Chapter 6
MAYA
The Stella headquarters are in a converted warehouse in West Chelsea.
Brick facade and steel-framed windows with a brass plaque beside the door, the building is both homely and inviting, yet exuding a quiet confidence.
It’s flashy and expensive, without shouting about it.
Inside polished concrete floors contrast with exposed beams, and the floor-to-ceiling windows let an abundance of light spill in.
I get into work and discover that Katherine isn’t in her office. Then I remember that she’s got a meeting out of the office.
I head to my desk feeling like I have sawdust in my eyes.
I haven’t slept much for a week, since the VIP event which turned my world upside down.
Seeing Zach again has blindsided me. I’ve been running on coffee, anxiety, and resentment ever since.
I glance into the windowed conference room, the way I always do when there are people inside, but this time I stop stone cold dead and almost drop the coffee cup I’m holding in my hand.
Zach Knight is here. At my place of work, sitting in the small windowed office space that I can see so clearly from where I sit.
My heart lurches, and for a moment the world narrows to just him. He sits around a table with Cecil and a few of the managers, but no Katherine. There are many conference and meeting rooms in this building, so why did he pick this one?
And did he pick a day to meet when he knew she’d be away? What is his end goal?
My mind spins a thousand directions at once. I want to run, I want to hide, I want to scream, but my body refuses to move. All I can do is stare, trying to convince myself this isn’t real, that I’m not actually seeing him once again after all these years.
I haven’t stopped thinking about him, but I didn’t expect this. I expected to never see him again.
“Hey, Maya.” One of my colleagues walks past me. I manage to nod, but my eyes are still fixated on the man who’s turned up unexpectedly at my place of work. A man who is now sitting where I can’t miss him, and turned my mind into a riot of chaos.
I can’t focus and I hate that he’s already thrown me into a web of confusion.
We haven’t even come face to face yet.
I quickly rush to my desk, before he can see me. He’s far away, yet still close enough that if he looked at me, I could read his expression.
I set my coffee cup down, before shrugging out of my jacket. I check my diary and discover that Katherine’s in a meeting, for an hour. To my dismay, I see a note from her, alongside a sheaf of papers she wants me to deal with. She’s given me a million things to do, and I know she’ll be back soon.
I sit down and try to drink my coffee, but my stomach is jittery. From where I’m sitting, if Zach looked up he’d catch me staring at him. I wish he’d go away and stay away, out of my life. I wish I hadn’t run into him.
Most of all, I wish he wasn’t here.
What makes you think he’s here for you?
I start to look through a few documents on my computer.
When I was putting the presentation deck together, some things didn’t add up and when I questioned Katherine about them, she told me to omit those slides ‘to make the presentation short and to the point’ she’d said.
But an uneasiness settled over me and I’ve been mulling over her words ever since.
Luckily I have access to most of the internal systems. I open a few dashboards I don’t usually need and start digging. Shipping first. Then vendor accounts.
My stomach tightens.
Several invoices are flagged as overdue.
It’s not catastrophic, but there are more than there used to be.
A couple of fabric suppliers have paused shipments pending payment.
One major department store buyer has quietly reduced their order for the upcoming season.
Another has canceled altogether, citing “restructuring reasons.”
I quickly scan through and find an internal note about revised budgets. Marketing spend trimmed. Travel approvals restricted. A hiring freeze I hadn’t been aware of.
No wonder they didn’t get a replacement for the PR person.
No wonder I’m doing two jobs.
I know now, without any doubt, that the promotion Katherine’s still dangling will never materialize.
My heart misses a beat.
This isn’t just a blip. All the little things that have gnawed away at me, are painting a picture I don’t want to see.
The company isn’t doing as well as I thought.
I should have mingled that night at the VIP event.
I should have ignored Zach and done what I intended to do; mix with the big buyers.
I should have stuck around instead of letting Katherine banish me to the office.
By not doing so I missed out on an opportunity, and if Stella falls, I’m going to be on a sinking ship.
One of the secretaries comes over to me. “Uh, Maya, they’re having a meeting in the conference room and they have a few questions about the presentation deck.” She glances at Katherine’s empty office. “You worked on it, didn’t you?”
They have some questions about the deck?
Instinct tells me that Zach is up to something.
