I wish I hadn’t said that.Katherine doesn’t like Maya, and I forgot that little fact in the moment.After the door closes behind her, I drag my hand down my face, letting out a hard exhale.That was a big mistake.I shift in my chair, feeling restless and wish I’d gone to Maya myself.
I sit and wait expectantly, but to my surprise Maya doesn’t come.After I’ve waited a good five minutes, and still there’s no sign of Maya, I force myself to look through some paperwork.But I’m clock watching.
I’m pretty sure Katherine would have told her immediately, because I know what sort of woman Katherine is.She might be a bitch to Maya, but she’ll want to please me.Another ten minutes pass and I know for sure that she’s deliberately dragging her feet.I’m reading through some financial documents when I hear a knock on the door.
Finally.
I feel an unsettling mix of relief and unease as I straighten myself, and try to sit back and look relaxed.But my insides are in upheaval.My nerves are on edge.I’m happy to see her, while also wary of what she might have to say.
Her face is set hard as I get up and open the door.
“You wanted to see me,” she says, staring up at me.
“I did.Come in.”
I’m about to sit back down but feel an urge to remain standing, and then I realize I’m self-conscious.Why am I so self-conscious every time I’m around her?I don’t want to do things that’ll make her feel uneasy.I always want to make her feel at peace.I want things to be like they were when we were younger.
Back when everything was easy and effortless.
It’s all so different now.There’s an imbalance of power we’re both aware of in a way we weren’t as much before.I want that back, even though I’ll never have it.I want to get to the bottom of this, why she loathes me with such intensity it shakes me.I clear my throat, before sitting down across the table from her.“I realize how this must seem.”
“Oh really?”she snaps.
I love it.She’s not afraid of me.She doesn’t care that I’m a Knight.She doesn’t soften her words or her tone.She doesn’t say things to please me.She speaks her mind.It’s gutsy and reckless, but so refreshing.I wish more people would risk being frank and honest with me.
“Maya, I’m here only because Stella isn’t doing well.I’m in the fashion niche.It’s one of my main areas of expertise at Knight Enterprises.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
“You think I’m here, becauseyou’rehere?”
She glares at me in silence, weighing up my words, maybe trying to figure out if I’m lying.
“Stella has great potential.”I let those words sink in, but Maya doesn’t show any emotion.I have no idea what she’s thinking, whether she believes me or not.“I could have bought the company outright,” I add, then realize that this isn’t the flex I think it is.This is Maya, and she doesn’t care.
“I’m sure you could have.That’s what you Knights do.”
“You think that’s what we do?”I feel like I’m getting somewhere, and if I keep on digging, keep on chiseling away at the surface, I’ll unearth the truth that Maya seems desperate to hide.
Chin raised, her eyes fix mine with defiance.“I’m shocked you didn’t.I expected you to walk in swinging your big dick around.”
I didn’t see that coming.
Her mouth falls open, and her cheeks turn bright red.Her anger riled her so much, she didn’t watch her words.Now I’m sitting here trying hard to suppress a smile.
At least I’m getting somewhere.
But a twitch in my pants now has me wondering what image she has of me and my big dick.I never expected those words to fall from her lips, and the idea of me swinging my dick ...
What the hell?I force myself to wipe that thought from my head.
Maya doesn’t apologize, and she doesn’t bend.I like her chutzpah.I decide to have some fun with this.“It’s okay.I won’t report you to HR for making such a cruel and inappropriate comment.”
Her cheeks flush even redder.
I’m having so much fun doing this.“If you want to talk about my dick, Ms.Santiago, I’d rather you didn’t do it in a professional work environment.”
She blinks when I address her formally.I have no idea why I did that.“My dick is none of your business, and I hope you’ll dislodge that image from your mind.”
