by Ellis, Eliza
Except for Sabrina.
Kori put a hand over her eyes briefly and then tucked a few stray wisps of hair back into her updo. She didn’t want to appear upset. How had she not thought of her friend since the kiss?
Because Marshall had dominated her dreams. It was his strong, hard arms, his warm lips, his gorgeous eyes that had captivated her since she had closed the door on him. If only he knew she had wanted to run right back into his arms and kiss him. Tell him that everything would be okay. He had nothing to worry about.
And then invite him inside.
Kori rubbed the deepening crease between her brows. Not only was she a horrible friend, but she was also a terrible employee. Marshall was juggling losing his company and starting another one, and he had therapy.
And now this.
The girl who sues her boss for being unprofessional. A liability to any company who would risk hiring her. She had to convince him that she wouldn’t do that to him. The risk he’d taken would be rewarded.
Kori stared at Marshall until he looked up, which didn’t take long. She wanted to believe they were still on the same wavelength, but she shoved that thought aside. Instead, she held his gaze as she stood and made her way through the curtain to the back of the plane where the toilet and serving station were located. Then she waited.
And waited.
Until Jarod appeared. Kori rolled her eyes. “What are you doing?”
Jarod leaned against the toilet door, staring down at her as she had taken a seat on one of the fold-down chairs for the flight attendants. “What are you doing?”
“Since we’ve been delayed, I thought I’d take some time to be alone. If you don’t mind?”
His slick grin morphed into something twisted, like disgust. “I think you’re trying to pull something, that’s what I think.”
“Excuse me?”
Jarod shrugged. “Just an observation.”
Kori looked around the back of the plane. “Okay. Me sitting here, alone, is me trying to pull something? What exactly are you seeing because I’m just sitting here?”
Jarod kept his narrowed eyes on her. Kori maintained eye contact, even raising a brow to indicate she expected an answer to her question.
“What’s going on back here?” Marshall appeared behind Jarod. His concerned gaze was on her face. “Am I missing a meeting?” He chuckled lightly, but his eyes held no humor.
“Jarod was just about to tell me what I’ve been up to,” Kori said quickly. “I’m sitting here minding my own business, and he’s accusing me of…sabotaging the company? I’m not entirely sure. He said I’m up to something. Jarod?” Kori looked pointedly at him.
Jarod straightened. “I never said you were sabotaging the company.”
Marshall laughed. “How could she when she’s sitting back here doing nothing?” Marshall’s eyes glinted with restrained temper, his smile dangerous. “I personally hired Ms. Kaye. She’s done a fabulous job. It’s been a stressful couple of days for us, and I commend her for taking some time to be alone and get centered. We’ll be presenting to the board when we return, and that’s got its own set of concerns. Why are you harassing her? You should be preparing your own report.”
Harass was a strong word, but Kori believed Marshall purposefully used it because he was following her lead. Now the two of them had ganged up on a red-faced Jarod, who quickly excused himself after mumbling an apology.
Once Jarod was through the heavy curtain and on the other side, Kori stood. In one long stride, Marshall was in front of her, his hands cupping her upper arms. “Are you okay?” he whispered.
She nodded. “Something’s not right. I’m getting a weird vibe from him. I don’t know what it is.”
Marshall rolled his eyes. “I do. He’s a spy for the board.”
“A spy? What are you talking about?”
“I think they sent him along to make sure we don’t do anything stupid. Forget about him. We’re okay.”
She searched his eyes. “Are we? Because we did do something stupid.”
His gaze faltered. His fingers ran up and then down her arms, electrifying her nerve endings and shortening her breath. “You think it was stupid?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, stepping closer. “Marshall?”
His eyes came up, as did one of his hands. His fingers rested on the curve of her jaw while his thumb grazed her bottom lip. “Good. Because I don’t either. I can’t stop thinking about this right here,” he said, focused on her lips.
She chuckled. His worried, anxious expression made him look a decade younger. So cute; she wanted to cup his face in her hands and kiss away his worry. Instead, she backed out of his hold, inhaled, and spoke, “I’m willing to sign paperwork to say that I won’t sue for what happened yesterday.”
He blinked. Kori kept her gaze latched with his, but his eyes became unreadable. Unsure if her words went over well, she tried again. “I’m…I’m willing to take responsibility for what happened. You’re not to blame,” she whispered.
His light eyes darkened. “You think I would pressure you to sign?” he hissed. He stepped closer. Kori’s eyes went involuntarily to his thinning lips. “You think that’s all I care about?”
Kori’s hands came up, and she caressed his cheeks. “No, Marshall. But it’s important to me that you don’t suffer any more for my sake. You hired me, and…and I’m damaged goods, for lack of a better term,” she said wryly.
His gaze dropped once more. Kori’s heart rate increased, as though it was calling out to Marshall to risk their jobs even further. Would it be worth it to feel his lips once more? Or was she seeking him to fill a tiny hole in her heart left by her father?
Marshall’s praise of her was something she’d never experienced at all in her professional career as an executive assistant. Brigham wasn’t big on recognition because he was too self-involved to believe anyone’s work was better than his own. Nobody’s efforts topped his. A true narcissist. She received an obligatory yearly bonus at Christmas—like all the other employees—but nothing else to indicate she was doing her job well outside of not being fired.
