amusing.
"Chang, you're going down," I promised, dropping back into a fighting stance and raising my gloves to the ready.
He actually chuckled, apparently pleased at my reaction. "I'm not sure you're man enough," he taunted.
Shit! Yet another blow to my manhood! With all the hits my idea of masculinity had taken in the past few days, it didn't need one more.
Needless to say, our sparring match was very heated from that moment on.
But I felt much better after we finished. And when we'd showered and changed, we headed out to get something to eat.
I had a business trip the next day, one I was unable to beg out of, even for the important task of guarding my fiancée from the advances of a flirtatious wedding planner. I just hoped she was as class-conscious as Wufei seemed to think.
On the nights I stayed in the city, I rarely cooked for myself. Usually Wufei dragged me to dinner at his place, but Sally was away visiting a friend, so this time we treated ourselves to a meal at our favorite restaurant.
Over appetizers, Wufei asked about our wedding preparations, careful to phrase his questions so that they only addressed specifics. He avoided talk of the wedding planner, knowing it was a touchy subject, and we had a great time. In fact, it reminded me of what I think of as our "bachelor years," before Wufei and Sally had married--in fact, before they'd even met, or I'd met Relena. And I found myself missing those days.
My life was very structured lately, I realized. Between shuttling back and forth from the office, to the estate, to my penthouse, I had a lot less recreational time. Wufei and I had cut our workouts down to twice a week, when I started commuting to Relena's estate. It was forty minutes away on a good day when traffic was light. All that driving often precluded doing things I'd done for enjoyment when my time was my own.
Not that I was complaining. I mean, hell, I was twenty-five. It was time to settle down, get married, and start a family...right? And as I'd been told dozens of times, by dozens of people, Relena was quite a catch. Like I said, she's pretty, smart, and wealthy. If I didn't marry her, someone else would in a heartbeat. She'd pointed that out during our spat over my awards banquet.
"Yuy?"
I looked up to find Wufei watching me with uncharacteristic worry in his dark eyes. "What?"
"You--tuned out there for a moment," he noted, gesturing to the forkful of pasta I'd been holding halfway to my mouth for several minutes.
I hastily completed the motion, chewing and swallowing slowly so I didn't have to answer the unspoken question in his eyes. Then I set my fork down, leaning wearily back in my chair and looking past him, out the window at the darkening sky. It was an amazing shade of dark blue, almost indigo, and for some reason, I found it very compelling.
When I forcefully drew my gaze away from the mesmerizing sky, Wufei was still watching me. "I'm a bit tired, 'Fei," I said by way of explanation. "Don't mind me."
He smiled in response. "Second thoughts?"
"About?"
"Marriage?"
God, I hated when he picked up on my train of thought so easily. But then he'd known me for a long, long time.
"Don't worry," he continued, waving a hand dismissively. "You have a lot of time to get used to the idea. Weddings take months to plan...Relena's will take at least a year. Hell, you have to book the reception hall at least that far in advance. Romefeller probably has a two-year waiting list." He fixed a rather intent gaze on me. "There's still time to back out."
I scowled at that. "Why should I?" My tone sounded defensive, even to me.
It was his turn to look away, shrugging indifferently. "Everyone gets cold feet at some point in the process, Yuy."
"Did you?"
He frowned thoughtfully down at the tablecloth. "Well, no. Even when Sally and I were at odds over the arrangements, I knew she was the one for me. That was never in doubt."
Why did I feel like there was some sort of accusation in that statement? "I don't doubt that Relena's the one for me," I said defensively.
Wufei gave a small, wry snort. "Then you're the only one," he muttered.
I gave him a shocked look. "What--? Why do you say that?"
"You two have broken up three times in just over a year," Wufei pointed out. "Surely that calls into question your commitment to one another."
"No, it doesn't," I asserted, frowning down at my plate. "That's just how Relena and I work through problems."
"By parting company?" he said with raised eyebrows. "Most people talk it out when they have difficulties in a relationship."
"You sound like you think I'm making a mistake!" I growled.
"Not at all," he assured me. "But seeing you so insecure--so jealous--makes me wonder what Relena's done to warrant your lack of faith in her fidelity."
"I--don't," I sputtered.
"You're afraid she'll jump into bed with a wedding planner," came the cool, no-nonsense reply. Wufei never was one for pulling punches.
"I am not!" I snarled.
"Is that why you tried to weasel out of tomorrow's trip?" The onyx eyes pinned me with a knowing gaze. "You want to supervise Relena's time with the 'gorgeous' wedding planner."
"I want to fire his impudent, manipulative, arrogant ass!" I retorted. "I want to find Relena a nice, affordable, female wedding planner."
Wufei sat back in his seat, shaking his head. "You've got issues, Yuy. And you need to discuss them with Relena." Before I could formulate a scathing reply, he continued. "But if you think getting rid of--Maxwell, was it?"
I nodded.
"If you think getting rid of Maxwell is the answer, I'll see what I can do."
I raised an eyebrow at that.
"Surely our legal department can dig up something on him that your class-conscious fiancée would find objectionable."
Oh, he had a point. I clearly recalled the time Relena fired a gardener who'd been working for her family for years, when she found out he had a criminal record. Apparently Wufei recalled it, too.
Relena had insisted the man couldn't be trusted, in spite of his years of faithful service, since he'd lied on his resume. All I needed was a little dirt on Maxwell, and I was sure I could convince her to let him go...and to Hell with the deposit we'd paid. I'd consider it money well-spent if I never had to deal with the smirking playboy again.
"But promise me this, Yuy," Wufei continued. "Once he's out of the picture, you and Relena should see a marriage counselor...work out your insecurities now, rather than after the wedding. It'll be too late then."
I nodded. He had a point there, too. Damned if Wufei didn't always seem to be able to get to the heart of a matter and find the way through.
But first things first.
"His name's Duo Maxwell," I told Wufei. "Near as I can tell, he's worked for Quatre Winner for over a year. And he said something about having a fiancé who died in a fire. I think her name was Alex."
Wufei gave me an odd look, with a slight frown. "Why would someone whose fiancé died become a wedding planner?" he mused. "Seems like it would be a constant reminder of what he'd lost."
I suddenly recalled the way Duo had slumped against the back of the seat in the limo, eyes closed and face just a little haggard after Silvia had spoken of his fiancé, and I felt a twinge of remorse. I mean, just for an instant, he'd looked so vulnerable and hurt that I hadn't been able to let Relena keep pressing him for answers. She could be singularly insensitive at times.
Frowning and shaking my head, I forcibly pulled my thoughts away from that train of thought. Maxwell was a thorn in my side, and I needed to be rid of him, by any means necessary.
"His motives are not my concern, except where Relena's involved," I told Wufei, masking my discomfort by taking a long sip of my drink. "Just find me grounds to fire him."
"Consider it done."
TBC...
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