Chapter 5
5
When I returned from the bathroom mildly fresher looking after fixing my hair and make-up and blotting the sweat off my body, Jake was at a table in the corner. He looked the epitome of calm, sipping black coffee and reading a newspaper.
I took a deep breath and walked over to the refreshment area, and grabbed myself a coffee and a sandwich and then reluctantly went to join him. ‘That could have been a meet-cute,’ I blurted out as I slid into the chair opposite him.
His eyes left the newspaper and slid to me. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘Like in one of your books,’ I said, inwardly telling myself to stop talking but I was somehow unable to. ‘You know, a woman falls to the floor in front of you, then you help her up and then the two of you fall in…’ I stumbled under his piercing gaze. I let out a nervous laugh when he said nothing, further mortification rolling over me. I waved my hand. ‘Never mind. Let’s just hope the rest of this trip is uneventful,’ I said, hoping he couldn’t see how red my face was again. I grabbed the coffee cup and took a long gulp even though it was too hot to enjoy doing so.
‘Quite,’ he replied coolly, going back to his newspaper like I was an irritating fly.
I leaned back in the chair and pulled out my phone, cringing at myself. So much for being less intimidated by Jake. Now I was back in front of him, I was worse than ever. It was like the more embarrassing I was, the more composed he became. It was bloody annoying. I kind of longed to see what would happen if that coolness cracked for a minute. I wondered if I would ever be able to witness it.
I sent Liv a panicked message, knowing her flight was a couple of hours later than ours.
Yet again, I have made a fool of myself in front of Jake. How do I salvage the situation?
Liv replied instantly.
Focus on the fact you are there to help save his career. He needs you. You have the upper hand! Enjoy first class, future literary agent…
I read her message twice then put my phone away, and cleared my throat. She was right. The key was focusing on the reason why we were here together and heading to New York, and not how much I had made a fool of myself in front of this man. I tried to adjust my face into an expression that would show how capable I was. Fake it until you make it and all that. ‘So, should we discuss our strategy for this week?’ I asked, straightening in a vain attempt to look as tall as him.
Jake sighed but put the newspaper down. ‘Hayley sent me a long email yesterday all about it.’
I nodded. ‘She copied me in. Our main goal is to get as much good publicity for you as possible. So, you need to be the perfect author for the next five days. Engaged, open, chatty and polite and above all, enthusiastic about not only your books but the other authors at the conference, and love stories in general. Also, do not mention that article. If anyone asks about it, Hayley advised?—’
‘To say I legally cannot discuss it,’ Jake cut in. He looked at me. ‘She told me you disapproved of our statement when the article came out.’
‘She did?’ I replied, startled. I had tried not to let her see how upset I had been about it all, but clearly she’d realised anyway. Jake was giving me a scrutinising gaze across the table and my nerves dialled up again. My mind went fuzzy as I looked back into his eyes. I had never met a man who could make you feel like he was looking into your soul like that before. It made me feel like I couldn’t lie to him. I blinked but he was still watching me and the truth came tumbling out. ‘Well…’ I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. ‘I supposed I would have handled it differently. I don’t believe in lying like that and I think readers probably found your statement… impersonal.’
‘So, how would you have handled it then?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed off by what I had said or not. I knew that he was our client and I should be professional, but I also wanted to be honest like I always was. I had no idea if Jake would respect me more if I was, or even less than he did already.
‘I think I would have accepted what I had said and been honest and admitted in the statement that I had said it. I would have asked my readers for their forgiveness, if that was what I wanted. I would maybe have explained why I had said those things in the first place.’ Curiosity sat deeply in me about why someone who had a career in writing romance had suddenly slagged it off like he had done. Was he really so materialistic that he had written all his lovely books just for the money? Did he really not believe in love and romance at all?
After meeting Jake Richards, I had found it hard to believe he had written things that had made my heart swell, my knees weak and my cheeks blush. That he believed in happy ever afters. But I assumed that was because I was nothing to him. A lowly assistant he only saw in a business setting. That underneath the stone-cold exterior, he did have a romantic heart like mine. Then he made those comments and I thought maybe the exterior he showed was actually the real man after all, and that made me feel betrayed like his other readers. I wondered if he realised how personally we had all taken his comments.
