Chapter 18: Tensions Arise

Maryanne stretches as she sits at her small desk in her bedroom. The list of bills in front of her is comprised of checkmarks where she has already made the payment for the month. Not having to pay rent anymore has allowed her to save up a good chunk of money.
As she leans back, she is overcome with a sense of anxiety. Just the knowledge that Max is paying for the entire house by himself and that she is not responsible for any of it is causing her to stress.
After thinking for a moment, she stands and exits her room, heading down the hall, past Max’s bedroom and towards his office. She breathes in deeply before knocking. When she hears a muffled “Enter,” she slowly opens the door.
Maryanne peeks around, finding the billionaire hunched over his desk. “Max, can I talk to you?”
He scratches his temple before sighing and leaning back in his chair, “Yeah, what is it?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Maryanne pauses, not sure how to word her sentences.
Max tilts his head, “About what?”
“Our expenses.”
“What do you mean?” Max sighs and interlocks his fingers on his lap, waiting for her explanation.
“Ever since we gained custody of Riley you have been paying for everything. I don’t think it’s a good balance. We’re not sharing the expenses enough.” Maryanne awkwardly goes to the other side of his desk, sitting down on one of the spare chairs.
Max shrugs, “I don’t mind paying for anything.”
She fiddles with her hands, staring down. “I know, but we need to have a balance if we are going to make this work. Parents that share custody have to share the responsibility equally.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I can’t afford a place like this on my salary.” Maryanne sighs, scratching her neck.
They sit silently for a while, neither one talking. She doesn’t know how Max will react for when she announces the idea she came up with.
She breathes out softly, “I think we should move.”
Max freezes, his eyes widening softly, “Move? Where would we move to?”
“I don’t know, maybe an apartment, or at least a normal sized, three-bedroom house.”
After a moment, Max’s brow twitches with irritation, “What about Jeff and Geneva? Do you expect me to just fire them?”
“Max, I am only trying to figure out a solution so that we are on a more even playing field for raising Riley.” Maryanne’s own anger is beginning to build. Can’t he understand what she is trying to do?
“Mary, it doesn’t matter if I bought this house, or if we live in a small apartment. Riley won’t know the difference. This way she has Geneva and more room to grow. We are both here for her, isn’t that the important part? That’s what you told me before, that we must be present for her.”
She grinds her teeth as he uses her own words against her. “Yes, we must be present, but I can’t have you paying for everything. I need to be able to prove that I can afford for Riley.”
If he ends up paying for everything, the court might see him more worthy of Riley than her.
“Like you said, you can’t afford this place. Riley is already growing used to life here. It would be irresponsible for us to just take her from at this point and limit her potential in a small apartment.” Max rubs the bridge of his nose before running his hand through his hair.
Maryanne tightens her grip on her interlocked hands, “Just because I don’t make much does not mean I can’t take care of Riley, or that living in a small apartment is going to be a burden for her. Money isn’t everything Maxwell.”
He almost snarls, “Is it such a bad thing that I pay for this house?”
“Why can’t you just move with us to a smaller apartment? Something, anything smaller than this mansion.” She finds that her voice is slowly beginning to rise as the anger builds in her chest.
Max only shrugs, hiding the eye roll as he does, “I don’t want to. It’s not necessary to do so.”
Maryanne’s brow stitches together as she wrinkles her nose, “Maxwell, why are you being so difficult? Just do this, for Riley.”
His own voice starts to match hers in pitch.
“She is not losing anything by living here, so there is no point in leaving.”
“Please,” Maryanne finds herself beginning to beg. How can he not see why this is necessary?
“Maryanne, why are you being so stubborn? Just let me take care of the expenses.”
“Stop throwing your money around. Just because you are rich doesn’t mean you know how to take care of everything.”
Max hisses through his clenched teeth, “I’m not going to apologize for the money I earn with my career. Just because you don’t earn the same, doesn’t mean I am in the wrong.”
“Maxwell,” she begins.
“Stop, Mary. I’m not going to argue about this with you. We are staying in the house and that’s final. If you want to move, that’s fine, but I already told the court that this is our address for the duration of the year. We can’t just keep moving. It will look bad for when one of us adopts Riley.”
She roughly stands, her frustration vibrating throughout her body, causing every nerve to tingle. “Max, I get that, but don’t act like you are better because you have the luxury of living in a place like this. Just help me out here.”
“I am not the bad guy here.”
Maryanne grits her teeth and storms from the room, refusing to say another word. He is just incapable of seeing reason. She will have to find a way to get him to agree with her.

>><<

Geneva glances up as Maryanne enters Riley’s play room. She still has her winter jacket on.
“Good afternoon Miss, how was work?”
Maryanne tries to smile, but the bags under her eyes show her exhaustion. “It was good. It went by quickly. How is Riley?”
“We went outside for a little bit, but it is getting too cold for her to be out there for too long anymore.”
She tries to laugh, “Yeah, I don’t want her getting a cold again.”
There is movement behind her and Geneva says, “Oh, good afternoon Mister Ryder, you are home early.”
Maryanne glances up at Max before pivoting away and going to Riley, who giggles and continues to put a dress on her Barbie. She kneels down and picks up one of the other dolls, beginning to parade it around with Riley.
Max only stays in the room for a moment before quietly leaving, not even saying a word to the little girl or Geneva.
Sighing, Maryanne stands and leaves Riley with Geneva as she goes to her bedroom to change. It has been almost a day and Max continues to steer clear of her. Is it so difficult to admit when he is wrong? They need to move in order to share realistic expenses, but he refuses to leave his life of luxury.
Maryanne sits on the end of her bed and contemplates how she is going to make this work. Maybe it is time she confronts him and forces him to talk with her and not ignore her anymore?
She takes off her jacket and storms from her room.