I don’t wait for him to reply.I turn and rush off, heart pounding so hard it feels like it might explode.
The last thing I want is to stand here, talking to Zach Knight, alone.
Not now.Not ever.
Chapter 4
ZACH
Maya has vanished from sight.
I manage to shake off the Trevayne twins and get back onto the floor for the after-event party, but I spend the entire evening looking for her.
We can’t meet after all these years only for her to disappear.She obviously can’t disappear because she works here, so I walk around, mingling, in the hope of finding her again.Unfortunately I’m constantly approached by people, and I pretend to be attentive, like I’m listening, but my attention is elsewhere.
As I’m talking to a business associate, Maya appears in my periphery.She’s talking to Katherine, then she rushes off to talk to Cecil.I wonder if she’s the only one running this show.I half-joked about it earlier, but it seems like she is.
I get the feeling she’s overworked and underpaid.It’s obvious she isn’t treated well, because I heard firsthand the way her boss talks to her.
Crawling around on the floor like an animal, what the hell was she doing?
Every now and then my eyes find Maya.She darts in and out, but now she appears, with her jacket on, and carrying a box.I want to ask her so many questions about the past—where she went, why she went without saying a word and why she didn’t get in touch.
It looks like she’s leaving.I start to move towards her, Katherine’s hand snakes along my arm again.She’s territorial and predatory, and I can’t stand it.
“Great event,” I say.
“Thank you.”She flashes me a smile that lingers too long.
I look again for Maya, she’s disappeared.Just like she did that time she and her mom left the Knight Estate.I didn’t understand it.They left without warning.No explanation.No chance to say goodbye.One day she was there, and the next she was getting into a black SUV.I watched from a distance, stunned, waving because I didn’t understand.I thought they would be back.That they were just running an errand.
Even though the house staff would never use one of our chauffeured cars to do that.
I made the mistake of thinking she’d come back.That there would be time.
But there wasn’t.
I didn’t see her again.
Until now.
“Where’s your assistant?”I ask.Katherine casually informs me that Maya is going back to the office.Understanding exactly why Katherine wants her gone, I excuse myself and leave, not bothering to hear what Katherine has to say.
***
MAYA
Katherine wants me to take Cecil’s laptop back to the office.
I’m annoyed that I can’t mingle with the guests, but the way I’m feeling, looking like a mess, still in my dirty day clothes, going home is the best option for me.It also means I won’t risk running into Zach again.Every time I peek out from behind the stage, I see him looking around the room.I know he’s looking for me.
A few times, when I’ve had to ask Katherine something, I’vefelthis gaze on me, before I’ve caught him staring.Glad to make my escape, I rush out, with Cecil’s laptop balanced precariously on top of a medium-sized cardboard box filled with branded notebooks, pens, lanyards and leftover presentation packs.My rucksack is slung over one shoulder, and another bag, stuffed with clothes I never changed into, hangs from the other.I’m weighed down, off-balance, but the exit is in sight.I rush forward, the noise behind me dimming.
But in my hurry, my foot catches.It happens so fast.The box tilts and I remember thinking:I should never have balanced Cecil’s laptop on top.I lurch forward, until strong hands grip my arms, and I don’t fall.But the laptop slides off the box and hits the marble floor with a thud.
The sound echoes, leaving me cold and empty again.
What have I done?
