An Arrangement of Love (12 page)

“Well, that’s better than escaping out the back.”

“And I figured I owed him.”

She giggled. “What exactly would you owe him?”

“I figured he would’ve expected a blow job or something. And if he could get me to open my legs and let him slide down my panties in a packed night club, I didn’t want to find out what I would do with him alone in his limo.”

“You ran away?” She shook her head.

“Stop saying that.”

“You’ll have to see him Monday and it’s going to be beyond uncomfortable for you.”

“Don’t remind me.” I rolled onto my back and gazed at the sky.

“Did he call you to find out what happened?”

“Yes. By the twentieth missed call I texted and told him I was fine and had to go home for a personal emergency.”

“What are you going to do?”

My phone blared with the default ring. I didn’t have any cool ringtones like Vivian. I pulled my Ziploc bag with my belongings out of my sports bra and moved my credit cards, ID, and keys out of the way. A strange number displayed on the screen. It wasn’t Chase or the number Dawn had texted from earlier.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hey Jasmine. It’s Lucy. I need you at Oshane City Airport in no later than three hours,” she said. “We’re going to India with Chase.”

“India?” Pounding appeared at my temples. My nerves flared on edge.

“Sorry about your weekend being cut short, but that’s how it is. Sadly, the entertainment business never takes off.”

And now I’m going to have to face Chase sooner than I thought.

Chapter 12

L
ucy had said
I could dress as comfortably as I wanted since it was a sixteen hour flight. Huge fuzzy purple slippers, with X’s covering the front, clung to my feet. Headphones plugged my ears and blasted an eclectic play list of Radiohead, Mozart, Jay-Z, and Joni Mitchell. I covered my eyes with a satin blindfold and thanked god Chase hadn’t arrived yet.

This way I can avoid him most of the trip.

Well, it wasn’t a hundred percent guaranteed. We were traveling on his private jet.
And if one traveled, this was surely the way to do it.
I’d been unprepared for how vast and outfitted the jet was. When Lucy said jet, I assumed a small plane with a few seats. Instead of the typical tight rows of a commercial flight, Chase’s jet’s seats provided ample leg room and were placed across from each other on each side of the wall. If Chase needed to have a meeting, they could just set up a small conference table in the middle. Lucy had taken me on a tour, showing me the kitchen in the center of the plane equipped with a stunning stainless steel kitchen. Chase’s personal chef was there chopping mushrooms and garlic. Further down stood a room with flat screen TVs, past that was Chase’s private bathroom with a shower, and in the back of the jet were a master bedroom and a small guest bedroom.

“I’m completely dependent on you,”
Black Moon Goddess sang.
“To breath, to see, to see all of my dreams come true.”

The plane’s floor vibrated. I sank deeply into my musical, blindfolded darkness and focused on Thom York’s lyrics instead of my fears--a plane crash, an explosion, or the worst one of all—there’s an engine malfunction, the plane drops from the sky and falls into the vast ocean with no land in sight. Even worse, none of the flotation seats work so we all drown while hungry sharks swim around us. My heart sped up as I felt the plane advance.
Everything will be okay. Just breathe.
I inhaled, exhaled, and counted each breath that left my lips.
One. Two.
A funny sensation coursed through my legs.
Three. Four.
The plane took off, rising into the air.

“I’m an animal locked in your cage ,”
Black Moon Goddess sang.
“The sensation that bubbles out before the rage.”

The sensation in my legs ceased. My ears popped a little. My heartbeat decreased to a steady pace.

“You are why I breathe. You are why I breathe.”

The fragrance of new leather mixed with vanilla filled the air. Even if I tried I couldn’t forget that scent.
Chase’s cologne.
I’d thought about it all last night
as I replayed what he’d done with those magical fingers. His scent closed in and surrounded me.
Just breathe.
He had to be near me, if not right next to me.

“And I can’t take another breath unless I’m here with you.”

His soft fingers rubbed against the inner area of my wrist, delivering a thrill that flowed through my chest and warmed my skin. He tapped my wrist to get my attention.
God. I thought I had time.
I bit my lip and removed my headphones, but kept my blindfold on like it was totally normal.
Coward.

