Chapter 2
Marley
“A pillow? They actually give you a pillow in first class?” I grinned, holding it up.
“If you want to call it that,” he said.
“What may I get you to drink before we take off?” The friendly flight attendant smiled at me. “We have coffee, soda, water, cocktails, wine.”
“I’ll have a glass of white wine, please.”
“And for you, sir?”
“I’ll have a scotch on the rocks. Listen, Marley. It is Marley?”
“Yes.” I stared into his deep blue eyes.
“As enjoyable as it may be to talk to you, I have some articles I need to read.”
“So, you want me to shut up and not talk to you?”
“Basically.” He looked down at his phone.
The flight attendant walked over and handed us our drinks.
“Thank you.” I sipped my wine. “It’s fine.” I glanced at him. “I’ll leave you alone.”
“I appreciate it,” he spoke.
I wasn’t going to lie. The man sitting in the seat next to mine was out of this world sexy. His six-foot-three stature, draped in a dark blue designer suit, possessed a commanding presence. His short dark hair framed his masculine features, and his piercing blue eyes were enough to catch anyone’s attention. I wanted to reach over and run my fingers along the five o’clock shadow that made him even more handsome. But his arrogance and rudeness spoiled everything about him.
When we were at altitude, I stood up, opened the overhead, and grabbed my iPad from my carry-on.
“Excuse me. You’re blocking the way, and I need to use the bathroom,” Troy spoke with irritation.
“Sorry.” I took my iPad and sat back in my seat.
As I was looking over my notes, Troy stopped at my seat on his way back from the bathroom.
“Can I help you?” I arched my brow, staring up at him.
“If you’re from New York, you didn’t mention that last night,” he spoke nervously.
“You didn’t ask,” I said. “And you told me you lived in Chicago and were only staying in the hotel because your company paid for it when you attended a business conference.”
“Don’t think what happened last night will happen again. Got it?”
“Why are you making this weird?” I cocked my head. “It was one night.”
“We’re strangers, and we never met.” He walked back to his seat.
The man next to me chuckled.
“Will you stop doing that?” I glanced at him.
“You slept with another woman’s man.” A smirk crossed his lips. “Either a wife, girlfriend, or fiancée.”
“That is not true. I specifically asked him if he had a wife or girlfriend. He said no and that he was single.”
He chuckled again. “Do you not know by now that men lie to get what they want?”
“Shit.” I turned and saw him sitting two rows behind me in the aisle seat. Getting up, I walked over to him. “You have a girlfriend or a wife?” I spoke through gritted teeth, reaching down and gripping Troy’s arm.
He swallowed hard and stared at me. “Yeah. I have a girlfriend back in New York. I didn’t know you lived there too. Fuck.”
“You’re the epitome of a douchebag. I hope you’re proud of yourself.” I shook my head and went back to my seat.
“Told you.” The cocky man next to me smiled.
“Shut up and go back to reading your articles.”
God, I hated men sometimes.
We finally landed at JFK. Getting out of my seat, I grabbed my bag from the overhead and exited the plane. I couldn’t wait to get home.
“You did nothing wrong,” my seatmate said as he caught up with me. “He lied to you. That’s on him.”
“Thank you for your words of wisdom.” I rolled my eyes as we stepped out of the airport.
“Enjoy the rest of your evening,” he said, walking to the left.
I walked over to a cab that was waiting at the curb.
“You need a ride?” the driver asked.
“Yes, I do.” I opened the door, threw my carry-on in the backseat, and climbed in.
“Where to, lady?” the cab driver asked.
“1022 Lexington Avenue.”
My two best friends and roommates sat on the couch when I entered our apartment.
“It’s about time,” Olivia said, glancing at me.
“We missed you,” Penelope said. “Get your ass over here.” She patted the couch.
“I missed you guys too.” I threw myself in between them.
“So, tell us about this guy who took you back to his hotel room last night. You bad, bad girl.” Olivia grinned.
“Ugh.” I threw my head back. “What a clusterfuck. First of all, the asshole lives here, in New York, and has a girlfriend, after he specifically told me he was single. Now, he’s freaking the fuck out since we were on the plane together, in first class. That’s right.” A smirk crossed my lips. “First class.”
“What? Girl, how did that happen?” Penelope asked.
“I was upgraded when I got to the airport. It was magical.” I grinned. “Anyway, I met this other guy at the airport, and it turned out he was my seatmate.”
“Name?” Olivia stared at me.
“I don’t know,” I said, twisting my face. “I didn’t get his name. He was one of those guys you’d find in a GQ magazine. He looked like he just stepped right off the pages. But,” I held up my finger, “underneath all that sexiness was rudeness and arrogance, which made him unsexy—sort of.” I chewed my bottom lip.
“So now to the most important question,” Penelope said. “Did you find the special fabric Mrs. Lake wants for the tablecloths?”
“I did. The store where I found it had just enough for all the tables. They’re making the tablecloths and will overnight them by the end of next week. Now, all I need to do is go to the florist and have the arrangements made.”
“And how much is this five-year-old birthday bash costing?” Olivia asked.
“Seventy-five thousand dollars.” I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, Marley.” Penelope placed her hand on my shoulder. “We need your help.” She pouted.
“We had to fire timid little Ingrid,” Olivia said.
“Why?”
“She couldn’t keep all the coffees straight and kept screwing up orders. We had too many complaints, and the last thing we need is bad reviews.”
“I can give you time in between event prepping.”
“We’ll take anything.” Penelope hugged me.
“Thanks, Marley. We knew we could count on you.” Olivia hugged me. “We’ll start interviewing soon.”
Penelope and Olivia were my other halves; we had been inseparable since we were ten. We did everything together—cried together, laughed together, and were always there for each other through the good times and the bad.
Penelope was beautiful with her five-foot-six stature, long auburn colored hair, and green eyes. Olivia was equally stunning with her ebony skin, five-foot-eight slender body, high cheekbones, and rich chocolate eyes. We grew up on Long Island, and after we graduated high school, we backpacked around Europe before heading to NYU and having to become adults.
Two months ago, Olivia and Penelope became the proud owners of Love At First Sip, a trendy coffee shop they always discussed opening. Their parents gave them seed money, and the rest came from the bank. They wanted me to join their little venture, but my passion lay in event planning. That was who I was—a planner—ever since my life fell apart at the tender age of eleven.