Hell, I wouldn't have known you were here
today if you hadn't called me over."
Maya's shoulders dropped, and she looked down at her feet. After a couple
of steadying breaths, she took off her glasses and met his gaze. "I'm
sorry. You're right. This is my fault. I
know you deserve an explanation, and I promise I will give you one, but I just
can't handle this right now. I need time to think. You probably hate me, and I
don't blame you for it, but right now, I want you to leave."
Seth let her go when she pulled away again. He wanted to argue with her,
tell her he wasn't crazy and that he knew there was something big happening
between them, but her lip began to tremble and he could see she was going to
cry.
"Okay, I'll go, but don't call me next time you're bored and
feeling like fucking with my head."
He turned his back on her then, too angry to trust himself to say any
more. Maya called him just as he was about to step through the door, and he
stopped without turning around.
"I'm so sorry, Seth. I really am."
Seth couldn't look at her. "Don't worry about me, boss. I'll be
doing my best to put this and you out of my mind."
Chapter Eight
Seth's mood hadn't improved when he woke up alone in his own bed the
next morning. He'd barely slept, and for the first time since they'd met, he
didn't cherish the thought of seeing Maya again.
He showered and shaved and went to find Alice, but she wasn't devouring most
of the breakfast buffet as she did most mornings. He'd never met a woman,
anyone come to that, with such a huge appetite. Seth had warned her more than
once that she would be as fat as a house if she ever stopped training so hard. After grabbing a couple of muffins from a
platter and accepting a cup of coffee from the waiter, he went looking for her.
He found her an hour later after searching high and low. She was still
in her room and crying her eyes out. Seth's presence seemed to set off another
wave of uncontrolled sobbing, so he sat with her until her tears ran out and
she could talk without hiccupping.
"I've fucked things up, for both of us."
"What do you mean?"
"I had a few drinks at a club last night, and that girl was there,
you know the one I was talking to on the beach the other day? Well, one thing led to another, and I kissed
her."
Seth shook his head in confusion. "Isn't that a good thing? You've done nothing but talk about her
for the last few days. She didn't reject
you, did she?"
Alice cocked an incredulous eyebrow and looked a little more like the
ballsy, take no prisoners, tough New York cop he'd become pretty fond of. "Please! Like that's gonna happen."
"So what's the problem?"
"We came back here and had an incredible night. I mean, really
special. About three in the morning, I walked her to my door and I could have
sworn there was nobody in the hall outside my room, so I let her kiss me
goodbye. When she walked away, I heard a cough behind me and found Ben letting
himself into her suite."
Ben Richards was Chief Executive Producer on the show and a cold bastard
motivated only by ratings and money. Alice couldn't have made a more formidable
enemy. Seth tried to play it down.
"Look, I doubt it will make much difference at this stage. The show
is already airing. It's not like they can kick you off for being gay, at least
not without causing a lot of controversy."
Alice wasn't convinced. "Yeah, but he could ensure we get voted off
this week. I'm pretty sure he could rig it if he wanted."
"I think you're worrying over nothing."
"It's not me I'm worried for. It's you. I will hate myself if you
lose out on a chance at winning the money you need because of something I
did."
The thought had occurred to him, but he had no intention of making her
even more upset by letting her know. The show was set up so one pair was
eliminated each week. The pairs with the lowest score after a series of events
were nominated for elimination, and then they were at the mercy of a
today if you hadn't called me over."
Maya's shoulders dropped, and she looked down at her feet. After a couple
of steadying breaths, she took off her glasses and met his gaze. "I'm
sorry. You're right. This is my fault. I
know you deserve an explanation, and I promise I will give you one, but I just
can't handle this right now. I need time to think. You probably hate me, and I
don't blame you for it, but right now, I want you to leave."
Seth let her go when she pulled away again. He wanted to argue with her,
tell her he wasn't crazy and that he knew there was something big happening
between them, but her lip began to tremble and he could see she was going to
cry.
"Okay, I'll go, but don't call me next time you're bored and
feeling like fucking with my head."
He turned his back on her then, too angry to trust himself to say any
more. Maya called him just as he was about to step through the door, and he
stopped without turning around.
"I'm so sorry, Seth. I really am."
Seth couldn't look at her. "Don't worry about me, boss. I'll be
doing my best to put this and you out of my mind."
Chapter Eight
Seth's mood hadn't improved when he woke up alone in his own bed the
next morning. He'd barely slept, and for the first time since they'd met, he
didn't cherish the thought of seeing Maya again.
He showered and shaved and went to find Alice, but she wasn't devouring most
of the breakfast buffet as she did most mornings. He'd never met a woman,
anyone come to that, with such a huge appetite. Seth had warned her more than
once that she would be as fat as a house if she ever stopped training so hard. After grabbing a couple of muffins from a
platter and accepting a cup of coffee from the waiter, he went looking for her.
He found her an hour later after searching high and low. She was still
in her room and crying her eyes out. Seth's presence seemed to set off another
wave of uncontrolled sobbing, so he sat with her until her tears ran out and
she could talk without hiccupping.
"I've fucked things up, for both of us."
"What do you mean?"
"I had a few drinks at a club last night, and that girl was there,
you know the one I was talking to on the beach the other day? Well, one thing led to another, and I kissed
her."
Seth shook his head in confusion. "Isn't that a good thing? You've done nothing but talk about her
for the last few days. She didn't reject
you, did she?"
Alice cocked an incredulous eyebrow and looked a little more like the
ballsy, take no prisoners, tough New York cop he'd become pretty fond of. "Please! Like that's gonna happen."
"So what's the problem?"
"We came back here and had an incredible night. I mean, really
special. About three in the morning, I walked her to my door and I could have
sworn there was nobody in the hall outside my room, so I let her kiss me
goodbye. When she walked away, I heard a cough behind me and found Ben letting
himself into her suite."
Ben Richards was Chief Executive Producer on the show and a cold bastard
motivated only by ratings and money. Alice couldn't have made a more formidable
enemy. Seth tried to play it down.
"Look, I doubt it will make much difference at this stage. The show
is already airing. It's not like they can kick you off for being gay, at least
not without causing a lot of controversy."
Alice wasn't convinced. "Yeah, but he could ensure we get voted off
this week. I'm pretty sure he could rig it if he wanted."
"I think you're worrying over nothing."
"It's not me I'm worried for. It's you. I will hate myself if you
lose out on a chance at winning the money you need because of something I
did."
The thought had occurred to him, but he had no intention of making her
even more upset by letting her know. The show was set up so one pair was
eliminated each week. The pairs with the lowest score after a series of events
were nominated for elimination, and then they were at the mercy of a
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