Loving Maverick

A Long Night And An Interesting Morning

He stood there at the door of his garage and looked at the car that he had been working on since his arrival home. His expression surely conveyed that of the disappointment that he was feeling about his dwindling interest in working on the vehicle.

At first he thought it was an alleviation of his anxiety, until he realized that it wasn't. There was so much on his mind-his thoughts always constantly racing, that it was hard to even concentrate on the car now. 

Maverick walked into his garage and placed his hand on the hood of the Chevelle and sighed. "Sorry, love." He muttered. "Daddy just doesn't have it in him anymore."

Messing around with the car only served to spike his anxiety lately. The backfire, sending him into anxious alert when he would cut the car on to try and assess the engine. The passion that he had for being underneath the hood of that car slowly dwindled into pure like of motivation.

He'd find himself making his way to the car when suddenly stopping, his anxious building up as he would try and force himself to work on it. Often, he wouldn't go through with it and instead would turn and go into his kitchen with a registered semi-rifle and take it apart piece by piece before putting it back together again. 

He didn't know how that started to gradually become the new normal for him-the thing that would calm and relax him versus that beautiful old school passion that he had sitting in that garage. 

Maverick rubbed his face stressfully before leaving the car in the garage. He started to go in the spare bedroom where he kept a few of his weapons to grab his shotgun and start on his nightly regiment when he paused in the doorway.

"No, Mav. Get this out of your head." He whispered to himself. "Be normal." He took a deep breath. "You're a civilian now, act like it!" 

He took another deep breath and walked away, going into the kitchen to grab a beer. Being alone, he realized it was harder for him than he originally thought it would be.

When Maverick was by himself, the only thing that his mind would do was constantly concentrate on the silence...on the fact that he had no one. Why was he suddenly thinking about this? He didn't even like being around people and he was very difficult in terms of trusting people. A far as he was concerned, he was in a no-win situation.

Tired of being in his own mind, Maverick walked out of the door of his house and sat on the porch for a minute, sipping on his beer. He looked at his watch and saw that it suddenly nine o'clock in the evening. He knew he had to get up in the morning but he just didn't care at that moment.

He stood and just began to jog down the street, thinking that maybe a run would help ease his mind a little. As far as he was concerned, it was worth a try.

"Eight o'clock," Stevie muttered as she looked at her desk clock. "Where could he be?" She went into her boss' office to straighten his desk and start a coffee, grabbed herself a large cup, and returned to her office to look over what was scheduled for the day. "A meeting at twelve-thirty and he's not even here to-" As soon as she heard the 'ding' signaling the sound of her boss' elevator, she went into his office. "M-Mr. Singh?" 

Maverick walked out of the elevator with a tank-top on and a pair of sweatpants. Needless, to say, he was not very formal for his meeting.

A gasp escaped Stevie as she rushed to him. "Are you alright?" She asked as he groggily walked into the room and sat down in his office chair.  

He sighed and looked at Stevie. "I'm fine." 

"Wh-then why are you dressed like this?!" She asked. "You have a meeting in a few hours and you-you're drenched in sweat!" She looked at him closer and realized. "Have you slept?" She incredulously asked.

Maverick shrugged and took a deep breath, his head collapsing on the back of his chair as his eyes closed. "I've been running all night so," He groaned and looked down at her with a drained smile. "The answer is no." He stood from his chair and stretched.

"Mr. Singh," Stevie hesitantly replied. "Maybe you should head home and get some rest."

The mere thought of being home alone right now was not something that Maverick wanted and he made that known as he immediately disagreed with her suggestion. "I'm fine, Ms. Vidal." He tried to reassure his assistant. "I'll just take a shower and be ready before the meeting."

She watched him head for a door that she never noticed before that moment. "Where are you going to shower if not at home?" She asked. 

Maverick opened the door and revealed a small yet very nice full bathroom in his office. "Here." He simply answered.

"Uh-I...did not know that you had a bathroom in your office." She said with hushed surprise. 

Maverick shrugged. "Never know what could happen. Have to always be prepared." He replied. He started to head inside.

"What are you going to wear?" Stevie asked. "I'm sure you're going to need something a tad more...professional than sweats and a tank top."

He cursed under his breath when she reminded him of this. "Well, then I guess I have to go back home then"

"You know what? I'll-I'll go." Stevie volunteered. He was moving entirely too slow and if he wasn't going to stay home then there was no point in him taking his time to get back.

"I can go, Ms. Vidal. I need to go home anyway." 

"Yeah, you mean to get some rest?" She sarcastically replied. "Look, I can postpone the meeting and-"

"No." Maverick insisted. "I've already postponed one time before. Doing it twice would just be downright unprofessional."

Stevie rolled her eyes, knowing that it was because of her that he had to cancel the first time. "Well, then just let me go to your house and get whatever it is that you need and bring it back. You take your shower and I'll have your close already..." Her voice trailed off as she started for the door.

"Wait, wait!" Maverick called after her.

"Yes, Mr. Singh." Stevie exasperatedly replied.

"You don't know where I live." He said.

This was true but it wouldn't hinder Stevie. "I'll just asked Stefano." She said and walked away. "Hurry up and get cleaned up!" She said loudly while she was walking away, fortunately, there wasn't really anyone on the top floor of the building.

Maverick, amused, went and did as he was told.

"I don't know, Stefano." She said. "He apparently went for a run last night and just never returned home." 

Stevie had been talking to her older cousin as he led her to Maverick's home. When she finally pulled up, she noticed how small it was, but then who needed an extra-large home for just one person anyway? It was your typical small brick home-figures, she thought as she couldn't imagine any other type for Maverick Singh.

There was a small porch, large enough for maybe three chairs. She noticed the beer bottle that was sitting there, half empty. 

