Rendezvous in the Clouds: Billionaire Boss Office Romance (Hunter's Catch) (2 page)

The bump list made me gasp when I read it.  There was only one person I didn’t recognize right away, but I was too embarrassed to ask who it was. Even running the name through a search engine revealed nothing. It was just one more piece to add to the puzzle that was Nick Hunter.

At the stroke of noon a man in a black uniform walked through the double doors of the outer office.

“Miss Carter? I’m Franklin, your driver,” he said, his hat in hand. I nodded and grabbed my purse, my heart thumping excitedly.

“Hi! Nice to meet you!” I stuck my hand out. He looked at me surprised, but shook it.

“Right this way, please,” we went down the elevator together to a Bentley waiting at the curb, guarded by the building’s doorman. Franklin opened the door for me and I slid in the back.

“Wow, this is some smooth ride,” I said as we pulled out into traffic. Franklin laughed. “Yes, it certainly is, Miss.”

“So, are you taking me to Daniel?” I asked.

“No, Miss. I have orders to go to JFK.”

My mouth dropped open as I leaned forward. “JFK International Airport? What for?”

“Mr. Hunter has a meeting in Bermuda, Miss Carter.”

I sat back and tried to think. Maybe Nick needed to give me a few assignments before he took off. But why didn’t he just call them in or email me?

“Uh, Bermuda. Okay, of course. Who doesn’t have a last minute meeting in Bermuda?” I said. Franklin looked at me in the rearview mirror and grinned.

***

We pulled up to a part of the airport I had never been to before. Four jet planes stood on the tarmac. Franklin stopped the car and opened the door for me.

“
You can go right up,” he said, pointing to one of the planes that had an open door and a stepladder in front of it. It reminded me of watching the President and First Lady on TV coming or going off Air Force One.

“Why isn’t there any security around here?” I asked.

Franklin chuckled. “Miss, there’s plenty. Believe me, if we weren’t cleared to be here, you and I wouldn’t be alive right now.” I gazed around for security cameras or snipers on the roof, suddenly nervous.

“Okay, good to know,” I said as Franklin tipped his hat and got back in the car. I turned and walked to Nick Hunter’s private jet plane. Climbing up the stairs, I was greeted by the pilot.

“Hi,” I waved, shielding my eyes from the sun.

“Hello, Miss Carter. Welcome. I’m Captain Joe,” he helped me up the last step and led me inside the cabin. I had never seen a more luxurious space in my life. There was an actual sunken living room in the front with long white leather sectional sofas and reclining seats. A replica of Nick Hunter’s mahogany desk from his office was in the back along with a galley kitchen that could probably rival most five star restaurants. To the right was a glass topped dining room table set for two.

“Wow,” was all I could say, feeling like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I certainly wasn’t in Brooklyn any more. The pilot smiled at me indulgently.

“If you wish to freshen up before lunch, there are two bathrooms. One is the guest bathroom and one is off the master bedroom. Mr. Hunter said you have full run of the place, so choose either one. He should be arriving any moment.”

“Master bedroom? This place has more than one bedroom?” I felt like a hick for asking, but come on. The guest bathroom was probably bigger than my apartment.

“Yes,” Captain Joe nodded. “Two bedrooms.”

“Man, that’s incredible,” I murmured. He smiled and said, “Come, let me show you the rest.”

I followed Captain Joe to what I thought was the back of the plane, but it seemed to go on forever. He pushed open a door to reveal a bedroom with a canopy bed and art on the wall.

“Is that…is that a Picasso?” I gulped. He nodded. “Yep.”

My mouth fell open like the top of an unzipped suitcase.  A small smile played at the corners of the pilot’s mouth, but it wasn’t unkind.

“I’ll leave you here to wash up if you want,” he said. “Welcome aboard. Our flight to St. George, Bermuda will take about two hours.”

“Wait…our flight? Mr. Hunter wants me to go with him?”

“Those were my orders. Fly him and his assistant to St. George and back. That’s you, right?”

He waited for my response with a slightly curious expression.

“Yes, of course,” I said, realizing not for the first time how different this new job was going to be from anything else I had done before.

When he left, I looked around the room and exhaled. I didn’t really have to use the bathroom so I perched on the edge of the bed, not knowing what the heck to do next. I think I may have been there for over five minutes when I heard the pilot greet my boss as he boarded the plane.

“Hi, Nick. Great day for flying,” he said. Huh, I guess Nick wanted everyone to call him by his first name.

“Sure is, Joe,” I heard him reply. His deep base voice sent chills through me. I stood and walked out into the cabin.

“Hi,” I said, feeling suddenly shy. He was dressed way more casually than yesterday in a cream colored linen shirt and perfectly fitting khaki pants.

“Hi, yourself,” he said. “Ready to go to Bermuda?”

“Yes, sir. I mean Nick.”

“Good,” he said and turned to set his briefcase down. I swallowed nervously.

“But…um, can you tell me when we’re getting back? I need to call my mom so she won’t worry.” I blushed, knowing I sounded like a kid.

He looked at me and crossed his arms over his wide chest. His expression was inscrutable.

“You live with your mother?” he said.

“Yes. I take care of her. She’s not well.”

He gave a small nod and gazed off in the distance. His voice was tight.

“Sarah, I made plans to stay overnight. I have early morning meetings in St. George and I need you with me. Are you capable of handling the requirements of this job or not?”

I blinked and couldn’t speak for a minute. Then I found my voice.

“Nick. Like I said, I have a sick mother at home. I can’t fly out of the country and back on a whim.” God knows I needed this job, but his arrogance infuriated me. Why did rich guys like him think everything was so easy?

He turned to look at me. “Does she have a nurse?”

“She needs me,” I said slowly. “She needs me to make dinner and put out her pills.”

“And a nurse can’t do that?” he said.

“Sure!” I said, much louder than I intended. “For twenty-five dollars an hour that I don’t have, a nurse would do that and probably fold our laundry too!”

Awesome sauce. I just yelled at my boss on my first day of work.  He stared at me in silence for a moment. I stood unable to move, waiting for him to tell me I was fired.

“I’ll make the arrangements,” he finally said softly. “Call your mom and let her know to expect someone at 6pm.” 

I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing came out. With a satisfied smile, he took out his phone.

“Hi, this is Nick Hunter calling for Dr. Berg,” while waiting, he said, “Dave is the head of Lenox Hill.”

I lowered myself into one of the chairs, speechless. Lenox Hill was a private hospital in Manhattan that catered to the ultra-rich. In ten seconds, he arranged a private nurse who would take care of my mom while I was flying across the Atlantic Ocean to an island paradise.

My mother, needless to say, had kittens on the kitchen floor when I called to tell her the news.

“Please don’t get excited,” I murmured into the phone. “You have to take it easy, remember?” I could hardly understand what she was saying because it sounded like she jumping up and down. All I could make out was, “That’s my girl!” and “Bon voyage!” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok, I’ll see you soon. I love you,” I said, hanging up while she was still crowing with joy. Nick looked at me. He kept his face straight, but his eyes danced.

“How did she take the news? Everything all right?” 

“She’s being very brave,” I said dryly.

He smiled. “Good to hear.”

“Thank you,” I murmured. He shrugged.

“Not a problem. And we’ll have some time when we get to St. George to buy clothes so you have something fresh to wear for the return trip.”

My mind whirled. Shopping with my boss? Staying overnight in Bermuda? And where was I supposed to sleep? The last question made a blush climb the ladder of my throat. Nick gave me a slow simmering smile like he could read my every thought.

Captain Joe poked his head into the cabin.

“Ready to go?”

Nick turned around and gave him the thumbs up sign. The pilot touched his fingers to his hat and returned to the cockpit.

“Ready for lunch?” Nick said to me over the roar of the plane’s engine. All I could do was shrug with a laugh. “Sure!”

I mean, at this point, he could have asked if I was ready to shoot off to the moon in a rocket and it wouldn’t have surprised me. Or so I thought, because there was one more surprise coming. As the plane took off, my billionaire boss rolled up his sleeves and served me himself.

We dined on salmon and the freshest salad I had ever tasted in my life. For dessert, he set out a plate of juicy ripe figs with melted Brie and honey. Our conversation flowed easily. I found myself telling him all about my life and growing up in Brooklyn. Once or twice he gave me that special look that made butterflies flutter between my thighs.

Everything about him attracted me, from the way his Adam’s apple slowly moved in his throat when he swallowed to the way he gripped his water glass. At the end of the meal, he wiped his mouth and set his cloth napkin on the table. “That should hold us over till dinner,” he said. I stood to take our plates to the kitchen. He grabbed my wrist and electric sparks shot through my arm. “Leave it,” he said.  His voice turned commanding. “Come sit with me.”

I lowered the dishes and followed him to the leather sofa. He sat casually with his arm over the back of the seat and his leg crossed at the knee.  I felt tongue tied suddenly. Slowly, I perched next to him, my heart skittering in my chest like a squirrel. His gaze pierced me.

“Sarah, I’m not going to pretend that I’m not attracted to you,” he said. His directness startled me. I couldn’t speak. My nipples, however, responded immediately by puckering and making visible dents in my blouse. It suddenly felt hot in the cabin as sweat beaded the nape of my neck.

“I know how important this job is to you, though. Our relationship will never be anything more than strictly professional if you don’t want to be with me.”

I stared at him, goggle-eyed. Like I said earlier, I am the office smart ass and my cynicism just took over. “Are you serious? You could have your pick of any woman in the world? Why me?”

He leaned back and humiliation washed over me. Of course he didn’t mean that he wanted me to be his exclusive girlfriend. I was just a conquest. Better to just say no in hopes that I could still keep my job, even if I could think of nothing else than him taking off my panties with his teeth. I stared sadly out the window at passing clouds till his soft laugh made me look at him.

“You remind me of myself,” he said. “You’re sharp, smart and ambitious. I knew you were special the moment I saw you. You are also very, very beautiful.”

I narrowed my eyes.  I know I don’t scare babies in the street and my hair is naturally curly and whatever, but I had never considered myself anything more than cute. He leaned in and lightly stroked my jawline. My breath hitched at his firm, assured touch.