Chapter 3

MAYA'S POV

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” He said with a chuckle. I still couldn’t believe my eyes and my ears. I was standing in this remarkable apartment, and I was standing in front of Alexander!

Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. There was no way I was standing in Alexander’s apartment.

My heart raced as I tried to process what was happening. “What do you mean? What happened at the bar and how did I get here?”

He chuckled again, and the short laugh annoyed my ears. “Well, it’s a long story but why don’t we grab some breakfast first? I’ll fill you in on everything.” He said and gestured to the kitchen island.

I hesitated but ultimately decided to go along with his suggestion. After all, what was the worst that could happen. I was already in his apartment, and if he wanted to kill me, he would have done that a long time ago. I focused on how my feet seemed to glide on his waxed, shiny wooden floors.

I was shocked when I saw him starting to grab ingredients from the cabinets and the giant fridge. I looked around the giant room waiting for the chef to appear out of nowhere to proceed with making the breakfast. There was no way he lived alone here, plus I wasn’t going to let him make my food.

“Wait you’re making the breakfast?” I said with shock in my voice. He looked wounded.

“You’d be surprised Maya but I’m actually a really good cook.” He said as he rinses a metal bowl. “Pancakes and eggs?”

I scoff and roll my eyes at him but then I agreed to the choice of breakfast. First, he kidnaps me and then he says he’s a good cook. Who was this man? I watch his hands as he cracks the eggs on the side of the metal bowl and whisks it carefully.

Unlike Alexander, I’m a terrible cook. In the past few months that I’ve been living alone, my diet has been instant ramen and frozen pizzas and the occasional cheeseburger when I feel risky. I could never wake up in the morning to make pancakes and eggs.

Twenty-five minutes later, a steaming plate is placed in front of me, and my mouth starts to water. I dig into the meal and my shoulders slumped when the delicious pancakes went into my mouth. I hadn’t had a homecooked meal in months.

“See, I told you.” He said with a triumphant smile on his face. I rolled my eyes at him. He moves one of the stools so he can sit opposite me. I realized then that he wasn’t wearing one of his designer suits that were always tailored to his body. Instead, he was wearing a tight black crew neck and grey sweatpants. I was right about him being ripped under that suit.

“Thank you for your kindness, Alexander. But you should have just taken me to a hotel or something. Why bring me to your apartment?” I asked. I was still a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

“I couldn’t just leave you alone in a hotel, could I? Besides, my apartment is much nicer than any hotel you could find in this city.”

I rolled my eyes again. Just when I was thinking maybe he was actually a nice guy, he starts to humble brag.

“What do you do for a living anyway?” I found myself asking, even though I felt like I was crossing a boundary. But I was curious, so it was up to him whether he wanted to answer or not.

“I own a couple of businesses around a city, and a handful of companies too. Finance, Real Estate, Software. You could call me a mega-CEO.”

There it was again, the humble brag. But I was impressed. I listened to him talk about the excitement of owning all his businesses and I realized that although he was broody and mysterious, he really seemed to like talking about what he did for work. I couldn’t help but feel intrigued by him. He seemed like a man with a lot of secrets. I was fascinated by this world I knew nothing about.

“It gets really busy sometimes though, that’s why I need a new personal assistant. I’ve seen you work Maya, you’re efficient and smart and I think you’d be perfect for the job.”

So that was it? All the heavy tips and he was just trying to poach me into becoming his new personal assistant? Wait till Danielle gets a load of this bullshit.

I stared at him in disbelief. “I already have a job. I’m a barista at Thalia’s.”

“I know,” he said. “But consider this, you’ll be working directly under me. And the salary is…well let’s just say it’s about ten times what you’re making at the coffee shop.”

My eyes widened in shock. Ten times my salary? I can’t even fathom what that would be like. But I shake my head. “I appreciate the job offer, but I can’t just quit my job. And I don’t know anything about being a personal assistant especially in a field that sounds as complicated as your own.”

“That’s okay Maya, like I said you’d be working directly under me so there’s nothing to worry about and I’ll train you. I truly believe you can do this Maya. I’ve watched you arrange the artificial sweeteners and non-diary milk at the coffee shop in alphabetical order, and the café is always spotless. You’re remarkable.”

I’m silent. He has really been watching me. I never thought anybody would notice what I did with the coffee sweeteners and the plant-based milk, but he did. Except he hadn’t been watching me for the reason Danielle thought. He wanted me to be his personal assistant.

He leans forward, his eyes intense. “Maya, think about it. You could have so much more than what you have now. You could have security, stability, and a chance to really succeed. You wouldn’t need to worry about rent or bills. And I believe in you. I think you have what it takes to be a great personal assistant.

I’m flattered, but still hesitant. How was I supposed to explain to him that I had a plan for when I moved to New York City? In three months, Thalia would have her next branch set up and I could actually be working there as a branch manager and get even more experience before returning home to have another go and my lifelong dream. I didn’t want to have to start a nine to five job instead.

“I don’t know, I’ll need to think about it. It really does sound like a lot to take on.”

“Of course,” he says, pulling out a business card from his pocket. “Take my card. Think about it. And if you change your mind, give me a call.

My fingers play with the gloss texture of the card before I slip it into my pocket. “Thank you,” I say softly.

We finish our breakfast in comfortable silence, and as I eat, I feel self-conscious about how I chew. His hair was wet, probably because he was freshly out of the shower, and I chew slowly and silently as I watched his defined jaw work. After we are both done, I offer to clean up, but he waves me away and grabs our plates.