“Can we talk?” Chase’s voice stirred the soft flesh between my thighs as if I was naked and laying in front of him with my legs open and he’d gently blew right on that spot. “Jasmine?”

“Yes, we can talk,” I muttered.

“Without the blindfold.”

Struggling not to whimper, I cleared my throat and removed my blindfold. Lucy slept in the seat across from us with hot-pink headphones in her ear. Earlier, she’d swallowed a Valium and explained that her fear of flying was way more extreme than mine so she chose to be in a deep comatose sleep during most of the flight. Chase’s bodyguards and two lawyers lounged in chairs on the other side. They typed into their laptops and didn’t look our way. Everyone had lowered their shades so the space possessed only the dim lighting from the computer screens.

“That’s better. I love looking into your hazel eyes,” he said.

I rolled them. “What did you want to discuss?”

“Let’s go in the back and talk about it.”

Red alert! His bedroom is in the back. No way.

A pained expression spread across his face. “Are you afraid of me?”

“What? No.”

“You look scared shitless right now.”

My mouth fell open. “I-I just don’t want to go into your bedroom.”

His lips shifted to a smirk. “I planned on us talking in my personal lounge, not my bedroom. I’m not that extreme.”

“Okay.” I unbuckled and rose out of my seat. He clasped his fingers around my hand. He wore a white linen shirt, blue jeans, and flip flops. I couldn’t decide if he looked hotter this way or in a towel.
And surely a man with pretty toes couldn’t be trusted.

“I have a personal lounge in the back.” He led me there and carried my book bag with him.

“I know. Lucy showed it to me.”

“Did she show you the room with the spiked chains and wooden spanking paddles?”

“What?” I paused in the hallway. My fingers shook.

“It’s a joke, Jasmine.”

“Not funny,” I mumbled.

A beige door appeared. He opened it.
We’ll just talk. Stop being so scared.
We entered a small place that fit a black loveseat and carpet. A red coffee table rested in the middle of the floor. A massive flat screen TV hung on the wall. It was split into three different channels. One showed a soccer game. The other two played the news.

He sat my bag on the floor next to the couch and got in front of me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?” I noticed he maintained two feet of distance between us.

He put his hands into his jeans pockets. “You ran home last night without saying goodbye.” He gestured for me to sit down. “Did I take things too far? Maybe push myself on you?”

“Yes and no.” I averted my eyes. “I don’t want to . . . do that again, so...let’s just maintain some sort of professional environment.”

“Can we be friends?”

“Yes.”

“So everything is fine?” he asked. “I won’t be seeing a resignation letter or transfer request on my desk?”

Now was the time to take my easy way out.
I could just say the words, right?
But, I was already nervous enough, so I wussed out. “No. Everything is fine.”

“Will you hang in here with me during the flight?” he asked. “Solely as two friends sitting in a room looking at TV.”

“Yes, but that’s it. Nothing else.”

“Of course not.”

“I don’t want to do anything but be friends.” I sat down. Soft leather surrounded me.

Those green eyes brightened as he smiled. “Feel free to listen to your music, read, or whatever you were going to do.”

He sat down next to me and pressed a button on his remote. The screen showing soccer widened until it filled the screen. He muted it and pressed another button. Music came through the speakers. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out who the singers were.

“Who’s this?” I dove into my book bag and yanked out a brown paper bag.

“That’s not funny?”

“What isn’t funny?” I raised my eyebrows.

“You really don’t know who this is?”

“No.” I shrugged.

“Okay. You have to get out of this room right now.” He pointed to the door with a grin. “How the hell do you not know who the Beatles are?”

“Oh. I’ve heard of them. I just never really listened to them.” I focused on some of the lyrics and nodded. “This sounds okay.”

He frowned at me. “Did you just say the Beatles sound okay?”

“They’re not mediocre.”

“Not mediocre, she says. I’m buying you their entire collection. Hand over your iPod.” He held out his hand. “Clearly you have not familiarized yourself with the greatest band that ever lived. No one should walk this earth without having at least one favorite Beatles song. I don’t think you can even enter the gates of heaven without having one.”

