Page 20 of Where We Fall

I'm not accustomed to this kind of thing happening to me a lot, but I think he was checking me out. Grace's words ring in my ear, but I ignore them. He's probably just still surprised to see me dressing like this. I'm reading into it.

I went for a pair of skinny jeans, which feels like spandex, and a long-sleeve white shirt. It's simple but feels cute. I also packed the cream sweater that Trudy picked for me in case it's a bit chilly on the plane.

It's September here in Ohio, so the temperature is always questionable.

"I think that's us," Marcus says as a pilot and a younger woman begin to approach the doors from the tarmac.

I've literally been inside the building for all of ten seconds, and we are already being approached by the pilot? I figured we would have some time to kill here as we waited.

I guess the rich don't wait.

We follow the pilot and are on the jet and seated within minutes.

"What can I get you to drink?" Marcus asks before I'm settled in.

"Oh, um, what are the options?"

He smiles at me. "Anything you want. Alcohol, pop, sparkling water."

"Ooh, are you my server today?" I smile with excitement.

"More like your perfect boyfriend here to make your dreams come true," he says with a wink.

Damn, if only he knew.

"I'll take a white wine spritzer, please," I tell him. "Unless that's too complicated for my boyfriend."

"Nothing's too complicated for me. You should know that by now, sugar lips."

He walks away, my stomach flipping.

Get a hold of yourself, Lexi.

Who cares if him giving me a nickname like that makes me feel special? It's all just a joke—an act.

He sits across from me so we face each other, then hands me my drink.

It looks like he poured himself a whiskey on the rocks.

"No wine for you? I'm surprised," I tell him.

"I enjoy some whiskey here and there."

The plane starts to taxi out to the runway and we're instructed to put on our seatbelts. I look out the window as I watch the entire process of takeoff, enjoying the new feeling of being in a private jet.

"So, Lexi, tell me more about yourself," Alexis, who's seated across the aisle from me, says.

I take a sip of my drink which is surprisingly very well made. Of course, the man knows how to make the perfect drink.

"What do you want to know?"

"How'd you get into IT?" she asks.

It's not an interesting story in my mind. I switched majors in college when I discovered how much I enjoyed my information systems class.

Alexis tells me about her degree in finance and her career over the years. I didn't realize she was so smart. These Giannelli men seem to be attracted to a woman with beauty and brains.

They are all so intimidating, yet so nice.

---