Page 5 of Organized Chaos

Mia chose that exact second to spill out of the auditorium exit. The light behind her eyes faded upon sensing the tension in the air.“Did something happen?” She looked back and forth between Milo and me. “Milo,” she prodded, “are you mad that I didn’t read the story?”

“No, Rabbit.” Milo attempted to smile. “I’m not mad at you,” he said pointedly, glare returning in my direction.

Mia was much too observant and knew I was taking the heat for tonight. Part of me—an irrational part—wished she would disclose my help conquering her stage fright.

I lived a life without expectations and forgot the exhilaration in impacting someone positively. Curious that such a simple thing—a child’s smile—could give life meaning, truly outlining the hollowness of my otherwise lonely existence. And that minutely invigorating triumph was being snatched away.

It was unreasonable to expect a child to defy their parental figure at your behest, but an absurd side of me wished she’d verbalize the positive difference I had made. A reassurance that I wasn’t the fuck-up Milo pegged me out to be.

Mia remained silent. No idea why that hurt the most.

Perhaps this fleeting disappointment was for the best. Clearly, my sympathy wasn’t benefiting her, so there was no point in wasting my time.

Moving forward, my head needed to remain sharp and focused on my business relationship with Milo instead. At the age of twenty-two, I didn’t have another faster ticket to financial freedom. Milo was the majority shareholder of our company, and pissing him off by meddling in his family affairs was the sure way to create a toxic workplace environment.

“I’m leaving.” I glared at Milo, resentment reverberating through me. “Good night,” I said to no one in particular.

Mia silently accused me of abandoning her at the lion’s den. The hurt radiated from her—similar to the one I had felt at her silence—invoked by my cold demeanor. I still forced myself to stroll out of the lobby without a backward glance.

Sorry, kiddo! This is goodbye.

Chapter 2

Mia had been lurkingin the back of my mind ever since I spoke to Milo, and he had mentioned her in passing. That little prodigy had an active brain prone to frequent outbursts. But was that really surprising? Unrealistic expectations had a way of consuming your soul from the inside out. Any kid would spiral if faced with pressures of such magnitude and left to deal with it by their lonesome self.

The thought triggered my sympathy for her all over again.

My guilty conscience for leaving Mia at the lion’s den was fabricating a similarity between this Maya Mathews. And this woman’s striking resemblance to Mia—a possible figment of my imagination—only proved to be disturbing.

Mia was just a child, and I didn’t want her to be associated with someone I found attractive.

“Maya...” I drawled. “Did you just get into town?”

With a wicked grin, she grabbed the drink from the bartender. “Nope. We got here a few days ago.”

We?“Oh. Are you enjoying your visit so far?”