Deborah drew open the curtains of her hotel room window and let in the morning light. Her room was on the highest floor and she glanced to the parking lot below.
Had a member of the press followed her home last night? She couldn't see any camera crews or news vans below, so maybe her imagination was getting the best of her.
She needed to stop being paranoid.
The catnap during the opera had acted as a wake–up call, one she didn't care for. She didn't need to alter her relationship with her boss. It needed to remain professional, even if she had wanted to invite him into her hotel room last night.
Thank goodness she’d come to her senses. Of course, Daniel had needed to leave early for a flight this morning so there couldn't have been any festivities after the opera anyway.
Daniel would be gone for the next four days. The time apart would give her some perspective and a chance to reflect on her utter stupidity.
Last night's dress had been a mistake, one she would not make again. She lived in reality, not in one of the scenes from her books.
Caroline had insisted that she buy the red, beaded dress with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline the moment she’d seen it in the store. Caroline couldn't have known, but the outfit matched the one the heroine in Deborah’s last novel wore to an art gala with her boss where she pretended to be his date for the evening.
Deborah paused and realized she had begun pacing the room.
Had Caroline read her novel?
Thinking back, her book also contained the scene from Mas Rafs the first night. A dark, intimate room at a five–star restaurant where they dined…well, in the book, heated sex atop the table occurred. That certainly hadn’t happened with her and Daniel in real life.
She shook her head. Daniel loved Mas Rafs, which was why the restaurant had made its way into her novel. There was nothing amiss here with Caroline. After all, Deborah wrote under a pen name to hide her identity for that very reason. Caroline couldn't have known about the scenes from her book.
Crossing the room, she stretched and woke herself up. Rarely did she have any time off, and with Daniel out of town for a few days, she truly had nothing better to do than work on her next novel.
The hero was a wealthy boss, just like in her first book, but this one falls in love with his secretary. Deborah sat at the desk in the room and typed away, filling in an opera scene since the imagery remained fresh in her mind.
The dream last night had ended abruptly, but that wouldn't be the case in her book. She'd make sure the main characters ended up lying entwined together on the floor of the opera house's box seat, with the music playing on and rising to a crescendo just as the two climaxed.
She scrolled the text up on her computer to the top of the scene and slowly read it once more, editing it here and there for spicier words like, “undulate,” “throbbing,” and “desperation.”
The scene scorched the page, in all the right ways. She crossed her legs repeatedly as she read it a second and then a third time.
She mentally gave herself a high-five. This was five–out–of–five star rating of good writing.
A slight tinge of disappointment washed over her. Fantasy lived in an entirely different world, and she had never had such an explosive love making session in her life.
Daniel didn’t place his jacket on her last night, didn't hold her throughout the performance, and didn't kiss her good night—or anything else—before saying goodbye to her. Which was exactly what she’d expected.
A part of her felt disappointed to not be attending the conference in Los Angeles with him. This was the first trip since Josh had left for college that Deborah could have gone on without worrying about her son and leaving him at her sister's house for days.
It would have been her first business trip with Daniel where she didn’t have to worry about what was going on at home. But she was here instead, and Daniel was on the trip with his temporary secretary. Deborah was certain the new hire was young and attractive. Being a temp was also an added appeal for Daniel. There were no lingering goodbyes to deal with.
Just a four-day, fun-filled, five-star hotel stay with a hot, young woman eager to do whatever he wanted. The two of them were probably alone in his plane right now, maybe making it into the ‘mile high’ club.
Deborah shook her head and took in a deep breath. She needed to call Caroline and go out. Sitting in this room alone and writing sex scenes all day long while she thought of Daniel off with his young, temp secretary was going to drive her mad.
“I thought you weren’t going to attend the,” Daniel said, pausing to think of the name, “the brain surgery numb-a-thon conference I believe you called it.”
“Neurosurgery Symposium.” Ravi shifted in his seat and looked out the private Ellington-Weston plane on the tarmac. “I changed my mind since the weather is nice. Thanks for the last-minute lift.”
The flight attendant walked up the aisle of the small six-seater plane. “Mr. Ellington.” She placed a scotch on the table in front of Daniel.
Ravi caught the woman’s attention. “Honey, I’d like the same.”
The woman glared at Ravi. “Life is filled with disappointments, Ravi.” Her voice was spiked with hatred, causing Daniel to sternly look over to his employee.
“Sorry, Mr. Ellington.” Her face turned red as though she had temporarily lost herself in the moment. “Another scotch coming up.”
“Angela, I thought that was you.” Ravi plastered the fake smile on his face he usually wore when he got caught in a compromising situation, but Angela ignored him and walked back to the galley.
“You read her nametag, didn’t you?”
“Was it obvious?”
Daniel glanced at his watch and then stared at the entrance of the plane. “I think Angela remembers you.”
“What did I ever do to her?”
