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He looks down at me, his jaw tight. His disdain for me is written all over his handsome features. “Well, seeing as your client and her mother are making filming nearly impossible, I'm flying out to do damage control.”
“I'm only here to ensure that my client is all right and is getting what she needs.”
He huffs a laugh. “Your client will never be satisfied. She's a brat.”
I gasp. “Pax—”
“Go home, princess. Leave this to the adults.”
My arms cross over my chest. “Because you certainly act like one,” I mutter under my breath.
His right eyebrow rises. “What did you say?”
“What was that?” I play confused.
From where he's standing, he assesses me like I'm an annoying fly. Hopefully, one he doesn't want to swat and kill.
To everyone who sang this man's praises, I don't know what Kool-Aid they drank, but it's obviously been spiked. He's the world's leading asshole.
He shakes his head. “You don't even have your training wheels off in this industry. If you're going to survive in this business, you will have to learn how to have a backbone.”
I'm not sure what to make of this. Patronizing? Yes. Solid advice from a seasoned agent? Possibly.
“I said”—I cough, clearing my throat—“you certainly don't act like one.” I smile broadly. “If you must know.”
He rolls his eyes before taking the seat directly across the aisle from me.
Great.
This plane has seven other seats. Couldn't he pick one a little farther away?
All I need is this man breathing down my neck for lord knows how long. I'm not even sure how long this flight is. In my hurry to prepare, that was the one thing I didn't bother to check.
Once the doors close and we start to taxi down the runway, I position myself toward him. His upper body angles to face out the window, so I can only see his side profile.
It’s clear he’s not happy to be here. Like me, I assume he doesn't like being summoned on set due to movie drama. But it's more than just a disruption of his day.
He has to share this disruption with me.
Serves the idiot right. His reasons for treating me like dirt are misplaced, but I won't bother telling him that. I'm not stupid enough to believe anything I say will change his mind. He thinks I buttered up to him to get information on this project, a belief that couldn't be farther from the truth, but there is no dealing with this man.
Despite my research on Paxton Ramsey, and yes, I did plenty of it at that . . .
Everyone loves and respects him.
I have yet to find one person who has ever uttered a bad word about this grumpy man.
They've called him charming.
Witty.
Irresistible.
While all true, they left out arrogant jerk.
I shake my head, knowing I shouldn't engage with him, but despite myself, I find my mouth opening and words spewing out. “So, are you just going to sit there and ignore me the whole trip?”
He doesn't so much as look in my direction when he says, “That was my plan.”
“Seems a bit ridiculous. As you so elegantly pointed out, you're an adult . . . and adults don't throw tantrums.”
He turns toward me, lifting one brow. “I don't recall saying anything like that.”
“Even if you didn't, you're still acting like a damn child.” My harsh voice is much louder than necessary, considering our proximity.
His head tilts to the side. “Am I now?”
“Hmm,” I drawl, tapping a finger on my chin. “Ignoring me on a small airplane. Let me think about it . . .” I place my right hand on my forehead and tap. “Yep.”
“Somehow, you manage to pull off the childish behavior far better than I ever could. Bravo, Mallory. You should quit your day job and become an actress.”
I let out a long-drawn-out groan at his words.
“Are you scoffing? And now she's rolling her eyes . . .”
“No, asshole.” This time I do huff.
“And the colorful language. Such a lady.”
My head lolls back on yet another groan. “Please, go back to ignoring me. Anything is better than listening to you having a mental breakdown every time I dare to breathe.”
I spin my body away from him.
Unfortunately for me, this plane, although beautiful, isn't as large as a commercial aircraft, making it impossible for me to block him out entirely. I can hear him, and I swear he's chuckling to himself.
If I didn't think the window would break, I'd throw something at him, but my fear is great enough to have me clenching my jaw instead.
As the plane prepares to take off, I shift back to my original position, determined not to allow him to give me a pained neck later from sitting awkwardly. The copilot enters the cabin and proceeds to go over the safety protocol for this aircraft. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times, but it's protocol, so I do my best not to be offensive and put my headphones on.
