Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,345

With a delicate flick of her wrist, she took the tops off and was again gone.

The aroma hit me first and my stomach growled so loud it could be heard over the engines.

“Lobster omelet with a light cream sauce and prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears. If anything is not to your liking I can have Gretchen make whatever you’d like.”

I inhaled again before picking up my fork. The first bite was heaven. Pure blissful heaven. I should have taken the time to marvel at how the cream sauce played with the flavor of the lobster without overpowering it, or how the saltiness of the prosciutto married perfectly against the slight bitterness of the asparagus, but my mouth was already hungrily gobbling the incredible food.

“It was acceptable then?” Madden asked with a lifted eyebrow and an amused smile.

I looked down and saw that my plate was empty. “Delicious, thank you.”

Once again Gretchen appeared and took our plates. “Would you like a cappuccino or a latte, Miss?”

This just kept getting better. “Cappuccino would be great, thank you.” Gretchen smiled at me then turned to Madden. “Your usual, Sir?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I stared out the window at the miles of blue sky. Aside from the initial panic at takeoff, I hadn’t given a thought to the fact that I was hundreds of miles above Earth. It probably helped not to be wedged between a screaming baby and a man wearing too much cologne.

I glanced at Madden from under my eyelashes. This man smelled amazing. Just the mix of cologne and him. Every time he got close I wanted to bury my nose in his neck and inhale.

“Here you are.” Gretchen set down our coffee and a plate of tiny bite sized cakes that had been elaborately decorated. This taste of how the other half lived was going to be very hard to give up after the two days were over. I took a mini layer cake and popped it into my mouth. Chocolate. God that was good.

“The agency said that you have a dual degree in Marketing and Accounting and that you graduated recently with a 4.0,” Madden said, pinning me with his stare. “So why is someone with that kind of pedigree cleaning toilets?”

The bite of cake turned to sawdust in my mouth. I took a large gulp of coffee to wash it down. No way was I going to spill the truth to him. “I guess I’m trying to figure out what to do next before I commit to anything.”

“The job offer from McKeller and Associates wasn’t good enough? They’re one of the best firms in the Northeast. Junior Associate would have paid a lot better than janitor. You wouldn't have to worry about sleeping in your car. Or eating.”

“How do you know all that?” I said.

And did he know the rest of it? Was he just toying with me to see which way I’d jump?

Deep-seated dread filled my muscles. What if he’d somehow found out why I’d left Maine? Even worse, what if Jacob had somehow put something on my record. I hadn’t thought about that until this very minute. Being a detective, he could have easily said just about anything; that I was a wanted criminal, that I had outstanding parking tickets. I waited, my breath in my throat, for Madden to demand to know why there was a warrant for my immediate arrest.

None of it would have surprised me. Jacob was capable of anything, which was why I’d run so fast and so far. But I needed to get further away still.

“Did you think I’d spend a weekend with someone I knew nothing about? What if you were a dangerous criminal?” Madden said, his expression giving away nothing.

Blood drained from my face. The breakfast I enjoyed so much threatened to come back up. I had nowhere to go, no escape. I watched Madden carefully, waited for him to accuse me of something terrible.

“I’m not a criminal,” I mumbled, feeling like I was, somehow. A criminal. A liar. Someone not worthy of his trust.

“So why did you leave a promising job and come to Boston?” He appeared to be relaxed as he drank his espresso, but I could see the astuteness in his eyes. It was no wonder he’d made a fortune in business. Authority radiated from him, even when he wasn’t trying to intimidate. I had a feeling that Madden Cross never missed anything going on around him.

“Don’t we all have skeletons in our closets?” I said, meeting his hard