by Holly Rayner
Now dressed, Maia reached for the bedroom door. “I’ll go greet them,” she told Ben breathlessly.
He held a hand up, motioning to her hair, which was in a wild knot off to one side of her head. While pulling his shirt on, he said, “That might give us away.”
Maia giggled and reached up to fix her hair. As she smoothed it down, Ben pulled on his pants.
“You’re looking a bit rumpled yourself,” she said, as she walked over to him. He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. “There we go,” she said.
“Mmm…” He groaned and reached for her. Having her so close, after what they’d just done, was incredibly intoxicating. He leaned forward and kissed her. She pulled away.
“Are you sure we have to go down there?” he asked. He wanted, more than anything, to get back into bed with Maia. He’d repressed his immense desire for her for so long. Now that he’d finally tasted her, he wanted more.
“I’m sure,” she said. Then she leaned forward and kissed him again.
For an instant, her eyes spoke of her own second thoughts, as if she was considering the possibility of getting back into bed, too. But then she shook her head, as if in an attempt to clear her mind. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said, more to herself than to Ben.
She hurried toward the bedroom’s exit, while Ben finished buttoning his shirt as he followed.
They were crossing the kitchen when he realized that he’d forgotten his belt, tie, and jacket upstairs. It was too late to do anything about it. Caroline entered the kitchen, with Colby and Joy close behind her.
Caroline spoke to the kids as she walked, “…snack before bed, but it has to be quick, because—” She stopped abruptly at the sight of Ben and Maia. “Oh!” she said. “I didn’t realize you two were already home.”
Ben watched as Caroline’s eyes swept over him, taking in his lack of tie, jacket, and belt. Then her eyes moved to Maia, who was hastily straightening a strap of her dress, which was terribly twisted.
“Oh,” Caroline said, her tone rich with understanding. “I—um… Hope we didn’t interrupt anything.”
Ben realized that Caroline was not going to be fooled easily. It was clear that she knew exactly what he and Maia had been up to, just moments before.
Thankfully, the children were oblivious. Joy ran toward her mother, while Colby trotted in Ben’s direction.
Ben felt the familiar impact of Colby’s small body, running straight into his legs. His little arms circled around Ben.
“Uncle Benny!” he cried out happily. “The movie was funny…” He laughed happily. “We’re gonna have a snack.”
Ben reached down and ruffled Colby’s hair. “Sounds good, buddy,” he said.
He glanced over at Maia, who had knelt down so that she was at eye level with her daughter. Joy was in the middle of explaining the movie to Maia in serious tones, while Maia listened attentively.
While Joy spoke, she wrapped her arms around Maia’s neck and practically climbed onto her. “Hold me,” she said to her mom.
Maia obliged and hoisted her daughter up into her arms. With Joy on her hip, she asked Caroline how things had gone.
Ben sensed that Caroline kept stealing glances at him as he moved to the fridge. He pulled out a water bottle and chugged down half of it. Then he rummaged through the kid-friendly food that Maia had purchased earlier in the week and found a suitable before-bed snack for Colby.
He finished his water bottle and then noticed that Caroline and Maia seemed to be bidding each other good night. He didn’t want Caroline to leave before he had a chance to pay her, so he pulled out several twenty-dollar bills and offered them to her.
She waved them off. “No, no,” she said. “I don’t charge for watching Joy. We’re buddies.”
“But you took care of Colby too,” Ben said. “And I appreciate that. Please, let me pay you.”
After another moment of hesitation, Caroline finally took the payment. She headed for the kitchen’s exit and, just before passing through it, she turned and looked over her shoulder. “Hope you guys have a great night,” she said in a singsong voice.
Ben knew just what she was insinuating. He, too, was hopeful for what the rest of the night might hold in store.
But his hopes for more time with Maia quickly faded as she readied the kids for bed. Joy, who was usually so good-natured, seemed to be more exhausted than usual. She cried when Colby snatched her book away and buried her tear-stained face into Maia’s neck.
Maia, who was holding Joy while ushering Colby toward the guest room, looked to Ben. “She’s tired,” she said to Ben. Then to Joy, she added, “Aren’t you, sweetie?”
“Yeeessss,” Joy wailed.
Ben offered to help Maia, but she said she could manage on her own. He promised to join her in the guest room to say good night to Colby in a few minutes, and then she left the kitchen.
Still thirsty, Ben pulled a second bottle from the fridge. He sat on a tall stool at the counter, sipping the drink while thinking over all that had happened.
The night had ended too quickly.
He wanted very badly to be back in his bedroom with Maia at his side. At the same time, the blissful bubble they’d been in was fading quickly. Thoughts edged into his mind, crowding out the sense of urgency and need that he’d felt just an hour before.
What will this mean for our relationship? he thought. He’d kept his feelings for Maia carefully hidden, for so long. Now that they’d openly expressed their desire for each other, what would happen between them?
What will she expect of me? he wondered. What will it be like when we go back to work? What now?
These thoughts haunted him for the next half hour. When he finished his drink, he pulled another from the refrigerator and carried it along with him as he made his way to the guest rooms where Maia and the children stayed.