“So, you’re telling me you’re the only person that stays in this giant apartment?” I ask him, curious to learn a bit more from him. If I decide to decline his offer, he might suddenly stop showing up at the coffee shop. When am I going to get such an opportunity again? Besides, Danielle would be so annoyed with me if I told her I got this close to her crush and didn’t learn some juicy tidbits about him.

“Yes, I do. I prefer a bit of silence and solitude. It helps me work better. That’s why I started spending more time at the café. It’s so nice and quiet there. Sometimes when I find it too hard to work at the office because of all the noise, I retreat here. It’s like a fortress for me really.” He said. I felt so honored to be able to see his space like this, to see what he saw when he woke up each morning. I suddenly remembered then that I was still wearing my club clothes from last night and I felt shy. It was good that I had my day off right then, if not I’d be so late, and Phoebe would not let me hear the end of it.

I couldn’t wait to tell Danielle. I told you he wasn’t coming to the café because of me.

I think about how I looked in the mirror before I came down the corridor and realize that my brown hair is still matted, my skin still looks dirty from last night and that I probably smell like alcohol and exhaustion and New York City. I can feel heat burning from the tips of my toes to my cheeks.

“Okay so this is really embarrassing for me, but can I use your bathroom? I really need to freshen up.” I said, avoiding his gaze.

He returns back to his upright position, and I feel nervous. “Of course, you can. There’s one in the room you were in. You know your way back, right?” He said.

I nodded shyly and went back down the corridor, picking my phone and purse on the way. I was itching to call my mom, Danielle, or Heather to tell them about the very eventful night and morning I had. I hadn’t picked up any of Heather’s calls or replied to her texts and voicemails for a few weeks now. I wanted to talk to her when I was sure I was ready to start all over again. I didn’t want to look like a failure in front of her.

I walked back to the room where it all started and gently opened the door. The big white bed looked tempting, and I considered asking Alexander if I could spend the whole day there just sleeping on that very comfortable bed. It was nothing like the mattress in my cramped apartment. Infact, this bedroom alone was four times the size of my bedroom there.

I sighed. Money is so nice to have.

I took the pajamas that Alexander provided for me the night before and walk into the bathroom that was all marble, glass and tile. I gently scrub my body with the provided body wash that smelled of honey and vanilla, and watched the water disappear almost immediately down the drain. I took a towel for my body and my hair and changed into the pajamas. My hair was damp and unbrushed, but anything was better than how it looked before.

Alexander offers to drop me off at home personally, and I automatically feel self-conscious once again. My building looks like a dump compared to his, and I didn’t want him to see the state of where I lived. I tell him thank you as he parks by my building, and passersby gawk at his Rolls Royce. They were probably wondering why someone coming out from such a flashy and expensive car would be living in such an area.

He rolled down the passenger side window. “Don’t forget to think about my offer, okay?”

I nodded in response as I walked into the building. Once I got in, I let out a big sigh. It felt as though I’d been holding my breath since I woke up. Everything felt so surreal. I immediately dial Danielle as soon as I get into my apartment.

“Girl, do you want me to lose my job? Shanice has a shift today and she is such a snitch. If she sees me talking on the phone, she’s definitely telling Phoebe and then I’m as good as fired.” She said in a fast whisper. I felt bad, I had been looking forward to giving her the rundown of everything that had been going on in the past few hours.

“So sorry girl but you would not believe what happened to me last night and this morning!” I said, intentionally being vague so that she’d guess.

“Unless you woke up to a unicorn pooping gold in your kitchen, then it’s not that remarkable girl.” She said. I heard some chatter in the background. Phoebe was probably yelling at someone again. If I ever took Alexander’s offer, I would not miss her at all.

“Try me waking up at Alexander’s apartment after a crazy night at the club.” I sid smugly. She gasped in shock.

“Girl you should have led with that. I need details now girl.” She said excitedly. I was about to start relating the whole experience when I heard a familiar screech over the phone. It was Phoebe.

“Are you on the phone during such a busy hour Danielle? You’re such a lazy brat. Get off the phone now and go clean up the tables.” Phoebe yelled. I rolled my eyes.

“I got to go girl, before miss scream queen here starts glitching, but you owe me full details tomorrow. No excuses.” She said, before hanging up the phone.

I considered calling my mum, but the only thing she was going to do was to immediately encourage me to take the personal assistant job. She had been on Heather’s side in the beginning after all.

No, I was going to make the decision without her before calling to tell her what happened. And as for Heather, Well maybe I’d just see her when next I was going to visit Mom. That was the best decision.

As I lay in my bed that night, I thought about what Alexander had said. The idea of earning that much money and having the chance to work with someone like him and rub shoulders with the wealthy was tempting. Maybe I could even get some people to invest in my next coffee shop. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to leave my comfortable job at Thalia’s just yet.

On the other hand, I knew I couldn’t keep living in this run-down apartment while struggling to save forever. I wanted to be able to afford a nicer place and not have to deal with Phoebe’s constant nagging and screeches. The thought of having financial stability and being able to afford a much better lifestyle was alluring, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth giving up the job that I enjoyed.

In the end, I decided to sleep on it and think more about what I truly wanted. I knew that whatever decision I made, it would have a significant impact on my life. I closed my eyes and wondered what my future held, and if I was ready to take a leap into the unknown.