Jake sat silently for a moment and I wasn’t sure he was going to answer me then he opened his mouth to speak. He was cut off though as an announcement came on over the speaker, and we heard that our flight was now open for boarding.
‘Shall we?’ Jake said, getting up and gathering his things in one smooth motion. He started for the door and I was left scrambling to hurry after him, grabbing my croissant to eat on the way, feeling like he had been saved by the bell.
I followed Jake to the boarding queue and when our passes were checked, we walked onto the plane and headed for the front. I tried not to let my eyes widen too much when I saw first class for the first time in my life but it was really hard not to. Excitement replaced the earlier stress of the day. I couldn’t believe I was travelling this way. I took in the separate pods and the amount of space, the leg room I’d have, the fancy TV screens and the freebies they had left out for everyone. My eyes fell on a pair of silky pyjamas folded ready for me in my pod. ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,’ I said breathily in wonder.
‘Your first time?’
I jumped and turned to see Jake beside me, watching intently. He hovered by the pod opposite mine. I had forgotten for a moment we would be side by side for the flight.
I flushed as I nodded. ‘Yes,’ I said, thinking he must have flown first class hundreds of times. But it wasn’t like many people could afford it so I knew I shouldn’t let his scrutiny embarrass me. This wasn’t something to be nonchalant about. I had dreamed of being able to travel in style like this. ‘And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it,’ I told both Jake and myself with a shrug. Then, I pulled out my phone to take a photo of my pod, ignoring the fact he was still watching me.
Afterwards, I sat down with a contented sigh. ‘Oh yes,’ I said, leaning back in the seat, which was approximately ten times more comfortable than economy ones.
‘A drink to settle in?’
I jumped as a flight attendant peered around the pod at me, smiling widely. ‘Oh, um…’
‘How about champagne?’
‘This is a work trip, though,’ I confessed, biting my lip.
‘What would your boss do?’ he asked me.
‘She’d order champagne,’ a voice sailed over from across the aisle.
I jumped again and looked over at Jake, who had sat down in his pod opposite but was still watching me with interest. I raised an eyebrow at his encouragement, which was surprising, but I also knew he was right. Hayley Harper was the champagne queen so I nodded at the flight attendant. ‘Yes, please, a glass of fizz would be lovely.’
‘You too, sir?’ he asked Jake, who thought about it for a moment.
‘Why not? We need to mark Freya’s first time here.’
‘I am a first-class virgin,’ I agreed as the flight attendant left to get our drinks.
I caught a small smile on Jake’s lips while my hand flew to my mouth that I’d made another sex comment in front of him.
‘Why do I keep embarrassing myself in front of you?’ I groaned, then my cheeks began to turn pink again. I wouldn’t need to use blusher at all when I was around Jake at this rate.
Jake looked at me for a moment then he ran a hand through his dark hair. My eyes tracked the motion involuntarily. ‘I don’t know, Freya, but if it makes you feel better, I embarrassed myself in front of thousands of people. I need this trip to work out because of it. So, don’t worry about embarrassing yourself in front of me. You don’t care what I think about you, do you?’
I stared at him. There he was, finally admitting to the fact that the article calling him out for slagging off romance books had been humiliating and damaging. And telling me that it didn’t matter I had embarrassed myself in front of him. His last words echoed though my brain as the flight attendant returned with our glasses. Did I care what he thought about me? I wanted to say no. He had gone down in my estimation after finding out he might not care about the books he’d written that had made me so happy to read, and he was so much more reserved than I was but… I wanted to impress him still. It was annoying but I couldn’t help it.
I liked that he had acknowledged he needed this trip to work out. That he needed my help. Finally, we were on a more level footing. If I ignored him being ten years older, a rich and famous author, and handsome as hell… Still, it was something and I grasped at it eagerly.
‘Here’s to making this trip the most successful one we possibly can,’ I said, leaning across the aisle so he could hear me. I lifted up my glass of champagne.
Jake raised his glass too. ‘Cheers to that.’ He kept his eyes on mine as we both took a sip.