Brandon's Notebook (A TMMM Bonus Material)

Journal 18: Can I Say Badass?

And just as I suspected, the temperature in that brunch was a bit frosty toward Charlotte. Glacial, was more like it.

It's her first public appearance as the much revered Mrs. Maxfield and while some people have definitely decided on how to feel about her, there was still a big majority left undecided. Without intervening too much, I made sure to make my rounds, talking business and getting social while ensuring that everyone knew just what a proud, happy husband I was.

Sure, some people were going to roll their eyes at me but they'd be far and few between. Not even the most highly vocal of critics would dare to be rude in my face. I'm not above using the weight of my very financially and politically heavy hand to further my cause. Like any Maxfield man, I'm a gentleman—mostly—but I'm a man with a certain persuasion that you wouldn't want working against you.

And I made sure everyone in the party knew that—including dear cousin Francis who might have set up his enemy camp right between Simone's legs.

I honestly don't care who she dates. In fact, I wish her well on that department. That's not why I was pissed off at seeing her with Francis. If they could both say they found true love with each other and not a common enemy, I'll buy them a wedding present and wish them all the best. But I know for a fact that the only reason Simone's with Francis is because he's found a way to use her to his advantage. And like a sulking child whose toy got snatched away, Simone's letting him do it. If she thinks she's safe from the kind of damage he could inflict, she's dead wrong.

But my talk with her had to wait until I could assure myself that my wife was going to survive the day. At first I didn't notice because Charlotte's good at that—picking herself back up and marching on like nothing happened. Then the series of pranks became a little more obvious. At one point, I was going to just flat out confront her about it because I was quite ready to pound people into the ground but Mrs. Rossiter, a tough, influential old lady Charlotte had unwittingly impressed, stayed my hand, telling me that my wife is stronger than anyone thinks and she should be allowed to show it—at least long enough for other people to realize the mistake they're making about her.

I tried to keep an eye on Charlotte, hoping to deter any more accidents from falling on her, but Simone found me before I could make time to find her and pulled me to the side to urgently warn me away from my wife. She said someone's sniffing around the truth and that if I didn't want to be eyeballs deep in this mess, I should start putting some distance between it and myself. I bluntly told her that maybe I wouldn't have to worry about any of this if she'd kept her mouth shut around Francis. He made enough implied threats to make me believe that yes, he might be onto something. Francis is forever digging to find dirt on me but I'm usually ahead of him so I wasn't worried.

Simone insisted she didn't tell him anything. That he was just being a nice guy. I had to break it to her, and not so gently, that Francis isn't anyone's idea of a nice guy. His head was stuck in his ass so deep all he can see and say and do is sh*t.

Yes, I am that furious with him.

Simone wouldn't give me any more information than what she hinted at. She said she didn't want to stir any trouble; just wanted to warn me. I scoffed at that. Charlotte would more than stir the pot—she would tip it over and back if necessary to right a situation, even if she got scalded in the process.

I used to appreciate a woman's ability to compromise with me and now I see it clearly. It wasn't that I liked women who compromised—I liked women who followed my orders without argument and that was a sorry preference, for both parties. I was just getting away with everything which in turn didn't let me appreciate anything of value anymore and the women became nothing more than a puppet who will never step outside their box and risk never getting back in. Charlotte's more than capable of compromise—in fact, sometimes she can be too generous—but she wasn't the type to cower and let you have your way if you're in the wrong. She's a brave little thing and I never knew how sexy that kind of bold courage in a woman can be until I met her.