Chapter 2 Unforeseen chemistry

The city skyline shimmered against the inky sky as Maya sat at her small kitchen table, staring at her laptop screen, the cursor blinking expectantly. The gala had ended hours ago yet Reynolds' voice still echoed in her mind. She hated it. Hated the way her heart had raced when he looked at her. Hated that even now when she could be focused, when she should be focused, she couldn't stop replaying their conversation over and over.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered under her breath, pushing her laptop away.

She wasn't here to fall for an enemy. Chase Reynolds was dangerous - not just to her investigation, but to her sanity. One look into those dark, calculating eyes, and she knew he was hiding something. Her instincts were never wrong.

Dragging her hand through her hair, Maya opened her investigation file - a growing collection of articles, confidential documents, and whispered rumors. She clicked through the files until she reached the one labeled Reynold Group Classified Leads.

Her jaw tightened.

Money laundering, bribery, political blackmail. The Reynolds name was wrapped around every dirty deal in the city like a noose. Yet none of it could be directly tied to chase. It was always his father, his uncles, family lawyers. Chase's name appeared like a ghost on the edges, never fully in the dark, but never entirely clean either.

That was what bothered her. Chase wasn't just some oblivious heir. He knew.

And worse, she suspected he was smarter and more dangerous than the rest of them combined.

Still, there was something about the way he had looked at her. Something that made her wonder if chase might not be the enemy she had painted him to be. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to him than just headlines suggested.

Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Unknown number: Meet me. Tomorrow. 7pm. D'Angelo's cafe. Come alone.

Her stomach twisted, it could be a trap, it could be a lead.

Or it could be him.

She hesitated for a second before typing a reply: See you there

The next evening, D'Angelo's café was a warm glow against the growing twilight. Maya stepped inside, the smell of fresh coffee and pastries wrapping around her like a blanket. She scanned the room quickly, every nerve on edge.

Then she saw him.

Chase sat at a corner table, casual yet somehow commanding, his dark suit replaced by a simple black shirt and jeans. No entourage, no flashy watch. Just him.

He looked up, and for a second, something flickered across his face - relief? Amusement? Before he masked it with an easy smile.

"You came," he said simply, as if he had no doubt she would.

Maya pulled her coat tighter around her and approached cautiously. "You're lucky I'm curious," she replied coolly.

He gestured on the chair across from him. "Sit I'm not going to bite."

Maybe you should, she thought bitterly, before shoving the dangerous thoughts aside and sitting down.

They stared at each other for a long tensed moment, neither speaking. The café buzzed quietly around them, oblivious to the silent war waging across the small table.

Finally, Chase broke the silence. "You're not who you pretend to be."

Maya stiffened. "Neither are you."

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Touché." He leaned forward slightly, his eyes intense. "You're digging into my family, you think you're being careful, but you're not. They know someone's sniffing around."

Her heart jumped into her throat. "How do you know?" She asked carefully

"Because I'm the one who's been keeping them off your back." He replied.

Maya blinked, thrown off balance. That wasn't what she had expected. "Why?"

Chase leaned back in his chair, studying her with a look that made her feel as if he could see straight through her defenses.

"Maybe I'm tired of playing their games," he said. "Maybe I think you're the only one with enough guts to do something about it."

Maya didn't trust him. Not for a second. Yet... his voice rang with a kind exhausted honesty that she hadn't anticipated.

"Or maybe you're just trying to manipulate me," she said evenly.

He chuckled softly. "Probably. But that doesn't mean I'm lying."

She hated how part of her wanted to believe him. How sitting across from him felt dangerously easy. How the pull between them was almost tangible, as if some invisible thread was weaving itself tighter and tighter.

"What do you want from me, Chase?" She finally asked.

For a second, his mask slipped. Something raw and vulnerable flashed in his eyes, so quickly she almost missed it.

"Nothing," he replied quietly. "For now."

They sat in silence after that, sipping coffee that had long gone cold. Across the table, Chase's expression was unreadable, but his body was tended, like a coiled spring.

Maya knew she should leave. She should walk away from him, from the dangers and the lies. But something kept her rooted in place, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

When she finally rose to leave, Chase stood too, blocking her path for a brief, electric second.

"Be careful Maya," he said, his voice low. "You're playing with fire."

"So are you," she whispered back, Her eyes locked with his.

Their gaze held for one charged heartbeat, two. And then, without another word, she slipped past him and out into the cold night air, her pulse hammering, her world titling on its axis.

Whatever game they were playing, it had already begun.

And neither of them was going to okay it fair.