Chapter 20
MAYA
Dexter Knight hasn’t changed one bit. He still has that big dick energy he always had.
He’s older, bigger, and built, and he still has the same swagger. Though he seems happier now.
I glance quickly at Zach’s office. The tension in that room is something I feel even now. I think they like one another, but Zach was clearly annoyed by this unexpected interruption.
My attention swings back to my PC, not before I catch a wave from Katherine’s office.
She’s sitting at her desk, watching me, and now summons me.
A prickle of fear darts through me and I brace myself, and pray that the security guard hasn’t said anything to her about me being in her office last night.
The moment I step inside her office it’s obvious that she’s annoyed about something. She sits behind her desk, arms crossed, expression razor-sharp. I take the chair opposite her, preparing to suffer her wrath.
“I need you to create a few more slides for the board presentation. I’ll email you the information.”
“B-but, I can’t. I wasn’t even supposed to do what I already did for you.
” She tilts her head in disbelief. I’m shocked at what I’ve just said.
I’m not supposed to do anything other than what Zach has set me, but Katherine asked me to do something quickly.
Something she said Cecil had thrown at her last minute.
She looked so flustered, a rarity in itself, that I did as she asked.
“I just need a few more slides. Cecil has asked and this is important.”
Zach’s work is taking so much of my time. One reason for it is that I’m making sure I double-check everything because I don’t want to make any sloppy mistakes. There’s no way I can fit anything else in. “I’m sorry, Katherine. I can’t do it. I’ve got too much else to do and I can’t fit this in.”
“What do you mean you can’t fit it in?” she seethes. “It’s just a few slides.”
“Zach said I was to work on his project as a priority,” I remind her.
She brushes it off. “I’m aware of that. However, I’m asking for four more slides.”
“I’m sorry, I … “ I hesitate, because she’s in a tight spot, and I want to help her. It’s not her fault that Zach has me working on his project. “I can stay late, for an hour after work, and get it done for you then, if that’s okay?”
“I need to present this to Cecil after lunch. I would like you to do this now?”
Her lack of gratitude grates on me. “I have a meeting with Zach now. I’m sorry, I can’t. I wish you’d told me sooner.”
Her face changes, and I see an expression I’ve never seen before. “Cecil only told me half an hour ago. Lately it feels like he’s doing a lot of things behind my back.”
Her phone rings, and she takes it, putting a finger up to let me know she’ll be quick. And that I’m to remain here. She’s not done with me yet.
“Oh, good morning,” she says, her voice bright and cheery, and sounding completely alien to me. I gape at a new Katherine, one who is all smiles and, dare I say it, looking joyful. “Yes, I’m free to talk now.”
I open my notepad and go through the notes I made from my last meeting with Zach.
“I absolutely enjoyed the dinner!”
I’m about to look up, but I force myself to turn deaf and blind and stay focused on my notepad. From my periphery I can see Katherine getting up and walking towards her window.
“He was intelligent, measured, not flaunting his status or his wealth. I appreciated that.”
What?
My ears are burning. I shouldn’t be here.
There’s another pause, a longer one.
“I see.” Her previously enthused tone turns flat. She still has her back to me, and I sink further into my chair.
“Mmm-hmm.” Katherine exhales through her nose. Her shoulders sag. The joy has vanished. “That’s ... fine. Of course.” Another pause. “So, he didn’t feel the chemistry was there?”
Another pause. Her head lowers, and I can’t stop staring at her tall and slender figure.
She looks polished and immaculate, the type of woman who is always in control, but now I’m witnessing that control slip and I’m suddenly uncomfortable.
This isn’t about business. This is about a date that didn’t work out.
About someone she liked, and who didn’t like her back.
“I ... I understand. Of course. Alignment matters.” She gives a tight, humorless laugh.
I feel uneasy sitting here. Katherine is such a private person and she’s forgotten that I’m here, listening to her personal heartache.
“I would appreciate the feedback, yes.” Her body visibly crumples, and I feel so bad for her in this moment.
