CHAPTER 34
Maya
I FINALLY TOLD MY FRIENDS THAT SEBASTIAN AND I were dating a month into our relationship.
Between work, travel, and family obligations, we hadn’t had much time to connect in the new year, and this was our first real girls’ night in months. It seemed like the perfect time to break the news.
They reacted with varying degrees of shock and elation, though they weren’t quite as surprised as I would’ve expected.
“I watch too many rom-coms not to have seen it coming,” Sloane said. “Enemies to lovers? Obsessed with each other since childhood? The writing was on the wall.”
“We weren’t obsessed,” I protested. “I didn’t even like him until recently.”
“Mmhmm. Is that why you guys kept seeking each other out?” Ayana asked knowingly. “If you really didn’t like him, you would’ve gone out of your way to avoid him.”
“I did, but our families are friends and—”
“You were forced to work together. Yada, yada, yada,” Isabella said. “No one forced you to meet once a week in person. Or to take a road trip to Vermont together.”
Shit. They were right. I slumped against my seat as my friends burst into giggles at my stunned expression.
In hindsight, it was obvious. I hadn’t consciously been attracted to Sebastian, but I’d always gravitated toward him.
He was often the first person I thought of when I won something and the last person I thought of before I went to sleep.
Granted, that had been in the context of me 1) wanting to rub my victories in his face, and 2) devising new ways of beating him, but… I’d still thought about him. A lot.
“Fine,” I said over my friends’ laughter. “I was a little oblivious, but it wasn’t my fault! It’s hard to admit your feelings have changed when you’ve hated someone your whole life.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Isabella patted my shoulder. “You never hated him, but it’s okay. I’m glad you guys have finally seen the light.”
I made a face, but my mouth tugged up in a reluctant smile. It was hard to argue with the truth.
Sloane, Ayana, Vivian, Isabella, Alessandra, and I were catching up at a trendy new bowling alley downtown.
We were taking a food break in between games, but we’d done more talking than eating over the past half hour—not that I was complaining.
It was nice to sit back and gossip after the insane few weeks I’d had at work.
“So where is this going?” Alessandra asked. “Have you told your parents yet?”
They all knew about my engagement deadline, so it was a fair question.
“Not yet,” I admitted. “We’re waiting until after the launch event. If you could keep this a secret until then, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Her face was soft with sympathy. Vivian was the only one who might understand the familial pressure I was under because she’d been raised with similar expectations. That was how she’d ended up in an arranged marriage with Dante.
Our conversation shifted to Sloane’s latest client, but my mind lingered on the impending launch. It was in two months, which seemed both too close and too far away.
A pinch of anxiety flared in my gut. Was two months enough time to figure out what my endgame with Sebastian looked like?
What was I going to say when my mother inevitably assumed our relationship announcement was the equivalent of an engagement announcement?
Would she let us take it slow, or would she insist we get married as soon as possible?
If the launch bombed, and we went public as a couple, would people blame my failure on my love life?
They’d probably say I got distracted by my boyfriend and wasn’t focused enough to operate at the same level I used to.
Sebastian was the co-event lead, but that wouldn’t matter.
Guys never faced the same type of judgment from the public.
They could work and date, no problem, but when women did it, we suddenly had to choose.
Worse… what if they were right? Not about my capabilities or having to choose, but about the distraction. Old me would’ve never taken an afternoon off for sex the way we’d done last week.
I didn’t regret it, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt a little worried afterward. There were dozens of people lined up to take my spot at the head of the corporate marketing world. There were more who were eager to see me fail. If I took my foot off the gas for even a second…
Stop it. I shook off the familiar doubts attempting to wrap themselves around me. It was girls’ night; it wasn’t the time for another existential crisis.
When I tuned back into the conversation, my friends were talking about next year’s Legacy Ball. The ball was an ultra-exclusive event that took place in a different city every year. It hadn’t been held in New York since Vivian chaired the planning committee years ago.
“No way,” she said when Alessandra asked if she was in charge of the event again. “I think I still have a few gray hairs from the first time I planned it. God bless whoever’s in charge of next year’s ball, but I’ll be attending as a guest and only a guest this time around.”
“I can’t wait.” Ayana’s eyes sparkled. “It’ll be my first time attending. Vuk’s too. He never wanted to go before, but I convinced him it’d be fun. He says hi, by the way.”
We all stared at her.
“Okay, no, he didn’t,” she admitted sheepishly. “I said hi for him. But he does like you guys. He just… doesn’t express it.”
“Forget liking us. Are you really texting your boyfriend during girls’ night?” Isabella clucked her tongue. “Shame on—hey!” She squawked in protest when Vivian swiped her phone off the table.
“I miss you too, love,” she read aloud. “Poker with the guys is fun, but I’d rather—okay, I’m not reading the rest of this.” She put the phone back down, blushing, but she arched an eyebrow at Isabella. “What were you saying about texting boyfriends and husbands during girls’ night?”
“I had to ask him a question about bowling, and one thing led to another,” Isabella said over our renewed laughter. Her face was red. “It’s not like I’m the only one. Who here hasn’t texted their partner tonight? Raise your hand. And don’t lie because I will check.”