He knocked softly on Maia’s door, which was ajar.
A lamp by the bedside cast a soft golden glow over the large bed. Maia was lying on top of the covers, with her head propped against the headboard. Joy, whose eyes were still puffy from her recent crying, was tucked into the covers and had her head leaned against her mother’s side. There was a book open on Maia’s lap.
Another glowing light, this one coming from the adjacent guest room, caught Ben’s attention. He looked toward the open doorway that led to the other guest room and saw that Colby was already tucked into bed and sleeping soundly.
Ben placed the water bottle on the nightstand.
“Thanks,” Maia said, looking up from the book she held. Her hand rested on her daughter’s shoulder. She held Ben’s gaze for a moment. “And thanks for tonight, too,” she said. “Dinner was… amazing.”
He nodded with understanding.
“I better stay here with Joy,” she said, as her daughter nestled in against her.
“Mommy,” Joy said. “Keep reading the story.”
“I will, honey,” Maia said. “But let’s say good night to Ben first, okay?”
“‘Night, Mr. Bry,” Joy said.
“Good night, Joy,” Ben said. He looked over to Maia.
“Good night, Ben,” she told him. With those words, he knew that he would not see her again that night.
Maybe it’s for the best, he thought as he bid her good night and then exited the room. He closed the door softly and made his way toward his bedroom alone.
The covers of his bed were a tangled mess. After getting ready for sleep, he lay down amid the tangled sheets. He could still smell Maia’s perfume.
He breathed it in and let the image of her, when she’d laid right there beside him, fill his mind.
This image stayed with him as he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 14
Maia
The elderly woman across from Maia on the subway looked over her knitting. “I’ve seen that look before,” she said knowingly. “You have a troubled heart.”
The woman’s knitting needles didn’t stop moving, even
as the train shuddered to a stop and the doors hissed open. A jumble of noises from the platform beyond made it impossible to hear what she said next.
People jostled against each other, getting off or onto the train, and then the chaos finally calmed down as the doors closed and the subway started moving forward again. Maia rocked forward and then back as she braced against the movement of the subway and tried not to knock into the business-suit-clad man who was seated right next to her.
The elderly woman kept right on knitting and talking.
“So what is it, dear? Spat with your husband?” she asked.
Maia smiled politely. “Oh, no,” she said. “I’m not married. And I’m fine, really.”
“That look in your eye says otherwise,” the woman said. “But what do I know?” she began mumbling about her eighty-plus years on the earth, and Maia nodded respectfully, even though she suspected that the woman was perhaps a bit senile.
Then again, Maia thought, as she watched the woman shuffle off the subway at the next stop, maybe she’s right. I have felt a bit troubled ever since Saturday night.
I slept with my boss!
A fluttery sensation filled her abdomen as she lifted her eyes to the subway map. She counted the stops left until she reached the one that would take her to the PubLive headquarters.
Five stops remained.
She clutched her purse. What would the day hold?
It was Monday, just two days after her magnificent dinner date with Ben. That night, she’d laid awake for hours after Joy finally drifted off to sleep, thinking over the events of the evening. Everything had happened so quickly.
Those couple glasses of wine may have been to blame, she thought. Then again, there’s a chance we would have slept together even if not for the alcohol. It’s not like we were drunk.
Unless being drunk with desire counts.
She blushed, thinking over the way they’d fallen into bed together so effortlessly. It all felt so inevitable. So right. So natural.
She’d barely been able to sleep that night because her mind kept turning to the fact that Ben was just a short walk away, lying in his own bed.
Finally, in the early morning hours, she’d fallen asleep, only to wake three hours later when Colby and Joy both bounced out of their respective beds.
Maia had fixed breakfast, trying desperately to figure out how to approach things with Ben when she had a moment alone with him.
As it turned out, she never did. Nate had arrived early, rather than late, to pick up Colby. The brothers had some serious things to talk over, it seemed, and Maia had taken the kids out to the park to give the two some privacy. Then, on return to the townhouse, she discovered that Nate planned on staying for dinner. Maia had packed up. While Joy gave Colby a fierce hug goodbye, then hugged and kissed Ben, Maia stood by and watched.
There had been so much she wanted to say to Ben, but standing there in his entryway with the children and Nate around them had hardly been the time and place for it. So she and Joy had gone home. Now, the next day, she found herself traveling to work, counting down the minutes until she would see her boss.
With each passing moment, the feeling of anticipation that coursed through her veins mounted.
We have to talk about what happened, she thought resolutely as she stepped off of the train, onto the crowded platform.
The day was crisp and clear, and the sight of budding trees met her eye as she emerged from the underground subway stop. Usually she would have enjoyed the way the bright green tree buds looked against the backdrop of the blue spring sky, but today she was too caught up in her thoughts to pay much attention.
Will I have to quit my job? she wondered. How will I continue to work for Ben after what happened? Will we go out again?
It’s impossible that our time together was just a fleeting affair. Isn’t it?
She felt confused as she yanked open the glass doors that led to the PubLive lobby. The usual cast of coworkers greeted her as she hiked the stairs up to her office, but she was too distracted to hold up her end of a conversation.