In the same vein, Gregory Kaye found nothing but fault in his three daughters. As the eldest, Kori had experienced the most criticism. She was supposed to be a model for her younger sisters, and she was held up as a whipping boy instead. She’d never been looked at with such love and acceptance until Marshall.
Love? Was it love she was seeing? Or just bloated appreciation? Either way, she’d take it, never realizing before how much she needed it. But she didn’t want it to be a crutch. She had a long life ahead of her, God willing, and couldn’t rely on a man to puff up her self-worth.
And what she felt in return for him had less to do with her self-worth and more to do with desire. To feel his arms around her, his lips conjuring delicious need that filled every inch of her.
“The board already ordered me to fire you,” he said quietly.
Her heart plunged and her voice croaked. “They did?”
His intense gaze bore into her. “I refused. Does that not mean anything?” He took a step forward. “Kori, do you not understand what you mean to me?”
She was beginning to. He had put his job on the line for her. What had the board offered him in return? His job, maybe? Whatever they did or didn’t offer him, he had refused and kept her employed. How much more trouble did that cause him?
“I think you should. Fire me.”
His eyes bugged. “Are you crazy!”
“Do it in front of the board. That’ll convince them that you’re serious about your position.”
“No,” he stated firmly, shaking his head. “Not happening.”
“Don’t you see?” She gripped his biceps. “They won’t let you leave after that.”
“You don’t deserve that, Kornelia. And if you think you do, then you’re wrong.”
His eyes had darkened like the sky before a major storm. It thrilled her that he would take such a risk for her, but it
pained her all the same because of what he would be giving up for her. “Marshall, I’m only thinking of—”
His arms drew her firmly into his chest. Yes, her heart cried. She would follow him off the cliff, and whatever was below, they’d face it together. Their lips came within a breath when the frantic voice of the attendant shattered their dream.
Chapter 15
Marshall rushed toward the front of the plane, ignoring Jarod’s suspicious glare. He sensed Kori was on his heels. He stopped a passing steward who was yelling for him to return to his seat and put on his seatbelt. They were taking off.
“What’s going on?” Marshall demanded.
“Rebels are on the runway. We’ve got to get out of here, now!” the attendant shouted. She then ran toward the back and disappeared behind the curtain.
Marshall tightened his seatbelt, and Kori did the same.
“They better get us out of here,” Jarod said from his seat. “I’m not getting paid to be in a warzone.”
“Relax,” Marshall commanded. The plane picked up speed, jerking them around as it ran over bumps along the runway. “We’ll be fine.”
“You can’t promise that,” Jarod snapped.
“I can promise to put you to sleep for the duration of the flight if you don’t shut up,” Marshall replied in a cool tone, his hard gaze on Jarod. Jarod looked away, his pale face a defiant grimace.
The plane’s nose lifted, and they were in the air. Kori let out a sigh of relief. She slipped her hand beneath his arm and gripped it. Marshall wanted to cover her hand with his own, but Jarod’s eyes were only a few feet away. Marshall inched closer to Kori to hide her hand with his body.
“Looks like we took off just in time,” Kori whispered.
Marshall winked at her. “Why are you trying to jinx it?”
Kori chuckled and squeezed his arm. “I’m not! I’m glad we made it, but I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend any time in Bendola.”
“Same here. They have a gorgeous beach—”
A loud noise erupted right outside the plane, which violently tilted in response. They let out sounds of shock.
The pilot came over the intercom. “I’m sorry, folks, but we have to make an emergency landing.”
“What? We just got off the ground!” Jarod cried out.
Kori’s gaze was trained on the window behind Marshall’s head. “The engine is out! We’re going down!”
Marshall’s head whipped around. Kori was right. Thick, black smoke billowed past the window. The steward rushed past them toward the front of the plane, nearly crashing into a wall when the plane tilted again. Marshall strained to hear the pilot’s message over the intercom system. He’d said something about an engine, and then he was frantically speaking, probably to the control tower.
The plane shifted unexpectedly. Kori let out a yelp as she fell over and onto Marshall’s lap. The nose of the plane shifted up, and she fell back, taking Marshall with her. He quickly righted himself and readjusted his seatbelt.
“I think the pilot is trying to level her out,” Marshall said.
“Can’t wait,” Kori said sarcastically. She clung to Marshall, who gripped the armrest to his right side.
“Are you scared?”
Her gaze met his, her smile lopsided. “I’m fine. I like rollercoasters.”
Marshall grinned. “Same here. Although I haven’t been on one in years.”
“Me neither.” She rolled her eyes.
One incessant sound kept hitting Marshall’s ears and distracting his focus. When he found the source, he grimaced.
Jarod.
Jarod was yelling at the top of his lungs over the attendant who was yelling instructions through the intercom system.
“Shut up!” Kori cried out.
Jarod’s mouth snapped closed, and he stared wildly at Kori. She tightened her arm around Marshall’s and pressed herself as close to him as she possibly could. Marshall couldn’t stop the boost to his ego if he wanted to. If they weren’t going to make it, he was going to relish every bit of their last moments. Their last touches.