“You forget, this isn’t the first time you’ve flown on my plane. You probably never called her back.”
Ravi’s eyes narrowed and he sank into his seat. “This trip will be shitty. She’ll probably spit in my scotch.”
Daniel’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “I sure the hell wouldn’t drink it.”
A young man walked onto the plane, his off-the-rack suit a bit too big and a bag with a computer swinging from his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I’m late, sir.”
“You’re right on time.” Daniel gestured to the man. “This is my new hire in advertising, Evan.”
Evan shook Ravi’s hand and then took a seat across the aisle from Daniel. “Thank you again sir for this great opportunity.”
“I’m sure you’ll make the company proud.” Daniel shared with Ravi how he discovered his new marketing talent, emphasizing how studious Evan was when driving people around. He even mentioned, but didn’t go into any detail, about how Evan was good at reading people—which was always an asset when it came to advertising.
Angela arrived with a half-empty scotch glass. “Enjoy, Ravi.” She glanced over to Evan. “Sir, would you care for a beverage?”
“Yes, ma’am. A soda would be nice, if it isn’t too much trouble.”
Polite, courteous… the world was going to eat Evan alive. Daniel wanted to make the young man his pet project. He wanted to make sure he had a fair shake at a stellar career.
Ravi moved his drink away from his seat the second Angela left.
“Sir, shouldn’t we have left ten minutes ago?” Evan asked.
Daniel checked his watch. If Ms. Ortiz wasn’t here in the next two minutes, they would take off without her.
“I’m here,” a shrilly voice sounded from the front of the plane.
Ms. Ortiz entered, plopped her coat and oversized purse down, and let out a groan. “I had to take two shuttles to get to this concourse. I’m lucky to have gotten here on time.”
“Technically, you were late.” Daniel pushed a button on his chair and signaled for Angela that they could take off.
“Please, sit here,” Ravi said, gesturing to the seat in front of him which faced him. “You must be Daniel’s new secretary.”
A skeptical eye inspected both Evan and Ravi, and then Ms. Ortiz decided to take Ravi up on his offer. She puffed up her chest, took her seat, and her mini skirt rode up.
“I’m Dr. Ravi Amarro.”
Her overly plastered smile showed her lipstick stained teeth. “I’m pleased to meet you, doctor. What’s your specialty?”
The plane taxied and Daniel didn’t enjoy the show. Ravi had hit on plenty of women in his day, and usually Daniel had no issues. But how hard up would he have to be to fall into Ms. Ortiz’s traps?
Ravi began telling a boring surgical story, one that was filled with medical terms and sheer boredom. At times, Daniel thought the story even bored Ravi since he kept texting something on his phone.
A cackling giggle escaped Ms. Ortiz’s mouth, and Daniel could tell she only pretended to be interested.
“Sir?” Evan asked, once he finished his soda. “When we arrive, I know you’ll be meeting with your father and other board members.”
Daniel held out his hand and stopped Evan. “My father can’t come this year.”
“Oh, sorry.” Evan looked down at his laptop, still in the carry on. “I read that he’d be on the agenda. I hope everything is all right.”
It was sweet to see the concern in Evan’s eyes. “A minor medical issue. Nothing more. He’ll visit the Chicago office soon and catch up.”
After some chatter with Evan, a quick review of a few files, and an occasional node to Ravi, Daniel realized Ms. Ortiz had monopolized most of Ravi’s attention during the trip—and the plane was scheduled to land in thirty minutes.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to freshen up.” Ms. Ortiz stood and in a non-graceful manner fell into Ravi’s lap.
“My goodness, the turbulence is so bad.”
Evan leaned toward Daniel. “I didn’t feel any…”
Daniel’s hand rose. “No. Just let it go.”
“A beautiful woman like you needs to be careful.” Ravi helped her up and she walked to the back of the plane to find the bathroom.
Ravi’s gaze followed her all the way down the short aisle. “Are you interested in her?” he asked Daniel once she was out of earshot.
Was he interested? You couldn’t pay him enough to fall prey to a woman like her. “I’d rather keep my dignity.”
Ravi glanced at the closed bathroom door. “Young. Beautiful. Energetic.” He nodded his head in approval. “She’s worth a few days of my time. I need to make this conference a little fun.” He gave Evan a cursory glance. “You interested in her?”
Evan held up his hand and showed his wedding band, his face turning beet red in color. He leaned in so he was closer to Daniel. “Ms. Ortiz,” he said, pointing to the back of the plane and whispering, “Is a single scoop of vanilla ice cream.”
“I’m going to see if the lovely lady needs any help in there.” Ravi stood, loosened his tie, and walked to the back of the plane.
Evan watched as Ravi entered the bathroom. “Correction. A drippy single scoop of vanilla ice cream, no cone, that’s fallen on the sidewalk with an anthill nearby.”