Zach cut in. “I was going to go over the photo list with Harper tomorrow—”
“No need. I’m the liaison for this project, so I’ll meet with Harper.” Josh put a hand on her arm. Zach hesitated, then inclined his head. “You’re right. That makes more sense.”
“Harp, want to get together for dinner tonight and discuss the plans? There’s this awesome new sushi place in Lincoln Park I want to check out. And you love sushi, right? I remember that from the San Diego trip.” Josh grinned. “Remember, when we all went out for sushi on the beach, and you joked about the wasabi matching the color of your bikini?”
Zach didn’t change his pleasant expression, but a note of tension entered his voice. “I appreciate your memory, Josh. And I appreciate your humor. But please keep in mind that your contact at Fantasy Reef, Leilani Oh, isn’t a coworker in the same way. I expect 100% professionalism for her. Yes?” He raised an eyebrow.
Josh gave a thumbs up. “I will be totally on point with Leilani. I just like to joke around with Harper. She can handle me. Right, Harps?” He nudged Harper with his arm.
“If you don’t behave, I will personally chop you up and feel you to the sharks,” Harper agreed. “Real tiny pieces, all shredded up and stuff, so they really go crazy. You can die knowing that you’re responsible for the best shark photographs in the entire world. Because, you know, I’d bring my camera to document the feeding frenzy.”
“I’d be like machaca!” Josh laughed. “New nickname. You know, machaca, the shredded beef they put in tacos? What do you think? Machaca Josh.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Zach rolled his eyes. “I’m serious.”
Josh stopped laughing. “So am I. Zach, I close all of my deals with respect and get praise from all of our clients. There have never been complaints. You know that.”
Zach nodded. “I do.” He hesitated, looking at the two of them. “All right. I’ll expect the usual—upload pictures and status reports daily, and also regular Skype meetings to go over plans.”
“Of course.” Josh nodded. “Harper and I will absolutely be happy to Skype with you from paradise.” He slung an arm over Harper’s shoulder, and although to her it didn’t feel anything other than friendly, Zach stiffened.
“Harper, I’ll see you then when you get back. Josh. Have a safe trip. Talk soon.” Zach nodded again.
She sighed. Relieved, to some degree, she was glad not to have to face him again soon, because it wasn’t clear how they were supposed to get along now. The other part of her was sort of disappointed, because, well, even though he was a playboy douche who got into bed with someone the minute she turned him down? Well, she was still attracted to him. He was so damn sexy, with that smirk and those muscles. And in her mind she could still see his body, the way he looked in that pool.
Of course, she still had the pictures from that trip, including pictures of him in the ocean, showing his muscles and body, lean in board shorts, photos of him with a surfboard, so she could look at them any time she liked.
She didn’t like. It felt stalker-ish and unprofessional to look at them with lust in her eyes. It was perverse, a mistrust, in a way. She certainly wouldn’t be comfortable, if she were a model, thinking that maybe the photographer had a crush on her and took out her pictures late at night for wank-bank fodder. She shuddered. In any case, the images were etched into her brain so firmly that she didn’t need the photos to summon up his ripped physique.
CHAPTER 2
“So you’re going to Hawaii?” Talia pretended to cry. “Why can’t you take me along as your carryon luggage?”
“Sure, why don’t I?” Harper laughed. “Put on your rollerblades, stick a handle on your back, and it’s a deal. Nobody will notice me rolling you down the aisle.”
“I can be your assistant, though. You need someone to hold your camera and oil up the models for their shoots.”
“Mostly I’ll be shooting food and rooms and scenery. Those don’t need additional oil.”
“But aren’t you going to take some pictures, at least, of hot guys on the beach?”
“Well, yes. But girls, too, with them.”
“Well, the girls can take care of themselves, but I am very good at applying lotion to sexy male models. You can’t do it; it would mess up your camera.”
“They already have an oil-girl. So sorry.” Harper gave Talia a pretend sad face. “I’ll text you some pics, though. And you can rub pizza grease on your phone and pretend. How’s that sound?”
