Page 26 of Cruel Fate

Only then do I look to see what she shoved into my pocket.

I pull out a hundred dollar bill.

She reimbursed me for dinner.

Maybe she understands more than what I give her credit for, or maybe she’s kinder than I thought. All I know is I should cut her some slack.

A hundred dollars.

Tonight, I came out ahead.

But I don’t think with the Maddoxes I always will.

By the time the bus drops me on my street, it’s almost eight. My apartment’s dark, and no one greets me. When I moved out of Maryanne’s house, I thought about adopting a cat, but in the end, I decided not to. Pets can be expensive if they need medical care, and I’m not home enough to enjoy one. On lonely nightslike this, it would be nice to have a fluffy friend wind around my ankles and welcome me home. Maybe I can afford a pet with this new position. Maybe two so they can keep each other company while I’m at work.

I toe off my shoes and leave the living room dark. I’m tired and going straight to bed sounds like heaven. I have another early morning and busy day ahead of me. Harper said there’s a lot more to show me, and I’m grateful she’s taken me under her wing. What she’s teaching me is invaluable. If Zane and I don’t work out, in whatever and whichever way that can mean, what I’m learning will help me find a comparable job in a different company if I decide accounting isn’t what I want to do anymore.

I change into my pajamas, and in the bathroom by the glow of the nightlight, I wipe off my makeup. I didn’t check to see if I had any messages, and I double back to the kitchen and to my landline phone. The light’s blinking on the old-fashioned answering machine the lady across the hall gave me the summer she moved out. I press Play Messages. I have three gross heavy-breathing hangups, but then Maryanne’s voice fills my apartment.

“Stella, I saw your picture. You should stop by sometime this week. I have a new girl. She’s only been here a couple of months, and she’s having a rough time. She needs to talk to someone who understands what she’s going through.”

Maryanne always said it was her calling to take in troubled teen girls. Sometimes more than one at a time, though fortunately I was alone when I lived with her. Maybe she knew I needed her to myself. I had three blissful years as she taught me how to be a young woman. I’d never be where I am right now without her.

I’ll call her tomorrow on my way to work. If she says a girl need some help, I’ll do my best. I owe her.

The first thing she says comes back to me, and instead of erasing the message, I play it again: “Stella, I saw your picture.”

There’s only one picture I can think of, and hauling my laptop into bed, I log on.

There are several websites dedicated to the comings and goings of the city’s elite, but one stands out above the rest as the tackiest. It doesn’t surprise me our photo pops on the home page ofTruth or Dare. Zane partying at Temptations is hot news, and we stand frozen in front of the paparazzi, his arm wrapped around me, as the featured story of the weekend and already thousands of people have commented on the article. I click on the picture and read the very short post that goes with it.

Zane Maddox, 25, made an uncommon appearance Saturday night at the nightclub Temptations. Seen with Zane is his sister, Zarah Maddox, 20, and Stella Mayfair, also 20.

I guess since I’m an employee at Maddox Industries, it wasn’t difficult for them to dig up who I am. At least they didn’t mention I was only a payroll clerk.

Six months ago, returning to the States from a European vacation, Lark and Kagan Maddox were tragically killed in a plane crash over the Atlantic. It was speculated that Maddox Industries would be sold when it seemed Zane, heir to the Maddox fortune along with his sister, Zarah, did not immediately take the reins of the company. Zane, appearing at Temptations, with a date, too, gives us hope that he is slowly coming to terms with his parents’ untimely deaths.

We do look like a couple, Zane’s hand protectively resting on my back and him leaning toward me to whisper something into my ear. Even through the screen, I can see the chemistry we have between us, but shadows rest beneath his eyes and tension pulls at his mouth. Zane is a long way from coming to terms with the loss of his parents.

The article told me one thing, though. Zarah’s right. King’s Crossing’s society will want a party to welcome him back, and the article made me aware of one other thing—Zane taking over Maddox Industries catapults him to one of the sexiest, richest, most eligible bachelors in King’s Crossing.

Filthy rich.

Insanely handsome.

In control of the largest, most powerful company in the city, the entire United States, maybe even the world.

Next to Black Enterprises.

The women wanting him at Temptations is only the start, and there is no way I can compete.

I love the way he looks at me in the photo, the way he buries his nose in my hair. He’s telling me not to speak to the reporters, but I pretend he’s saying something else. How much he loves me, or what he wants to do to me when we’re finally alone.

Desire coils in my belly, and my pussy slicks with heat.

I set my laptop aside and focus on Zane’s face as I lie back onto the pillow. Getting off to Zane and the way he kisses is better than any romance novel. I remember the way his lips teased mine and how he tasted—rich, sensual, and a touch of sadness—that drives me crazy.

My fingers slide under my panties, and I’m dripping.

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