“Let me speak to the captain.” Taylor reached for the
cockpit door, but it was locked.

At the same time, the attendant picked up the phone
situated to the side of the door and pushed a little
button. “Captain, the young woman would like to speak
with you. She says she doesn’t want to be on this
flight.” The attendant listened for a moment. “Yes. All
right. I’ll tell her.” She hung up the phone. “I’m sorry,
ma’am, the captain says we’re on a schedule so it’s time
to take your seat.”

What a complete assho .?.?. Taylor gasped. “Wait. Mr.
Wade is flying the plane, isn’t he?”

The attendant smiled. “Of course. But don’t you worry,
Sugar, he’s a very good pilot. The best. I go everywhere
with him.” She winked.

What was the wink supposed to mean? Was she his
girlfriend? Lover? Or was it just one of those friendly
southern hospitality winks meant to create an atmosphere
of levity?

Who cares!

“You can’t do this,” Taylor protested. “You can’t kidnap
me to .?.?. to .?.?. where is this thing going?”
The woman continued smiling politely. Did she ever stop?
“San Francisco.”

“Fine. You can’t make me go to San Francisco.”
Ironically, that was her hometown, but not where she
lived. In any case, this was kidnapping!

“Oh. Don’t worry. I’ve already booked a connecting flight
to Phoenix for you. Mr. Wade says we would’ve taken you
all the way home, but he has an important early dinner
appointment in San Francisco. You are going on to
Phoenix, right?”

“That’s not the point. I want to speak—”

A little bell chimed. “Please take your seat, Ms. Reed.
We’re about to take off.” The attendant moved past her,
sat in the first row, and buckled her seatbelt.

“I can’t believe this. Seriously. Can’t. Believe this.”
Taylor sat down on the other side of the aisle, her mind
filling up with the many unsavory things she planned to
say to that miserable asshole Bennett Wade the moment she
laid eyes on him, starting with how insanely insensitive
he was.

Don’t forget predictable. Yep, she’d been dead-on about
his inability to accept “no” for an answer. And this was
just the sort of bulldozer tactic Mr. Wade was famous
for. Didn’t he understand that forcing people into
situations wouldn’t win him anything but animosity? It
was the exact behavior her program warned against doing.
Employees wanted leaders who not only respected them as
individuals and sought to understand them, but who also
inspired. That was the key to running a successful
company. Empowering versus dominating. Collaborating
versus dictating. A man like Wade would never understand
these concepts.

Hire me to train him? What a frigging joke! He wouldn’t
make it past session one.

She dug a pack of gum from her purse and popped a piece
in her mouth, preparing for takeoff.

After about thirty minutes, the small jet was up in the
air and leveling off. The attendant unbuckled, stood, and
immediately went for the phone. “Hello, sir, just
checking in to see if I can bring anything to the
cockpit.”

How about a kick in the pants? Taylor thought. I deliver
free of charge.

The attendant listened for a moment. “Yes, sir. I’ll let
her know.”

“What? Is he ordering me to parachute out now?” Taylor
said. Why not? The man was completely ridiculous.

“No, silly. That door won’t open in flight. That’s why
Mr. Wade uses the Cessna for skydiving. This Grayson-500
is only for short business trips.”

“Of course he has a plane just for skydiving. Why
wouldn’t he?” Taylor commented to herself out loud.

“And he has one for international flights, too—needs a
bigger engine.” The woman crinkled her pert nose. “By the
way, sweetie, my name is Candy. Can I get you anything to
drink?”

“No thank you, Candy. I’m just fine.”

Candy shrugged and pulled out an apron from the closet.
“You let me know if you change your mind—oh! And Mr. Wade
says he’ll be with you shortly.”

I can’t wait. Taylor mentally rubbed her revenge-hungry
hands together.

Candy turned her attention to making coffee and setting
up a tray. After a few minutes, the cabin filled with the
delicious scent of rich, nutty java, and Taylor inhaled
deeply.

No. You don’t want any of his goddamned coffee. He’ll
think he’s winning. Winning what? Taylor didn’t know, but
she wasn’t about to settle in and get comfy in his big,
fancy, stupid plane.

A few minutes later, with tray and coffee in hand, Candy
knocked on the cockpit door. It popped open, and Bennett
Wade’s imposing frame appeared in the doorway, his
intense blue eyes immediately locking onto Taylor’s face.
He had taken off his jacket and was wearing just his
white button-down shirt and black, nicely tailored pants
that accentuated his muscular thighs. Taylor tried not to
notice how attractive his shape was.

He stepped out into the small galley, allowing Candy to
pass. She flashed a nervous glance at the back of his
head before closing the door behind her.

“Who’s flying the plane?” Taylor asked.

Bennett smiled, and it was that condescending grin Taylor
was learning to loathe. “Frank, my pilot. Who else?”

Whatever. Now that that’s out of the way .?.?. Taylor
unbuckled her seatbelt and stood. “You have some nerve.
Who the heck do you think you are?”

His condescending smile turned smug. Did the man think
he’d won some giant victory?

“I think I’m a man who always gets what he wants. One way
or another.” Crossing his well-built arms, he leaned
sideways against the doorway separating the cabin from
the galley. With his considerable height, he had to bend
his neck just a little.

“You’re not getting anything from me,” she shot back.
“Not now. Not ever.”

His smile faded into that icy look, making Taylor
suddenly aware of every inch of her skin and every breath
her body took. The man knew how to set a vibe and
intimidation was his special gift.

“I wanted to talk to you, didn’t I? I think I got that,”
he gloated.

Taylor clamped her mouth shut.

He dropped his arms and frowned. “I said, ‘I wanted to
talk to you,’ not the other way around. So feel free to
give me the silent treatment. Probably easier, anyway.”

Why did every word out of this man’s mouth have to be
about proving his dominance? “You had no right to pull me
out of the terminal and put me on this plane.”

“I did you a favor,” he said calmly in his deep, slow
voice, oozing with loathsome, annoying confidence.