“Bitch.” Talia tossed a pillow at her bestie. “Thanks a lot.”
“Welc.” She tossed the pillow back. “I’m travelling with Josh.”
“Oh, you mean hot Josh?”
“He’s the only Josh at Travel On.”
“I’d fuck him.” Talia tilted her head, considering. “He’s a tiny bit of a douche, but I bet he’d be an animal in bed, so I could forgive. Are you going to fuck him?” She narrowed her eyes.
Harper laughed. “He’s not my type. And even though he flirts with me, I can tell that he’s not really interested-interested. He’s doing it out of habit. Tell you what. I will keep it totally platonic with Josh, because that way he can save his bod for you. By the time we get back from Hawaii, he’ll be like a virgin again, and you can pop his dick cherry.”
“Cool.” Talia smiled and grabbed at the pizza. “Thanks. Remind him, though, so he doesn’t forget and accidentally stick his cock into a few pretty beach chicks. You know how dudes can be so forgetful sometimes.”
“Oh, you bet. It will be the first thing I say to him when I get on the plane.” Harper giggled. “Can you imagine if someone overheard us? OMG. We could never run for public office.”
“I’d be fired.” Talia grabbed her chest. “And then whatever would happen to the world of accounting?” She cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t it be totes hilarious if you did say that to him, though?” She made her voice high and cute. “My friend Talia has an important message for you.” She paused and dropped her eyes, tracing a pattern on her jeans. “So, um. Do you think he remembers me? I mean, I’m just curious.”
“Uh, I have a sort of feeling that maybe everyone at that office remembers you. It’s not every day that someone actually makes photocopies of their tits at the quarterly party. I think you outshone the sushi bar and the band.”
“It’s such a cliché, so I had to try it!” Talia sounded excited. “You couldn’t even tell what was in the picture, though—all blacked out and grainy.”
“Right. But the fact that you passed out copies to the handsome guys? Sort of… I don’t know. The word embarrassing comes to mind, although it doesn’t quite cover the situation for me. It’s not even my office! I got invited because I’m a trusted contractor with them.” She rolled her eyes, but smiled. She’d brought Talia as her plus one for fun, and as always, Talia had delivered.
“Copy machines will be extinct in less than five years,” cautioned Talia. “So I had to take advantage while I still could. A story for the grandkids, if you will.”
“Oh, of course. Grandpa Josh! Tell me again about how you first met Grandma?” She mimicked a quivery stereotypical old-woman voice. “Well, my dears, I crashed an office party that my friend Harper invited me to, and it wasn’t even her office! This was in the old-fashioned days before we had mind-scan technology. There was an archaic invention called a pho-to-cop-i-er.”
“Stop!” Talia laughed. “You never know. You could totally end up with the last person on Earth you’d think possible. And maybe it would all stem from some awkward, awful interaction that you thought you wanted to forget. And because you didn’t, you changed the course of your entire history.”
Harper’s mind flashed back to Zach. Do you like it when I do this, Harper? She shook her hands out as if undoing kinks. “Well, I need to get my gear ready. It’s not gonna pack itself.”
“I bet that’s what Josh says when he sticks his dick into his boxers in the morning.” Talia nodded sagely. “He’s packing a nice tool,
Harps. So does Zach.”
“Zach probably doesn’t bother putting his into his boxers,” Harper retorted. “After all, he needs it handy for every sloppy blonde that comes around panting.” Her voice was sharper than she intended.
Talia’s smile faded. “I’m sorry. I won’t joke about him if it upsets you.”
“No, it’s fine. I just—I don’t know why I ever still care. Why do I give a shit?” Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair. “He’s just a guy. We barely knew each other, so why does it even matter? I don’t know why I’m still irritated about it.”
“Because he disrespected you,” Talia pointed out. “He acted like he was interested in more than a fling by inviting you to dinner, then when you showed up later that night, he was having a fling. He couldn’t even wait a whole hour. It’s pretty shitty.”