“Wow. I missed that section in the Bible.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It was either in the book of Paul or John.”

“Funny.” I shook my head.
Be careful.
I was beginning to enjoy his company too much. Even worse, I enjoyed the way he treated me, like a gentleman, but also his equal. And then I couldn’t forget those lips and fingers.
Perhaps this is why his harem agrees to his selfish desires.
He makes you fall for him first, and then hits
you with the crazy reality.

“Give me your iPod,” he demanded.

“I’m not letting you buy me music.” I wrenched out my sandwich wrapped in wax paper. “You already pay my salary, but I do promise to buy a greatest hits album and check it out.”

He gazed at my sandwich. “You do realize I have a chef on board. He would make you whatever you wanted.”

“He probably cooks crap.”

“Excuse me?” He laughed. “I currently have him bringing us the best steaks that money can buy, whereas you have a pitiful sandwich.”

“This isn’t just a sandwich. This is a flavorful masterpiece.” I broke it in half and offered it to him. Without hesitation, he took the piece and bit into it.

His eyes closed as he chewed. “I just got another erection. What is this?”

“Culatello, which is a higher quality of prosciutto—”

“Prosciutto?”

“Really really awesome ham. Anyway, Culatello is cured with great wine for like a year.” I ate some of my portion. “So this sandwich is Culatello, brie, herbed cream cheese, French bread, and truffles--which is insane. I mean seriously. Who would stick something as expensive as truffles in a sandwich but Gabe?”

“He made this?”

“Yeah. He happened to be in my area today—”

“Of course he happened to be there.” Chase rolled his eyes. “You live ten minutes outside the city. He lives downtown. That’s at least a thirty minute drive from his place to yours.”

I stiffened. “Why do you know where he lives?”

“I just happened to be in his area, I guess.” Chase leaned back and began tapping his finger on his thigh.

I formed my lips into an angry straight line. “Seriously, why do you know that?”

“I requested that Lucy gather information about him,” he said.

“Why?”

“He’s an outstanding chef. I want to form an advisory board in my revamping of food businesses.”

I gave him a skeptical look. He tossed back that confident smile as if to say
prove I’m full of shit
.

“Go ahead and finish your story,” he said.

“There is a fabulous farmer’s market on my block on Saturdays. It’s half of the reason I moved to that town, so that’s why he was there.” I finished my sandwich. “Anyway, he saw I was packing to go on a business trip and decided to make me some food for the flight.”

“Of course he did.” Chase continued to eat.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“I already told you. He’s trying to cook his way into your panties.” Chase licked some of the cream cheese off his fingers. An image of what he could do with those fingers flashed in my head. I shuddered and struggled to concentrate on eating.

“No. He’s not,” I said.

“Yes he is, and with his food, Gabe actually has a chance.” He finished the sandwich and gazed at my bag. “What else did Lover Boy prepare for you?”

“None of your business.” I placed the bag behind me. “Go ahead and eat your expensive steaks.”

“No. I want what’s in your bag.”

“Why would you want my stuff when you already have your own?”

“Because you messed up and let me have a sample and now I can’t get that taste off my mind.” He slid his tongue across his bottom lip. It made me think he was talking about last night. “Please. I’d like to try some more.”

“No,” I said.

“Do you remember what happened the last time you kept telling me no?”

I stirred in my seat. My breasts suddenly seemed restricted in my bra. My pants became more of a barrier than a source of comfort.

This is going to be a long, long plane ride.

“Well, since you said please, here you go.” I swallowed and dragged the bag back around me.

He didn’t touch the bag. Instead, he kept his gaze on me. “You’re captivating.”

“You’re full of it.” I looked like I was getting ready to go to sleep. My hair was pulled back in a ponytail. I just wore a t-shirt, yoga pants, and slippers.

“Trust me. If I could, I would induct you into the Mile High Club.”

“How do you know I’m not already a member?”

“You wouldn’t allow it.” He winked. “It’s not proper behavior.”