Resisting the Billionaire Collection (2 page)

"I'm the Captain. I need you here Melanie. I
have something I want to discuss with you."

He was way too close and her skin tingled
with excitement.

"What's it about Mitch? Can't it wait? I've
got a whole planeload of people to look after."

"This is much more important than them." His
lips came closer.

"Mitch--" He pressed his mouth to hers and
she felt all her will power collapse, her fears vanished as his
arms surrounded her, and their tongues explored deeply.

Mitch reached behind him and yanked the
curtains over while he lifted her up effortlessly to sit on the
counter in front of him.

"Don't speak Melanie, not yet." He reached
inside his jacket and took out a small box. Melanie's heart almost
stopped.

"Mitch, no--"

He put his fingers to her lips. "Shh,
Melanie. Let me do the talking for once." He went down onto one
knee and opened the box carefully, the sparkle of diamonds glinted.
Melanie began to choke up.

"Melanie Hutchinson, will you please do me
the honor of becoming my wife?"

It was true. Only now did she realize how
much she had longed for someone to ask her this question. But
Mitch? He had hardly paid any attention to her in six years. It
didn't make sense.

"Yes." She whispered. Why spoil the moment
with rational thought?

"Give me your hand." He said and then
carefully pushed the ring onto her finger. When she had admired it
he stood up and gathered her into his arms, his warm breath on her
neck excited her beyond belief. This gorgeous man was hers. In
moments, they were naked and he was making passionate love to her
on the galley floor. No -- it wasn't the floor, but a giant, soft
bed with satin sheets -- but something was wrong. The whole plane
surrounded them and people were staring at them, clapping, giving
them a round of applause. Frantic to cover herself, she drew the
sheets up to her chin.

"Mitch, what the hell is going on?"

"It's okay baby, these people are just happy
for us. Come on, relax!"

"No, I can't! Are you crazy?"

She yanked the sheets up higher and then a
thud brought her to herself.

Melanie looked around the room of Mitch's
bachelor apartment.

"Oh my God." She moaned. "I'm still here.
Twenty-eight years old and still waiting for this idiot to get
serious." She looked at the good-looking man snoring next to her.
Even with his hair all tousled and his mouth half-open, he was
attractive. Still, nothing compared to the Mitch of her dreams. And
he was no airline pilot, either. He was a ground staff supervisor.
He had decent job a pay grade or two above her own but still at the
lower end of the airline industry pile. He was such a sweet guy
with a heart of gold, but would he ever move on from where he was?
Would she, for that matter?

"I can't do it." She mumbled to herself. "I
can't fly this stupid LA to Columbus route again." Melanie had been
stuck on the same boring route for the last six months and it
seemed like forever since she had been anywhere exotic or
interesting. "No more fat, drunken, lecherous businessmen. Please."
She wanted to curl up and stay under the covers all day but the
alarm next the bed let her know it was 3:30 a.m. and time to go.
The sound didn't wake the slumbering Mitch. He wouldn’t be up for
hours yet but she needed to start looking good for her long day as
a Drummond Airlines flight attendant.

She swung her legs out of bed and began
searching for her clothes. Now she regretted not going back to her
own place last night. It was nice to hang out at Mitch's sometimes.
The guy atmosphere meant that kicking back and drinking beers while
watching a movie was relaxed. But then she only had her overnight
bag to get ready for work.

Where had she left the damn thing last
night?

It wasn't in plain view, so she began
searching under the bed, quietly, so as not to disturb her
boyfriend.

"There it is." She whispered. She slid her
hand along the floor and felt something lacy, small, and feminine
under her fingers.

"What the--?" She pulled her hand back and
then went into the bathroom to take a look at what she had found.
What Melanie saw made her blood boil.

She stormed back to the bedroom and turned
all the lights on.

"Wake up, Mitch." She said tensely. He
didn't move. She looked around the room again and then saw what she
needed: Mitch's baseball bat. He liked to keep it in the bedroom
for protection in case of intruders. She picked it up in her right
hand and then walked to the bed. The lacy black underwear was in
her other hand.

