As Max stared at Nina's troubled expression, he tried to stay calm. He tried not to let his nerves overwhelm him. But—

What if Nina wasn't happy?

What if she regretted her decision to date him?

What if she wanted to break up with him?

Fear after fear pummeled his brain. Max pushed them aside and tried, once again, not to lose his cool before they even started talking.

With a calmness that Max barely possessed, he mumbled, "Sure, let's talk. What's up?"

There was a short pause.

Nina sighed. "I don't know if you noticed anything different about me lately, but I've been a little stressed out. Long story short, work has been... shitty."

Max eyes grew wide.

Oh, thank God!

Relief spilled through him. Max had indeed noticed that Nina seemed a bit down after coming home from work over the last few weeks.

This conversation was going to be about her job. Not about him. Or them.

He reached over to pull her into his lap. "Come here, mami. Tell me what's wrong. I'm listening."

Nina curled up against Max and rested her head on his chest before continuing, "I..."

He waited.

She released another sigh. "When I first started at Ascension, there was a director in the finance department who was planning to retire by the end of this year. The company has been vetting candidates, internally, for a replacement."

Max caught on to where she was headed with this conversation. "Were you one of the candidates?"

Nina nodded. "I was one of the front runners because my team was doing so well."

"So... what happened?"

Nina scowled. "Do you remember my coworker, Vaughn, from the haunted house?"

His expression darkened. He definitely remembered that fucking asshole.

Max groaned, "God, he was such a tool!"

Nina grimaced. "Well, the big dogs recently announced that Vaughn is getting the promotion. He's going to become the new director once the current one retires. Normally, I wouldn't feel so butthurt if I lost to a worthy opponent, but—Vaughn ain't shit. I'm pissed because I know for a fact that his team has been performing terribly. He has been with Ascension for two years. I only started a few months ago, but my team is already outperforming his team on all of our projects. His supervisor, Aracelie, even complained to me about how his team is always missing deadlines and blowing budgets left and right. Aracelie actually wanted to lay off Vaughn at one point, but she couldn't touch him because his dad is friends with the CFO."

A deep crease appeared between Max's brow. Vaughn was beginning to remind Max even more of his old nemesis, Ryan. Max remembered, years ago, how Ryan had come after him about the QB position, even though the whole team knew, including their coach, that Max had been the better player by far.

He felt outraged on Nina's behalf. "What the fuck? That's so messed up! I hate it when losers like Vaughn get to coast through life when the rest of us have to work twice as hard for only half as much."

Nina lowered her gaze in defeat. "I know, right? But that's how the real world works. Unfortunately."

Nina's dismay tugged painfully at Max's heart. Fuck Ryan. Fuck Vaughn. Max wanted to fix this for Nina. He wanted to step up and be her man.

"You should quit," he suddenly suggested. "My channel is really starting to take off right now. I think I can support us for a few months. You should look for a new job. Take your time. Find a good company that actually values you."

Nina glanced up at him. A smile lit up her face as she leaned over to kiss him. "You're so good to me, Max. Thank you."

He kissed her back. Again and again. "I'd do anything for you, Nina. You know that, right?"

Her smile faded slightly. "Actually, this was what I wanted to talk to you about."

What?

What?

What!

Alarm bells screamed in Max's head.

"What... do you mean?" he stammered.

Nina gulped. "Um..."

Max held his breath.

She cleared her throat. "So..."

Anxiety filled his lungs as he waited for her to continue.

"One of my old classmates from Columbia reached out last week. Her name is Shanice Douglas."

Max struggled not to lose his shit. "Okay..."

"After graduation, she founded a non-profit business in New York that provides academic and achievement scholarships to teenage girls from low-income backgrounds. Like me. Her organization is called United We Rise. The work they do is really amazing. There's a built-in mentorship and networking program tied to each scholarship that helps these young women navigate their way through college and their future careers. Anyway, United is doing so well that Shanice wants to expand to the west coast. She offered me a managerial position to help oversee their financial and business operations."

Pride and happiness flooded into Max. He beamed at Nina. "Holy shit! That's fucking amazing! Talk about perfect timing. You're totally going to accept her offer, right?"

Nina hesitated. "Well, if I accept the offer, it's going to be a lateral move with much less pay, but... I know Shanice. I trust Shanice. She's one badass bitch, and I love everything her organization stands for. I think there's a real opportunity here to do something I actually believe in. I think I have what it takes to help Shanice build out her west coast branch from the ground up."

Despite Nina's optimistic outlook, Max picked up on the uncertainty in her voice. He immediately prompted, "What's holding you back?"

Their gazes locked. Guilt and reluctance pooled in Nina's honey brown eyes. "Their main office isn't based in California, Max. If I take the job, I'd need to leave Santa Monica and move to Seattle."