Page 36 of My Forbidden Boss

The man nodded, walking away with my bags in hand. I approached the stairs leading up into the aircraft and took hold of the railing.

A half dozen steps later and I was inside, sighing gratefully and letting my eyes shut as a wave of heat seemed to swallow me whole and hug me in welcome.

“Well, hello, Tisha… I’m sorry, I meant to say, Miss Crawford. Good morning.”

I opened my eyes. Then blinked hard, refusing to believe them. I was still shivering but couldn’t have made a single sound even if my teeth hadn’t been clenched and chattering.

The voice continued. “Surprised? Yeah, I know, but I had to call your bluff about following… er… ‘stalking’ you, as I think you put it. I, uh… I hear that Wyoming is quite lovely this time of year.”

Finally, my vocal cords warmed enough to function.

Hollis? What…? What are you…?”

“Doing here? Yeah, that’s a pretty logical question, I’ll give you that. Itismy plane, though, so there has to be a pretty long list of people that would be even weirder if they were standing here instead of me. Bono… Elvis… Gandhi…”

I shook my head, wrapping my head around something that couldn’t be conceived. “No, but what are you? Are you going to Wyoming?”

“ … Lennon or Lenin, really, either one of them being here would be pretty insane. Eleanor Roosevelt? That would probably be a really interesting flight, to be honest.”

My body fully warmed, I became breathless with all kinds of unexpected emotions.

“Hollis! Shut the fuck up! Of course, a dead person or… fucking Bono… would be more surprising here than you, but that doesn’t explain why…”

He smiled. “Yes.”

Exasperated, I almost wanted to explode. “Yes? Yes, what?”

“Yes, I’m going to Wyoming. With you, I hope. Although you are pretty closely following the worst-case scenario that I had imagined for this. Whatever you do, don’t leave, okay? I’ll go. I just… uh…”

I gathered myself, seeing the sincerity and worry in his eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself from continuing to fume. Not yet.

“So, if I tell you to leave… You’ll go?”

He hesitated, looking completely defeated. After a moment, Hollis nodded.

“Yes. I knew there was a risk that you would take this the wrong way. Or, maybe I was way off, and you really don’t have any interest in being anywhere near me.”

He shrugged defenselessly. “I realized that of all the departments in the company, those I told that I wanted to start working closer with again… Yours is the only one that I honestly have no business being anywhere near. What you do is way over my head. I mean, I know that I could do it if I had to, but that doesn’t mean that I would actually be any good at it. Not like you. Anyway, I do know a thing or two about presentations. Plus, I know every single person at the branch you’re about to visit. As much as I don’t understand how you created the protocol that you did, I sure as hell see how impressive it is. I respect it… and I respect you.”

I wasn’t sure whether I was going to throw up right there from nervousness or keel over from a swooning heart.

For whatever reason, a compliment about my body, sense of style, or humor never compared to one about my work ethic. From the sadness and openness in Hollis’ eyes, I could easily see that he meant every word without the slightest pretense.

A rustle of movement behind me, paired with a voice, brought me spinning around.

“Brrr, you weren’t kidding, miss. It really is bitter out there. Alrighty then! We’re all set. If… Oh. I’m sorry, sir… miss… um… Do we, uh… need a few more minutes before takeoff?”

I looked down and slowly turned back toward the plane’s body and rear. I made my decision quickly and instinctively.

My chin tilted upward, and my eyes met Hollis.’ I didn’t wait to register the apprehension still apparent there. I wanted to be sure that it wasn’t pity, but something else that had made up my mind.

“Yes, captain. I think that we are ready whenever you are.”

Hollis

Leading up to the moment when she finally appeared in the hatch atop the plane’s airstair, the same thoughts kept flashing through my mind. I was anxious, constantly considering the worst ways she might respond to the surprise of my presence.

Unfortunately for my blood pressure, Trisha’s entrance only redoubled my nervousness. Moreover, that trepidation caused my hands to sweat, and I clenched them both, trembling.

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