Maya POV
“Oh my God. You look gorgeous. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous,” Tim said dramatically as he pinned the last strand of my hair into a loose twist at the back of my head.
I stared at the girl in the mirror, blinking.
Was that really me?
Soft curls framed my face, my eyes looked huge with the smoky shadow he applied, and my lips—usually bare—were painted in a soft red that made my skin glow. I wore a sleek black dress that hugged my curves, not too tight, not too loud. Just… enough.
“You did a really good job, Tim,” I whispered.
Tim stepped back, admiring his work like an artist before a masterpiece. “At your service, madame. And now—” he clapped his hands, “we are officially, fashionably, passionately late.”
I laughed, nerves buzzing in my chest. “Are you sure we should even go?”
“Maya.” Tim turned me around by the shoulders. “You have been invisible at this company for five years. Tonight? You’re going to own that entire room. You hear me?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.
He grinned. “Come on, we’ve got a party to crash.”
The cab ride was short, but my heart felt like it was running a marathon. Tim talked the whole time—about which execs might be drunk, who would cry in the bathroom, and how Janice would probably trip in her stilettos.
But I barely heard him. My palms were sweating.
“Why am I nervous?” I muttered.
“Because you’re about to show everyone what they’ve been ignoring all this time,” Tim said confidently. “You are going to walk in there and make jaws drop.”
We arrived at the venue—a rooftop ballroom rented out for the company holiday party. Lights twinkled everywhere. Soft jazz music drifted from inside. Through the glass doors, I could see people drinking, dancing, laughing.
I took a deep breath.
“Ready?” Tim asked.
“No,” I whispered.
“Too bad,” he said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s wreck them.”
The second we walked in, it was like the whole party paused.
Conversations dropped. Heads turned. People stared. Whispered.
I felt their eyes on me—on the dress, the heels, the confidence I didn’t quite feel yet. But with Tim on my arm, I stood tall.
Janice’s face contorted into something venomous as she scanned me from head to toe. I swore if looks could kill, I’d already be buried in my stiletto boots.
“Well, someone came to play,” she muttered under her breath, turning back to her equally bitter group.
I kept walking. And then—
“Maya?”
I turned. Alex Sterling stood near the bar, holding a glass of champagne and looking genuinely stunned.
“Oh my God,” he breathed, stepping toward me. “You look… beautiful.”
I flushed instantly. “Thank you.”
Before I could say anything else, he reached for my hand and lifted it gently to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. “Stunning, Maya. Truly.”
My cheeks burned, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe. Tim smirked beside me, clearly entertained.
“Drink?” he offered, handing me a glass of something bubbly and pink.
“Only one,” I said.
“Famous last words,” he whispered.
The party spun around me—lights, laughter, music—and for once, I didn’t feel invisible.
Tim and I danced like no one was watching. We twirled, we laughed, we shouted the lyrics to cheesy pop songs. My heels didn’t even hurt anymore. I felt light. Daring. Free.
Alex joined us on the dance floor not long after, laughing with us, spinning me once, twice. I wasn’t used to being the center of anything—let alone the center of fun. But here I was, alive and laughing.
I hadn’t felt this good in years.
“You look like you’re glowing,” Tim said, fanning me with his hand.
“It’s probably the alcohol,” I teased, sipping my second cocktail.
“Nope. It’s the confidence. And maybe the lashes.”
I giggled, my head warm.
“Maya,” someone called behind us. “Maya, come on! Join the body shot dare!”
Tim’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. “Oh my God. You have to do it.”
“Wait—what?” I laughed nervously.
“It’s just for fun! Everyone’s doing it. Come on, you look hot, you feel good, and honestly, you deserve to be a little bad for once.”
“I don’t know…”
“Please?” he begged. “Just one! We’ll cheer you on!”
Around me, voices picked up.
“Maya! Maya! Maya!”
I looked at Tim, then at the crowd chanting my name.
One body shot. Just a silly dare. Just one wild moment to say, I lived. I hesitated… then took a step forward, toward the table where a very drunk intern was laying down, salt and lime in hand.
That’s when I felt it.
A firm grip closed around my upper arm, yanking me backward, hard.
“What the—” I stumbled, twisting—
And froze.
Noah Sterling.
Eyes blazing. Jaw clenched. Suit slightly rumpled from movement, but his presence? Ice-cold and furious.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped.