The djinn, p.7
Finding Love in the Clouds: A Sweet Billionaire, Bad Boy Romance (Bad Boys Club), page 7
Her thumb stroked over his knuckles; now that was distracting.
“I know. I agree. It will be wonderful if I can get over this fear. I’m not sure if the landing and take-off will bother me or not. I have a fear of dying by plummeting to my death. I love roller coasters, but you know those swing rides that turn in a circle, and the swings go up and out, or the rides that are like ships and rock back and forth until they eventually turn upside down? Those are a no-go for me. And I know all about the statistics on car crashes versus airplane crashes. Enrique has been annoyed by my refusal to fly since we were kids and had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C., and I wouldn’t go because it involved flying. According to Enrique, I would need to fly every day for 55,000 years to be involved in a fatal plane crash. My chance of dying in a car crash is 1 in 101 if I were driving, which I never do. As a passenger, I have a 1 in 654 chance. In a plane, I have a 1 in 9,821. It may be illogical, but the thought of falling and not being able to do anything but ride it out freaks me out. At least in a car crash, there are some exit strategies.” Fernando used his free hand to lift his cap and rub his forehead.
“No fear is silly. It is what it is, and I’m proud of you for facing this one finally. Can I share another fact with you?” She tugged on his arm to get his attention as the plane started moving away from the gate.
“Sure, why not,” Fernando mumbled.
“There is a 95% survival rate in plane crashes. So, even if it did crash, you would likely still make it. Now, my favorite part of the flight is the take-off and landing because it feels like an amusement park ride. If you like roller coasters, then this part will be fun for you, too. Sit back, relax, and enjoy,” Sophie instructed as the plane turned and started to taxi toward the runway.
Fernando wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the take-off wasn’t a big deal. It was like going down the highway at a fast speed and then the climb to the top of a coaster. They sped up, and then the wheels left the ground, and they lifted into the sky. Sophie was right; that part had been kind of fun.
“Okay, the bones in my hand aren’t crushed, so I’m thinking you handled that pretty well. What do you think?” Sophie asked, a slight wrinkle of concern creasing her brows.
“So far so good. I don’t think I want to look out the window, but I’m fine for now. So, you mentioned we would be in New York in five hours?”
“Yep, we will grab our carry-ons and meet Anthony and the family at Arrivals, enjoy a nice meal with the family, and then be back here for our international flight at 10 pm. We thought it would be good to break up the experience and give you time to relax if you needed to- and see the family, of course.”
“We? Whose we? You consulted with someone on our flight plan?” Fernando wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.
“I reached out to Hannah, who then looped in Anthony. I thought breaking up the flight would be a good idea, and they agreed. They rearranged their schedules to meet us for dinner. Trust me, no one outside the family knows about this trip or your fear of flying. All your secrets are safe with me. Now, do you want to do work or sit and chat for five hours?”
“Let’s work. These are spacious seats.”
They pulled out their laptops and tackled their own to-do lists for a time. Sophie frequently sneaked glances to check that Fernando was okay.
“I’m fine. Stop looking at me like that. If I get nervous, I will let you know. To be honest, I’m feeling a little embarrassed that I made such a big deal out of this all these years. New topic. You know how we need a code name for our potential new partner?”
“Yeah, did you think of something deserving of a best-selling mystery author?” Sophie inquired.
“What about Midnight Cipher? We could just use M.C. in our correspondence. It has nothing in common with the real person, but it gives a nod to her as a writer, the midnight visit I received from her brother, and the whole clandestine aura surrounding the whole thing. It seems fitting to me. What do you think?”
“I think it is kind of cool. Let’s use it. When would you like me to reach out to M.C. again to see about scheduling a meeting to discuss the collaboration?” Looking at the calendar she had pulled up on her computer screen, she said, “It looks like July has a weekend we could pull off, or September is pretty wide open at the moment. Once we determine if you can fly, your calendar is going to fill up fast. Do you think we will go to her or ask her to come to us?”
