Chapter 6
Axe recognized the man as Sameer Sarkar, his client relations officer—the one who had come highly recommended by leadership at Deutsche Bank.
He watched as he forcefully dragged a soaking Violette off to the edge of the dance floor, giving her an earful. She looked like a fuming, soggy mess, but her back was straight as she, in turn, laid into him.
Good. That guy deserved it. The nerve to show up to a party he’d already backed off from with her, and to come with another woman—fuck. Where was the decency? And hell, that reminded him, where was Lucia?
He looked around, spotting the flash of red hair and turquoise costume as she split via the exit on the opposite side of the room.
He let out an angry huff. This was so like her—leaving the scene of the crime for everyone else to handle.
His family and the board needed her to keep her nose clean and her reputation on the down low until their company went public.
He, the CEO of Axel Parfums, an old, venerable, defunct French fragrance house, needed things on the up and up to make a successful rebranding debut.
He’d put all his money into this and had secured hefty loans from the bank, which was to act as a silent partner, but had exhibited an all-hands-on-deck force since they’d entered the loan agreement.
It was Sameer who was his main point of contact, and it seemed like Sameer was handling more than just business relations with his family representatives.
Merde.
This kind of tangled crap never ended well. And he felt a little ill knowing that the woman—Violette—whose peculiar attention he’d been enjoying that evening was linked to Sameer.
Disappointment slid through him. Violette was the first person he’d experienced any sort of kindred spirit with in a long time.
Was he also physically attracted to her?
Undeniably, yes. Sure, she seemed a little all over the place, which was a characteristic he wasn’t fond of.
But not in the worst possible way, and considering she was in the midst of relationship issues, which were the cause of said behavior, it wasn’t a total turnoff.
Truthfully, he’d found their short encounters humorous and entertaining, and she was charming and sexy. And that kiss …
Damn, he thought, as he watched the two of them walk away together. Sameer tried to grab her hand, and she kept rebuffing him. Good for her.
Before they completely exited the party, she threw a glance back at him over her shoulder, wiggling her brows comically, mouthing, “Thank you.” She blew him a kiss playfully.
Not entirely sure he wouldn’t be worrying about this strange woman for a good while, he nodded stiffly in acknowledgement before she turned back around and left.
There was nothing else he could do at this point regarding her.
He’d have to forget about everything that happened that night.
She was off limits. Whoever she was, she was somehow linked to his financial backers, and he wasn’t about to jeopardize that relationship.
The area had been cleared of the broken glass and sticky champagne, and he realized he still needed to give his speech and announce the contest winner. He walked over, and one of his assistants brought him the mic.
He tapped it a few times, getting everyone’s attention as the DJ cut the music.
He welcomed everyone and gave them a quick spiel about Axel Parfums and the next steps for reimagining the company.
He said that business could wait tonight, that they should enjoy themselves, and to grab a treat bag on their way out so they could be first to sample some of the fragrances that Axel Parfums had in the running for their first product launch in a long time.
Then his assistant handed him a ballot with the contest winner’s name on it. Apparently, he was told that this guest had received more votes than anyone else by a long shot.
“Reyana Sharma,” he said into the mic. “Where are you, Reyana Sharma? You’re the winner of tonight’s costume contest.”
Everyone looked around as he peered into the crowded room. “Do we know what Reyana’s costume looked like?” he asked.
“Purple! She was in head-to-toe purple and absolutely ate and left no crumbs!” Someone shouted as people began losing interest and went back to partying.
“That’s right. She was in this amazing all-purple costume. I saw her leave,” his assistant said. “But … don’t you know her? Weren’t you dancing with her, and uh … didn’t you guys … you know, kiss,” his assistant coughed uncomfortably, “or something?”
Merde.
Of course, his assistant would have witnessed all that. She’d been waiting nearby to hand him the mic for his speech throughout that entire selfie, kiss, and crashing champagne tower debacle.
Then she held something out for him, a silver mangled ball of material, purple ribbons hanging limply from it. He recognized it as Violette’s mask.
He reached for it, spreading it out in his hands and examining it.
“Or something,” he finally said curtly, shoving her mask into his pocket, nixing forming thoughts about any-and-all of what he’d done with Violette—Reyana Sharma—from his brain, and anyone else’s opinion who happened to witness their actions.
“Got it?” he said tersely and with finality to his assistant before abruptly asking for another name to announce as the winner.
He was going to forget about Reyana Sharma—he needed to forget about her. It wouldn’t be hard; he was a loner. Sure, that kiss and their banter had been fun (more than fun). But not when it led to a sticky web that involved his family and business.
What they’d done was just a bit of amusement; an extracurricular activity at a party.
Who didn’t go a little crazy at a celebration, especially when masks and libations were involved?
People got a little too uninhibited—it was completely natural.
As far as he was concerned, he had no reason to ever see her again.
It was that simple.
I hope you enjoyed reading my novella, A Mysterious Masked Meet-Cute.
This might seem like a cliff-hanger, but it’s the prequel to my next full-length, pseudo-love-triangle romance coming out in Winter 2026/2027 with Reyana Sharma, Simon Axel, and Sameer Sarkar.
Find out more at or follow me on Instagram @ktsromanceauthor.