eyes.
“Thank you for catching me. I um…good job.” Wincing, I rush through the rest, “It was nice of you
guys to let me come up. It was nice to meet everyone. Really nice.”Jesus, Maya, say nice one more
time. Go ahead, do it.“Have a nice night.” Dropping my head, I wave at the rest of the people
scattered around the room and make a beeline for the door…elevator. It’s the billionaire’s version of
a door, I guess.
“Maya, wait.” I slam my eyes shut and freeze in place. And there it is, that warm hand cupping my
elbow again. “I’ll walk you out.” I nod and step forward at his urging. A few more steps and he
makes a choked sound. “You know, it might be easier if you open your eyes.”
“Oh. Whoops. Thought I went blind for a minute there.” I open my eyes really wide, and shoot
him an awkward smile. The smile that usually has people’s eyes darting side to side, looking to make
their escape.
But not him. He just shakes his head and leads me to the elevator, pressing the button to go down.
“We could take the stairs if you’d prefer. All our apartments are connected by a stairwell separate
from the rest of the building. It’s only a few— what are those?”
I stare at him blankly, then track his gaze to my feet. “Slippers,” I say, theduhimplied in my tone.
He plants his hands on his hips, still staring. “I can see that. They’re very…furry.”
I check his face quickly, looking for that tick in his eye, but it’s not there. The corners of his eyes
are crinkled. It makes him look more approachable, less perfect. “The tongues flap, see,” I say,
wiggling my toes up and down, making the tongues of my Weiner dog slippers bounce up and down. I
watch them, giggling, patting myself on the back again for making such an awesome purchase. “They
make me laugh,” I tell him.
“I see that,” he says, honey coating his words. I peek up at him, surprised to find he’s staring at
me, not the slippers. Again, there’s something in his gaze that makes my stomach flip.
“Are you ok? Do you need an antacid? Some people can’t handle dairy. My old assistant carried
these pills, and she’d take them before she ordered her favorite milkshake for lunch. They seemed to
work for her. She said she’d get the poops if she didn’t.” I slap my hands over my eyes and let out a
scream of frustration. “I’d really like to go now. Please. Just let me go before I say anything else.”
Chuckling, Zach guides me onto the now open elevator doors and settles me in the corner. I drop
my hands and fix my eyes on the tip of my slippers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you had…
