Billionaire Boys Club 4 : Once upon a Billionaire(9)

Maylee thought for a moment, not an easy feat given the alcohol and pills. Then, she said, "Knitting."

"I'm . . . sorry? I don't think I caught that."

She flapped her hands-a bit like a chicken, really-and said, "These are bored."

"Bored?" Megan blinked at her. Hard.

"Yes. And my knitting is all tied up in my luggage." Maylee made a sad face. "It's probably lonely." She stared down at her hands. "I bet it misses them."

"Your suitcase is actually just up here," Megan said, that curious look still on her face. "Do you want to get it?"

"Oh, that would be just peachy." She stood up-or tried to, anyhow. She was still buckled in, and it knocked her back to her chair. Maylee began to giggle wildly. "Oopsie daisy."

"I can get it for you," Megan said quickly.

"That would be peachy, too," Maylee said with a languid smile. "It's in a side pocket." Gosh, they were nice on private airplanes. She liked everyone here so much.

A moment later, Megan handed her the knitting, and she made a happy sound in her throat. So perfect. Now she could knit all the way to Bellissime. Maybe she'd knit a hat for her new employer. Wouldn't he just love that? "Everyone likes hats," she mumbled aloud to herself, and began to knit.

***

"If you get a chance to bail out early," Jonathan said to Griffin over the phone, "you should really come out to Spain. They've found some interesting pottery shards at one site and a few new areas they'd like to excavate, but there's permits to be filed and funding to be acquired, so nothing can really move ahead without you."

Damn it. He really wanted to be there. The timing could not be worse. "It'll just have to wait a few weeks. I'm afraid there's no way I can leave early, short of insulting my entire family and offending the crown."

"I do not envy you," Jonathan said. "Tell you what. I'll upload my photos online later tonight and you can get a glimpse of what I'm seeing here. I think you'll like it. The canal system is so incredibly impressive. I'm told that the swampy grounds make it hell to excavate, but I think it just makes it all the more promising." 

"And we're sure it's Atlantis and not just Tarshish?"

"I don't know. The lead on the project, Doctor DeWitt, says he's uncovered something significant, but since you're the benefactor, he won't reveal it without you here."

Griffin felt a little stab of pleasure at that, even though he knew he shouldn't. Jonathan was one of his best friends, and trustworthy, but this project was Griffin's baby. "I see. Like I said, it'll have to wait a few weeks."

"Cadiz isn't that far away from Bellissime, is it? Can't you just hop a plane and take a same-day flight?"

"You've never seen a royal schedule around one of these functions, have you?" Griffin asked drily.

"God no."

"I'll be lucky if I have an hour to myself."

"Fuck, that sounds miserable."

It did. That was why Griffin preferred minimal fuss when he was on his own, and why he preferred being on his own as much as possible. It was why he 'made do' with one assistant versus his mother's forty-six staff.

There was a soft knock at the door. "Ready to leave whenever you are, Mr. Verdi," the attendant said.

Griffin ignored it and continued talking to Jonathan for a few minutes more. He was jealous as hell that his friend got to poke around in the marshes of Spain for the next few weeks while Griffin had to dress up in starchy suits, kiss babies, and have his blasted photo taken eight hundred times a day.

Reese should have been Viscount Montagne Verdi, not Griffin. Reese loved people. Griffin could barely tolerate them.

When he could put off the inevitable no longer, Griffin ended the call with Jonathan, put away his laptop, and left his private room. He nodded at the attendant at the far end of the plane and sat in his seat, rubbing his face. He was looking forward to this about as much as one would look forward to a tooth extraction, or perhaps a vasectomy. A colonoscopy? He pondered a list of horrific things that could possibly be less painful than a week-long royal wedding.

He buckled his seat belt, closed his eyes and leaned back, and the plane began to taxi forward. Griffin kept his eyes closed, relaxing, as the plane ascended into the air, the roar of the engines drowning out everything but his own thoughts. Eventually the sound of the engines leveled out, and Griffin became aware of a new noise.

Clicking.

He frowned, opening his eyes just in time to see the flight attendant lean over his chair. "Can I get you anything, Mr. Verdi?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

She nodded and disappeared, and the clicking began again. He looked to his left. Nothing. Looked behind him.