Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

ZAYN

I hadn't expected my day to take such an amusing turn. The cute, tantrum-throwing redhead at the check-in counter was certainly bringing a smile to my face.

I had watched her from a distance at first, her fiery hair almost as bright as the anger and frustration she directed at the poor clerk behind the counter. Her voice, sharp with irritation, caught the attention of everyone nearby, including me. Even in her anger, she sounded apologetic and almost sweet. There was an innocence to her that drew me in. It made me want to help her.

We made our way through security together, her mood noticeably lighter now that the crisis had been averted. As we walked, she continued to vent about the whole ordeal, and I found myself genuinely amused by her candidness. I was a total stranger, but she was talking to me like I was one of her girlfriends.

"I just don't get it," she said, shaking her head as we approached the checkpoint. "How does an airline hire someone so mean? And then to have her as the face of customer service? It's ridiculous."

"It's a mystery." I agreed, grinning. "Maybe they thought she'd be good at dealing with irate passengers."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. All she did was make me angrier."

We reached the security checkpoint, and as we placed our belongings on the conveyor belt, she turned to me with a grateful smile. "Thank you again. Seriously, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stepped in. That lady was not helpful."

"Happy to be of service," I said, giving her a casual shrug. "We all need a little backup every now and then."

She laughed, her perky little nose crinkling. I found myself liking her more and more. There was something refreshingly real about her, a raw honesty that was rare to find these days. She was so natural. Normal. It wasn't just the fact her face looked relatively free of makeup. It was something more than that. I had a feeling she would talk to anyone the way she was talking to me. She didn't care who I was or what I had.

Once through security, she put on her shoes, hopping up and down on one foot, making her ample breasts bounce. I found myself staring, which I knew was totally inappropriate, but I couldn't stop looking. "We better run," she said.

I carried my bag, casually strolling through the airport. Then I stopped, grinning as I walked backward and waved. "I'll be there in ten."

"Wait—aren't you boarding the same flight?"

"I am," I said with a nod.

Her mouth fell open, and I could almost hear her thoughts. There's an entire plane of people waiting on us, and he doesn't care?

Not my problem.

With a wink, I turned and walked away, leaving her standing there, probably questioning my sanity. But I had something to take care of before boarding. She took off running, her carry- on bag bouncing off her ass as she went. I grinned, shaking my head.

She didn't have to run, but I didn't mind watching her.

I found a quiet corner in the terminal and pulled out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts and dialed my brother Hayes. He picked up after the second ring.

"Zayn," he said, his voice brisk. "What's up?"

"I'm about to board," I replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. "But I wanted to check in before I go dark for a few hours."

"We've got it covered," Hayes said, not missing a beat. "Hudson and I are prepared. It'll go well. It has to."

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the weight of responsibility settle over me. I hated missing the board meeting. "Let's hope so. We can't afford to slip up."

"We won't," he assured me. "Just focus on what you need to do. We'll handle things here."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Alright. Thanks, Hayes. I'll be in touch as soon as I land."

"Sounds good. Safe flight, Zayn."

I ended the call and took a moment to gather my thoughts. The board meeting was crucial, but I trusted my brothers. They were more than capable of handling it in my absence. With that in mind, I tucked my phone away and made my way back to the gate.

As I approached the counter, I noticed the flight attendant glancing at her watch, her expression growing more impatient by the second. She looked up as I neared, clearly ready to give me a piece of her mind, but I wasn't in the mood for another confrontation.

Instead, I flashed her a grin and leaned on the counter, lowering my voice just enough to catch her off guard. "I'm sorry for the delay," I said, my tone as smooth as I could make it. "You know how it is—important call I couldn't miss."

Her expression softened, and she looked momentarily flustered. "Oh, um, of course. But we really need to get everyone boarded."

"Absolutely," I agreed, not missing a beat. "I appreciate your understanding. I promise I'll make it up to you."

She blinked, and then to my surprise, she giggled. Actually giggled. "Well, as long as you're not too late."

"I'll do my best," I said with a wink.

She handed me my boarding pass, still giggling, and waved me toward the ramp. "Have a great flight, Mr. Bancroft."

I gave her a mock salute and made my way down the ramp, chuckling to myself. It never ceased to amaze me how a little charm could go a long way. As I reached the plane door, another flight attendant looked pissed. I flashed my winning smile, some might call it my panty-dropping smile, and immediately disarmed her.

"Sorry," I said. "Minor emergency. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"It's not me that's angry," she said, shrugging. "I get paid regardless."

"The other passengers?" I asked with a grimace.

She nodded. "It's a long flight. Keeping kids in their seats five minutes longer than necessary is annoying."

"I apologize."

She waved me on. When I stepped into the main cabin, I could see all eyes on me. The hushed buzz of conversation stopped. The curtains separating first class from economy were open, making sure every person from the front row to the tail seats were able to see me do my walk of shame.

Most of them were glaring daggers at me for delaying the flight. It was going to be a long trip, and I didn't want to risk having to deal with comments and looks for the next eight hours.

Time to put on a show.

I gave them an exaggerated, apologetic bow. "Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely apologize for the delay. I assure you it was completely my fault. I'm a donkey's butt—" I caught myself as I noticed a child in the front row. I wasn't making any headway. It was time to pull out the black AmEx. "To thank you for your patience, I'll be covering all your in-flight charges. Don't hold back. Let's enjoy our time together."

There was a moment of silence as the passengers processed what I'd just said. Then, just like that, the mood shifted. Smiles replaced frowns, and I heard a few chuckles from the back of the plane. Even the child in the front row seemed amused, though his mother was giving me a look that clearly said she wasn't buying it.

"You know I'm going to need that card in hand before they start running up a tab," the flight attendant said.

"I'm good for it," I said.

"I hope so or I'll take that Gucci bag."

I flashed her a grin. "Deal."

I continued down the aisle, my grin widening as I spotted her. My fiery little redhead was seated near the middle of the plane, right in front of the emergency exit. Her eyes were focused on the in-flight magazine as if it held the secrets of the universe. But I could see the faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips, the way her fingers tapped nervously against the armrest.

She was doing her best to look everywhere but at me as I took my first-class seat. The attendant took my carry-on and stuffed it into the overhead bin. I put on my seatbelt like a good passenger.

"Thank you," she said when she saw me buckle up.

I grinned and looked up at her. "Excuse me, do you think we could shuffle some of the seats around in first class? I'd love to have my friend join me."

The attendant looked down at me. I saw a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "Shuffle some seats around? It doesn't work like that."

"Well, unless you were holding the plane for someone else other than me, I would say you have two empty first-class seats. I'll of course pay for the upgrade. Although that seems a little petty given the seats are empty."

She laughed softly. "Why don't we get in the air, and I'll see what I can do? I think we've held up our other passengers long enough."

"Of course."

She finished doing the preflight checklist. I sat in my seat, watching her go through the "if we fall out of the sky" instructions. The familiar drone of the plane's engines started up. The cabin lights dimmed, and the hum of anticipation rustled through the plane as it began to taxi down the runway.

The plane took off and steady cruising altitude was reached. As promised, the flight attendant asked the person sitting next to me to move to the seat in front.

"Thank you," I said with my most winning smile. "Let me tell you about my friend."