Page 27 of His Secret Gift

“I suppose not.”

Another few moments of silence pass between us.

“So, what are you going to do when he realizes you are his employee?”

Shit.I haven’t even thought about that.

“… I don’t know.”

“Well, you better think quick because it might be quite the scene.”

There’s a pang in my stomach, and I have to clutch it to relieve the pain. “You think so?”

“I mean, maybe. If I were you, I’d be prepared for the worst.”

Our conversation is suddenly interrupted by several bangs on the side of my accordion door.

“Kayla? Are you in there?”

It’s a man’s voice, so I’m silent as I try to decipher who my visitor is—Denver, Captain Bryant, orJack. Speaking of the last possibility, I’m simultaneously hopeful and terrified that it might be him.

“Hello? It’s me, Denver.”

Oh.The fact that it’s my new friend makes me relax a little.

“Who’s that?” Molly asks.

“Just a friend. I gotta go.”

“But—”

I hang up before she can say anything else. After that, I stand up, smooth my hair and tank top, and open the door.

“What’s up?” I inquire as calmly as I can.

His hair is fluffed in random spots, and he has a goofy smile on his face.

I cross my arms and lean against the door frame. “Did you have a good night?”

He chuckles. “I did.”

“What was her name again?” She briefly introduced herself to me, but the club was very loud. All I recall is her appearance. She had wavy dark hair, scolding brown eyes, and red lipstick… the faint remnants of which I could see around Denver’s lips.

“Maria.” He puts an accent on the “ia.”

“Maria,” I repeat—sans accent.

He grins. “Yeah.”

“That’s good.”

With a raised eyebrow, he asks, “And what did you get into?”

Oh, not much. I just almost frenched our boss.Of course, I wasn’t about to admit all of that. Instead, I say, “Nothing much.”

“Hm. Well, I just wanted to come over here and apologize for leaving you alone like that. I just—”

“Didn’t want to miss out on a good opportunity,” I finish his sentence for him.

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