With relief, she opened her office space and settled in behind her desk. She was a half hour early because she’d wanted to arrive before Ben did. She assumed he’d arrive solo as usual, and she could snag him for a private moment before he started his day.
We have to talk, she thought again, as she switched on one monitor and then the other. The machines hummed to life, while Maia mentally went over what she planned on saying. Ben, I think we should discuss Saturday night and what that means for us.
The sound of the door opening prevented her from continuing her preparations for the conversation that she hoped would occur.
She looked up and saw Ben holding the door open for one of the company’s department leaders, Hans. A few paces behind them, another department leader named Margaret walked while talking on the phone.
“Good morning Benjamin, morning Hans,” Maia said as the two men entered her office space.
Ben held the door for Margaret, who bustled in while still talking on the phone in a loud voice.
“I said this Tuesday,” she said into the receiver. “Not next Tuesday. No, no—you’re not listening to me. That’s not going to work. I—hold on a second.” She held the phone away so that she could thank Ben for holding the door. Then she turned and gave a quick wave in Maia’s direction.
“Hi, Maia,” she said. “Ben, do you have a projector, or should we set up in the meeting room by my office? I have slides to share.”
Ben looked in Maia’s direction, apparently waiting for her to answer the question.
Maia felt frazzled as she tried to recall whether Ben’s office had a projector in it, or not. I need to talk to Ben in private, she thought. I wasn’t aware he had a meeting planned.
Outwardly, she tried to remain composed. “I’m almost positive it’s still in there, but Chris from Sales might have borrowed it last Friday afternoon. I know his is broken. Let me check.”
She moved out from behind her desk and felt self-conscious as she led the way into Ben’s office. There was so much that they needed to say to each other, yet circumstances were not working in their favor.
Unless—is this his way of avoiding a conversation with me? Maia wondered, as she peered behind a cabinet in search of the projector. She found the roll of white cloth attached to a thick rectangular metal base. While she clipped it to the top of Ben’s whiteboard, her mind moved at a mile a minute.
If he wants to talk to me about what happened between us, he will find a way, she thought. He’s Benjamin Briars. He’s the CEO of this company and he makes his own schedule. He knew very well that we’d see each other this morning.
Is that why he set up this meeting? To avoid being alone with me?
Once the projector was up, she turned to face Ben.
“Thanks, Maia,” he said, with a nod to the projector. “This meeting came up unexpectedly. If you could move my conference call with the lawyers back, I’d appreciate it.”
She nodded. “Will do,” she said.
Margaret continued with her phone call loudly, and Hans spoke up with a question to Ben. It was clear to Maia that the meeting was going to begin, whether she wanted it to or not.
Well, she thought, this isn’t ideal, but at least we’ll have some time alone together after the meeting is over.
She tapped her foot nervously as she tried to focus on rearranging Ben’s schedule, and then moved on to emails. After answering a batch of twenty emails, she checked the time. Almost two hours had passed, and still the meeting wasn’t over.
The carefully rehearsed words she wanted to say to her boss now felt trite and goofy. Is that really what I want to say? she thought. Maybe I shouldn’t talk to him about this at work. Maybe it would be better if we went out for drinks together, after hours.
A peek into his schedule reminded her that his evening hours were booked. He was scheduled to leave at five for a late-night flight to Europe.
&nb
sp; Then he’s going to be gone for three weeks! She realized with shock. She’d been so preoccupied with thoughts of their night together that his annual business trip in France had slipped her mind.
Thankfully, she’d arranged everything well in advance—before he’d ever asked her to live with him for two weeks.
This timing is crazy, she thought, as she started sorting through another batch of emails. How is this going to work? We’ll talk about what happened between us—and then he’ll leave for three weeks?
The knot in her stomach grew tighter. She fretted even more than before about what, exactly, she wanted to say to him about their Saturday night intimacy.
When the meeting finally broke up, her nerves felt frayed. Her knees felt shaky as she made her way toward Ben’s office.
He looked up as she entered.
“Ben,” she said. “I was hoping we could… we could…” The knot in her stomach now moved to her throat. She swallowed, trying to break up the lump of nervousness. The sides of her throat felt as dry as sandpaper. Her palms felt damp with sweat. “Um…”
“Yes?” he said, his tone professional.
His blank expression threw her off. Where was the Ben she knew? Where was his smile, and the twinkle in his eyes? His jaw was tight, and his lips formed a straight line. He glanced down at his computer screen.
Suddenly, with just that one word and one small gesture, all of Maia’s confidence drained away from her. It felt impossible to bring up the night they’d spent together. The setting was all wrong. Ben was clearly in the middle of a work task.
Either that, or he’s as confused about Saturday night as I am, she thought.
She swallowed again. “I—I just wanted you to know that I rescheduled your conference call with the lawyers for two p.m. Daksha will send you a link.”
“Great,” he said. Maia thought she picked up a hint of relief in his voice. His shoulders seemed to relax. “That’s… that’s great,” he repeated. “Thank you, Maia.”
She backed out of his office and moved to her desk. Once there, she stared at her computer screen blankly.
