Page 16 of Once Bitten

He grinned and cocked his eyebrow.

“And secondly, business is why we’re on this trip, and I’d appreciate it if you took it more seriously.”

The check in assistant waved us over to her counter.

“And where are you headed today?” She asked.

“Paris.” We both replied.

“Passports, please?” We handed them over.

“Ah, Mr O’Reilly, you’re flying in first class, did you know you have a designated first class check in counter?”

“Oh, I do, but Ms Sinclair here is my babysitter and my stepdaddy said I couldn’t leave her side.” He ignored my glare. “But while we’re on the matter...would you be so kind as to check to see if there are any more first class seat available we can upgrade Ms Sinclair to? We will pay the difference, of course.”

“No, the company only pays for me to fly in business.” I reminded Finn.

He hushed me with a look and turned his charm back to the check in assistant.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr O’Reilly, we’re just absolutely booked up.”

“No problem, doesn’t hurt to ask...you know, gain some points with the ol’ babysitter here.” He nudged me with his elbow and winked at her and she blushed.

I didn’t blame her.

“Here are your boarding passes and the First and Business Class lounges are just after security.”

“Thank you...” He said.

“Victoria,”

“Victoria, classy name for a classy woman. Thank you.”

He grabbed my carry on and made for the security line.

“What was that?” I puffed, trying to keep up with his long strides.

“What was what?”

“The upgrade thing.”

“Have you flown first class? Ever?”

“No. I’ve only lately been flying business, mostly so Larry and I can work.”

“Well then, consider yourself better off for not knowing what you’re missing out on. I just thought it’d make your flight more comfortable.”

“But, the company wouldn’t have...”

“Kara. My stepfather owns 65% of the company. I’m sure he can find some petty cash somewhere to make sure you get a good night’s sleep on your flight to Paris. Just say ‘thank you, Finn’.”

The word danced on my lips but I swallowed it down, it fell heavy like a rock down into the pit of my stomach. It’d be a long time before I’d express any sort of gratitude towards him for anything.

“Why? I’m still in Business class, aren’t I? I should say, ‘sorry your charms didn’t work’.”

“Ouch. Were you always this grouchy?”

The insults died on my lips. Every time he brought up any mention of us having a past, it made it harder for me to just see him as an annoying nuisance, and reminded me what he’d done to me. Broken my heart beyond repair.