“We will offer to go to her. I don’t want her brother or husband to make any assumptions. Making this as easy as possible for the little lady is going to be our motto with this deal. I am finishing up my draft of the contract as we speak. Legal will need at least two weeks to make it legit. There might be some back and forth with legal and finance. Let’s be optimistic and shoot for an initial meeting in July. No doubt her legal team will want changes made. If we can be signing contracts by September, that would be fantastic.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get those added to the calendar.” Her fingers already tapping away at the keys.
The stewardess stopped by to take their drink and snack requests. They both asked for a ginger ale but declined a snack as they were looking forward to a delicious dinner in just a couple of hours.
The flight between California and New York was a breeze. Fernando, surprisingly, didn’t experience any significant anxiety once the flight took off. As they approached the exit, ready to meet Anthony and Hannah, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. He wondered if his fear of flying had been a mere product of a young child’s vivid imagination.
Chapter Thirteen
Fernando and Sophie stood on the edge of the sidewalk outside the airport, watching for a large black SUV. It didn’t take long for one to pull up before them, with the back window rolled down to reveal Anthony. They hopped in quickly and were off to dinner.
Hannah couldn’t wait for dinner talk to find out how the flight had been. “Well?” she inquired anxiously, “How was it?”
“It went better than I expected. Of course, Sophie drugged me before the flight, so I’m not sure how I would do if not using an inhibitor.” Fernando smirked at Sophie’s gasp of irritation.
“I didn’t drug you. I provided a slight sedative prescribed by your doctor to take the edge off your nerves. People who don’t like flying do it all the time,” she stated defensively.
Fernando reached his arm around her and pulled her into his side for a quick hug, kissing the top of her head, “I was kidding. Thank you for thinking of it. At least now we know I can do short domestic flights with sedation. Baby steps, right?”
He released her, and she sat straight in her seat again, but he left his arm draped along the back of the bench seat.
Hannah and Anthony took notice of the new dynamic. Anthony winked at Hannah and wiggled his eyebrows, making Hannah grin. It looked like Fernando was going to tackle both pacts with this one trip, and they couldn’t be more happy for them.
Dinner was delightful at an upscale restaurant not far from the airport. They had a private table in the corner where they wouldn’t be disturbed. The men discussed business while the women talked about the babies. Hannah, at seven months pregnant, was in the uncomfortable stage of her pregnancy. She confided in Sophie that she had chosen the name Imani for their youngest princess, but the brothers didn’t know yet.
Soon, the ladies excused themselves to visit the restroom. When they finished their business and were washing up and reapplying their lipstick, Hannah asked, eyeing Sophie in the large gilded framed mirror, “Did I notice a familiarity between you and Fernando that hasn’t been there before?”
Sophie chuckled self-consciously, “Oh, that. No. Well, yes.” Turning toward Hannah, she rested her hip against the marble vanity top. “It’s part of his disguise for the trip. Attached men draw less attention, so I’m going to be his fake girlfriend for this trip. Nothing serious is going on, I promise,” she assured.
“Oh, sweetheart, I hope you don’t think I was judging you,” Hannah rushed to add, placing her hand on the other woman’s arm. “We have all noticed how much you care for Fernando. We would be ecstatic if you returned from your European vacation as a couple... a real one. Please don’t think for an instant that any of us would look down on you for being his assistant. That isn’t how this family operates.”
“Really? Isn’t the secretary falling in love with the boss a little cliché? I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a gold-digger. I do genuinely care for Fernando. He has been good to me. I don’t want to do anything that will mess that up!” Sophie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked into the sincere face of the woman who loved Fernando as her own.
