Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“You fired me,” she said incredulously. “Did you seriously expect me to stay and teach a class after that?”
“Yes! I know you need this job. You should have apologized and given in,” he whined.
Seriously. This dick was unbelievable.
“She’s not doing that,” Matthieu told him. “She doesn’t need this job and it will be safer for her not to work here. So we’re leaving.”
“No! No, wait! If you leave, so will my clients.”
Hmm.
“What?” Maya asked.
“They love you. They’ve made it clear they come here for you.”
Interesting.
He bet that Maya hadn’t known that.
“They do?” she whispered before straightening her shoulders. “Well, of course they do. I’m a good teacher.”
That was his girl. He held back his smirk. “So, what should you be doing right now?”
David glared up at him. “Telling Maya to get her ass to class.”
“No,” he replied. “First, you do not talk about, look at, or think about her ass. Second, you apologize and ask her to stay. With a bonus to sweeten the pot.”
David’s mouth opened, then closed. Then he did it again, his eyes bugging out. He kind of reminded Matthieu of Dougie. Except Dougie was cute and sweet and not a dick.
Unlike David, who was.
Matthieu still had half a mind to tell this guy to get lost and walk Maya out of there.
And if Maya were his he’d have done just that.
But she wasn’t. And when he left, she had to go back to her life. This life.
So it wasn’t his right to interfere too much in her life.
But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to.
“You cannot demand a bonus!” David cried. “That’s impossible! I can’t afford that! Who do you think you are?”
“She’s the woman who brings in all your customers,” Matthieu told him as he leaned in. “Just think about what would happen if we kept walking.”
David swallowed heavily. “Fine. I’ll give you a five percent pay rise if you stay.”
“Done. Let’s go.” Maya walked quickly away, but Matthieu gave David a look.
“Maya, wait for me,” Matthieu ordered before turning to David. “I’ll be watching you. If you even step a foot out of place, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”
David swallowed heavily. As he’d suspected, the guy was a bully. And when he was confronted, he caved like a coward.
Matthieu walked over to where Maya was impatiently tapping her foot. “Maya, wait?”
“Yes. You’re not supposed to leave my eyesight.” He shot her a look. “So lucky that you obeyed me or you’d be in trouble.”
She raised her hands in the air. “You keep saying I’m going to get into trouble, but I don’t know what you are talking about. What sort of trouble?”
The kind that was going to make it hard for her to sit. But he didn’t say that. He didn’t need her freaking out on him.
“Come on, you’re late for class.”
“What did you say to David?”
“That is none of your business. Let’s go.”
18
Urgh.
The man was infuriating.
But she pushed her irritation to one side and plastered a smile on her face as she walked into the class. She spotted Livvy immediately. To her surprise, Millie was standing next to her.
Millie smiled big at her, waving her hand. “Hey, Maya! Don’t worry, I left Mr. Fluffy at home with Spike. Oh.” A strange look crossed her face as Matthieu walked in behind her.
Livvy had that same look. They stared at Matthieu. Strange. She almost got the feeling that they knew him.
Maybe they did?
“Hi, all. Sorry I’m late. I have to introduce you to someone. This is Matthieu, he’s my, uh, he’s . . . um . . .”
Okay, this was painful.
“I’m her bodyguard,” Matthieu said smoothly.
Wow. Was he going to tell them the truth? Okay, then.
“Yes. There has been a threat to me. Well, not directly to me but to a family member. And that family member hired Matthieu to watch over me.”
Wow. This really wasn’t her.
Everyone was staring at her. Great. She could kiss that pay raise goodbye if everyone walked out because they were worried about getting caught in the crossfire. Or because they were uncomfortable with Matthieu being in here, watching them.
She tensed, waiting for a mass exodus.
“Are you okay?” Livvy asked in concern.
“Has anything happened?” Millie asked. “Do you need anything? We have connections.”
Livvy nodded.
They had connections? What did that mean?
“Everything is taken care of,” Matthieu said with a pointed look at Millie and Livvy who backed off.
There was definitely something going on there. But right now, she didn’t have the mental capacity to understand it.
Instead, she was shocked as several more people came forward to check on her. Thankfully, the bitchy besties weren’t here today. Hopefully, they never came back.
A number of women were staring at Matthieu hungrily. A tendril of something unfurled in her stomach.
That couldn’t be jealousy. She had no reason to be jealous.