Chapter 5 James and his wicked game

A few hours later, Maya arrived at a high-end night club and searched for the VIP room. The club was busy with tight security throughout the corridor. She finally found the room that James indicated in his text to her therefore she gently pushed the door open and walked in. She found a few familiar faces however she didn't recognize most of the people in the room. Mark walked up to her and said, "Hi Maya, how have you been?" Maya smiled and greeted him politely. She had a good impression of Mark since she had met him on several occasions at Grace's home.

While Mark was chatting to Maya, James walked in with a woman on his arm. He looked around the room and an evil smile appeared on his face. He held the woman closer to his body and slowly made his way towards Maya and Mark. When Mark saw his friend walking towards him, he knew that he was up to no good so he whispered to Maya, "Just keep your cool." Maya didn't turn around because she had an idea that Mark was referring to James therefore she gracefully picked up her glass and took a sip of her wine.

James walked up to the table and said, "Well, look who finally decided to show up. A bit late, aren't you, Ms Sharma?" He continued to kiss the woman's hand while keeping his eyes on Maya however she didn't react to him at all. She shallowed her drink and replied, "I've had a long day Mr Aslan and besides, some of us grown-ups actually have commitments which we take seriously. I had stuff to take care of before coming here." James smirked and whispered something into the lady's ear. She reluctantly let go of him and gave Maya a deadly stare before walking away. Mark shook his head in disappointment and asked, "What are you up to man? You know very well the trouble you could get into if the media find you messing around." James stared at Mark who downed his drink, banged his glass on the table and tried to say something else to James however the later interrupted him, "Mark, I would like to talk to my fiancé alone for a minute." Mark looked at Maya who nodded at him indicating that she was ok with it. He then left the two alone at the cocktail table and walked towards the bar counter.

James moved closer to Maya and said, "Do you know why I invited you here?" Maya sighed and replied, "No, I don't but I guess you are going to tell me." James smiled and ran his hand down her arm and said, "I hear that you are very dedicated to my family and to the company. You also said it yourself that you wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the company reputation. Am I right?" Maya could sense the danger in his words however she calmly replied, "Yep. That's correct. But I still..." Before she could continue with her question he said, "Well, I'm going to give you an opportunity to prove yourself. Tonight. Right here." He took her hand and led her out of the VIP room. They walked up a flight of stairs and down another corridor. It was much quieter here and the security was much tighter. James didn't need to request permission to enter as he was well known to the bouncers.

James walked towards a door, opened it and motioned for Maya to go in. She reluctantly entered the room and looked around to find that this room was slightly smaller with lavish couches and a bar counter. At the far corner was a door however Maya couldn't tell where that led to. James closed the door and walked towards her. Tonight, Maya wore a black cocktail dress with the hemline finishing at her knees. She looked sophisticated and beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a bun which made her look extremely gorgeous. James unconsciously walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His chest felt hard against her back, and she immediately froze when he placed his face on her neck. She tried to pull his hands off her, but he held on tighter, "Now Ms Sharma, is that anyway to treat your fiancé?"

Maya was livid, "Mr Aslan, you know very well the terms of our relationship so stop your nonsense and tell the reason you brought me here." Just as Maya finished her words, there was a knock on the door. James let go of Maya and a few seconds later the woman who was latching onto James earlier walked in with a handsome looking man. The man, who was in his mid-thirties was dressed in an Armani suit and his thick black hair was combed back. He had light brown eyes and a muscular built.

James shook hands with him and said, "Dimitri, good to see you man. Come on in. Let's get you a drink." Dimitri greeted James however he kept his eye on the woman in the room. James noticed him staring at Maya who looked like she was ready to leave the room. James walked towards her and said, "Maya Sharma, meet Dimitri Valtri. He's a potential investor in a project I'm working on. Dimitri, this is my assistant Maya. She will take care of you tonight. Please feel free to enjoy yourself and call on Maya if you need anything. Anything at all." Maya was completely speechless. Did he just pimp her off to this foreigner. Maya quickly withdrew her hand which was shaking Dimitri's. James pulled the woman towards him and held her close to his body while motioning for Dimitri to make himself comfortable. James then turned to Maya and said, "Maya, don't just stand there like a puppet, get Dimitri a drink. While you at it, I will have a double whiskey."

Maya tried to refuse but he stopped her and whispered, "Remember your dedication to the company." Maya walked towards the bar counter and fixed two drinks. Once she placed the drinks on the table, Dimitri pulled Maya's hand and said, "What a beautiful woman, you are. Come, sit down next to me." Maya reluctantly sat down next to the man however she refused to touch the man. He took a big sip of his drink and moved closer to Maya. She was as stiff as a piece of wood. James on the other hand was enjoying her discomfort while the woman next to him kept kissing him on his neck and on his face. Her hands roamed around his chest and arms however he didn't pay any attention to her. He just wanted to exact revenge on Maya for colluding with Alex and sabotaging his business plans.

