Her lashes shutter quickly, and her lips twitch but for once she is speechless.
I love this.This is more fun than I ever could’ve imagined.
“No more dick talk, Maya.”I say, secretly pleased that I’ve managed to put a dent in her cold, hard exterior.She looks like she wants to disappear into the chair.
“I-I … didn’t mean … Mr.Knight.”
“No need for formality.Call me Zach.”
“But you called—”
“Just Zach.”
Her expression shifts.Hardens.“Are you okay for me to call you Zach?Or shall I call you something else?I can call you whatever you like.Just tell me.”Now she’s being overly sarcastic, and she isn’t afraid of letting me know as she plays at being submissive, drilling it home to me that I’m the boss, the big dog and she’s just a worker here.This isn’t how I wanted this conversation to go.
I grit my teeth together.“Zach is fine.”I adjust my tie, giving me a moment to rein in my irritation and to choose my words carefully.“I’m here for business.Nothing else.I saw an opportunity and I moved on it.”
“You Knights are good at that.”
I frown.I feel like I’m breaking into something.The tip of what it could be.I can’t play these games anymore.“Have I done something to upset you?”
She assesses me calmly, then gives a little shake of her head.“No.”
“I don’t want to piss you off, Maya.I know what you’re thinking—”
“What am I thinking?”
“That I did this because I can and because I want to be close to you.What I want, first and foremost, is to help Stella.”
“Understood, Mr.Knight, I mean,Zach.Is that all, because I have work to do, so if it’s okay with you, may I be excused?”
She can’t wait to get away.“Yes, you can go.”I watch as she gets up and walks towards the door.“And remember, please don’t talk about my dick ever again, especially here at work.”
She has her back to me, but I see her visibly stiffen as she stops.A few strides and I’m at the door, reaching around her to place my hand on the handle.I have no idea what she’s thinking, but I find it amusing.
I hear a small sigh escape her lips.I’m standing so close now that I can feel her body heat.Smell her sweet perfume.My nose is inches from her hair, even as I reach around her, like a gentleman.
I open the door, and she steps back, then glances at me, her cheeks flushed, her eyes big and shiny.She leaves, and I quickly shut the door, letting out a gusty sigh because … what the hell was that?
Chapter 14
ZACH
Dad’s suddenly announced a Knight family dinner.
I get in the elevator to his penthouse and drag in a slow breath, already bracing myself for what might lie ahead.
I’m not usually that worked up about these things.I leave that to the rest of the boys, but this is so out of the blue that it takes me by complete surprise.
I told my father a few days ago that I’d acquired a majority stake in Stella, and now, on the heels of this dinner announcement, an uneasy feeling sits in my stomach.I want this over with as soon as possible.
The elevator opens directly into the penthouse.The housekeeper ushers me into the Great Room where we almost always meet first for drinks.Jett and Dex look up when I walk in, whiskey glasses in their hands.They don’t yet know anything about Stella, and I hope it stays that way.I don’t want them tearing it apart with jokes and criticism, reducing it to an impulsive move I didn’t think through.I’m the youngest and I’ve always been the one they look at like I’m still proving something.
What I plan to do at Stella matters to me.Trying to turn it around matters, and I don’t want that dismissed or belittled before it’s even had a chance to work.
The Italian Knights are standing beside them.This is new, different.A year ago we’d be in two groups, standing apart, but a lot has changed in that time.
The women aren’t here.I don’t blame them.Dad isn’t likeable or approachable to most people, and he’s caused problems between my brothers and their girlfriends.Dex still hasn’t forgiven him for what he did to Dani’s father, and Cari has hinted that my dad looks down on her.She’s joked with Jett that being his former assistant, and now a flower seller, she’s in the wrong social strata for him.Jett doesn’t like that.Because it’s true, that is what Dad thinks.And if that’s what he thinks about Cari, who is smart and capable and more loyal than most executives I’ve worked with, then what will he say about Maya?The housekeeper’s daughter.The girl who lived in the staff annex on the Knight Estate where the boundaries between us and them were clearly delineated.
