“If there’s some work you’d like me to get on with during the flight,” I said, “just let me know.”
“I’ll be sitting right next to you, so I’ll have plenty of time to discuss anything I think relevant,” Lucien replied with a small frown.
“I…” All three men looked at me curiously, but what the hell could I say? I’d never flown in business class in my life, instead being forced to jam my body into what felt like overly cramped aisles, always sure this impinged on other people’s space. “Of course.”
“C’mon, let’s get this shit show on the road,” Lucien said, moving his arm as if to guide me forward, something that had Beau’s eyebrow jerking up higher. Thankfully, Max seemed preoccupied with his phone and missed all of that. Lucien dropped it, then let out a hiss, picking up his bag. When he went for mine, I grabbed it first, unlocking the retractable handle and wheeling it after me.
So if thiswas business class, me likey.
We hadn’t had to go through the maze-like line all the other plebs were forced to traverse, a simple, much wider straight lane set up for priority clients. The very friendly stewardess had taken our bags and issued us boarding passes, while she stared at Beau the whole time. Then it was through security, past the shops trying to capture those last few tourist dollars, before we were ushered into the business lounge.
“Ahh…this is more like it,” Beau said, stretching his arms out theatrically. “Let’s grab some breakfast. Whaddya say, Sage? Bacon and eggs? Salmon and smashed avocado on sourdough?”
“Um…” I hadn’t eaten a thing this morning, being too stressed and wired to even consider it, so now I was confronted with not one but two delicious offerings, I found myself just staring.
“I’ll get a selection, and we’ll share.” His eyes slid to Lucien, his smile widening. “You’ve always been good at sharing, brother.”
“I’ve always shared what’s important,brother.” Lucien growled out the last word, leaving me just standing there, looking befuddled, as the two brothers walked over to the counter.
“Don’t worry about them.” I turned to see Max peering at me over the top of his phone, his eyes remarkably similar to Beau’s behind his wire framed glasses. “It’s just stuff from our past. They tell me to move on from things all the time.” He stared back at his brothers as they placed their orders. “Apparently, it’s different when they can’t let go of something.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket and then held out his hand.
“I’m Max.”
“Sage.”
“Nice to meet you, Sage.” His smile, when it came, was just as dazzling as Beau’s. “Joey’s told me good things about you.” The smile then faded. “You should hear what she has to say about Crystal.”
“Maybe you can tell me about it?” I said as I wandered over to a nearby table. “And this project. We’re flying over to Sydney, and I have literally no idea what I’m walking into.”
“The others haven’t shared their calendars with you yet?” Max asked, getting that phone out. “Probably don’t know how. I’ll send it to you now.”
13
“Oh my god…”
As if my day couldn’t get any crazier, I had Beau making sex noises over avocado on toast.
“You have to try this, Sage. It’s bloody lovely.”
“She needs to have some bacon and eggs,” Lucien said, picking some of the meaty, fatty goodness and sliding it onto my plate before turning to me. “We’ll be going all day. You need some protein to keep your energy levels up. I’ll try to make sure we hold a meeting somewhere we can get lunch, but often, it ends up being one of those shitty, ‘nibbles and drinks’ things.”
“Would you like a croissant?” Max asked me, pushing the plate of pastries my way. “Usually, they have the terrible ones that feel like they come from Woolies, but these are really good.” He tore one open with his hands. “Very crisp and buttery.”
“Sirs,” I said, feeling the dickhead whisperer voice starting to assert itself, polite but firm. “While I appreciate the concern about my nutritional intake, I’ve been feeding myself for thirty years now. I’ve got this, seriously.”
With that, I picked up my utensils, removing some of the items Lucien had put on my plate and leaving others. Eggs did not agree with me, but bacon? Who didn’t love bacon? I also left the smoked salmon and avocado and half a croissant Max had left on the main plate, along with a tall mug of milky coffee. I nodded at my plate and then began to eat the freaking delicious food.
Oh. My. God.
If this was how the other half lived, I could understand why they were so damn smug about it. Airport food was too often something that had been cooked hours ago, then left to simmer in a bain marie, getting dryer or soggier by the minute. But this… I savoured the mouthful of crisp bacon, almost not wanting to swallow it because it tasted so good.
“She’s making noises. Are those good noises or bad noises?” Max asked.
“If you don’t know, we have to have a chat,” Beau said. “You want sounds like that coming from every woman you’re with.”
“While she’s coming, preferably,” Lucien added with a dark smile.