Her voice thins. “Too ... guarded?” A pause. “Too ... senior?” she cries. “He’s only four years older than me!”
My insides turn all woozy. I really shouldn’t be here. Katherine would not, in a million years, want me to hear this.
She scoffs. “That is interesting. Well, I’m not twenty-five, and I don’t giggle after a glass of wine.
” She inhales a deep breath, and I contemplate quietly tiptoeing out of here.
She straightens up and stands tall, getting back into Katherine mode, as if she’s putting her armor back on.
“Please thank him for his honesty, and thank you. I appreciate the feedback, even if it’s not . .. easy to take.”
She nods, as she listens.
“Very much so. Please continue looking for me. I’ll review the next profile when you send it through.
” She folds her arms, still staring out of the window, and I stay where I am, paralyzed into inaction.
Heart beating, blood coursing through my veins.
Just as I’m about to stand up to leave, she turns around and sees me, her expression changing to one of utter surprise.
She’d forgotten I was here. Her being this vulnerable is something she’d never want me to witness. I stand up, unsure of what to do. She sits down without a word, then rubs her temples as she rolls her head back on the headrest.
“I’m sorry. I should have left the moment your phone rang—”
“It’s okay,” she says, making me pause. I’m caught off guard by the unexpected answer and I don’t know what to make of it.
“I feel like I did it all wrong,” she murmurs to herself. “And yet I’d make the same choices again, given the chance.”
“Did what wrong?” I whisper, feeling unsure of whether I should even be asking.
“I chose career over family, love, and children. I don’t regret that choice, but I … I sometimes wish I had someone to come home to at the end of the day.”
I suddenly feel sorry for her, now having had a window into her private world.
“We’re women working in an industry where the power still sits with men. As a woman I’ve had to work ten times as hard and be ten times as tough.”
I open my mouth as she pins her gaze on me. “It can’t have been easy,” I mumble. I’m not used to her being so open. Talking so freely.
“Men are called the “captains of industry,” they’re described as being bold and magnetic.
Women? We’re called bitches for having balls.
I know what people say about me. I know what they think of me.
If you stay in this industry long enough you will experience the same pain—no matter that you might have a family and a husband to go home to.
And even if you get that, you’ll struggle to keep it. ”
Her words hang like needles in the air, and I suddenly feel fearful.
Not because she’s cruel, but because she speaks with such conviction.
I’ve never seen this whole other side to her before.
Now I see her jaded and worn down by experience, fighting to stay relevant.
I want to believe that she’s wrong, because one day I hope to have a man and a family who will love me unconditionally.
One day, I hope to have both. But then I stop and think about it. She’s right.
Men do have all the power.
Cecil is at the top.
The board of directors are all men.
The person coming in to save the company? Zach Knight. Another man.
In this moment I see that Katherine’s insecurities don’t come from a place of bitterness, but from years spent navigating an industry where men still hold the real power.
Her sharpness is a kind of armor that comes from loneliness and constant vigilance.
She’s had to fight harder to stay in the room, and she probably feels that younger, smarter, ambitious people are always waiting to take her place.
Maybe she’s fearful of losing relevance and she sees me as a legitimate threat.
I don’t feel angry anymore. I feel sorry for her.
She stands abruptly, as if embarrassed by how much she’s said, and starts tidying her desk. Then she freezes. “What’s this?” Something dangles from her fingers.
My stomach drops.
It’s my bracelet. The one I took off yesterday, absent-mindedly, while I was sitting at her desk, talking to Mom who’d just called.
Why was I so stupid and careless?
“That’s mine,” I say, casually.
“What’s it doing here?”
“I … I was just stressing about trying to fit in doing your extra slides. I sometimes just fiddle with it and I must have taken it off without thinking.”
She frowns, but hands it back to me before turning her attention to her computer screen. “Maybe it’s not going to be such a dark day,” she says. I wonder if I’ve been excused. If I should make my escape.
“Cecil has moved our meeting to tomorrow morning. I guess I’m really turning into the invisible one.”
