Capsizing Her Billionaire Boss - Sarah Gay Page 0,5
at the tired faces of his brothers, Mazy and her twin Millie, who sat next to her husband, Nate Grant. Everyone looked beaten and exhausted, yet relieved. Nate stood and walked over to a small conference table where Kai sat across from an unfamiliar woman. The woman leapt from her seat and embraced Nate. Damian’s eyes narrowed. Why were Kai and Nate so friendly with the beautiful woman when they were both married?
“Wyatt, do you know who that woman is?” asked Damian.
Wyatt took a second to answer. “Looks like Poppy.”
“Poppies?” Damian ran his fingers through his hair. Wyatt was more out of it than he’d thought. “Never mind. I think it’s time you got some rest.”
Wyatt cleared his throat as he sat up. “Seriously. Her name is Poppy. I met her the last time I was in Costa Rica. She works for Kai, but I think I heard Nate say something about her being his cousin when we stepped onto the jet. She’s some kind of brilliant businesswoman. I want to say she’s close to your age because he hired her straight out of college.”
“Interesting.” Damian rubbed his chin. “Do you know if she’s dating anyone?”
“Last I heard, she’s got a nice guy in the wings, but Kai made it sound like he’s more like a friend.” He grinned. “I caught her looking at you a couple of times.”
Damian leaned his side into Wyatt’s seat and lowered his voice. “Looking at me? How?”
“Well, her eyes came this way, then they didn’t, then they did again.” Wyatt laughed.
“You know what I mean,” Damian said, playfully punching Wyatt’s arm. “And you might not want to test me right now. I could whip the snot out of you.”
Wyatt threw his head back and laughed with more gusto, causing everyone to look at the two of them, including Poppy. Her eyes locked with Damian’s. A soft smile lit her green eyes and caused the corners of her mouth to lift. Her golden skin glowed. “Angel,” he whispered. “I never knew angels were so tanned.”
The captain announced that they’d leveled off at an altitude where they wouldn’t have to worry about additional turbulence during the flight. Kai stood and motioned for Damian to take his seat across from Poppy, then disappeared down a hallway toward the back of the plane.
“Why are you still standing here?” asked Wyatt. “Go talk to your angel.”
“You heard that?” said Damian.
With a shake of his head and a deep chuckle, Wyatt expelled a long breath. He closed his eyes and less than three seconds later, he was out cold.
Nice guy in the wings, Damian repeated to himself as he tapped Wyatt’s armrest in thought. He’d been told more than once that he himself was a nice guy, then he’d been permanently placed in the friend category. Maybe what Poppy wanted wasn’t a nice guy at all. Maybe the only way to get her attention was with excitement and passion—a bad boy with a pretty face.
“I can do that,” Damian said, walking toward her with what he hoped was an expression of seductive indifference. He felt her eyes on him as he slowly made his way across the cabin to her. The hair on the top of his head brushed the ceiling of the plane. He slipped into the roomy leather seat in front of her and raised his eyes to her inquisitive stare. “I’m Damian,” he said in his deepest voice.
Her cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink mixed with olive and gold. The shimmer of her skin stole his breath, but he played it off with a yawn.
“I know,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “I have a proposition for you.”
It’s working! On the inside, he danced but, on the outside, he simply smiled until he noticed a ring on her finger. His brain went into overdrive. What do bad boys do? he asked himself. They fight. “If I accept your proposition, am I going to have to fight whoever gave you that ring?” he said, eyeing the band on her finger.
Poppy froze, then blinked rapidly a few times. “Ah, that’s not what I…” She looked down at her hand. “It’s not like that.”
With the ambient noise of the jet engines, he was pretty sure none of his brothers could hear their conversation, but for affect, he lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “You’re not taken, then?” he asked, running his palm along the side of her hand. He touched her ring, then pulled his fingers down her ring