The rest of us exchanged guilty looks. In my defense, I’d only texted Sebastian between turns. I hadn’t messaged him since we took our food break.
“This is pathetic.” Sloane spoke up first. “I will not let us turn into those people who can’t enjoy a night out without their significant other.” She plunked her purse onto the table. “All cell phones in the bag. Come on.”
There were a few grumbles, but we did as she asked and left our table for another game.
“I hope Dante doesn’t show up with security,” Vivian said. “He tends to freak out when I don’t answer fast enough.” Her husband was notoriously overprotective, but the ruthless CEO had accumulated enough enemies over the course of his career to justify his paranoia.
“It’ll be fine,” Isabella said. “The guys get so into poker, I bet they’re not even thinking about us unless we text them.”
Sebastian
“Check,” Killian said, deferring his bet. He waited a beat before adding impatiently, “Young, it’s your turn.”
“Hmm?” Kai glanced up from his phone. “What?”
“It’s your turn.”
“Ah. Apologies.” The British CEO didn’t look sorry at all. “I had to reply to Isabella about something.”
“Was it more urgent than putting in your bet when there’s this much money at stake?” Killian asked pointedly. He nodded at the towering stacks of chips on the table.
“Yes,” Kai said. He smirked at Killian’s scoff of disgust, but he finally made his bet. I was next, and I matched his bet before I returned to texting under the table.
MAYA
Guess who’s winning at bowling?
Sloane?
MAYA
…
Don’t insult me like that again
I’m up by twenty, baby
P.S. Don’t tell Sloane I said that. She’s scary when she gets competitive
Like you don’t
MAYA
Me, competitive? Never
Don’t feel bad about it.
It’s one of my favorite things about you
“Laurent. Your turn,” Killian said.
“I already went.”
“It’s your turn again.” Killian sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. He was hosting a poker night at his house, but I could tell he regretted it.
I quickly made my bet and checked my phone. No response from Maya yet.
“Markovic!” Killian’s frustration boiled over into a near shout.
I glanced up again to see Vuk also on his phone. He wore a faint smile, which meant he was texting Ayana. She was the only one with the power to mold his face into anything other than stoic boredom or an outright scowl.
Vuk ignored Killian and continued texting.
“That’s it.” Our host slammed his hands on the table, making everyone except the Serb jump. “This is supposed to be a guys’ night, but you’re all too busy texting your wives and girlfriends to play a proper game of poker. It’s pathetic.”
His proclamation was met by a round of unimpressed stares.
“Define ‘proper,’” Xavier drawled. He sat between Dominic and Dante, who eyed Xavier’s messy plate of fries, wings, and mashed potatoes with a grimace. The Italian had a notorious hang-up about different foods touching each other. “We’re playing, aren’t we?”
“I’ve had to remind every single one of you when it’s your turn. I feel like a damn kindergarten teacher,” Killian growled. “How is it possible you’re this fucking attached to your partners when you’ve been together for so long?”
“You don’t have a partner. You wouldn’t get it,” Dominic said.
“Leave me out of your generalization,” I added. “Maya and I have only been dating for a month. We’re still in our honeymoon phase.”
I’d told the guys about our relationship at the start of the night. Xavier’s triumphant “I knew it!” aside, they’d responded with the expected wisecracks and claps on the back. Dante warned me never to ask for a double date with him and Vivian unless I wanted to die, and that was that.
“Yeah, well, based on everyone’s behavior, no one ever gets out of their honeymoon phase,” Killian said, his tone sour. “Given how distracted you all are, we might as well scrap poker and join the girls at bowling.”
Silence fell as we all glanced at each other.
Disbelief bloomed across Killian’s face. “I was joking.”
“But what if you weren’t?” Xavier asked. “Remember that time we all played laser tag together? That was fun. We could have a similar group night tonight.”
“No,” Killian said. “Absolutely the fuck not.”
“I haven’t heard from Viv in a while.” Dante frowned. “It’s not like her. What if she’s in trouble?”
“I haven’t heard from Maya either.” She was probably too caught up in bowling to check my latest message, but I got a kick out of pushing Killian’s buttons. He was normally unfazed by everything, but he’d been strangely on edge lately. “Maybe we should check on them, just in case.”
“They could be in danger,” Dominic said. “If something happens to them, do you want their deaths on your conscience?”
“They’re bowling,” Killian said. “They’re not in danger unless someone drops a fucking bowling ball on their heads.”
Another silence fell.
Vuk didn’t contribute to the conversation, but he pushed his chair back and left without a word.
Dante was the next to leave, though he made sure to toss Xavier’s offending plate in the trash before he followed Vuk out the door.
“We’ll have a proper game another night,” Kai said as he made his exit.
“Sorry,” Xavier added cheerfully on his way out. “On the bright side, you get to keep all the winnings.”
Dominic patted Killian on the shoulder, and then… there were two.
I stood and grinned down at our stunned host. “You coming?”
Killian sighed, his expression resigned. He rose to his feet and shook his head. “I really need to get more single friends.”