“Yeah, but it was months ago. I don’t know why I’m still—I mean, he’s a dick. I get it. Move on.” She spread her hands down over her thighs, smooth in her jeans. “I can work for him without caring about that.”
“Good. You do that.”
“I will.” Harper stuck her tongue out at Talia.
Her friend made a hmmm sound. “So, do you have your drugs for the flight?”
“But of course. Those are going in my purse, front and center, so I can whip them out at the first sign of trouble.”
“It’s really pot, right?”
“God! No. It’s Ativan. It’s like a gentle Valium. I only take them if I’m scared on a plane. They reduce anxiety.”
“So does some good weed.”
“Yes, but that’s not FAA approved, and I don’t want to end up in weird airport jail. Or get dragged down the aisle with my head bleeding or something.” She rolled her eyes.
“Fair point, fair point.” Talia nodded. “Well, I hope you have a great time in Hawaii. Eat lots of sushi, catch a shark, collect shells, drink Mai Tais, and save Josh for me.”
Harper held up her palm. “Deal.”
And as her bestie slapped her palm, she smiled, eager for the adventure ahead.
“HARPER GRAINGER TO THE COUNTER, please. Harper Grainger? Please come to the counter regarding your seat assignment.”
“Shit.” Harper darted a glance to the flight attendant, who was swarmed with several stroller-wielding parents and a traveler in a wheelchair. Grabbing her camera bag and purse, she approached the counter, noticing that a young guy in his twenties immediately slid into her chair.
“Excuse me? Someone called my name,” she started, tapping her phone to pull up her e-ticket.
The woman glanced at the screen and typed for a lengthy amount of time. She pursed her lips. “I have your new seat assignment. I’ll print you a new boarding pass.” More typing, then a below-counter printer sputtered and sang, spitting out a flat shiny card, one digit at a time. The sound, as always, reminded Harper somehow of old-fashioned computer games from the 1980s, or things that needed to be upgraded.
“I didn’t request a seat change. Do you know why?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, there’s just been a change in the system. You’d have to contact the person who purchased the tickets.”
“Do I still have an aisle seat? I reserved an aisle seat.” Harper tried to stay patient.
The woman’s expression didn’t change. “You still have an aisle seat, yes.” She handed Harper the new boarding pass. “We’ll be boarding momentarily. You’ll be in the A group. Please line up by the gate. Thank you.”
Harper nodded and grasped the pass in her hand. Take the Ativan now, so it could kick in, just in case there was turbulence on the flight? Or be brave and brazen it out? She bit her lip. Now, later. On the one hand, she’d be preemptively prepared. On the other, she didn’t want to be weak, and if she forced herself to wait, she might never need the medication.
It seemed like a monumental decision, and she suddenly hated the whole airline industry and the airports and everything in them. Why wasn’t phasing a thing yet, like in those old Star Trek shows? Why couldn’t she blink her eyes and be in the place she wanted? She tried to smile to force herself into a calmer mood.
Josh wasn’t here yet. She smiled, this time a real smile, thinking of her conversation with Talia. She hoped she didn’t start laughing when she saw him. She’d only worked with Josh once before. Talia was right that Josh was handsome, but he left her without sparks. Just not her type, really.
Now Zach, on the other hand? He was her type, exactly: Tall, dark, brooding, sexy, smoldering. Hot. Smart. Sort of arrogant. Why did she have to fall in lust with a guy who fell into lust with everyone he saw? She’d heard the rumors before she started doing freelance for his company: Zach’s a total playboy. He’s a great businessman, but he’s with a different woman every night. Don’t expect anything from him.
And she hadn’t, until, charmed by him that night, she had. Well, live and learn.
But where was Josh? She craned her neck around the busy boarding area, but he was nowhere in sight. She sent off a quick text: “U on your way? Boarding starting right now.”
She inched forward behind a few business travelers. No Ativan, then. She was going to be brave. It was a dream job, it was Hawaii, and in a few short hours she’d be on the beach, feeling the tropical breezes in her hair, the sand beneath her toes.
