“No, I don’t remember. I just remember waking up to you at my door.”
They held eye contact studiously, with James’s smile growing by the second as the silence between them swelled. Jennifer frowned and combed her fingers through her hair again.
“So tell me about your money. How’d you make your first million?”
James chuckled and glanced to the right of her head and out the window. “It was more like my first ten million, but it’s a pretty boring story.”
“Tell me anyway. How do I work for a multimillionaire for five years and not even know his sob story?”
James laughed and met Jennifer’s eyes confidently. “It’s hardly a sob story.”
“Tell me,” she prodded, attempting to hide her smirk. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
Clearing his throat, James took a deep breath. “Well, I started with less than ten grand. I had two thousand saved, my parents gave me two thousand and an angel investor gave me five to start my own tech company. This was back in the late 90s. I started a tech company and less than two years later it sold for $10 million.”
Jennifer’s mouth dropped. “How does that even happen?”
“IPO,” James answered back. He watched Jennifer’s face morph and change with the information. “I formed the company as a corporation. By the time we went public, we had no debt and a worth of just $100,000. Our IPO doubled the worth of the company first day,” James smiled. “That was one hell of a party.”
Nodding, Jennifer shook her head in awe. “I’ll bet. Sounds incredible.”
James smiled. “It was. I was the CEO. Just me. I had all the shares at 60% and the two others I brought on at 20%. Someone offered to buy us out at the height of it and I wasn’t going to say no. I made my first million with that company and I’ve steadily grown my wealth since then.”
Listening to his story, Jennifer nodded, almost as if in a trance. She knew James was hardworking; but she never knew that he was…well, that. She read about men like that in Forbes magazine and their Fortune 400 list. And to think, she had been working beside a self-made multimillionaire for five years and never even knew it.
Her expression must have changed as the realization dawned on her. When she met James again, the playful smirk was gone and a somber look rested in its place.
“Didn’t know that about me, did you?” He asked curiously.
Jennifer shook her head with a jerky movement. She cleared her throat and placed her hand along the handle on the inside of the door.
“I guess I thought most men probably inherited a bit.”
James smiled. “Most are like that,” he admitted. “But there are still a good number of us who worked for it the old fashioned way.”
Swallowing back clumping dry lumps in her throat, Jennifer forced a heaving breath. “Well, that’s pretty incredible.”
“Yeah, but you already knew that about me, didn’t, you?” He chuckled and leaned towards her slightly in the car. Jennifer pushed her back into the car door, her eyes widening with bewilderment. She had no idea what James intended to do. Instead, he only leaned forward slightly with a beautiful smile on his face and pointed behind her.
“You should relax,” He said softly, looking over her. He nodded towards her window. “We’re here.”
Turning to follow his gesture, Jennifer chuckled nervously. Out the window, she saw a single jet waiting with the stairs let down. It was a small plane, but from the car, Jennifer saw that it had two engines.
“Wow,” Jennifer breathed. Excitement bubbled in her gut. “Why haven’t I flown in a private jet with you before?” She asked, pulling her suitcase and purse into her lap. The driver of the vehicle was easing into the black top. A loading crew waited around the base of the plane and flagged the car forward.
James smirked. “I usually take a jet when you’ve gone ahead of me. If we had matters as pressing as this before, we would have simply taken a jet.”
“Of course,” Jennifer mocked. They chuckled together, their eyes lingering. Catching her breath, Jennifer straightened herself in the seat and moved from away from the door. Her arm brushed against James. She didn’t know how that was possible since the back seat was so spacious. Had he moved closer to her when she wasn’t looking?
James leaned towards her again, placing an arm behind her, on her headrest for support. As he tilted his head towards her, Jennifer smelled the familiar scent of his cologne, No. 1 by Clive Christian. It was a wonderful aged smell of bergamot, cardamom, mandarin and Indian sandalwood rumored to be an elixir of love itself, drawing soulmates to together forever. Not to mention the musk made its wearer stalk and perch as lazily and beautifully as a lion’s mane upon its neck. Jennifer completely missed what James said.
