“Healthy?” she asked.
“No, not the word I was going for. Some fruit, maybe some scrambled eggs? I’m sure we can find a real breakfast place if we walk a little.”
“Have you ever eaten a big cinnamon roll while sitting at your gate?” she asked.
He stood, gathering his rolling bag. “Can’t say I have. Let’s walk.”
“Yeah, not something a billionaire would do.”
Her words made him stop in his tracks. He turned to look at her.
“Says who?” he asked.
Brooke shrugged. “Just an observation. I can’t see you doing anything that would get your fingers messy.”
“I just prefer not to load my body with all that sugar this early in the day. Can we walk?”
There was no missing the annoyance in his voice. Great. She’d ticked off her boss. She told herself she needed to keep him on her side because he had the power to fire her, but really, she just didn’t want to make him mad.
“Sorry.” She rushed to catch up so she could walk in stride beside him. “I’m helping with your personal branding, remember? These are things we need to discuss.”
“So, you think eating a messy sticky bun or whatever would help my image?”
“Not exactly, but…” She looked ahead of them. A big food court was up ahead. “Okay, come with me.”
She sped ahead, surprised she could walk so much faster than him. He was pretty tall, so she’d assumed one long stride of his would equal four or five of her steps, but when she was determined, she could move pretty quickly.
She stopped, looking around at the various signs. This may have been a mistake. He could pick his restaurant from one of the fancier, high-priced ones. The goal here was to get him to do something outside of his comfort zone.
“Fast food.” She pointed to a sign naming a very popular chain restaurant known for its hamburgers. “I dare you.”
That intense gaze landed on her again, and she felt like she might lose her footing. “You think I haven’t eaten fast food before.”
“A big, fluffy, greasy biscuit loaded with bacon and eggs. That’s the challenge. Oh, and maybe some of those fried potatoes.”
“Hash browns?”
“Whatever.”
He shook his head, still staring at her. “Billionaires eat fast food.”
“I want to see you do it. In an airport. Sitting at the food court like everyone else.”
That seemed to get the point across. She’d been doubting herself there for a second, but she knew now that she was right. If she wasn’t here, pushing him, he would have chosen one of those restaurants where servers came to your table. Or he would have used his frequent flyer points to access one of those fancy lounges where someone brought around lattes and eggs on a gold platter or whatever.
“Challenge accepted.”
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but there was nothing awkward or uncomfortable about what happened next. He got in line, ordered exactly what she’d instructed, along with a black coffee, and took his tray to a nearby table. When she joined him, he was already halfway through his biscuit.
“Impressive,” she said, smiling.
“So this rebranding, it involves me doing things like this?”
Brooke unwrapped her own biscuit and unfolded a napkin on her lap. “Sort of. It’s more about showing the world that you aren’t jetting around in five-hundred-dollar sunglasses, eating caviar and drinking champagne by the pool. Do you own a suit?”
The question landed just as she would have expected. He squinted at her, not following her sudden change in direction.
He looked down at his long-sleeved button-down shirt. “No. Why?”