Page 20 of Firethorne
Mr Firethorne waved his hand and announced, “That’ll be all, Maya. I’m sure we’ll manage to pour our own drinks. You can go back down to the kitchen now.”
I nodded, said a quiet, “Yes, Sir,” and turned to leave. But not before I heard, “I haven’t seen your kitchen, Nicholas. Maybe I need to make a detour before I leave today. After all, as we were just discussing, I may need to sample the merchandise myself before I sign on the dotted line.”
Edward’s voice made me shudder. Goosebumps prickled over my body. I think I’d reached a new low this morning. I’d found someone even worse than the Firethornes.
Leaving that office and closing the door behind me felt like I’d stepped out of the lion’s den into blissful refuge and safety. The invisible insects that’d been crawling over my body were slowly scuttling away. I stood for a moment, fisting my hands as I closed my eyes, threw my head back and took a few deep breaths to right myself.
“Maya, are you all right?” I heard a familiar voice ask from down the hallway.
I opened my eyes and saw Lysander stalking towards me, genuine concern etched onto his face. Then, at that moment, I felt the door behind me open and close, and a dark presence loomed over me.
“What the fuck have you done to her?” Lysander hissed as Damien came to stand beside me, his hands stuffed casually into his trouser pockets as he puffed his chest out and rocked back on his heels.
“Nothing that you can’t fix with your dazzling wit and knockout charm,” Damien replied, not even trying to defend himself.
“He didn’t do anything,” I added, glancing at Damien’s profile. His face was stoic, but I could see a faint tick of his jaw as he stared straight ahead.
“Well, something happened in there,” Lysander said, coming to a standstill in front of us. “Maya, you look upset. What happened?”
“I wasn’t upset,” I replied defensively.
“She was just pissed off,” Damien cut in, and I whipped my head around to stare up at him.
“I can speak for myself.”
“Clearly,” he replied, turning slowly to look down at me. “God forbid I should ever step in.”
I swallowed, trying to formulate a response to what he was implying, as he turned back to face Lysander. Then he stepped forward and took his hand out of his pocket and placed it on Lysander’s shoulder. “It’s all okay now, though, right? Her knight with shining hair products is here to save the day.” He patted his shoulder one more time, then strolled off down the corridor saying, “She’s all yours, brother.”
Lysander rolled his eyes then silently stared at me for a moment as Damien disappeared down the hallway, and then, with empathy in his voice, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Honestly.”
He cocked his head, narrowed his eyes at me to show he didn’t quite believe me, and the boyish way he looked made me dip my head and give a quiet chuckle.
“I am. Really,” I reiterated, staring back up at him.
He sighed, evidence that he might push further flickered in his eyes, and then it disappeared, replaced with a softer, more mischievous glow. “Well, now you’re up here, would you like to see my studio?”
I faltered in my response. It was my first day here. I didn’t want to piss Cora off by shirking my duties.
“I should get back to work. Mrs Richardson will wonder where I am,” I told him, stepping past him to head down the hallway. But he grabbed my arm to stop me.
“She’ll be fine. If she asks, I’ll tell her you were doing a job for me.” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, then he gave me a subtle little wink. A look I’m sure he’d used on MrsRichardson more than once to get what he wanted. That he’d probably used on a lot of people. I was starting to learn that Lysander had a certain way about him. A way that made you want to soak in the sunshine of his smile.
And I was a girl who’d lived through too many rainy days.
“I have something to show you,” he went on, boyishly pleading with his puppy dog eyes. “Something special.”
Chapter Nine
Maya
Lysander led me to the opposite side of the mansion, to the wing farthest away from his father’s office. And as we walked, he said, “I spoke to Beresford this morning. He said he won’t set anymore traps on the estate where people might stumble across them. I’m so sorry again for what happened to you.”
I smiled and thanked him. It was sweet that he was looking out for me. But at the same time, I was pretty sure it wasn’t Beresford that’d left that note. Beresford probably had no idea what Lysander was talking about. But I left the matter there... for now.
When he reached the door to his studio, he stood still for a moment, pausing dramatically before announcing excitedly, “Are you ready to see where the magic happens?”