Hannah wrapped Sophie in a tight embrace, “Never! You are the most kind and caring person. No one who knows you would ever think that about you. Rest assured that thought never crossed any of our minds.” Hannah pulled away to look deep into the eyes of the younger woman. “I know all about how you and Fernando met. He sought you out. You had five wealthy men standing in front of you and never even batted an eyelash at them. That was one of the things that impressed Fernando and the others about you in the first place. I don’t know who suggested this fake dating thing, but I would suggest that you don’t hide your feelings for him. Fernando is a man of integrity. He won’t fire you. He may realize that he wants a woman in his life and that you would be the perfect one to have by his side.”
“Is that what you and Anthony did during your fake marriage?” Sophie asked shyly.
“Oh, that. I didn’t realize our marriage of convenience had become such common knowledge. Anthony didn’t hide his feelings for me. I knew all along that he was in love with me. I was willing to make sacrifices to help him with his brothers, whom I already loved dearly, but I just wasn’t willing to allow myself to fall. When I entered that marriage, I fully intended it to end when Fernando graduated, and the boys were well on their way. Funny how God takes our perfectly laid plans and turns them on their heads. Looking back, I never had a chance of not falling head over heels in love with my husband. I just had to get out of my own way. May I suggest you do the same.”
Hannah wiped the countertop with the used cloth hand towel before dropping it in the laundry basket under the marble counter, looping her arm through Sophie’s, and making their way back to their table.
Sophie was more aware of Fernando now than she had ever been as possibilities swirled through her mind. She may have been dressed for travel, but when they returned to the table, his eyes were on her. She had never noticed holding his attention like that before. Was this a new development or one she had overlooked all these years?
Several hours later, they were settling into their seats on the international flight to Rome. This plane had little cubbies for individual people with small sliding doors that could be closed for added privacy. There was a divider between the double seats that could be raised or lowered depending on whether you were traveling alone or with a companion. Fernando immediately lowered it. They stowed their bags in their private assigned area and fastened their seatbelts for take-off.
Fernando reached across the center of the seats to grasp Sophie’s hand, which caused a surprised look to register on her face. “It worked the first time,” he said with a soft grin. She returned the smile and squeezed his fingers. He had to admit, he liked holding her hand. It sent little tingles running up his arm. He hadn’t felt that jolt of energy since he was a kid in high school holding the hand of his first girlfriend.
The plane took off and eventually leveled off. It was late. A dinner service was offered on the flight, but they weren’t interested, so they decided to prepare for sleep. Their flight would arrive in Rome at 3:30 pm local time, so they would need to adjust their sleeping patterns, but arriving exhausted didn’t sound like a good plan either.
Sophie went to the restroom to clean up as Fernando explored how the buttons on the remote controlling the seats worked. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that the seats laid flat and the blanket and pillow provided were of high quality.
“Well, what do you think?” Sophie asked when she returned. “Comfortable enough?”
“For me and my inferior height, yes. I can see why Gabriel felt it necessary to buy his own plane, though. His six-foot-five self would be very uncomfortable in these seats. Actually, I imagine all of my brothers feel a little tight flying commercial. I guess I will be a little nicer to them the next time they mention chartered air transportation. What about you? Will you be sufficiently comfortable?”
Sophie had reclined her seat and was covering herself with the provided blanket. “Yes, I imagine I will sleep like a baby. This pillow and blanket are so soft,” she commented, rubbing her face against the golden fibers. “When I ride on airplanes, I usually bring my own blanket and pillow. It’s so weird having one provided for me. These are really nice, though. I have lots of legroom, too. I guess sometimes being shorter is a blessing.”
“I agree with you on that. My brothers have always teased me for staying short, but in certain circumstances, it does work out well.” Turning to face her and propping himself up on an elbow to see her over the center divide, he asked, “So you got to fly as a child?”
“Before my dad left. We had a few vacations where we flew. I had a band thing and got to fly for that trip, too. My family and I just flew on the vacation you sent us on as well. That was a long flight.”
“You didn’t book yourself first-class tickets for that, did you?”
“Of course not!”
