Personal Meetings

Maya sat in her car and took a deep breath.

Yesterday her cousin caused her nothing but trouble, today she had to fix the problems he made.

She groaned at how careless Gary was, due to his reckless behavior.

"Okay, you can do this," Maya told herself as she huffed in the car trying to gather her courage. "Grandpa won't blame you if Mr. De La Rue asks for something you can't give and you refuse."

She closed her eyes and calmed herself down before finally stepping out of her car and marching towards the entrance of Maharlika Residences.

This building was the premiere location for the richest and most popular people in the country. It was one of the most secure locations, each unit was also as big as a house in terms of floor area.

Maya stood at the entrance and looked up in awe, admiring the magnificent craftsmanship that went into the facade.

She was so engrossed that she did not notice a man walking towards her from behind. He tapped her shoulder, catching her by surprise.

Instinctively, Maya turned to look at the stranger, but his face was obscured by sunlight from behind.

Before she could make out his features, he spoke.

"Miss, you may get hit by a car."

Maya could feel the blood swiftly draining from her cheeks in embarrassment.

"S—s—sorry," she stuttered as she quickly rushed to enter the building lobby.

To her surprise the man continued to follow her, making her wary of his presence.

"L—ook I don't want any trouble—" Maya began to say when she turned to confront the man. To her surprise she was faced with someone she had met before, Mr. Clark Thomas, Alistair De La Rue's assistant.

"I didn't mean to surprise you Miss Miller," Clark said in a respectful tone as he gave her a slight bow. "I just approached to tell you that Mr. De La Rue has been held up, I'll be back with more news, please wait here."

Maya nodded and thanked the man as he gestured for her to take a seat in the lobby.

It was large and relatively empty, with only a security guard and a receptionist.

As she waited, several celebrities and businessmen passed with their families, not paying her any mind.

"Maya?" she heard Nate's all too familiar voice, shocking her. She glanced to find him entering the building dressed casually as if he lived on the premises.

She was honestly stunned by the coincidence.

"Maya, what are you doing here?" Nate asked as he walked up and sat next to her.

"I have a meeting," she told him as she looked away, trying desperately to hide the panic and delight in seeing him here.

"A meeting?" he asked, tilting his head at her. "On a Sunday? A business meeting on a Sunday?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. She needed for him to leave before Mr. De La Rue or Mr. Thomas arrived. She didn't want to cause a misunderstanding that could be detrimental to her family.

"It could be a personal visit, it's none of your business," she coldly responded.

Nathaniel wanted to laugh at how silly she was acting, he knew it wasn't as personal as she made it seem.

He couldn't help but wonder how she would react when she realized that the man she was supposed to meet was already sitting next to her.

"Oh really, and who would you be personally visiting here?" Nate said in a teasing tone.

"What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be settling into your new apartment or something?" she asked him.

"I already have," Nate said with a shrug. His confidence irked Maya.

"Then don't you have to hang out with your new friends? A new girl?" she asked quite bitterly, making Nathaniel grin to the side.

"Maya, are you jealous?" he teased her.

"W—wh—what? No!" She said a little too loudly making the passersby as well as the receptionist glance at her.

She could already feel her cheeks starting to turn red as Nate's words hit too close to home.

Even if she had said those things she didn't want Nate to admit that he was seeing someone new. Despite all the anger and bitterness against him in her heart, she couldn't deny that there was still a strong pull towards him.

"You're too loud," Nate said with a teasing grin.

"Shut up," she said as she leaned back on the couch and started to ignore Nate.

She remained silent for a while, amusing Nathaniel and encouraging him to tease her even more.

After a few more minutes of silence, he finally spoke again.

"It looks like whoever you are personally meeting ditched you," he pointed out. "Why don't we go out and have lunch, you do still owe me."

"No." She responded a little too quickly.

"No?" He asked, not at all surprised by the way she had reacted.

"I need to meet this person, it's very important," she told him as she kept her eyes glued to the private elevator that most likely led to the penthouse of Maharlika Residence.

"And what if that person chooses to just ditch you for something more important?" Nate asked slowly, waiting for Maya to respond.

"I can't just go, I will wait, I have to wait," she told him in a stern tone.

Nathaniel couldn't help but smile and feel a little proud about how dedicated she was when it came to helping her family.

"Suit yourself then," Nate said with a shrug as he stood up and began to leave.

Just as Nate began to make his exit, the elevator doors from the penthouse slowly began to open, making Maya tense up.

She quickly fixed herself, making sure that she was at least presentable. She might not have wanted to seduce Mr. De La Rue, but she at least didn't want to look like a mess when she faced him.

"Maya," a familiar voice said, making Maya look up.

She was faced with someone she didn't expect to see.