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I take a step toward her, my size dwarfing hers as she stumbles back an inch. “I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have, considering I was the pilot.”
“What? Then who was the other man in uniform?”
“My co-pilot. I wasn’t in uniform but I’m also a pilot, not just the owner of the airline.”
“Oh.” Shock settles over her face. “I didn’t know that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to, but now you’ve learned a valuable lesson about making sure you make it to your gate at least fifteen minutes before takeoff. Time management is a very valuable skill, Miss Flowers. One that can be learned with just a little discipline.”
“That’s rich coming from you, Mr. Two-hours-late,” she snaps and I can see regret on her face the moment she says it.
“Now, seeing as how this meeting about my daughter has turned into your frustrations regarding me, I think it’s time we end it so that I can get on with my evening.”
She folds her arms around her waist, her eyes falling to the floor to look at her shoes as I step around her desk.
“I guess once again I owe you an apology,” she says sheepishly as that pink glow stains her cheeks. Something about her has me thinking thoughts a man my age has no business thinking about a young woman. She looks far too young and innocent for someone like me to fuck over.
I look down at her, letting my gaze linger a little more than necessary. I have to resist reaching my hand out to slip it beneath her chin. That would be highly inappropriate which makes me want to do it all the more. Since my wife died four years ago, I’ve had zero desire to find any sort of emotional connection. My arrangements have been purely physical, just a sexual means to an end.
No emotions. No sleepovers. No attachments.
But this young woman before me right now, this tiny, innocent little thing that seems to be a complete mess, has me wanting to teach her a few lessons in discipline. To make her realize just exactly how powerful of a man to whom she’s speaking.
“No apology necessary, but next time we speak,” I say, shoving my hands deep in my pockets to keep from touching her before walking out of her classroom, “I hope it’s under much more pleasant circumstances and if you have any further complaints about my behavior, feel free to send me another email I won’t bother reading.”
3
DAPHNE
“You are not going to believe who I had the misfortune of speaking to the other day.” I toss my yoga mat on the floor of Xana’s living room, rolling it out. “You remember the guy from Paris?”
She pauses, clicking through workout videos on YouTube to look over at me. “The one you scalded with the coffee?”
“I didn’t scald him; that sounds dramatic, but yes, him. The one who refused to let me on the plane because he owned the airline. Turns out, he was actually the pilot of the flight as well; that’s why they held the plane for him. I kind of feel like an idiot now for getting so annoyed that they held the plane for him, but still, it doesn’t explain why he acted like he didn’t know me.”
“Wait, I’m confused. How did you find out he was the pilot of that flight?” She turns her attention back to the TV, finally settling on a thirty-minute yoga practice for us to do, and hits play.
“I spoke to him again; that’s what I’m saying. He is the father of one of my students.”
“No way. What are the odds?” Her mouth hangs open before she starts laughing. “That is just your luck.”
“He was, of course, the last parent to come meet me and was almost two hours late. He also had such an uppity attitude the entire time.” I inhale a deep breath, bending into a forward folds per the woman’s instructions on the screen. “He kept telling me how he didn’t have time for this meeting because he had more important business to attend to or whatever. So annoying.”
“Is he hot?”
“What?” I snap my head to the side as I swan dive down, almost losing my balance.
“You’re kind of flustered talking about him so it’s a legitimate question.” She giggles.
“I’m notflustered, I’m annoyed. He’s arrogant and rude and just because he’s a billionaire who can also fly a 737 doesn’t mean that my time isn’t as important as his. He could have shown up on time. And I hate when you’re clearly upset and the person who is in the wrong acts all calm and cool, only making you more upset… He knew what he was doing.”
“Hmmm, sounds flustered to me.”
“You’re so annoying.” I laugh as I push back into downward dog.
“So we’ve established he’s hot, but is he single?”
“I never said he was hot.” I halfway lie… Sure, I didn’t say he wasn’t, but I know damn well what that man looks like. I practically swallowed my own tongue the first time I met him by the Eiffel Tower.