When the gate agent scanned Harper’s pass, she broke into a smile. “Welcome to first class. You’re in 4A. Have a great flight.”
“Oh, but I’m not—” Harper glanced at her ticket in surprise, the camera bag hitting her in the side as the strap sidled down her arm. “Okay.” She grabbed the strap with her other arm, bending the pass to get everything situated. “Well, I guess maybe I am.”
Last minute change, why, exactly? This wasn’t how the universe worked. Last minute changes were typically along the lines of “I’m sorry, we overbooked,” or “I’m afraid we’re out of midsize sedans, so you’re going to have to go with a pair of roller skates and a helmet. Thank you for your business. There are free off-brand bandages at the kiosk.”
CHAPTER 3
Settling into 4A, wide and luxurious, she peered around. Still no Josh, and no word from him on the phone. But a second later, a familiar face had her heart skittering into overdrive; Zach came down the aisle and slid into the seat beside her, her, his cologne wafting over on the slight draft.
“Harper. Good morning.” He slid his case under the seat and snapped his belt. “Josh was reassigned, so I’ll be filling in.”
Filling in. “You will?” She blinked. “Is this why we got first class?”
He smiled. “Free miles, seats were available, I figured why not use the upgrade. Fly in comfort, yes?”
“Sure. I feel rich and powerful already. The ass-marks from the previous first classer are clearly soaking into my pores.” Joking should help her forget about her crush on him. And it should get them back to their light, banter-filled relationship that they had developed before the incident.
He laughed. “That’s disgusting.”
“Well, I don’t think they do much cleaning in between flights, not even up here.” She gestured at the seat back pocket. “I’ll give you five dollars if you stick your fingers all the way in.” She blushed immediately, realizing how that sounded.
“Stick my fingers where, exactly?” He raised his eyebrows, and the look on his face made her body zing with arousal. He wasn’t exactly being flirty or dirty, but he was definitely putting more emphasis into his words than he probably would for a random person. “I don’t usually require payment to put my hands somewhere.”
“I meant, if you stick your hand into the seat back pocket and bring it back out without some kind of nasty, sticky crumbs under your nails. Or a used diaper.”
He grimaced. “I preferred the first mental image.” Then he gave her a wicked smile. “Sorry. Inappropriate.” He cleared his throat.
“I have a pretty powerful sense of humor. I don’t think you could offend me if you tried.” Why was
her voice low and sultry, like she was auditioning for a porn movie? Stop! God. This was already ten kinds of wrong and they hadn’t even left the ground. “So. What happened to Josh, exactly? Did you feed him to the sharks in the Shedd?”
“Nothing happened to Josh. Fantasy Reef wanted to talk about a future collaboration face to face. I need to have a personal talk with the CEO of the hotel/resort, and it made sense for me to take his place.” He smiled. “Josh will get to stay in Chicago and do a nice editorial on some new Mexican restaurants in the area. He wanted machaca, he’ll get machaca.”
“I’m sure he’s extremely grateful for that opportunity.” She smirked. “So you decided to inflict yourself upon me.”
“I think you’ll be fine. I promise not to inflict too hard.” His voice was dry.
Why the hell could she not stop thinking of him inflicting her with his hard body, over and over, his naked shoulders and arms strained with effort as he hovered over her body, his face tense with concentration and passion—
She touched her cheek. “Is it hot in here? Shouldn’t first class to Hawaii get their own personal palm-frond wavers or something?” Her laugh sounded, to her, like the bleat of a goat.
Zach reached up and adjusted a dial, and cool air flowed onto her heated face. “Better?” The motion of his body sent his cologne to her, faint tendrils of his sexy scent, and no. It wasn’t better.
“Yes, much. Thanks.” She smiled and took a deep breath.
He settled back. “So, four hours and twenty-two minutes until our transfer in L.A. I think we can get a lot done.”
“A lot done?” More images. Jesus, why could she not just fucking stop?
“We can review the photo log and discuss our plan of attack. I’d like your input and suggestions on what you’d add, change.”
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