“Well, from today on, if you fly for me, you book first class. I took a peek in the back and couldn’t even imagine flying shoulder-to-shoulder like that,” he said with a little shudder that made Sophie laugh.
“You can be so dramatic at times. The flight didn’t bother us. It’s what we know. We were grateful for the flight. It beats a two- or three-day car trip, although those are fun too. You just have less time at your destination, and as we discussed earlier, your chance of disaster on your way is greatly increased. Do you want to go to sleep or watch a movie?”
“A movie sounds nice. They gave us these personal earbuds so we can watch something without disturbing others. That’s very courteous. You know how I hate hearing the videos people are watching on their phones,” he commented, handing her a small plastic package of headphones.
“Oh, I do. Trying to eat lunch with you in public can be quite challenging when there are children or teens around. You spend more time grinding your teeth than chewing your food. It’s quite funny, actually. Okay, action or romcom? I know you aren’t interested in horror or children’s animation.”
“Hey, I can be a good sport with a quality animated flic if my nieces are around. I don’t see myself going to see one on my own. Strikes me as a little creepy.”
“It isn’t creepy! Adults can enjoy animated films as much as children. Some people don’t enjoy the blood and guts or sexual content of most adult movies nowadays, so there isn’t much left to go see if you want to spend some time at the cinema,” Sophie rebutted, scrolling through the movie options. “Ooo, this one says family. Want to try that?”
“Sure, go for it.”
They decided to watch the same screen, so they split the earbud wire, and each took one side. Halfway through the movie, Sophie heard Fernando’s breathing change and looked over to see him fast asleep, his head resting on his bent elbow while the other hand was tucked under his chin. His circulation was no doubt being restricted, but he was sleeping so peacefully she didn’t want to wake him.
Reaching over the divider, she gently removed the earbud from his ear and turned off the movie. She hadn’t really been interested in it but wanted to spend every possible moment with him, so she had tried to think of an excuse to stay up longer. Now she was feeling the exhaustion of the past few days catching up with her and snuggled down into her little cubbyhole bed to sleep. She really hoped she didn’t talk in her sleep tonight. The last thing she needed was for this plane ride to unveil all her secrets before the trip even started.
Chapter Fourteen
It was amazing that even after a long day of travel, their internal clocks still woke them at their normal time. For Sophie, that was 4:30 am, and Fernando awoke at 5:15 am. They took turns freshening up in the lavatory using the warm washcloths that were provided and the change of clothing they had packed in their carry-on luggage.
When Sophie returned to her seat, she still felt rumpled. She had applied a light dusting of eyeshadow, bronzer, mascara, and lip gloss, hoping it would make her look a little more put together. Fernando noticed the effort but wished she didn’t feel it was necessary.
After she had repacked her clothing from the night before in her bag, he spoke, “Soph, I don’t know how to say this properly, so I’m just going to say it. I hope you don’t feel it necessary to wear makeup on my account. You are a stunning woman. I have heard that makeup accentuates the eyes and such, and I’m not about to contradict any of that. If it makes you feel good and more confident or something, go for it, but you never need to wear it for me. Whether on vacation or in the office. You are beautiful, just as I saw you last night.”
“Oh. Okay. Thank you. I don’t wear much, but it’s nice to know that you don’t expect it. I always thought it was the professional thing to do, like wearing a camisole under a silk blouse. I’ll keep that in mind, though.” There was a hint of color in her cheeks as she finished this confession.
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that I never said it before. To be honest, it never even crossed my mind,” Fernando said absentmindedly as he retrieved his laptop from his bag. “You really wear a camisole under your blouses?”
“Yes, of course. I’m not sure if I should be relieved that you, as my boss, never noticed the lack of display of my undergarments under my clothing, which seems to be so popular nowadays, or dismayed at the total lack of interest in my feminine presentation,” Sophie commented thoughtfully as she booted up the laptop on the desktop that swung into place from its little hiding place in the center console.
