Chapter 20 - Let's Talk

“Why the fuck are you dressed in that uniform?! I asked you to get a dress for yourself, didn’t I?!” Zach hissed, squeezing my arm tightly.
I whined a little as his grip on my arm started to hurt.
“Z-... Zach-... y-... you’re hurting me,” I stuttered, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. The anger in his eyes was scaring me.
“Really, Stace?! It’s rich of you to talk about hurt. For someone that’s been lying to my face from the day we met, don’t even get me started on hurt.” Zach growled.
I could feel the color drain from my face as my body went numb.
Lying to his face?! *Oh god*, he knows, doesn’t he?!...
“Mr. Masters, is everything okay?!” Courtney’s voice interrupted the staring contest Zach, and I were having.
“No, Courtney, nothing is okay! Could you please tell me who permitted you to hire my staff to work this event tonight?!” Zach didn’t break eye contact with me as he barked at Courtney.
“I-... Ummm-... I didn’t know she was your employee. I had my assistant Ryker hire the staff for t-... tonight,” Courtney gulped.
“Aren’t you the manager, Courtney? Didn’t I specifically ask you to hire the staff and ensure they were vetted?” Zach let me go and turned toward a very pale-faced blonde.
“Y-... yes sir, you d-... did,” Courtney stammered.
“Then why the fuck is my partner in this uniform serving strangers alcohol?!” Zach growled, his voice low and covered in venom.
Partner?! Since when was I his partner?!
“P-...Partner?! Mr. Masters, I am so so sorry. I left such an important job to incompetent people who messed up. I truly apologize for this.” Courtney’s voice broke a little as she apologized profusely.
“Zach,” Keiran spoke from behind me. “I think we should move this conversation elsewhere. People are watching, and we can not afford issues tonight.”
What the hell was so important about tonight?!
Without saying another word, Zach grabbed my arm again and dragged me toward the kitchen service entrance.
“Zach, what the hell are you doing?! You can’t just drag me out of here like this. I’m working!” I protested, trying to pull my arm out of Zach’s vice grip.
Zach completely ignored my protests and kept pulling me along with him. Everyone we passed gave us strange looks, but no one intervened.
We exited the kitchen, and to my surprise, Zach started to drag me toward his room. He threw up the door and hurdled me toward his bed. I braced myself as I landed on the bed with a loud thud.
Panic and fear coursed through me. What the hell was he going to do?!
Zach paced around the room, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He peeled off his jacket and tossed it on the floor before loosening his tie. I slowly sat up and wrapped my arms around myself as a shiver made me tremble.
“Why do you have to be so fucking difficult?! God, all I want to do right now is bend you over and fuck you so hard that you stay sore for days! That will teach you to disobey me!” Zach roared, slamming the door shut.
Even though what Zach said was making my kitty purr, the harshness in his voice made me flinch.
“Y-... you know some girls like it rough. It’s not a punishment if you like that kind of stuff.” I blurted.
Zach’s head snapped around to glare at me. He raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to one side. I was starting to regret the sentence I had used to cut the tense.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and mustered up as much courage as I could. I knew I was assertive, but Zach’s anger was scaring me to the point where I just wanted to curl into a ball and cry.
I-... I don’t understand… W-... Why are you so mad?! I just wanted to make some extra money to help myself. You’re the one that said you didn’t care what my oc-... occupation was, so why are you reacting like this?” I stammered.
How could he go from being so sweet and carefree to this angry monster before me?
Zach’s expression changed, and he stood there glaring at me. His grey eyes were darker than before, and it was like staring into the eye of the storm.
Like a cheetah hunting its prey, Zach stalked toward me, his eyes getting darker with every step.
My mouth dried as my brain raced to figure out if Zach’s changing eye color was my mind playing games with me or the lighting in the room.
Zach stopped at the foot of the bed and leaned forward to grab my arm, yanking me up, so I was an inch away from his face. My breathing hitched at the closeness, but I didn’t dare pull away.
“Occupation. You want to talk about your occupation. Well then, Stacey, tell me, how does one go from being an award-winning surgeon to being a maid?” Zach emphasized my name, dragging it a little more than I liked.
