Page 1 of Come Inside

Chapter 1

Yara

Ihad been told my entire life that I was beautiful, a perfect angel, sexy personified. For a while I believed it, even after everything I was put through, but then every time I looked in the mirror, I would find something I didn’t like.

My uneven knees, my stomach that would never flatten, the fat on my cheeks.

A new scar. A purple bruise. A broken bone.

The more compliments that were bestowed onto me, the more I hated myself. The more I believed I would never live up to the expectations.

The more my mind rebelled.

Until a particularly awful experience back home left me a broken mess.

I could no longer ignore the scars—thedeformities—that covered my body. A testament to my childhood.

Now my mirrors stayed covered, and I hid myself in loose dark clothes. Away from the world’s watchful eye. Away from men’s leering stares. Away from my own gaze.

Because no matter what I did or how I changed… No matter how much I dieted or exercised…

I would never be beautiful. I was ugly. Inside and out.

Pressure on my temple jostled me out of my spiraling.

“Miss Yara, you had that look on your face again. What are you thinking about?” Of course it was myassistant.

“Kazi, I told you to just call me Yara. We have known each other for almost ten years now.” I smiled fondly at the man, taking him in. At least he wasn’t calling me Miss Greene anymore–thatonlytook a year or two to fully break.

Kazi wasn’t particularly large or bulky but that was something I loved the most about him. I felt comfortable with him in my orbit. It was hard to describe Kazi, but I would call him pretty. Full lips, sharp angles, flecked russet eyes. Dark ebon hair that fell just over his ears, covering them. He was older than me, but he didn’t have a single wrinkle to show for it.

I was jealous.

He leaned down over the chair I sat in until his lips were just a few inches from mine. I stiffened.

"Miss Yara, I wouldn’t dream of it. Now come on, we have a full day planned.” His dark eyes paused on my mouth, his lips twisted into a grin before he pulled back and swiftly spun my chair away until I was facing my desk.

I refocused on my computer. The black screen’s reflection is what originally pulled me into my thoughts of unwanted self-deprecation. I quickly shut my eyes after hitting the power button, only able to catch just the brief outline of my hair.

The blonde was an unruly fluffy mess, and I really ought to cut it all off.

“Miss Yara.” Kazi’s tone was edged in warning. “The calendar.”

I opened my eyes and found the screen was now lit up. I navigated to the schedule for today.

We were fully booked. Again.

“I need to have the one-on-one with Liam, he has already been vetted, but his appointment is tonight, and he requested the discreet package.” Most of our clients would meet here in our office, but occasionally, dueto the nature of our business, I would need to meet the clients out in the wild.

This one chose a high-end hotel restaurant.

“Not without backup.” Kazi stepped up next to me leaning against my desk chair.

I eyed him in my peripheral vision.

He had been extra protective over me since I gained a stalker. I hadn’t told Kazi, but I could guess who the threatening letters had been coming from. And it wasn’t anybody new.

Men thought that because I ran a dating service, it meant they could treat me how they pleased. They thought I was a sexual deviant waiting to be fucked. It’s why I hadn’t dated seriously since high school, just a fling here and there to let off some steam. I used a different last name for business purposes, but that didn't mean much when my face had landed on the front page of a few magazines and articles. The popularity of my company was a decidedly double-edged sword.

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