Running From Fate (19 page)

She had been working on nothing but small
-
scale projects since she got here.
This would be her chance to sink her teeth into something very challenging and exciting.
Of course, she would have to spend time alone with James, but even that
, she mused,
could be a good thing.
Without
the influence of Kim and away from the office, she might be able to uncover the James that she used to know, the one who
had tenderly taken
care o
f a young girl’s skinned knees. 
“When do we leave?”

The airport terminal was packed when Mira walked into it two days later
.
It was the height of the summer and it looked like, despite the economic problems,
everybody was going somewhere. 
It would have been much easier
if she could
have
do
ne
an express check-in at the curb, but
new security measures had made that service obsolete.  Besides,
she didn’t
even
have her ticket
yet.
Mary had informed her that
she hadn’t received it on time
because James was insistent that she be seated next to him in
business
class and that section had been full already.
Apparently,
the airline had been working frantically to find a solution
.

She would have been perfectly content, Mira thought as she dragged her suitcase around a group of loudly dressed tourists, to sit in coach
, especially since the first leg of the trip would only take an hour or so.
 
After several more labor intensive minutes she finally spotted the
Delta
ticket counter and groaned as she
saw the line
. 
It
seemed to stretch on for miles
.
She glanced at her watch and sighed.
It looked like she might be running to catch the
plane and wouldn’t her boss be pleased with that.

Thankfully, the impossible happened and Delta added another agent so the line moved faster than she had anticipated.  It meant that s
he didn’t have to run
across the airport,
but it was a close thing and, by the time she reached the gate, they were already
loading the standby passengers. 
One heavily pregnant lady appeared thrilled that she had been upg
raded to a business class seat. 
With her size she looked like she would need the extra room.

“Excuse me,” Mira said as she tapped the
harried employee
on the shoulder. 
“I’m supposed to have a seat on this plane.
I apologize
if I’m running a bit late.”
She
dug in her shoulder bag and
handed him
the
boarding pass.

After a quick glance at
it
, he turned t
o
look
at the pregnant woman. 
“I’m very sorry, ma’am,
”
he said, his voice apologetic,
“
b
ut
you’ll have to move back to coach.”

The woman nodded her head. 
“That’s ok,” she said. 
“I’ll manage.”

From the disappointed look on her face and her clean, but inexpensive clothes, Mira realized that this had probably been a rare, but delightful opportunity for the lady.  Despite the fact that it wasn’t her fault, she felt guilty for taking it away. 
“Wait a second,”
she
interrupted.
“Am I to assume that you had given this woman my seat?”

“It’s standard procedure,” the employee replied
.
 
“There
won’t be a problem
though
. 
You
will have your seat.”

“Don’t worry about it.”
Mira
assured him.  She glanced
at the woman and grinned.
“She looks like she needs the space more than me.
I don’t have a problem with coach.”

“Are you sure?”
t
he
attendant asked with a noticeably warmer tone in his voice
.

“Absolutely.”

**********************************************
************

James was fuming as he paced
in front of the gate
in Atlanta.
He knew that Mira had picked up her ticket because he had called the desk, but she hadn’t been in her seat.
Instead, he had found himself next to a heavily pregnant woman who had wanted to talk the whole time.
 
The potential client h
ad specifically requested Mira.  Damn it! 
If she didn’t show up they would
have
to reschedule.  The company
could lose the chance at a very lucrative project.
  Ten minutes later his head jerked up at the sound of a familiar voice.  She strolled out of the corridor talking animatedly with a balding, middle aged man. 
When she
finally reached him
his control broke.

“Where the hell have you been!?” he demanded.
 
Without giving her a chance to reply, he grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the concourse shuttle.

The shuttle was too noisy for speech so Mira clung to her
carry-on
and silently
fumed. 
As soon as they got somewhere more private she was going to let him have it.
He had no right to treat her like she was a
naughty
child, especially in front of so many people.

The shuttle stopped and
James grabbed Mira’s arm again. 
After the way she had disappeared earlier, he wasn’t going to let go of her until they were safely on the plane.
She didn’t look too thrilled by his actions
if her
burning
stare was
anything to go by. 
Truthfully, he didn’t give a bloody damn
.

“Who
the hell
do you think you are?” Mira
demanded
as she yanked on her arm.
He tightened his grip and continued walking.

“I’m your bo
ss,” he reminded her.  “And I’m
also the one who would have suffered the consequences if you
hadn’t show up to this meeting. 
Where were you anyway?
I left the ticket at the counter for you in plenty of time.”

“There was a line,” Mira
muttered mulishly. 
His pace
increased until it was so fast that she
almost had to run to keep up with him.
She felt like nothing less than a piece of baggage
. 
He
finally
stopped when they reached the departure lounge and pushed her down in a chair.
She crossed her arms and
turned her head away, refusing
to speak.

“You’re acting like a
two-year-old.” 
James sat do
wn next to her and leaned back. 
He tried to maintain his anger, but her attitude was really starting to amuse him.
Her reactions were so
honest and open.
From the moment he had made his first million
women
had gone
out of their way to please him
. 
It
was a unique experience
when someone didn’t
.

“You’re acting like a bully,
” Mira
retorted.  She
uncrossed her arms and turned her head to glare at him.
He was smiling.
Apparently
,
he found her anger amusing.
She considered getting up and walking away
or, better yet, punching him
.
James lifted his eyebrow as if reading her intentions.
His eyes were twinkling.
Suddenly seeing the absurdity of the situation,
she
laughed.
 
             
James turned his head and looked at Mira.  H
er laugh was free and open
, nothing like the polite little giggles of the other women he knew,
and the musical sound was intoxicating
. 
Despite his earlier vow to stay away, he
found himself unconsciously leaning toward her.

Mira wiped her eyes and glanced at James to see his reaction.  It wasn’t amusement or anger, but something much different
. 
His
gaze was deep, intense, and mesmerizing.
Her throat turned to sawdust and any thoughts that were still in her brain grew wings and flew away. 
She
tilted her head
slightly
and inhaled his heady, masculine scent.
So close
.

“Excuse me, miss?”
Somebody tapped Mira on the shoulder and she jumped, almost hitting James in the nose.

He
stood up
, telling himself that he was glad for the distraction,
and walked
stiffly
toward the bank of windows
overlooking the runways
.
His cl
othes were uncomfortably tight so h
e reached down and surreptitiously adjusted himself.

Mira turned
vacant eyes up and tried to focus on the person standing there.  She blinked several times to clear her vision and finally recognized the woman
.

“I just wanted to thank you again for the seat,” the woman said
softly
.
“I was much more comfortable
with all the extra room
.”