Chapter 19
Isabella
“Maya and Gaspard—what are you both doing here?” I opened the door and let them in. My hair was tangled and messy, as I was in the middle of fixing myself up to meet Dante for lunch. They both entered my room, out of breath. To say I was a little confused by their demeanor would be an understatement. “Sorry, I’m a mess. I didn’t get in until this morning. Why are you two here anyway?” I asked.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Isabella. I just have to talk to Maya,” said Gaspard.
Maya focused her gaze on Gaspard. “Did Dante send you down here to stop me?”
“Stop you from what? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just wanted to discuss something with you about yesterday’s meeting,” he said. It looked as if he was hiding something.
“How did you know I was going to be here in Isabella’s suite?” she asked. Both Maya and I gave him a suspicious glare.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“I was headed to your suite, but I saw you in the hallway, so I followed you. I suspected you’d be coming here,” he said.
“Well, that can wait until later. I have something to discuss with my cousin.” Maya nudged Gaspard out of the way and took my arm.
“Listen, the both of you, whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait until later. I’m still trying to get ready. I’m about to meet Dante for lunch. We can all talk then.”
“Yes, you’re right. We can talk then. We’ll see you soon,” said Gaspard. He grabbed Maya by the hand and tried to walk out the door with her. I was growing suspicious. What the hell were these two up to? Maya snickered.
“Would you please let me go? Why don’t you go downstairs and wait for us?” she said sternly. He released his grip on her and took a step back. I strode into the bathroom, leaving them both by the door. They could stand there and bicker all they wanted. I just needed to take a shower so I wouldn’t be late. I watched as they went back and forth with one another.
“You know, don’t you?” she asked him.
“Know what?” he said. I turned around and saw Gaspard put on a façade of confusion.
“That Dante has feelings for her. That him going into business with us was so he could get close to her,” she whispered.
Briskly, I walked back over to the door with my brows raised. “Has feelings for who?” I asked, stunned.
“No one, Mrs. Williams. I have no idea what she’s talking about. I just followed Maya here to see if she wanted to have lunch with me.”
“I thought you said you wanted to talk about the meeting yesterday?”
“Yes . . . over lunch.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Believe it or not, it’s the truth.”
“Sure it is,” she said, looking him up and down, then pointing to his shoulder. “Did you already have breakfast? I think you’ve got some jam on your clothes.”
He looked at his shoulder. “Where?” The moment he took his eyes off Maya, she rushed toward me and ferried us both to the bathroom.
“Close the door!” she shouted.
“What the hell is going on, Maya? Why are you acting like a psycho? I’m meeting Dante for lunch in less than an hour. Why don’t you go and get ready so you and Gaspard can join us?”
“Listen, Isabella. I have something important to tell you.”
“Can’t it wait? I was about to hop into the shower before you two barged into my room.”
“No, it can’t. I think Dante has feelings for you.” I curled my lips and burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” she bellowed.
“You’re nuts if you think Dante has feelings for me. If he did, he would have tried to sleep with me last night. As you can see, he didn’t.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Come on, Isabella. Look at everything he’s done for you. How can you not tell he did all this just to get close to you?” I began to remove what little makeup remained on my face from last night and turned the shower on.
“Come to think of it, there was something alluring about last night. It was one of the best nights I’ve had in a while. I felt so safe with him. He was so gentle and kind. The whole experience teetered on the line between casual and romantic. I even suspected him of being my secret admirer. I went as far as to have him write my name so I could compare it to the handwriting of those letters I’ve been receiving. I even asked him to stay the night with me last night.”
“And?” Maya pressed.
“And his handwriting was different, and he didn’t stay the night with me, as you can see. If he did want more than a business relationship, I’m sure he would have jumped at the chance. I also don’t get the sense that he would make moves on a married woman.”
Maya hung her head low. “If that’s true, then I think I may have screwed up,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well . . .”
“What’d you do this time?” I gave her the side-eye.
“I may have gone up to his room and accused him of being in love with you. Also, I may have kissed him a little.”
“What do you mean you kissed him a little? How the hell do you kiss someone a little?” I fumed. “Did you fucking sleep with him too?”
“No! No, I didn’t. I wanted him to prove to me he didn’t have feelings for you, so I kissed him to see if he would reciprocate—he didn’t.”
This woman must have lost her damn mind. What was she thinking? “Don’t ever touch him again. No more flirting, no more eye contact, don’t even breathe the same air as him. Do you understand?” I shouted in anger.
“I’m sorry, Isabella. I’m still a bit tipsy from last night and—”
“Don’t blame the alcohol. You made a conscious choice to go to his room. You made the conscious choice to kiss him. Keep your hands to yourself, Maya.” She looked up at me and saw that I was seething with rage.
“Are you jealous?” she asked.
“No. Of course, I’m not jealous. I just . . . Just don’t touch him again, all right. Now, would you please give me some privacy so I can shower in peace?” The steam from the hot water made it difficult for us to see. Maya opened the bathroom door and looked around. Gaspard had already left, and I climbed into the shower.
“There’s no reason for you to be so upset. It was just an innocent kiss. He didn’t seem upset when it happened. He was just a little shocked.” I tossed a wet washcloth into the air over the shower rod, and it landed on Maya’s head. “What the hell?” she exclaimed.
“I don’t want to hear about your stolen kiss. Try to be professional, would you? You can’t just go around kissing our business partners.” I sighed and proceeded to wash my hair. Once again, I was going to have to apologize for her behavior and hope Dante wasn’t too offended by what she’d done.
“I promise I won’t do anything like that again. You have my word.” She placed the wet washcloth on the sink and sat back down on the stool. “You know, your attitude has changed a lot since you met Dante.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not as stressed as you usually are. I also haven’t heard you complain about Nathan in a while.”
After I finished rinsing my hair, I took the towel hanging on the rack. “Nathan and I are fine. Nothing to worry about in that department.”
“Nothing to worry about? He’s been cheating on you for years. How the hell can you not see that?”
“You don’t know for certain if he’s cheating. I still love him, and until I have proof of his infidelity, he will always be my husband.”
“How could you be so blind? Is the sex that good?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I made a vow, Maya. Vows are meant to be kept through the good and the bad.”
“Even if he has broken those vows time and time again?”
“As I have said before, I need proof.”
“I told you to hire a private investigator—” she began, but someone knocked on the door, startling the both of us.
“Could you see who that is?” I asked. I was still wrapped in my towel, and Dante was probably wondering what was taking me so long. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole.
“It’s Dante and Gaspard.”
“Go ahead and let them in.” I continued to dry my hair.
“I’m too embarrassed to face him right now. You let them in.” She shied away.
“I’m still in my towel. There is no way I’m answering the door, Maya. Suck it up, open the door, and tell them we’ll meet them in the lobby in a moment. Why don’t you apologize to him while you’re at it?” I closed the bathroom door and locked it.