Chapter 2 - The Black SUV
At 9:55 the next morning, Maya stood in the small living room of her Capitol Hill apartment, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror.
She wore a simple, dust-rose cocktail dress with a fitted waist and a soft A-line skirt that fell just below her knees. Her dark hair was pinned up in a delicate braid, and she had spent forty-five minutes carefully applying her makeup. She looked presentable, respectable, and entirely terrified.
Down on the street, a heavy engine rumbled to a halt.
Maya peeked through her blinds. A sleek, jet-black armored SUV with heavily tinted windows had pulled up to the curb. A driver wearing a dark suit and crisp white gloves stepped out, opened the rear door, and stood at attention.
Maya took a deep, steadying breath, grabbed her clutch bag, and headed downstairs.
When she stepped out onto the sidewalk, the driver bowed his head respectfully. “Miss Bennett? Mr. Reed is waiting for you inside.”
Maya climbed into the spacious leather interior. The air inside smelled of fresh leather and faint vanilla.
Mason was sitting on the left side, scrolling through a secure document on an encrypted tablet. He was wearing a dark navy bespoke suit with a midnight-blue silk tie that made his broad frame look imposing. When the door closed, shutting out the city noises in absolute, double-paned silence, he looked up.
His dark eyes swept slowly over her—from her pinned hair, down the front of her rose dress, to her strapped heels—with an intensity that made her skin tingle.
“You look exceptional, Maya,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” Maya said, adjusting her purse in her lap to hide her trembling fingers. “You look like you’re about to purchase my family’s country club and fire the board of directors.”
Mason set his tablet aside on the leather armrest. “If they prove unpleasant, I can arrange that.”
Maya let out a nervous laugh, but when she glanced at his face, there wasn't a single trace of humor in his eyes. She cleared her throat. “Okay. Before we arrive at the venue, we need ground rules. Aunt Judith is going to interrogate you. My cousin Chloe is marrying a guy named Brandon who sells medical software and talks about crypto non-stop. They will ask how we met.”
“We met at the café,” Mason said smoothly. “I watched you pour coffee for four months before I worked up the courage to ask for your number.”
Maya stared at him. “Courage? You? Mr. Reed, you look like a man who commands private armies.”
“Mason,” he corrected her gently. “If we are dating, you should call me Mason. And even men who command armies can be hesitant around striking women.”
A sudden heat flared in Maya’s cheeks. She looked away toward the dark window, watching the rainy Seattle scenery blur past. “Right. Well, keep the story simple. You run an investment firm. No mention of whatever vague ‘logistics’ you handle. And please, don't mention your lack of convictions.”
“Understood,” Mason replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
Maya’s eyes widened. “What is that?”
“A detail,” Mason said, snapping the box open.
Inside rested a stunning vintage platinum ring set with a flawless three-carat emerald-cut diamond that caught the gray light from the window and scattered rainbow beams across the leather roof.
“No!” Maya gasped, pushing his hand back. “Absolutely not! That costs more than my apartment building! My aunt will think I’m marrying a cartel boss!”
Mason raised a single dark eyebrow. “It is on loan from my family’s private vault for twenty-four hours. A man of my visible means who presents himself as your partner without appropriate jewelry would invite suspicion from your Aunt Judith.”
Before she could argue further, he took her hand. His fingers were large, warm, and remarkably gentle as he slid the cool metal ring onto her left ring finger. The weight of it was terrifying.
“It fits,” Mason noted softly, his thumb brushing over her knuckles for a second longer than necessary before he released her hand.
May you like
“It’s absurd,” Maya whispered, staring at her glittering hand.
“It is convincing,” Mason countered, leaning back into his leather seat as the SUV turned into the long, oak-lined driveway of the Bellevue Country Club. “Now, Maya... let us go meet your family.”