“Wha—what?” She stuttered, trying to draw her senses away from James’s smell.
“I said that’s a Citation Mustang, right there. Sits four to five and has great captain-style seating. You’re going to love it. Always comes full stocked with refreshments,” James grinned back at her, and then paused. His eyes washed over her body. “Are you okay?”
Jennifer pressed her lips together and nodded quietly. She couldn’t remember another time when James had been so close to her. She did not know what was happening, to her, or between them, if anything at all. It felt like her body was betraying her mind, getting giddy and warm without her permission. Or maybe she had given it permission, just a little bit when she had leaned in to sniff James a second time. She told herself it wasn’t him, but the perfume. Maybe that was just a lie.
“Okay, well, are you going to get out?” James sat back in his chair and motioned to the door as it swung open, held by the driver. Jennifer wasn’t even aware the car had stopped. She looked down at her body and realized she was very much still in a position which could read that she had no intention of moving any time soon.
Clearing her throat, she forced a smile and then her left leg to move. It flung out wildly, but connected with the pavement. She turned back to reach for her bags, but James was right behind her. He stood, cocking a smile down in her direction. His head obscured the sun from her eyes, but she could still make out their amazing blue hue. They were bright blue, true blue.
He was in her space again with a wonderful smile Jennifer would have loved to taste. With ease, he held up a hand which held something of hers, her purse.
“I’ve got your suitcase too,” James said with a grin.
Jennifer could barely smile. He seemed to tower above her. She didn’t remember him being so tall. She wasn’t a short chick, either.
“How tall are you?” She stammered, and then quickly bit her lip. She should have taken her purse and stayed quiet.
James raised an eyebrow at the question, but didn’t seem fazed. “Just six feet. Maybe a little more.”
More forcing. This time, it was a nod. She wanted to say something else, but anything more was strictly prohibited. That’s what she told herself. She reached for her bag and smiled a ‘thank you’ in response. Turning towards the plane, Jennifer set off on the pavement, her heels clicking with her.
After five steps, she turned and looked behind her. James was following her but was lagging behind. He wasn’t looking at the plane either but—Is he checking me out?
James met her eyes suddenly and smiled at her sheepishly. Jennifer averted his eyes as quickly as a fly escapes death. Her mind jumped around thoughts sporadically. She chuckled and grinned at the thought of James checking her out, but then she wanted to be angry that he was checking her out. Her body wasn’t there for his eye candy. But, maybe it was? It could be? Is that even something she wanted? Andrew.
Jennifer stopped walking. James bumped into her a step later.
“My goodness, I’m sorry,” he started quickly, reaching around Jennifer’s back as she stumbled forward. “You stopped so quickly. What’s wrong?” Meeting James’s eyes, Jennifer chuckled nervously.
“I think there’s something in my shoe,” she crowed. Jam
es still supported her with a palm. She felt his hand against the small of her back and winced. He looked at her more closely.
“Are you okay?”
Jennifer feigned a limp forward. “My foot,” she whined, and bent over to set down her purse. James followed suit with the briefcase and stooped. Jennifer’s eyes widened with horror. “What are you doing?”
“Looking at your foot,” he responded, glancing at Jennifer with a wild expression. She felt him touch her ankles. His touch was fire. She breathed deeply, and held her breath. “How do you women walk in these things?” James asked. He tugged at her foot planted on the ground. The move shouldn’t have caused her to lose her balance, but she did.
“Whoa!” James was on his knees and pulled her into his arms. Either she knocked him off balance or her weight was too much for him, but together, they fell: James backwards and Jennifer forward over him. James caught himself with his palms behind him, but Jennifer’s tight skirt didn’t help her find a way to land gracefully. Her face crashed into James’s shoulder, and a knee into the ground. Her hands landed over his as her momentum pushed him back.
