Chapter 12 - THE FIRST DATE WITHOUT A BODYGUARD
Marcus asked me to dinner on a Friday.
Not through an assistant.
Not through a formal invitation.
He called me himself.
“Maya.”
“Yes?”
“Would you have dinner with me?”
I smiled.
“As what?”
He laughed.
“A man asking a woman he likes to dinner.”
I pretended to think.
“Will there be a board meeting?”
“No.”
“A merger?”
“No.”
“An emergency involving stolen patents?”
“Hopefully not.”
I laughed.
“Then yes.”
We went to a small Italian restaurant near the waterfront.
No private dining room.
No photographers.
No business associates.
Just two people sitting across from each other.
Marcus wore a navy sweater.
I wore a simple black dress.
He looked nervous.
I found it adorable.
Halfway through dinner, he asked about my childhood.
I told him about growing up in a small apartment with Lucia.
About our mother working two jobs.
About the day Lucia was diagnosed with kidney disease.
Marcus listened.
Then told me about his father.
The long nights in the workshop.
The failed prototypes.
The smell of solder.
The excitement of finally making something work.
For the first time, I saw Marcus as something other than a billionaire.
He was a son.
A brother.
A man who had spent years trying to live up to someone he loved.
After dinner, we walked beside the water.
The city lights reflected across the bay.
Marcus stopped.
“Maya.”
I looked up.
“Yes?”
He smiled faintly.
“I've wanted to do something for a long time.”
My heart raced.
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“May I kiss you?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
His kiss was gentle.
Warm.
Unhurried.
When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I should have asked you sooner.”
I laughed.
“No.”
He looked confused.
May you like
I smiled.
“You asked at exactly the right time.”
