Carolyn was waiting for the procedure to finish. She met James's eyes with a twinkle and then approached them with a tray that held their two plates. She instructed them to withdraw the executive tables from their slots, to which they both did eagerly.
Each tray held a round sourdough bowl with a hole cut into the bread like a cork. Jennifer removed her top quickly and frowned. It was empty. James checked his bowl as well. It too was only the hollow bread inside. They watched Carolyn retreat to the front of the plane where she lifted a silver pitcher onto the serving platter along with several packets of crackers from the secured box along with what looked to be a rotary cheese grater.
When her tray was fully prepared, Carolyn turned and approached James and Jennifer. She crouched in front of them and poured steaming soup from the pitcher into each of their bowls. She expertly wielded the cheese grater to top off the soup, and then gave them each a set of three packs of crackers. With another professional smile, she eyed James.
"What would you like to drink for your flight, sir?"
James scratched the bottom of his chin, and then looked to Jennifer. He let a smile crawl onto his face. Within a few seconds, Jennifer's eyes were toying back with his own.
"I'll take a shot of Grand Marnier, maybe two, with orange and cranberry juice."
Jennifer raised a brow. "Is it that type of flight?" She asked with a grin. James chuckled and said nothing more. "Alright well," she turned to Carolyn. "Do you have a shot of something Chardonnay?"
James scoffed. "Excuse my assistant. She doesn't get out much. She'll take a Bailey's Irish Cream and orange juice."
Jennifer's mouth fell open. "This is a business trip, isn't it?"
Chuckling, James glanced towards Carolyn. She crouched in front of them patiently. Turning back to Jennifer, James held her gaze firmly.
"Of course it is, Jenn. But this is a private jet," he gestured around himself. "You said it yourself. A private jet. You gotta let loose and live a little."
With a tightening jaw, Jennifer narrowed her eyes at James. "I do live. On the weekends and when I'm not working." Laughing more freely, James pressed his lips together with skepticism.
"Really?" Jennifer blinked, flustered. Maybe that was too direct. James leaned towards her and nudged her arm. As he closed the distance between them, he smiled as Jennifer's frustration faded.
"Just relax," he said smoothly. "You can have your wine, but if you wanted something a little more fun, you can."
Jennifer watched his eyes. She looked over his face, and then to Carolyn, who gave no indication for either preference. When Jennifer met James's eyes again, the corner of her mouth twitched and twisted into a grin. James began to beam, but he said nothing. A moment later, and a cute grin slithered onto Jennifer's face.
"Okay. I'll follow the captain's orders."
"Thatta girl," James coaxed.
Jennifer turned towards Carolyn. "The rum and juice please." With a nod, Carolyn bowed out to the front of the plane. As soon as she turned her back to them, Jennifer pushed James on his arm.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?"
Chuckling, James shook his head. "If you can get drunk off a tiny shot of Bailey's, you're not the woman I thought you were."
Jennifer couldn't keep her face together. She sputtered and giggled, simmering down when Carolyn arrived moments later with their drinks and glasses for mixing.
"Will you do the honors?" Jennifer asked, motioning to her drink contents. James nodded. He was an expert at mixing drinks, as most millionaires were. He had his run in with drinking a bit too much back in the day, and had to take his leave of recreational drinking. That was over ten years though. These days, he knew his limit and never tested them.
He prepared his drink first, took a delicate swag and smacked his lips obnoxiously. He could already tell that his show was working. Jennifer was relaxing and was no longer jumping every time they accidentally jostled into one another.
Their seats were still a good foot apart from each other, so the jostling was a bit more difficult to do by accident, in fact, it was nearly impossible. It didn't matter though. James made every effort possible to reach out and tap her arm or nudge her knee when possible. She seemed to welcome his touch. That made him beyond happy.
Once her drink was finished, he placed it proudly in front of her and waited for the verdict. After a careful and over thorough examination of the cup, where Jennifer sniffed teasingly at the liquid, she prepared to drink. James shook his head at her incredulously.
"Do you think I drugged it?" James asked between a laugh. Shrugging, Jennifer dropped her jaw.
"I don't know what you might have done to it," she joked. They laughed together, but cackling would be a more fitting word. With each minute they spent in the sky, the lines of boss and assistant seemed to blur more and more.
Jennifer finally managed a sip of the drink. Her eyes lit up immediately.
"Wow," she breathed, nodding her head eagerly. "This is really good. Sweet, but good."
James sat back in his chair, satisfied. "You're authorized with three more before we land," he smirked at Jennifer's facial response to his statement. She chose to say nothing and turned her attention to their meal.
"I'm glad there's lunch here. I was just about to take mine when you called," she commented softly.
James glanced towards Jennifer, but said nothing more. He was hungry himself and wanted to scarf the meal down so he could get back to flirting with her. He tore a piece of bread off the circular top that had been cut out and dipped it into the soup. Placing it into his mouth, he closed his eyes. This is why he flew Evo. Whatever chef they had on call working in the airport always did a helluva job.
"Oh my god, this is delicious," James heard Jennifer at his side. He chuckled and nodded.
"Private jet, Angel," he reminded between a bite. And then Jennifer said something that nearly made him spit his food out.
"So I'm only allowed three of these drinks?"
Chapter Eight
In Like Flynn
"Just say the word," Jennifer said softly, she stared into James's eyes, her relaxed face betraying the words she was speaking. "Just say the word and it's yours," she finished.
"You're joking, right?" James scoffed. It had to have been over an hour since they had finished eating. Carolyn had cleaned their trays away and they were both on their fifth or sixth set of drinks. He was far from being even remotely tipsy, but Jennifer was probably dancing with the line in a lovely waltz.
"No," Jennifer shook her head quickly. "The joker was serious. He kept going on and on and about how beautiful I am."
"How fantastic you are?"
Jennifer smiled brightly, "Yes, exactly! He said he could give me everything. He told me everything he had and, James," she reached out and touched his arm with wide eyes, "he had a lot. He was a real estate investor and had more wealth than," she paused and her expression changed.
"More than me?" James asked with a sly grin.
Lowering her eyes, Jennifer nodded, and then quickly burried her face in another sip of the delightful dreamsicle concotion.
"You know, I've found that there's always going to be someone with more money than me. I'm just a millionaire."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Just a millionaire-do you all talk about money like that? And what am I? Poor?"
James chuckled and took another drink. "You're you. A beautiful, smart, intelligent woman who simply hasn't made hers yet."
Jennifer narrowed her eyes at James. Her smile fell slightly, and then brightened oddly. "Do you mean that?" She asked, teasingly.
Nodding eagerly, James took the moment to touch her wrist. The smile was gone again. Jennifer looked towards his hand on her wrist, and then met his eyes. James released her hand slowly, letting his fingers trail along her forearm first. Her reaction caused something to stir within him. He wasn't going to be able to keep touching her like that for much longer, if again at all while they remained on the plane. He was close to stepping out of line.
"Jennifer," James took another long drink and sat his glass down empty. He turned to her and grinned, trying to get the light air back into their conversation. "You have to know that you're an exceptional, woman, right?"
Jennifer watched James carefully. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but he could tell that she struggled to keep it tamed. Jennifer calmly lifted her glass to her lips and held it there, hiding the bottom half of her face. James chuckled.
"I mean that. I'm not surprised at all that men have approached you like that," James paused. "Well, actually, I can't believe some would just come right out and say that-"
"Have you ever used your money to win a woman?" Jennifer asked suddenly.