He knows I created the deck, because I told him so.
I suck in a breath, trying to stay calm.
I wouldn’t put it past him to have orchestrated this meeting, he’s so transparent, he always was.
Doesn’t mean I have to play along, but I have no idea why he’s doing this here, at my place of work.
I look around and my gaze settles on Rina, the new intern, sitting at a desk near me. She helped me put the slides together. I stand up, raising my voice a little. “Rina, would you mind going over to the—” I glance at the conference room only to find Zach staring right at me.
I hold my breath, the air lodges in my lungs as I watch that twisted smile on his face. Every thought I have flies right out of my head.
“To the what?” Rina asks nervously.
“Uh …” I manage to pull my gaze away and stare at Rina. “The ..uh … the …”
Gone. Poof, just like that.
I shake my head, mind still blank, hating that this man can unbalance me so easily even from across the room.
“To the conference room?” Rina asks, looking where my attention was.
“Uh … yes. They have a few questions about the presentation deck.”
She looks like I’ve just asked her to go to the moon. Her cheeks turn bright red. “You want me to go?”
“You helped me,” I say brightly. “Just go and see what they want.”
She reluctantly gets up and follows the secretary, and I try not to feel too guilty for throwing her into the dragon’s den.
What’s the worst that can happen? They likely just want to know where the data came from, or maybe how we created the slide deck.
I should go, but I don’t want to be within sneezing distance of Zach Knight.
Instead, I pretend to focus my attention on the spreadsheets in front of me.
Only, my mind is ablaze with crazy thoughts.
I’ve opened a few ad hoc applications on my computer, pretending to be busy, but my mind is over there, in the conference room, wondering why Zach is really here.
Rina returns a few minutes later, looking relieved. “Cecil specifically asked for you to come in.”
I let out a groan. Gripping the desk hard, I slowly get up, feeling all hot and bothered, irritated. Is this what we’re doing now? Is this the game we’re playing? Clearing my throat, my head held high, I make my way to the conference room.
Zach sits there smiling, easy and unguarded. His eyes are warm and familiar, and the rough shadow along his jaw lends him a darker edge than I remember.
I’m reminded so sharply of the sweet and sexy sixteen-year-old who brightened my day. My heart melts. He’s not the villain. He didn’t do anything. I shouldn’t put my blame on him.
“Maya,” Cecil says. “Zach Knight, this is Maya Santiago. I believe you two have already met.”
I glance at Zach; he’s already looking at me and our gazes hold because Cecil’s words hit so deep. We have met, only it wasn’t just last night. Now it feels like we’re sharing a little secret.
“Zach enjoyed the presentation very much,” Cecil continues, good-naturedly.
Zach clears his throat. “That was one heck of a slick presentation deck. I’ve seen a lot of presentations, and I have to say, this was excellent.”
I feel myself blush from top to toe. Why is he heaping so much praise on me? “It’s just a presentation. Anyone can do it,” I blurt out, a little embarrassed by his fawning praise.
“I don’t agree.”
Our eyes lock, and there’s awkwardness. I hate that he’s putting me in such a difficult position. He’s giving me glory, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.
“Sit down … please,” he adds, as an afterthought. He’s a big shot billionaire, now. “I’d like you to run me through this presentation deck. There are some slides that I’m not sure about.”
He taps the tablet in front of him and then turns it around so that I can see it.
“The performance overview, the part where you reference year-on-year growth, but you haven’t included raw figures.
I’m also wondering why the wholesale projections stop at this quarter.
” His eyes lift to mine, calm and curious, and searching.
My gut tells me this is personal. He’s not bothered as much about these figures.
To some degree, yes, but it’s me he’s questioning.
Why are you like this?
My stomach tightens. “I’m not the best person for this,” I say carefully. “Katherine would be.”
“But I’m asking you.”
Everyone’s eyes are on me, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what Zach wants.
Cecil perks up. “Is that the time? Sorry, Zach, we have another meeting to attend. I didn’t realize this would run over. We obviously have much to talk about.”
“Not a problem. I’m sure Maya will clue me in,” Zach answers, smoothly.
Cecil stands. “We’ll have to leave you both to deal with this.” He and the other managers rise and follow. The meeting room empties and I turn on Zach.