Girl on a Plane: A sexy, sassy, holiday read. Cassandra O’Leary

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       CHAPTER TWO

       Changi Airport, Singapore

      “What the hell do you mean there’s no flights out of Singapore?” Gabriel’s blood pounded in his ears where he stood in front of the customer service desk.

      The London office was counting on him. His mother was counting on him. And here he was stuck in the middle, no bloody good to either. Useless. His palm was slick with sweat where he gripped his carry-on bag.

      “If this is how Mermaid Airlines treats its first-class passengers, I’ll have to rethink the online clients I swing your way. So I suggest you check your computer again and find me a flight.”

      The customer service officer behind the first-class counter practically cowered behind her computer monitor. She was kind of young, could be new on the job. Once, he’d been like her, working retail, serving people all day long. He shouldn’t be a grumpy bastard. But being a pushover wouldn’t get him anywhere. If they were trying to pull the wool over his eyes, he wouldn’t stand for it. There had to be a flight out.

      “I’m so sorry, sir. But as I explained before, there are currently no flights leaving Singapore. We’re waiting on a further announcement, but we expect long delays and cancellations. It’s a safety issue. But we’ll let you know as soon as possible about alternative transport or evacuation.” The tiny redhead blinked, awaiting his response. Her bottom lip trembled.

      God, he was being a mean prick. The type of self-important arsehole he came in contact with growing up poor in an upper-middle-class suburb. The type he swore he’d never become, even as he built his business and earned more money. The last thing he wanted was to be the type of man to make a woman cry. What would his mum say if she knew? He let a long breath out of his lungs, allowing some of the tension to ease from his shoulders.

      Time to change tactics and turn on his trademark charm. It worked every time when dealing with women.

      “Okay,” he said, and checked her name tag. “Tania. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work something out to keep me happy and you in a job. Sound good?”

      Gabriel flashed his teeth. His smile usually had women eating out of his hand, or offering to do all sorts of other tasty things. Tania nodded, her face flushed and stunned-looking.

      He leaned forward on the counter and whispered, “I know you only want to help me.”

      Tania sighed and dropped her shoulders, then tapped at her keyboard. He waited and pushed down his earlier anger, schooling his expression into a mask of cheerful reasonableness.

      Nothing to see here, folks.

      “I’ve made an appointment for you to meet our head of customer relations, Mr Peter Lim. He’ll see you in his suite in a few minutes. Jennifer will show you the way.”

      Another staff member appeared beside him. A younger woman, around twenty-two, dark hair, slim and attractive in those toppling high heels they made them wear. To appeal to men like him. It didn’t exactly work. He coughed on a half-chuckle. She was harmless enough.

      He didn’t have a flight, but maybe it was progress. Mr Lim might have an ace up his sleeve for high rollers like him. Maybe a charter flight. “Not so hard, was it? Thank you very much for your excellent service. I’ll be sure to mention it to Mr Lim.”

      To top it all off, he winked at her. The action reminded him of the cheeky flight attendant, Sinead. Would she be relaxing in some hotel room now? Why was he still thinking about her?

      Tania’s pale skin flushed and she stammered a response he barely heard. He was already focused on young Jennifer, leading the way towards the airline’s offices.

      He’d managed Tania, like he managed everyone and everything in his life – with a perfectly planned strategy and the right balance of emotion to swing things his way. It was the only way to keep everything running smoothly, to keep everything in balance so it didn’t come crashing down and falling in a heap on top of him.

      Worked every time. Usually.

      A crowded airport. Stranded, weary travellers as far as the eye could see. An angry storm. An even angrier man, right beside her. To unwind from the harrowing flight, Sinead had escaped to the relative privacy and quiet of the frequent travellers’ lounge with its cushy sofas and buffet of delicious food. She was waiting on word from the airline, there were delays but flights weren’t cancelled yet.

      But instead of being allowed to curl up and read her new romance novel, a tall, blonde and stunning hunk of Australian surfer-in-a-suit style gorgeousness had decided to plonk himself in the chair next to her. It was him again – the handsome coffee connoisseur from seat 3A. Mr Anderson, it was indeed.

      The way he looked at her, slowly running his gaze up and down her body, gave her a little shiver of delight. But no, he was not chatting her up. He was complaining. Loudly.

      “Can you believe the ‘Customer Service Manager’ had the gall to call security and ‘escort’ me here to the lounge? If that’s how they handle complaints, they’ve got a lot to learn. For all they know I’ve live-tweeted the whole incident. There’s plenty of other airlines I can do business with.”

      She tried valiantly to block out his voice and concentrate instead on his brilliant blue eyes and broad, muscular-looking shoulders, but without much luck. He was truly obnoxious. What a waste of perfectly good man candy. They could be stuck here for hours yet. She could have used a handsome distraction.

      The Sky News report blaring on the TV screen in the corner warned of a typhoon rated Category Scary, or something. It was expected to hit hardest in Malaysia, not far from Singapore.

      He stopped talking. Thank God! He stared at her with one eyebrow raised, as if he’d finally noticed she wasn’t paying attention.

      “The least you could do is listen. I am a disgruntled passenger after all,” Mr Grumpy said.

      Enough. She couldn’t listen to another word. Sinead broke out her winning hostess-with-the-mostest smile. “Mr Anderson.”

      “Gabriel, please.”

      “Gabriel. Such a lovely, angelic name. Shame it doesn’t match your personality.” With those words, she stood and grabbed her bag, then marched towards the buffet.

      Sure, what did she need a man for? Coffee would always be there for her.

      “C is for coffee.” She mumbled under her breath.

      Foods and drinks beginning with the letter ‘c’ were her favourites. Naming and cataloguing them all, it was a little game she played to pass the time in the unfamiliar places she found herself СКАЧАТЬ