Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

Hogan just scoped out Maxwell's dirt at the auction. No word on him tying the knot with Rosemary, but sure as heck found some juicy gossip about him and another chick.

So, this dude was likely bad news! Plus, both were heading to splitsville, and his antics right now? Total clingy disaster.

Thinking that, Hogan puffed up again, tongue-in-cheek, all slouched and smirky, oozing a “couldn't- care-less” vibe, "Can't you see she's totally not into you? You'd think a silver spooner like you, raised with all the bells and whistles, would get a clue, huh?"

Maxwell's eyes were swirling with a storm that could tear him apart, "And who the hell are you to butt into our business?"

His voice was low and razor-sharp, every word crystal. Dude looked like a slick, suit-and-tie kinda guy who'd get floored with one hand, but the vibe he gave off was straight-up savage.

Both guys were young and full of fight; none could stand such blatant provocation, especially since they couldn't stand each other to begin with. Who threw the first punch? Nobody knew, but it was on!

They went at it, no holding back, punches that made people fear for their life just hearing them!

Hogan landed a solid one on Maxwell's left cheek, but got a nasty kick to the gut in return, stumbling back a few steps before catching his balance. Even with muscles for padding, it felt like his insides got rearranged.

"Ouch."

He winced, but then gave Maxwell a surprised eyebrow raise. These past years on the team, one- on-one, few could touch him.

Turned out, this guy could throw down. Hogan clicked his tongue, dropped the casual facade, leaned forward, and motioned with his hand, "Come at me."

Maxwell wiped the blood from his lip, shrugged off his jacket, ditched the tie and cufflinks on the ground, and popped a few buttons for good measure, loosening up for the brawl.

The scene made the security guard feel like his head was gonna explode! If he didn't step in, the two would catch the show right at the front door - no way to spin that. But stepping in? He was out of his league!

He didn't know Hogan from Adam, but they sure knew who Maxwell was. To tussle with him, this guy had to be someone. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Soft approach? Tried that. Didn't work. Hard approach? No way, and it looked like a losing battle.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the guard turned to the one who stirred up the mess, only to find she'd already made herself scarce. He hustled after her, "Ms. Chambers, wait! At least try to break it up. If this keeps up, our front gate's toast!"

Even the barrier arm was nearly snapped in two!

Rosemary knew about the fight, glanced back at the two men doing their violent dance, pure ferocity. But both were smart enough to know their limits.

When the guard asked for help, Rosemary didn't even look back, "Let them be. They'll stop when they've had enough. No need to intervene."

The guard, stunned, looked back and forth between the battered duo, the busted barrier, and the blood sprinkles on the ground, then back at the departing Rosemary.

Ms. Chambers was one tough cookie! Wasn't the script supposed to have her running in, arms wide, forcing them to stop?

Biting the bullet, the guard chased her down again, because she could remain unruffled, but honestly, what if it went too far, and someone died?

"Ms. Chambers, please. What if it ends up with someone dead?"

Rosemary was cornered, turned to see the two still going at it, and told the worried guard, "You think I can stop that?”

If they started the fight because of her, then right now, those two were thrilled by this matched battle; they wouldn't stop till there was a winner.

“They know what they’re doing; nobody’s gonna die. If you're worried, call the cops."

The guard clung to the last shred of hope, "Maybe you could stay till the cops arrive, Ms. Chambers?"

Cops were already on the way, but keeping Rosemary around was just to keep things from spiraling. Fights were unpredictable - what if they didn't stop in time?

Stuck, Rosemary resigned herself to spectating, but just standing there would be something weary, "How about you fetch me a chair?"

Weird. How could Mr. Gellar, the epitome of grace, fall for someone as cold-blooded as Ms. Chambers? And he also asked them to look out for her.

He cast another glance at her stoic face; for someone like her, who'd dare mess with her?

Before the cops showed up, Maxwell and Hogan had already cooled it. Rosemary couldn't tell who won or lost with her limited combat skills, just that both were standing, bruised but steady.

Hogan looked up, picked up his clothes from the ground, and gestured to Rosemary from a distance, "Dinner tomorrow, I'll pick you up."

Rosemary replied, "Sure."

Maxwell scoffed and walked away without a word, leaving his coat and cufflinks in the dust.

Seeing this, Rosemary got it. Maxwell was the loser, probably hurt bad, too pained to speak or even pick up his stuff.

“Winner” Hogan turned around, wincing; damn, that hurt! Was Maxwell raised by wolves or something? Such brutal hits. Weren't CEOs supposed to just push papers and sit in meetings? Where'd he learn to fight like that?

Hogan almost ascended to heaven from the pain just getting into his SUV with its high chassis, "Damn, definitely gonna be limping!"

Once the coast was clear, Rosemary faced the guard who'd become her shadow, "Calculate the repair and cleaning costs for the damages, and send me the bill."

And then, she just went and sent it to Maxwell, that jerk! If he hadn't followed her just now, this whole mess wouldn't have even started. Now she was under Martin's roof, totally at his mercy, and pulling a stunt like this? Talked about making things awkward for herself.

Later that night, just as Maxwell got back to Meadowlark Retreat, he got a call from Christ.

Slouching on the couch, he leaned his head back, casually pulled out a cigarette, and placed it between his lips. The soft blue flame of his lighter flickered to life, casting light on his bruised

jawline, "What's up?"

"Mr. Templeton, the press release from the media folks is ready. Do you want to take a look?"

Usually, Christ would handle this sort of thing, but this time, he wasn't sure what to do.