Page 28 of Tell Me Something

He glanced at me, evidently amused. “You’re not the only one I’m worried about.”

Holy crap. Was Josh as turned on by my presence as I was by his? It was hard for me to believe. He always seemed in such control.

“Do you have one of these?” He showed me his iPad.

I shook my head. “No, but they seem pretty cool. Plus, you can play Angry Birds on a larger screen than your phone.”

He quirked a brow.

After I motioned for him to hand it over, I swiped over it with my fingers, clicked on the app section, and downloaded one of the Angry Birds versions for a demonstration.

“What kind of game is that?” He looked a cross between appalled and intrigued.

“Stress release. You shoot birds at pigs or monkeys. It gets addictive. Try it, at least.”

He seemed apprehensive, but a few minutes later he was shooting birds with expert precision.

“See, and now you are properly educated in mindless stress relief. You could even put it on your phone if you like.”

He gave me a look that conveyed his irritation at having been sucked in.

I couldn’t help laughing.

“I have enough work without that distraction,” he told me. “But if you need to kill some monkeys or pigs on a larger screen, feel free to borrow the iPad anytime.”

Smiling, we checked the clock and made our way to the boarding gate.

FIRST CLASS on a 747 was spectacular. We went upstairs where I marveled at the individual pods with flat screens and leather chairs that reclined into full beds. I was immediately greeted by a flight attendant and asked what I’d like to drink.

Josh negotiated with the man beside me, and he had seemed inclined to trade, so I got to be seated next to Josh. It wasn’t as though we could snuggle and watch television, as the pods were designed for individual privacy, but we would be able to talk. That would be nice.

“So, what’s the business in Hong Kong?” I was watching him study some charts and grids on his laptop.

“You really want to know?”

“I don’t ever ask a question for the sake of asking it. If I ask, it means I really want to know.”

Having his words used back on him garnered a smile. “All right, I’m looking at the prospect of purchasing a small advertising business there. Currently I don’t have anything in the Asia Pacific region, so I’m thinking of expansion by acquisition. I’ll go over their financials and strategy most of the day. The cocktail party they plan to throw in the evening is an attempt to wine and dine me.”

He probably got a lot of that with people courting his money. “So they want to be bought, I take it?”

“Very much. They lost their competitive edge when their chief rival went global two years ago while they stayed local. They need new leadership and the owner seems to be agreeable to it.”

The fact that he shared these details with me meant a lot. “How do they feel about American ownership specifically, though? Any ill will?”

“Culturally, there may be. I guess we’ll see. But unless you can understand Chinese, I doubt very much we’ll know either way.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal I’d taken eight years of Cantonese, but I figured it might be better to surprise him with that information later.

After finishing a movie and dinner, I glanced over to see Josh was still in business mode. He’d barely touched his meal. Anyone who ever thought he lived off of his inheritance obviously had never seen the man work.

Once the flight attendant took my tray, I stood up and went to the lavatory where I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put my hair up in a ponytail. Happy that I’d brought comfy clothes, I quickly dressed into yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Now ready for sleep, I walked back to my seat.

Josh glanced over and then did a double take, groaning.

I smiled innocently. “What?”

“You look about fifteen years old with your pony tail and outfit.”