Dimitri pulled Maya closer to him and placed the glass close to her lips and said, "Why don't you take a sip. It may help you to relax." Maya pushed the glass aside and said, "Sorry, I don't drink whiskey." James interrupted, pushed a bottle of wine and a glass over, "Here you go Maya. A bottle of your favourite wine." Dimitri poured her a tall glass while Maya shot James an evil look. James smirked at her and continued holding the woman in his arms. Maya eventually made up her mind and decided to indulge James in his wicked game. She gracefully took the glass from Dimitri, clinched glasses with him and sipped on her wine. Dimitri placed his hand on Maya's thigh and this time she didn't shrug him off or pull away. She started making small talk with him and even flirted a bit.

James' body language started to change when he noticed her friendly approach towards Dimitri. After what felt like ages, James tried to interrupt their conversation however Dimitri kept cutting him off and continued talking to Maya. From time to time, he held onto her fingers or placed his hand around her shoulder. Not once did she look up at James. James eventually pushed the woman aside and started pacing the room. When Dimitri stepped out to take a call, James walked over to Maya, pulled her off the couch and walked towards the door in the far corner of the room.

He opened the door, pushed her in and said, "Stay here and don't make a sound." Maya looked around and noticed a small table with two stools and a big bed in the middle of the room. To the side was a walk-in bathroom with a shower. She walked towards the window and peered outside. Her heart was in a mess, and she was angry. She couldn't believe that James would do this to her. He made her feel cheap and worthless. Maya hugged herself around her waist and a shiver ran through her when she thought that he may force her to sleep with that man in this bedroom. She immediately picked up her bag and opened the door. When she came out, she realized that no one was in the room, so she quickly walked out and tried to leave however she wasn't familiar with this place and quickly got lost. She turned a corner and opened a door which looked like an exit however she walked into another VIP room.

She walked in to find the woman who had been all over James in a hot make out session with the man who had been making small talk with her a few minutes ago. The two people on the couch were too busy to even notice Maya at the door so she quietly closed the door and turned to leave but bumped into someone. She was so scared that she almost blacked out, but the man held on to her. He barked, "What the f*&k are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the room?" Maya shouted back at him, "Why, so you can pimp me off to another man? You are sick. Who does that? Even if I'm your fiancé in name only, you don't have the right to force me to sleep with another man." James had no intention of making her sleep with Dimitri. He just wanted to humiliate her however he just couldn't go further with his plan when he watched Dimitri putting his hands on her.

A strange feeling engulfed him. That's why when Dimitri took the call, he put Maya in the room and asked the woman, Rita to accompany Dimitri in the private room down the passage. He didn't expect to meet an acquaintance outside, so he walked him out. When he returned to the room, he found that Maya had already left. James pulled her hand and led her back to the VIP room and threw her on the couch. "It didn't look like anyone was forcing you to be here and accompany that man. You let him put his hands on you knowing that you are another man's fiancé." Maya scoffed back, "You wanted to see my dedication. There you have it but let me tell you something James. Had you forced me to sleep with that man, I would have ripped your heart out of your chest." James didn't back down, "Well, what if I force you to sleep with me? What will you do?"

Maya saw the determination in his eyes, and she tried pushing him away, however James held onto her hands firmly. She yelled at him, "James, stop acting impulsively. You had a woman on your arm all night. Since you threw her to another man, surely you can find yourself another woman to satisfy your lust." James smirked and asked, "Were you not a tad bit jealous when you saw another woman in the arms of your fiancé?" Maya closed her eyes and said between clenched teeth, "We are not in love with one another nor are we in a relationship with one another so why would I be jealous of a floozy on your arm?" James laughed out loud, "Floozy you say. Ok Ms Sharma. You can get the hell out of here because I can smell another man's perfume all over you and it makes me sick."

Maya pushed him off her, straightened her dress and walked towards the door. James yelled, "Wait just a minute." He walked towards her, draped his jacket around her, pulled her hand walked out of the room. Maya tried to pull her arm away from him, but he held her firmly and said, "Stop it Maya. I won't hurt you. I will drive you home." As soon as the two of them walked out of the room, they ran into the last man that James wanted to see. Alex Johnson. Alex smirked at the two of them and said, "What do we have here? The lovebirds out and about." James didn't want to make small talk with Alex, so he tried to walk forward but Alex said, "Red is definitely your colour Ms Sharma. You look ravishing in that dress. If James doesn't take good care of you, there are a ton of men out there who will. Present company included."

James let go of Maya's hand and pulled Alex by the collar. Just as his hand was about to land on Alex's face, Maya pulled him back and yelled, "James, don't make a scene. We don't need any more bad publicity." James let go of Alex and stomped off. Maya ran behind him while Alex just laughed. He achieved his goal of making James feel unsettled. James got into the car and slammed the door shut. Maya refused to get in with him because he was extremely upset. She stood aside and when James rolled down the window she said, "I'll call a cab. You go ahead."

James started the car and revved the engine. He refused to drive off and just stared ahead. Maya realized that he would not leave if she didn't get into the car, so she reluctantly got in and fastened her seat belt. James held onto the steering wheel, but he was livid. Maya knew that there was something on the tip of his tongue, so she anticipated his next words, "You just had to protect him, didn't you? So concerned about him that you didn't want me to hurt him." Maya laughed sarcastically and said, "What ever you say Mr Aslan. I really don't care." They drove in silence until Maya got off outside her apartment. She got off the car, slammed the door and walked off. James was annoyed at himself because the night didn't go as he had planned.