“No.I mean it.Appreciate it.”
He nods.“This was nice.Maybe we can do it again sometime.”
“Yeah,” I say softly, watching him leave and acknowledging this new understanding between us.
Chapter 12
MAYA
I’m back at work on Monday morning, keeping myself busy.Weekdays are better.Less time to dream and ruminate.
I’ve almost gotten Zach out of my system, but it doesn’t help that Fleur keeps asking about him.Katherine appears at my side, like a ghost.I hate it when she sneaks up silent and deadly.But right now, she’s looking ruffled, and Katherine never looks ruffled; a few stray wisps of hair fall over her ear.
“What’s wrong?”Because seeing her ashen face tells me something clearly is.
“In the conference room,now.Cecil wants the full team present.”
I look up at her, frowning.“All of us?”There’s no other marketing events coming up, that I’m aware of.
“There’s a big announcement to be made.”
A big announcement?Goosebumps sprinkle like a rash all over me.This isn’t good.To make matters worse, Katherine looks startled.Her lipstick is slightly smudged and that speaks volumes, because this woman is pristine, well groomed, always prepared for anything, yet she’s clutching her tablet like someone might steal it.
“Bring your notebook,” she orders.I wipe my hands on my skirt and reach for my notebook on my desk, and my mind flickers through different possibilities.Are there going to be budget cuts?
A possible restructure?
Or are we being bought out by a bigger fish?
What if we get laid off?
My heart pounds in my chest.Though I’ve been looking at jobs, I haven’t applied for any.If I’m laid off, I have nowhere else to go, and I’ll struggle to make payment for rent and utilities, and just to live.I’ll struggle with helping my mom.
But maybe it’s not that.Maybe it’s good news?
I try to make myself feel better.Maybe Katherine has it wrong.I follow her up one flight of stairs and into the bigger meeting room.The one we use when important announcements are made.
I’m shocked when I walk in.The room is crowded.Department heads are clustered on one side, the design assistants on the other.Low, frantic whispers whiz around.My gut roils and I’m suddenly fearful.
This is bad.Real bad.I’m going to get laid off.I should have networked that night at the VIP event.I should have found my next employer.I should have donesomething, instead of wasting my time hiding from Zach Knight.
Katherine takes a seat at the table along with the other department heads, and I stand behind her, leaning against the wall, my heart hammering in my chest.Cecil walks in, and behind him, someone follows.Someone tall and ...
My breath stills in my lungs.
It’s Zach Knight.Tall, slim and eye-catchingly impossible to miss.
What’s he doing here, in my world, at my workplace?He glances at me and every atom in my body stops vibrating.
He looks so stately in a dark charcoal suit, his hand casually grazing the front of his chest.His hair is swept back and his expression unreadable.Heat rushes through me in a way that doesn’t make sense.A thousand possibilities surge through me.Is he here because of me?Because of us?
There is no us.
I’m fearing the worst, because he’s sitting at the head of the table, like this is his domain.Not Cecil’s buthis.
“Zach Knight,” I hear someone whisper.
This isn’t good news.Not when Zach Knight is involved.I brace myself for it, feeling like the guillotine is about to drop on my neck.His eyes casually toss over the room before landing on me again, then he looks away.I slump against the wall, pretending my rib cage didn’t tighten in my chest.