Marshall wrapped his right arm around her body and wrestled to keep them steady against the dip and shifts of the plane.
Kori looked outside the window. “I see water! I think it’s the ocean.”
They had made it over the forested area and the beach. The plane wasn’t in a nosedive, thankfully, and was descending at a fairly steady pace. They had a chance if they could land on the water.
“We’re doing great, everybody,” the pilot said over the intercom. “Attendants, prepare for a water landing.”
Kori and Marshall stared at each other. “Are you okay?” she said.
“Perfectly fine.” Half-truth. He was scared not for himself, but for her. If she got hurt, it would be his fault, and he’d never forgive himself. “You?”
She grinned. “Doing okay, all things considered. You did say this job would be an adventure. Marshall Buchanan, you don’t disappoint.”
Marshall’s eyes went to the ceiling. “Not the kind of adventure I meant.”
Kori laughed nervously. “Still, you could use it to leverage more time with the company. They put our lives in danger, after all. I hope it’s not insensitive to ask for another raise, or at least a one-time bonus.”
Marshall’s eyes narrowed. Kori’s lips widened into a Cheshire cat-like smile. “Devious. Absolutely diabolical.”
“I’m being paid to make you look good, sir. I take my job very seriously. I believe I’ve told you that.”
Marshall was in love. No doubt about it. Not because he could always count on this woman to stroke his ego, but because she could be a partner he could trust. He had a feeling she would be right here, by his side, even if she weren’t getting paid.
At least he hoped so.
A nagging thought of doubt emerged. She couldn’t possibly love him back. She was getting paid to make him look good. If she weren’t, he would be some over-forty guy she was clinging to because the plane was going down.
That was all it could ever be.
Marshall looked away from her anxious grin and cursed under his breath. Life had been fairly decent, but now it was in a full-blown nosedive with a jet engine attached. Thankfully, only one jet engine. He was a successful businessman who was unsuccessful in life and would have to start from the bottom again in both. He didn’t want to die with this plane; with it, he hoped to make a fresh start.
And he certainly didn’t want to lose Kori. If they survived this, he’d make it his mission to start his life fresh with her.
They followed the flight attendant’s instructions and put their heads between their legs. Kori gripped his hand, and Marshall squeezed back.
“Marshall!”
“I’m here.”
“I’m sorry for everything.”
He shook his head, constrained by his legs. “No deathbed confessions. We’re not going to die.”
Her head peeked out from behind her legs, and he saw her tearstained face. “I just don’t want to have never said it.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“Thank you for everything,” she whispered.
“Stop it!”
“What are you saying?” Jarod cried out.
Marshall groaned. Even with the plane going down, this guy was trying to dig up dirt on the two of them.
The plane shifted again, and this time, it was enough for all three of them to cry out. More papers went flying. Glasses that weren’t already shattered broke against the walls of the plane. The pilot’s voice came over the intercom saying a water landing was imminent and to prepare. Marshall’s and Kori’s gazes clung to one another and then…
Marshall felt himself being lurched to his right side and instantly felt a sharp pain around his middle where the seatbelt dug into his waist. Kori still gripped his hand, squeezing so tight it had gone numb. The pitch of Jarod’s scream reached a new octave, irritating Marshall’s inner ears.
Afte
r a few moments, the plane settled, Jarod finally stopped screaming, and Marshall rose up with a groan. Kori came with him, looking about frantically, her hair cascading wildly around her shoulders.
“Kori.” With a hand on her cheek, he guided her eyes back to him. “Are you okay?”
She clutched his hand and nodded. “You?”
“I think I broke my hip.”
Her eyes widened, and her hands went to his seatbelt.
Marshall chuckled. “I’m kidding, but the seatbelt is definitely going to leave a bruise.”
Her eyes were full of water when they lifted back to his. He threw caution to the wind. He no longer cared about the consequences. They survived a plane crash, for Pete’s sake. He was going to kiss the girl.
He cupped her head in his hands and drew her close. Their lips met in a passionate kiss. His lips lingered on hers, and then he placed kisses on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. He tasted salty tears and smiled against her lips. When he opened his eyes, over her shoulder he saw Jarod’s still-crazed gaze on the two of them. He had a story to tell the board.
Marshall moved his focus to the woman he still held. She was smiling up at him. “I guess you are okay.”
Marshall returned her smile. “Sorry about that.”
She shook her head. “I’m not,” she whispered.
“Neither am I.”
“I know.” She winked.
His hands dropped, and he frowned. “I am sorry about Jarod though.” His voice was low.
She glanced over her shoulder. Jarod was now red-faced and looking highly annoyed. Kori sighed. “Well, he can’t blame you for the plane crashing.”
“But he will tell the board about the kiss.”
Kori shrugged. “Let him tell them. This isn’t Brigham all over again. You’re a different man. One I trust.” She took his hands in hers and brought them to her lap. She squeezed them. “It’s been an incredible adventure. The best week I’ve had in a long time.”
Marshall sighed and leaned back against the seat. “It’s not over yet.”