With a grunt and a painful wince, Jennifer managed to turn her body on James’s lap. She stretched her legs out and looked at her knee. It looked like a child’s scratched shin. Blood beaded on the surface. Other than that, she was fine.
James shifted as he pushed himself into a more stable position. He didn’t look for Jennifer’s eyes and reached for her knee instead. His touch made Jennifer bite her lip. His fingers held her knee just behind the bend while his thumb ran beneath the scrape. He turned and looked at her finally.
If dust was around them and blowing tumbleweeds, one would have rustled past along with a little settling of dust in the time that followed. James stared into Jennifer’s eyes and she returned the gaze. Both wore blank expressions.
At length, James turned to her ankle and touched it with a warm, meaty palm. Jennifer’s breathing quickened, but she said nothing and let James examine her foot. She felt him loosen the straps on her shoe. He slid it away effortlessly.
“Looks like there’s a little rock in here,” James mused.
Jennifer frowned. “Really?” The only thing hurt was her pride. She breathed happily; she was glad that he had found something she could attribute to her awkward, clumsiness.
Grinning, James pushed his thumb into the bottom of her foot. He ran it down to her toes and then back up to the heel of her foot. It felt incredible.
“What are you doing?” Jennifer realized she was still in James’s lap. They had a crowd of witnesses now. She was even certain that she might have even heard a bit of the loading crew laughing when she fell over James, but her own heart was thumping too loudly for her to be sure. Now, she looked behind James’s head and realized it was true. They were being watched.
“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to massage the pain away,” James didn’t turn to look at her. He kept his focus on her foot and pushed into her sole hard.
“People are looking,” Jennifer whined. She didn’t care if she sounded like a little girl. “I shouldn’t be in your lap,” she swatted at James’s hand, but he grabbed it instead and smiled at her fluster.
“You shouldn’t have sat in my lap, Sweetie.”
“What?” Jennifer stared at James, mortified. “I didn’t sit in your lap. I fell!”
James laughed robustly. He shook his head at her, and then handed her the shoe that he had removed.
“You’re so on edge today,” James bellowed with another laugh. He helped Jennifer slid from his lap. She stood and cleared her throat. The moseying group of lazy workers had moved on.
Locking hair behind her ear, she started to replace the shoe. Thoughts of Andrew were long gone. All she thought about was the feel of James’s hand on her back and ankle. His touch felt good and forbidden. That made her heart race.
After she stood and straightened the sliming rose red blazer she wore over a chiffon silk blouse and white thigh high skirt. She realized then how much of her flesh had been exposed while she had sat on his lap, but James didn’t say anything.
He leisurely rose from the ground and dusted off his palms. Before they turned to the plane again, James reached for her suitcase and purse. Jennifer didn’t stop him.
There was a woman who looked like she’d be their flight attendant waiting at the side of the dropped two-step staircase. She held a small bundle of first aid supplies and smiled brightly, making eye contact with Jennifer.
“Are you okay? Can I help dress it for you?”
“Thanks, Carolyn,” James said from within the plane, “I think we can handle a little knee scrap though, right Jenn?”
Jennifer frowned as she watched James disappear into the jet, but she nodded at the woman she assumed was Carolyn. Her name plate said so.
“Okay, well then, right this way, Miss,” Carolyn said with a polite nod. She turned and ushered Jennifer into the plane. The ceiling was low, causing everyone to stoop and bend. “Is this your first time flying, Evo?” Carolyn turned to Jennifer and smiled sweetly.
Jennifer blinked. “What?” Before the woman could say more, James spoke.
“Yes.”
Carolyn’s face lit up. “In that case, this jet, the Citation Mustang, is from Cessna’s Citation family and is the smallest in its class. Please enjoy our all-leather reclinable seats,” she reached for Jennifer’s hand and gently led her towards a window seat where Jennifer eagerly followed suit. “As you see, aboard the Mustang, every seat is a window seat,” Carolyn winked.