“I’ll still get your extra slides done. I’ll stay behind tonight and do them.”
Her expression softens. “You will?”
“It won’t take long. I’ll get it done, Katherine, I promise.
Her lips twitch. “Thank you,” she manages to say.
***
Zach’s brother has disappeared, so I resume my meeting with him.
I show him the progress I’ve made on the client profitability report. He likes what I’m doing. Because the meeting is rushed—because he has another meeting in ten minutes time—neither of us has time for small talk. I quickly scoop up my paperwork and leave.
I stay behind after work and finish creating the slides Katherine wanted. Then I make my way back to the swanky new apartment I’m staying at.
My head is spinning. Two nights ago I was sleeping in Katherine’s office, and now, I’m here. My apartment in Tribeca. I open the door and step inside, feeling like a million dollars.
My mood lifts, and I feel good. Actually, I feel amazing.
Funny how good things happening can so easily make me feel so deliriously happy.
I look inside the fridge. Zach thoughtfully made sure I have the regular things, bread, milk, eggs.
But this evening I’m feeling like having something different. I decide to get takeout.
My phone rings.
It’s Zach.
“Hey,” he says, sounding a little strained. Maybe because he’s calling me on my cell phone instead of my work line. I feel it too—the shift. Us, talking, outside of work. I feel a pull towards him, feel my heart pitter- pattering as I wonder why he’s calling. I’m so happy that he is.
“Hi.” I sound a little too happy.
“I’ve misplaced something,” he says. “A document. It was on my desk earlier today.” There’s a pause. “It’s a signed stock transfer letter. Original copy.”
I hold the phone close, and his voice sounds too intimate, so low, like he’s whispering directly into my ear.
“I can’t find it anywhere and I need it tonight,” he adds. “I was supposed to give it to my dad. Is there a remote possibility you might have picked it up by accident?”
“Uh ...let me check.” I brought my work home with me today, because I finished Katherine’s slides and I wanted to work some more on the report for Zach. I rifle through my documents, and find something that doesn’t belong to me.
“Okay, I think I have it. It’s on Knight Enterprises letterhead. Stock Transfer form. Is that the one?”
“It sure is. Mind if I pass by and get it from you? My dad needs it.”
“Not at all.” I don’t mind one bit. “I’m getting takeout,” I say quickly, taking a big risk. “Would you like to have some? If … if you haven’t already eaten,” I add quickly.
There’s a long pause, as if he’s not sure I’ve said the words I’ve just said.
“Did you just ask me to have a meal with you?” he asks, his tone mocking.
Is he for real? “It’s not a dinner date or—”
“Yes. I’d love to. Thanks.”
“Good. Uh … what shall I order?”
“You choose. I’ll be over in thirty minutes.”
I stand by the window, my insides buzzing with the same excitement I had when I’d wait for him to find me on the Knight Estate all those years ago. My heart turns light and skittery as the reality sinks in that he’s on his way. To me.
At least, that’s what I like to imagine.
I can’t stop smiling. Can’t keep still, and I’m still in disbelief that this is where I am.
I had to pinch myself today at work, knowing I was returning home to this place.
It’s been on my mind the whole day, thinking of a way to thank him.
This seems perfect. It’s not a dinner date, just two people sharing a quick meal.
I hear a buzz on my phone. It’s a message from the building management.
The infestation is more extensive than initially thought, and the follow-up treatment needs additional time to ensure the eggs are fully eradicated.
I shiver in disgust and wonder how I will ever get used to living back there, especially after staying in a place like this.
I feel strangely elated. I get to stay here for a few more nights.
Or do I? I haven’t asked Zach yet. Fleur calls and I pick up instantly.
“Did you hear?” she cries. “We’ve got to stay out a few more nights.”
“I heard.”
“Dave’s fine to let me stay. I’m cooking in return.”
“You don’t cook.”
“He doesn’t seem to notice. Where are you staying?”
“With someone from the office, one of the secretaries,” I reply, intentionally vague. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”
I hang up, then try to figure out how to tell Zach.