I stiffened at Zach’s question. *Award-winning surgeon?…*
*He definitely knew…*
I blinked rapidly, unable to swallow with how parched my throat was. My heart skipped a beat long enough to make me question whether it would ever beat again.
I kept my features deceptively composed. “I-... I don’t know wh-... what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t.” Zach’s lip curled into a sinister smirk.
Zach glared at me, his eyes searching mine for answers. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Zach’s. The storm brewing inside his now pitch-black orbs was holding me captive.
Zach suddenly let go of me and strode away. I watched him pick up his jacket and pull it on.
“Terence will be here soon to escort you to your room. Until the party is over, you are not to leave that room. If I find out you have disobeyed me this time, I will personally chain you to the bed, and we can find out if you are one of those girls that like it rough,” Zach vowed.
An ache in the bottom of my belly made me want to disobey him, but right now wasn’t the time for raging hormones.
A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. Zach straightened his tie and fixed his hair before opening the door.
Terence was standing on the other side with a tight smile.
“Take her to her room and make sure she has whatever she needs. Jaxson will be down soon to keep an eye on her so you can go home.” Zach commended before storming out of the room.
I sighed loudly, finally letting go of the breath I was holding on to. I had to call Derek and tell him that Zach had received the file. Although, what was the point of letting Derek know?! It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway. As he had mentioned earlier, Zach was essential to the agency, and no one could touch him without solid evidence. What I really needed to do was find out exactly how much information Zach had. Once I had proof, maybe then the FBI would take this seriously and help me.
“Stace, you okay?” Terence’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
I nodded and got off the bed. Terence gave me another tight smile before motioning for me to go first.
The walk down to my room was quiet. I was lost in my thoughts, and it was starting to give me a headache. Once I was safely inside my sanctuary, Terence excused himself to get me some food while I got changed out of the uniform and started to tidy up all the shopping bags full of clothes I had left inside the walk-in closet.
I felt a little sorry for Ryker. The poor guy would probably get an ear full from Courtney, and it wasn’t even his fault. I was sure Courtney was going to fire him. Maybe Zach would help me by talking to Courtney about what happened.
Would Zach help me, though? I mean, with how mad he was, I didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it already was.
“You’re deep in thought,” a voice came from behind me.
I turned to find Jaxson leaning against the closet door. He had changed out of the suit I had seen him in earlier. Instead, he wore loose sweatpants with a tank top that looked like a second skin. What was up with these men looking like Gods?!
“Did you get into trouble too?” I looked down at the top I had just pulled out of the bag.
“Not as much as Keiran did. You should have seen Zach rip into him. The best part of my day!” Jaxson snickered.
Poor Keiran, it wasn’t his fault either. I had made a decision that had gotten others into trouble.
“Hey, hey, why are you pouting like that?” Jaxon questioned, coming to kneel next to me.
“I didn’t mean to get others into trouble. I don’t understand why Zach’s reacting like this?” I sobbed, trying hard to hold back any tears forming in my eyes.
“Stace, Zach likes you. He wants to be your partner, not your employer. Do you really not see it?”
I wasn’t stupid. Of course, I knew that’s what Zach wanted. Zach had made it obvious that he wanted a different relationship than we had. But it wasn’t possible. My life was too complicated as it was. At that moment, something dawned on me. If Zach was this protective of me right now, what would he be like if he found out about Knox?! Would he help protect me from Knox? I mean, Zach had the resources and power to do so.
“Jeez, you really do zone out, don’t you” Jaxson chuckled, making me jump a little.
“Sorry,” I blushed.
“Come on. I brought food for you and me. I’m starving” Jaxson got up and offered me his hand.
I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up.
We both went back into the room and dived into the food. Jaxson told me more about Keiran and his childhood as we ate. Even though he kept the information very vague, I could piece it together to know their childhood wasn’t all rainbows and bursts of sunshine.
We finished eating and just lay on the floor chatting about random things. Jaxson promised to get a TV in my room because he was sure I would spend a lot of time in my naughty corner with how much I disobeyed Zach.
As soon as Jaxson mentioned my disobedience, I could feel my hormones coming to life. The pit of my stomach ached at the thought of Zach’s punishment. I suppressed a smile and quickly got rid of the nasty thoughts in my head.