Looking around to the other lush chairs, Jennifer’s mouth gawked. The plane was wide and full of room, but there were only four chairs and each one was located by a pleasant round window to the outside. Beneath her feet was an extravagant royalty smoky quartz carpet.
“We have 12-volt outlets for your AC power needs, executive stowaway tables,” Carolyn demonstrated the ease at which the tables could be released, “a toilet located near the entrance and refreshments of juice, coffee, water, and alcoholic shots, should you prefer it, and inflight snacks and one main meal. Today, it’s a sourdough bowl of cream of broccoli soup sprinkled with cheese, a fresh mini baguette, and crackers,” Carolyn paused and smiled widely. “Will you be eating the inflight meal?”
Jennifer nodded with her mouth open, completely unaware that it had parted. “Okay. We’ll prepare your order and have it delivered as soon as we break into our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet,” she flashed Jennifer another award-winning smile and then turned to James where the smile became something else entirely.
“It’s great to see you again, Mr. Melone,” Carolyn cooed.
James grinned at her. “And you too, Carolyn. How’re your girls?”
Carolyn gushed. “Just great. Ruby received first chair in her regional city band three weeks ago. I’m so happy for her.”
“And Tammy?” James watched Carolyn brightly. Her smile fell some and she shrugged her shoulders.
“You know, teens,” she chuckled. “She sure gives me a run for my money when she’s in town, that’s for sure.” James nodded sternly.
“I’m sorry to hear that. She’s a good, bright girl, though. I guess she just has to believe it, right?” His words brought another smile to Carolyn’s face. She dabbed at her eyes and nodded emphatically.
“Thank you, for that. Thank you, Mr. Melone. Really,” she nodded again and sniffed. “Your words mean so much to me,” she stopped to clear her throat. “And would you like our inflight meal as well?”
“It sounds delicious, yes, please.”
Carolyn smiled. Jennifer sat on the left side of the plane and James was directly across from her. Even with her legs stretched out, there seemed to be about a foot of space in between them. The room inside the cabin was absolutely astounding.
“If I can please have your attention,” Carolyn grinned brightly with her eyes lingering over James, “I’ll start by giving you the safety brief.”
Jennifer didn’t listen. She heard bits and pieces, like the fact that the plane had a satellite phone she’d be able to use while in the air. That made her happy. She could make some phone calls and perhaps set a final appointment for whichever candidate she liked for Tuesday in the evening.
She was planning on heading back to the Terrance for the final interview. She loved their atmosphere, and their food. She couldn’t think of a better way to see if an assistant could handle the clout they’d be managing than giving them a taste at one of Chicago’s finest dining establishments.
After the brief, Carolyn left the small cabin, and then the plane. Jennifer found she was still holding her breath, marveling at the idea of the private jet ride. She caught James watching her and smiled at him easily.
“This is incredible,” she whispered. James nodded.
“Makes you wonder how anyone can ever go basic again, right?”
Jennifer chuckled. She lazily pulled her seat belt across her chest. In the plane, the buckles were like those in a car, across the lap and chest. She couldn’t wait to take it off once they were in the air.
“This plane flies at a high altitude. That means it’s smoother and pretty cost efficient on fuel.”
Jennifer smirked. “Jets are cost efficient?”
James laughed. “You make a good point,” he nodded to her knee. “We can take care of that now, if you want. Carolyn left the first aid supplies.”
Jennifer shrugged the question away. “Maybe we should wait, looks like we’re about to take off.”
“Maybe in ten minutes.”
An announcer came over the speaker system as soon as James’s voice ended. It was Carolyn again, “On behalf of Captain Louie, welcome aboard Evo’s charter jet services. We have a nonstop flight from Wheeling, Illinois to Summit, New Jersey. Our flight time is estimated at two hours and 23 minutes. We will be flying at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet at a ground speed of 368 miles per hour. Please make sure the tables are stowed away in their proper bin and that your seat belt is correctly fastened. Thank you.” Carolyn turned from the front of the plane and winked at James. He grinned back at her.
Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Personal Assistant - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 2) Page 6