They weren't hers.

"Wake up, Mitch." She said louder now, but
still he didn't move. She pulled the bedclothes off his body and
watched him huddle up in the chilly nighttime air. He began to come
to, slowly rubbing his eyes until he could see Melanie standing
over him. She was still in her underwear.

"Hey, baby." He said with a smile. "What's
up?"

She thrust the bundled panties into his
face. "What are these?" She demanded. He stared at them bleary
eyed, confused. Melanie shook them out and let them dangle in front
of his eyes.

"Oh, those." He said. "Those are uh... a
present. Yeah, a present for you."

She planted the baseball bat on the bed
between his legs.

"A present for me?"

Melanie had never struck another human being
as long as she lived.

"Yeah, baby." He glanced nervously at the
bat. "Where did you find them?"

Melanie threw the panties at him. As Mitch
reached up to catch them, she raised the baseball bat and took
aim.

Chapter Three

"You're a very beautiful woman. But please eat. The
toothpick look is unhealthy."

"You're kidding. That's what you wrote in
the note you left her? Why the hell did you do that? She was hot,
right?"

Alex sighed. Valerie had been hot --
scorching hot. But hot wasn't the issue anymore, if it ever had
been.

"I don't know, little brother. I think I'm
going to just forget about women and enter a monastery. Even this
stupid dating website is just a waste of time. They are supposed to
screen these women, for God's sake. All they send me are these
spineless bimbos just wanting to jump into bed with you because
they see green in the family name."

"Mm, spineless bimbos. Sounds perfect. Maybe
I will sign up for that thing after all. Send me a link to the
website. Anyway, what did you expect? It's a millionaire-dating
website. By definition, any woman who signs up for it is a
certified gold-digger."

"So what am I supposed to do? Go to clubs
and strip joints like you? Look where that's gotten you."

"I'm not the one looking for true love. I
get exactly what I need in clubs and strip joints. At least I'm
looking for strippers there. You're looking for non-materialistic,
spiritually pure women with family values on gold diggers dot
com."

Alex sighed.

"You're right. I suppose I should go to
church or something."

"To get laid? I don't think so."

"Don't you ever think about settling
down?"

"Me? Never. I'm happy just the way I am. If
I ever stay with one woman for more than two weeks, hit me over the
head with something. I agree with the old man on this one: ‘Never,
ever, ever, ever let a female tie you down.’"

“Okay Sebastian, uh, my flight is being
called. Good talk. I think. I'll catch up with you in a couple of
days for the trip to Tahiti."

"Looking forward to it, bro. I can't get
enough of those island beauties."

"Whatever. Catch you later."

He ended the call and looked at his
itinerary. Los Angeles International Airport to Columbus Ohio. The
Drummond Corporation had a small airline that ran the route. It was
rare that he made use of Drummond Airlines but this was the perfect
opportunity to check in with the little company that had started
the Drummond family empire. He would travel incognito today, under
his mother's maiden name. That way, he could get a sense of how the
airline was run without any subterfuge or sugarcoating from the
staff.

He got in line and began to take note of
everything that was going on. Drummond Airlines was small; not
exactly a budget airline, but not far off. Profits were razor thin
and they were always looking for ways to cut costs. This particular
route depended mainly on regular business travelers like himself.
Alex was as determined as his father, Alex Senior, to keep the
company afloat, even if they could only break even.

"Can I have your boarding pass please,
sir?"

Alex looked down at the pretty flight
attendant. She gave him a sweet and professional smile, one that
nearly floored him. The last thing he was on the lookout for here
was dating prospects, but this woman had taken him completely by
surprise.

"Sir?" She repeated. "May I have your
boarding pass please?"

"Oh yes, of course, uh..." Alex read her
name tag, "Melanie." He handed over his documents.

"Thank you Mr. Murray. Enjoy your flight."
She smiled at him again and then looked to the next passenger as
she handed his ticket stub back to him. He didn't move. Something
was wrong. Melanie's mascara appeared slightly smudged at the
corner of her eye.

