Haven And Chaos

13) Upset him and get punished

Classes were over before Maya could realize it. Her mind was still clouded by the events that had occurred the previous night. So much that she missed out on useful lectures and even the student she had developed a slight crush on.

When she got in the car Gale had been sending to drive her to his office, someone rushed to catch the door before she could close it.
"Wait!" Mia squeaked forcefully holding open the door. "I'm coming along."
It wasn't a request, she was ordering her with no room for refusal.

Maya didn't mind.
She, in fact, didn't care.
The more the merrier.
With Mia in the office, maybe Gale would make her suffer less or wouldn't acknowledge her existence.

Without waiting for Maya to scoot over to the next seat, Mia pushed her way inside rudely. Her entitlement was one of the hundred reasons Maya loathed her.
Ever full of herself like the world only rotated around her ineffective lady charm and she could get whatever or whoever she desired.

Throughout the twenty-minute drive, Maya forgot about Mia's presence as she continued drowning in her thoughts.
She still couldn't figure out why Gale wanted her in his room at night, or why he had asked her to sneak in.
For more punishment?
No, that didn't quite fit.

Maybe she could ask him in the office after his coffee!?

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The elevator dinged, announcing her arrival on the destined floor.
She was the only one inside after Mia rushed to use a different elevator just to avoid her or maybe arrive in Gale's personal office before she could.

'No rush,' Maya whispered in her mind as she savored the lonely and peaceful seconds before having to face her devil.

Step by step, she made her way past the closed doors on this floor, heading for the maroon door at the end of the corridor.
It had been left slightly ajar by -possibly- Mia.
'Sigh! This is going to be more hectic than any other day.'

Speaking to herself was more consoling.

She gripped firmly the straps of her panda bag and quickened her steps till she finally, walked through Gale's door.
The air inside was a bit cooler, washing away the stain of the heat outside the building. It calmed her overheated brain which had been caused by her overthinking rather than the actual heat.

Walking into the vast room, she spotted Gale seated on one of the three gray couches which were positioned close to the glass wall overlooking the city.
Mia was...sitting on his lap?!
Maya knew she had no right to question such a thing, but, she couldn't help wallow in the shock of it.

Gale looked displeased.
He hadn't tossed her out through the wall just because he was exhausted. Most of his muscles were burning and his mind was drained.
He just wanted to relax and take a nap.
But the sudden appearance of Mia had harshly killed that wish.

"Why are you here?" Gale asked the young woman bouncing on his lap.

"Nothing. Just wanted to...see you." Mia grinned before resting her head on his chest.

"Mission accomplished, now get out!"

Mia chuckled pulling herself to sit independently while still on his lap. Her eyes lifted to the redhead standing close to the door. "Get us something to drink. I'll have a glass of wine. Gale will-"

"Go home!" Gale cut in, pushing her off of him as he stood up.
He didn't linger around the spot, instead, he walked over to where Maya was standing, glaring murderously at her. "Three strokes and three spanks," he whispered coldly.
"Make me a coffee!" He said aloud and continued walking till he got to his desk.

Once settled behind the shiny brown desk, he picked up the open file that had been waiting on the counter and buried his nose in it.

Her heart was racing.
She couldn't shake off the fear his whisper had inflicted on her.
She couldn't remove her wide-eyed stare at the man who was now acting like none of the girls was present.

"What are you standing there for?! Get the fucking coffee!"

Mia's yell hauled Maya's senses back in place.
She nodded and fled the room, pressing a hand on her heart to stop it from blasting through her ribs. "What was that?" She questioned breathless.

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Carrying a cup of hot coffee on a small silver tray, Maya walked into the office.
Her eyes quickly scanned their vicinity for signs of Mia hiding somewhere waiting to pounce on her. But the only other living soul was Gale was still immersed in the document he was reading.

"Here's your coffee," Maya announced as she put down the tray.
Her hands were swift to set the sauce and cup on the desk before picking up the now empty tray and straightening, awaiting further instructions.

"Did I ever tell you you could bring people in my office?" Gale demanded lowering the file to look straight into Maya's eyes.

She hesitated to reply, earning a denser scowl. "Answer me, Maya!"

Her gaze fell on the steam rising from the coffee. "N-n-no." It was as meek as a weak whisper, lacking any trace of confidence whatsoever.
Being under a microscope and being observed all the time was suffocating enough, now he was expecting her to babysit Mia?

"Then please, do tell, what was Mia doing here?"

'How am I supposed to know her motive?' She wanted to spit, but, angering Gale further would lead to another meaningless fight.
"I...I'm sorry," she apologized, adding a stutter to make it feel real.

"I don't need your sorries!" Gale fumed dropping the file on the desk with a little smack.

He then proceeded to pick up the cup of black coffee and take a sip.
"Mmm... Not bad... At least you've done something right after all the trouble you've been causing lately."

Was that a compliment or a ridicule? Maya couldn't tell, but she felt it was more of mockery from the lack of warmth on his face.

She took a step back and away from his desk, readying herself to ask the question that had been bothering her the entire day.
"Um...I...I have to ask you something."

His gray eyes rose to her face, a dim spark of disinterest eating away the life in them.
"What is it?"

"About...about tonight. Um, why, why, why..."

"Why what?" Gale pushed, feigning dumbness to see how far Maya would go.

She frowned and raised the tray to her nose to cover her clenched teeth from Gale's sight. "Nothing."

"Are you sure it's nothing? I have a lot of things planned out for you little one. So make sure you've prepared yourself mentally and all."

Her fingers went rigid on the tray edges.
She wasn't particularly a virgin, but heck! She hadn't planned on sleeping with her best friend's dad. Especially not to win her freedom. She'd rather suffer than give any sexual favor to Gale.

"What do you have planned? You...you asked me to wear decently," Maya murmured with the tray shielding a major part of her face from him.

"I love a decent slut." He took a sip and put the cup down on the saucer. "I don't like them dressed like strippers."

He was throwing shades. That was what he doing by bringing up the stripper part in the conversation. But Maya focused more on the insult he was indirectly flinging her way.

She lowered the tray, stabbing Gale with every inch of her eyes. "I'm not a slut!"

Notice; this book will be on hold until I'm done writing His to Snare. Due to the two being in the same genre, it became difficult for me to handle both at the same time after mixing up backstories and names. I sincerely apologize. 🥺