“Nice to meet you, Maya,” I say.
She clears her throat, forcing a smile. “The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Montgomery. I’ve only heard wonderful things about you.”
My stomach tightens. Nausea creeps up my throat.
Has he been talking about me with her?
“You can go, Maya. Send me those reports as soon as possible,” Colin says, authoritative, not even looking at her.
As he guides me toward the couch, I watch Maya leave. Her gaze stays fixed on us, her expression tight with displeasure.
And for the first time, I know.
I’m not imagining this anymore.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were stopping by?” Colin asks, cupping my face and drawing my attention back to him.
I keep my smile soft. “I’m having lunch with Mark. It was supposed to be farther away, but he wanted to try a new Thai place that just opened a few blocks from here.” I tilt my head slightly. “I took the opportunity to see you, it’s been so long since I’ve been at the company.”
I’d even researched the excuse beforehand. If he ever tried to verify it, the restaurant would be easy enough to find. He wouldn’t check.
I’m the one who needs to question, to retrace steps and replay moments, because doubt has already taken root.
Not him. He never had to doubt. He never would.
He smiles, kisses my fingers, tells me how glad he is that I came. Says I seem less unsettled—by the article, by my headache. I hold my smile in place until my jaw aches.
A little later, I tell him I won’t keep Mark waiting. He insists on walking me to the lobby, but his desk phone rings. I tell him to take it, kiss his cheek, and step out of his office, closing the door softly behind me.
Maya is seated at Margaret’s desk, which faces the elevator. Her posture is impeccable, spine straight, eyes fixed on the screen as her fingers move across the keyboard.
“Maya,” I say gently. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
A smile blooms across her face. She wishes me a good day, polite and perfectly rehearsed. If I hadn’t seen the look she gave me minutes earlier, I might have believed it.
I press the elevator button and clutch my purse, fingers digging into the straps to keep them from shaking. I step inside without hesitation. As the doors slide shut, my smile collapses.
I bring my fingers to my lips, fighting the instinct to scrub them clean. I don’t know what possessed me to deepen the kiss. I wonder if they…
No.I can’t go there.
How could he do this? To me. To us.I can’t quite make myself accept it, even now. And yet the thought won’t loosen its grip, his assistant wears the same perfume I smelled—and the same shade of lipstick.
God. I need to make an appointment with my doctor—urgently.
But first…
I pull my phone from my purse, my thumb trembling as I make the call.
“I need your help,” I whisper.
Maya
He doesn’t even look at me.
The second she walked in, I might as well have vanished.
Just moments ago, I’d caught him staring at my mouth. I was halfway to resting my hand on his thigh when she knocked. And now it’s as if only she exists.