"Come on buddy, keep it moving." The gruff
business passenger behind him said.

"Yes, of course." He moved along but slowly,
not in his usual Drummond Corporation hurry.

She's been crying. He thought. Now why would
I even notice that?

It wasn't like him at all to notice or even
less to care about other people's emotions. It was something he had
even taken training in to meet his responsibilities as a CEO.
Sensitivity had never been his strong point even if altruism was
something ingrained in his nature. They didn't always go
hand-in-hand.

When Alex reached his seat, he struggled to
get in. He was a tall man with long legs and rarely flew economy.
In fact, he rarely flew commercial at all, preferring the freedom
of private jets. The Drummond family had a fleet of three in order
to meet all of their conflicting needs. He was an accomplished
pilot and often flew himself.

Thank God it's only a four-hour flight.

He looked up and saw Melanie board the
plane. He checked his watch.

Okay, it's a three hour and forty-eight
minute estimated flight time with a cruising time of approximately
three hours. That's got to be enough time to find out why she was
crying.

As soon as they reached cruising altitude,
Alex left his seat and headed towards the galley. There was a
single male flight attendant on duty but no sign of Melanie
anywhere.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"No. It's okay. Just looking for the
restrooms."

"They're right over there."

"Actually, maybe you can help me. Who's head
of the cabin crew today?"

"That would be me, sir. My name is Richard.
Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes Richard, is Melanie working economy or
business class today?"

"Uh, I'm not sure I need to give you that
information sir."

Alex took out his wallet and produced a
100-dollar bill.

"I'm sure the attendant you have on duty in
economy will be just fine, sir."

Alex took out another one, two, three, and
then a fourth note.

"She's in business class, sir." He went to
snap the money from Alex's hand but Alex didn't let go.

"I'll need an upgrade." He said.

"That's gonna cost you. I could get in
serious trouble over that."

"Get me a seat right in front of her and
I'll make it worth your while. Double or quits."

"Go back to your seat. Leave it to me. I'll
see what I can do."

Ten minutes later, the man was back.

"I think I have just the seat for you sir.
Please follow me."

One thousand dollars for a seat in front of
a flight attendant who works on the family airline. I must be
crazy.

Alex took his seat and waited. For ten
minutes there was still no sign of Melanie anywhere. Then the
seatbelt sign went on and the captain's voice came over the PA
system:

"We're about to experience a little
turbulence ladies and gentlemen. Nothing to be alarmed about, but
please do pay attention to the seatbelt signs and remain in your
seats until the seatbelt sign is turned off. Flight crew, please
take your seats as well."

The turbulence hit as soon as the captain
had signed off.

Alex was cursing the head of the cabin crew
when Melanie appeared in front of him and strapped herself in
directly opposite of his seat. She was surprised to see it
occupied. She didn't look happy but then she gave him that sweet
smile again.

"Upgrade?" She inquired.

"Something like that."

Her eyes were red and her makeup looked like
it had been hastily redone.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Nothing to worry about sir." She replied.
"Just a little turbulence, nothing out of the ordinary."

He smiled. "I'm not worried about the
turbulence, Melanie."

"I don't understand."

"Forgive me for being forward but you look
like you've been crying."

"No I haven't. I'm just tired from an
overnight flight. My eyes are a little sore."

He continued looking at her and didn't buy
her story for a minute. Alex Drummond may not have been the most
sensitive man in the world but he had plenty of experience with
women.

"It's okay." He said softly. "I'm sorry for
intruding. It's just that you seem like a nice person and you
looked like you were in pain, but it's my mistake. Please forgive
me."

The plane began to shudder from the
turbulence and they were forced to silence. Melanie couldn't help
but look back at the handsome stranger who was taking such an
interest in her. She hadn't noticed him until he suddenly appeared
in the spot directly opposite her own. He was still looking at her
and she knew he didn't believe her. It was as if she couldn't lie
to him.