Chapter 3
“That’s a no, then.”
Then Maya’s phone rang.
Her expression changed as she listened.
“What do you mean the payment hasn’t cleared?”
David looked at her.
“No. No, I paid.”
She ended the call.
“What happened?”
“The hospital says they haven’t received the money.”
“But you paid?”
“Yes.”
She looked frustrated.
“And I don’t understand why.”
David immediately said,
“I’ll call the hospital.”
“No.”
“Maya—”
“I said I don’t want to need you.”
David looked at her.
“And if you do?”
She had no answer.
“Maya, let me help.”
Her voice became quieter.
“I don’t know how to let anyone do that.”
Maya tried to handle the situation herself, but David could see that she was frightened.
“You’re worried.”
“No. I’m fine.”
He looked at her.
“You inherited my lying face.”
She almost smiled despite herself.
“The hospital made a mistake with the payment.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s a very expensive ‘all.’”
“We’ll figure it out.”
David had a meeting scheduled, but his priorities had already shifted.
“You’re late to your own meeting,” Marcus told him.
“Cancel it.”
Marcus looked at him as if he had misheard.
“Should I check your temperature?”
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“Find out where Maya’s mother is being treated.”
Marcus waited.
“And don’t tell Maya.”
He nodded slowly.
“Ah.”
David looked up.
“What’s ‘ah’?”
“Nothing.”
“You have a face.”
Marcus smiled.
“And apparently you’ve developed feelings.”
“Out.”
Before Marcus left, David added,
“Congratulations, by the way.”
Marcus turned.
“For what?”
“Nothing.”
David instructed him to make the hospital payment directly.
Marcus understood.
“Under your name?”
“Absolutely not.”
Maya soon received another call.
“Hello?”
She listened.
“Paid?”
Her expression changed.
“By who?”
The hospital would not tell her.
“Who was it?”
“They won’t tell me.”
Someone close to Maya suggested an explanation.
“Maybe someone heard your prayers.”
“Nobody knows about the payment.”
Then she stopped.
“Nobody except…”
“Except who?”
“David.”
The answer created a problem she did not want.
“Call him.”
“Why?”
“Because if he says yes, I’ll be angry.”
She paused.
“And if he says no, I’ll be disappointed.”
Maya called.
David answered immediately.
“Are you okay?”
Maya noticed how quickly he picked up.
“That’s a suspiciously fast answer.”
“I have excellent reflexes.”
She went directly to the question.
“Did you pay for my mother’s surgery?”
David did not lie.
“Yes.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“Why, David?”
“I—”
“I told you I didn’t want your money.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because you needed help.”
“I didn’t want you to save me.”
“I wasn’t saving you.”
Maya waited.
“I was helping your mother.”
The words landed badly.
“So that’s it.”
“Maya, that’s not—”
“Thank you for the clarification.”
She hung up.
David stared at the phone.
“She hung up.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
David frowned.
“I said I was helping her mother.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Romance really isn’t your department.”
David glared at him.
“Try words. Human ones.”
“Get out.”
Maya was equally frustrated.
Someone close to her saw through it.
“You wanted him to say something else.”
“I wanted him to mind his business.”
“Then why are you angry he cares?”
“Because rich men help people, and sometimes they remind you forever.”
The answer she received was simple.
“Then watch what he does next.”
Maya looked over.
“That’s usually where people tell you who they are.”
“You always make things sound annoyingly wise.”
“Years of practice.”
David eventually understood that his first explanation had been inadequate.
He sent Maya a message.
“Maya, I handled that badly, which is apparently a skill of mine.”
She continued reading.
“I paid because I knew you were scared and because I could do something about it.”
Then came the part she needed to hear.
“I didn’t expect anything back.”
David continued.
“And Maya, I know money complicates things. I don’t want to complicate you.”
The message ended with an awkward attempt at honesty.
“For the record, Marcus says I’m terrible at romance. I told him he was wrong. He laughed.”
Then David asked,
“And Maya, I would really love to buy you dinner just to say I am sorry.”
Maya eventually replied.
“Fine. You can buy me dinner.”
David relaxed.
Then she added,
“But somewhere you can’t own.”
David stared at the message.
“A restaurant I don’t own.”
He sighed.
“That’s inconvenient.”
Marcus watched him.
“I like her.”
David looked at him.
“Should I be concerned?”
Marcus ignored the question.
“She agreed to dinner voluntarily.”
David began choosing what to wear.
Marcus watched.
“That’s the third tie.”
“No, it’s the second.”
“The first one is on the chair.”
David looked annoyed.
“You’re becoming difficult.”
At dinner, Maya looked around.
“You don’t own this place.”
“Not yet.”
She stared.
David clarified,
“That was a joke.”
They settled into the evening.
“So,” Maya said, “are we going to talk all night again?”
“I was hoping.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You usually do.”
“Why did you stop?”
David looked at her.
“Stopped what?”
“Oh, please. You know exactly what.”
He knew she meant the nightly women.
After Victoria, David had decided loneliness was safer.
Maya looked at him.
“Your version of loneliness involved quite a lot of women.”
“They came. They left.”
He repeated the rules.
“No promises. No lies.”
“That’s your defense?”
“It sounded better in my head.”
Maya studied him.
“So why did you keep asking for me?”
David was silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
“Because you stayed.”
She did not interrupt.
“You could have taken the money and left.”
David looked directly at her.
“But you sat there. You argued with me for hours.”
Then he admitted what had changed.
“I realized something.”
“What?”
“I didn’t want a woman in my house.”
He paused.
“I wanted you there.”
Maya looked at him carefully.
“That’s a dangerous thing to say.”
“I’ve survived worse.”
“You clearly have terrible judgment.”
Then her expression became serious.
“If this becomes something, don’t turn me into another transaction.”
David answered immediately.
“Maya, I’m serious.”
She waited.
“You’ll never have to earn my kindness.”
Then he made the rest explicit.
“And you don’t owe me because I helped your mother.”
He held her gaze.
“I want you to know that.”
Maya had not expected that answer.
“That was unexpected.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
She smiled slightly.
“I’ll take my chances.”
David asked,
“Can I see you again?”
Maya stared at him.
“You’ve seen me every night for weeks.”
“That wasn’t a date.”
“Maybe.”
David smiled.
“That’s encouraging.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
May you like
“Too late.”
Then the past returned.
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