"I don't know what's going on, but maybe you should check on him," Stevie said as she got out of the car. "Oh, I hope the door's unlocked." She muttered. "I never got a key." She twisted the knob and the door opened. She was glad that the door was unlocked but she still couldn't believe that he left it that way. Frustrated with her boss' carelessness, she turned and grabbed the bottle of beer. "I'll talk to you late, Stef." She said. "Thank you for the directions. And talk to your friend please!" She hung up the phone. "I don't want this to be a regular occurrence. 

She stepped into the house, noticing how clean it was but also how bare it was as well. There was one plain beige sofa, the rug was a little lighter in contrast to the furniture. Then there was a recliner in the corner of the room. Everything was strategically placed and in front near the window was what Stevie assumed to be probably fifty-inch t.v. Not a bad size for the living room decor, yet considering that he was a man, she assumed it would be larger for entertainment reasons.

She walked past the kitchen and went to his room, realizing that she didn't have time to keep looking around. She assumed that the larger room was his but was mistaken when she saw that it seemed to be used as a weapon's storage space.

"Wow, this guy really is military." She mumbled, taking in the beautiful combat knives that he had in a glass case against the wall, not to mention the two rifles and two sawed-shotguns that she saw lined up against the closet.

Stevie left the room and quickly went into his bedroom. His room was clean and it smelled nice but it wasn't a scent of cologne. She inhaled and then went into the room to see if she could find something for him.

Everything was so put together that she was almost afraid to touch anything. She had no idea what his militant pet peeves were.

"Ah, well, guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." 

She went through his drawers and while she felt very uncomfortable picking out his garments, she tried to push past the timidness and just picked up something random. Spending too much time on it would imply that she actually cared what type of boxers that this man wore so she picked out the first pair she saw. Then she looked through his other drawer and found a tank top, white and crisp.

It was so easy to find things that Stevie actually enjoyed getting the things. It didn't take long to find the socks-though he did have the casual sock drawer and the more sporty one. 

"You are the most clean kept man I have ever known, Maverick Singh." She noted under her breath.

She made sure that everything was put together and quickly went to his closet and grabbed a charcoal slim-fit three-piece suit with a white collared shirt to go along with it. When she tried searching for his shoes, she realized that she didn't have to look for long as they were on the floor, lined perfectly below his clothes in their respective boxes.

Stevie placed the clothes on the bed and looked for a pair of shoes. As she opened the box, her eyes widened when she saw how humongous those shoes were. "Sweet mother of..." Her voice trailed off as she saw a pair of shoes matching perfectly to his suit. "I feel sorry for whatever girl comes your way, my good man." She muttered. "Assuming the shoes match the size." She joked to herself.

She steamed both the suit and creased the shirt and quickly headed out of the house and back to the office. She knew by this time that maybe her boss had gotten out of the shower and woke up a little from the all-nighter that he pulled.

She rushed up the elevator and brought the suit to his office and placed the suit on the bathroom door where she assumed he was waiting. 

"Clothes and suit on the door!" She called. "I'll just-"

"Thanks, Ms. Vidal." 

She turned around and saw him standing there. "Mr.-" She turned back around. "Why-why are you out of the bathroom?" She asked.

"It was hot and you were taking too long?" He answered.

"But-but, this is...like a public office and the-the windows are glass and-"

"And I have a towel on and...no one else is up here but you, me and my father whose out on a business trip."

"Okay, alright." She said. "Well," She made sure that she kept her eyes forward as she tried to maneuver out of his office with her back turned to him. "I'm just gonna go-" She started to say when she backed into him. "Oh!" She jumped. 

"You alright?"

"Not really." She quickly stated. "I'm just-I'll be in my office." She said, her gaze glancing over his amazing body before she rushed out of the office.

She waited in her office, sipping on her coffee, which was slightly cold now thanks to her run to her boss' house earlier. She looked at her clock and saw that it was almost eleven-thirty. She didn't want to be late for the meeting but she also didn't know how to face her boss again after the glimpse that she had of him.

"Shoes definitely match the size." She muttered.

"You were saying something?"

Stevie jumped so hard, she almost spilled her coffee all over her dress. She looked up and saw Maverick Singh standing there looking just as she had imagined he would in what she picked out, only better. He had his sleeves cuffed slightly to reveal his large veiny forearms and the partial sleeve that stopped only a few inches about his elbow. His shirt was left slightly open to reveal his neck and the vest made him look even more grand. 

"I-um, wasn't...was just talking to myself." Stevie tried to save herself.

Maverick gave her a curious expression before walking into the office. "Thanks for grabbing my things." He said. 

"Oh trust me, it was the easiest grab I've ever had to do." She said with a sigh. "You are very well-kept." She commented.

Maverick chuckled. "Military life, I guess." He said. "Hope you weren' too nosey." 

Stevie gave him a sheepish look. "Define 'too nosey'." She teased. "Kidding." She laughed.

Maverick smirked. "Yeah, somehow I doubt that." He said. "Else, I wouldn't feel squeezed into this suit."

"What do you mean?" Stevie asked, turning around to take in every inch of that outfit on him. 

"My mom got me this suit." He said. "It's too small." He said. "If you were paying attention you'd probably have noticed that this one is a little smaller than all the rest."

"It's called slim-fit, boss," Stevie replied. The suit actually fit perfectly as far as she was concerned. "I think it looks...amazing." She lightly chuckled. 

The way she looked at him, almost made Maverick a little...timid. When her gaze slid back up to his, he didn't know what to do. Did she even know what she had just done in looking at him that way?

"You ready to go?" She asked.

Before he could even answer, she walked away. Maverick cleared his throat and shook the thoughts that he had a way, the whole time wondering now, was Stefano's cousin flirting with him?