“Jax, can I ask you something?” I started, chewing on the inside of my mouth.
“Hmph”
“If I were in trouble, do you think Zach would help me get out of it?” I asked, nervously fiddling with the string on my pants.
Jaxson started to laugh. “He would give his life for you, Stace. Think of yourself as the Sun in his Solar System. His world revolves around you.”
My heart pinched a little. Did Zach really feel so strongly about me?! He barely knew me, and we hadn’t spent that much time together. How do you fall in love with a complete stranger?!
“What’s wrong? What have you done this time?” Jaxson sat up to look at me.
Before I could reply, the door flung open, and Keiran entered the room. He looked exhausted and worn out. The creases on his forehead made him look older than he was.
“What happened to you?” I asked, sitting up.
“Zach wants to see you. He’s up in his study waiting for you.” was all he said before walking out.
Keiran had never been this cold towards me. I turned to look at Jaxson, who looked equally as confused.
I gave Jaxson a tight smile before heading up to Zach’s study. The penthouse was empty and quiet now. My heart raced as I walked up the stairs as slowly as possible, trying to figure out why Zach wanted to see me at this time. The study was at the end of the hallway adjacent to Zach’s room and was much bigger than the office Zach had on the 19th floor.
I took the last few steps and stopped right outside the study door—the anticipation of what was about to happen next formed knots in my stomach. I took a deep breath in and knocked on the already open door.
“Come in,” Zach’s voice echoed through the room.
My heart was beating so hard against my chest; I was sure Zach would be able to hear how nervous I was.
I walked into the study that was lit only by the warm flickering light from the fireplace’s hearth. Zach’s silhouette was glowing as he stood in front of the fireplace with a glass of golden liquid in his hand.
“Z-... Zach-... You asked to see-... see me?” I stammered, unable to hide my nervousness.
Zach kept his back to me as he downed his drink in one go. He twisted the empty glass in his hands before sighing and turning towards me.
“I just received a call from a Paul Martinez. Paul is the Director of the FBI’s Witness Protection Program. Apparently, they’ve been notified that I’ve been trying to access classified files. He wanted to know if this was true and if it was, then I was in serious breach of my contract and could potentially be charged for abusing my power and access. Do you know what the funny part is? Only two people knew I was trying to access this classified folder. Those two people I trust with my life, so I know they didn’t snitch on me. Care to explain?” Zach asked. His voice was so calm and clear; it was like looking into the eye of a storm. A storm that would destroy anything in its path.
A lump formed in my throat as I tried to think of what to say that sounded convincing. I wrung my hands as my anxiety hit its peak.
When I didn’t respond, Zach took a few steps towards me. His grey, cold eyes glowed brighter under the fire.
“You know I felt bad when Keiran handed me your folder yesterday. I felt like I was invading your privacy. Keiran even told me I should just ask you, but I wanted the entire story, which I doubted you’d tell me.” Zach started to walk toward his study table. He picked up a thick folder and turned it around in his hands before holding it out for me.
The fire shone the glossy 4x6 picture pinned to the front of the fold. I stared at the old picture of myself wearing my white doctor’s coat. The picture was taken to update the hospital website when I got my promotion. The name I had left behind was at the bottom of the photo in bold capital letters.
*Dr Zadie Ahana Carter.*
My chest tightened as my breathing hitched. I stared at the picture of the brunette, bright-eyed girl that was full of life. The girl that was ambitious and bubbly. The girl that had so many plans for her life. The girl that died two years ago.
“Yes, I’ve read the folder, and I’m sorry if you feel like I went behind your back. But from what I’ve read in the folder, it sounds like you desperately need my help. So, Dr. Zadie Carter, I suggest you tell me exactly what the hell is going on.” Zach hissed.


***A/N-
Hello my wonderful readers,
Thank you so much for the love and support you all give me. Just a reminder, please don't forget to add the chapter number in your comments so that I know where you have made the comment. I love reading your comments and replying back. Also, please do check out the comment section that's located under the Blurb in the book profile. I sometimes put up discussion questions on there so that I can get some advice/feedback from my wonderful readers. Hope you are liking the story so far. Please leave a comment below to tell me what you think will happen next or where you think Zadie and Zach's relationship will go?
Lots of Love,
Shazza.***