Turbulent Intentions (Billionaire Aviators #1) - Melody Anne Page 0,22
she decided she wasn’t going to keep acting like an A-class klutz and she was certainly going to stand up for herself, which wasn’t something easy for her to do.
“I can’t figure out if you’re hitting on me or insulting me, but either way, your behavior is unacceptable.” There. That was good, she convinced herself.
Her anger partly stemmed from him not remembering her and partly because his attitude toward her was now ruining her one Cinderella moment in time. No, she hadn’t escaped at the stroke of midnight, but she had run away, though he’d never come calling for her. Not that she wanted him to, she told herself. But still, she sort of liked living with the fantasy of a lover lost.
He was no longer lost, dammit!
“I would never insult a beautiful woman,” he told her as he leaned a little closer across the counter. “However, I could give you a good night’s rest.”
Stormy didn’t know what to be more offended about, but she most certainly was horrified he would speak to her this way. Seriously, how could he not have even the smallest inkling of recognition?
Best sex in his life? Apparently not.
Her pride was wounded, and she was hurt, which made her words sharper than she normally ever spoke.
“You will never give me anything, especially not at night. I don’t go for coarse, primitive men like you,” she said, a bit too loudly in her attempt at being stern, making several heads turn in their direction. “I have standards.”
But right after snapping at him, her cheeks flushed as she looked around the rapidly filling coffeehouse. This was hardly the place for private discussions. People were going to assume she was crazy and a man-hater. She just might be a little bit of both.
He didn’t seem offended. “Well then,” he drawled.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. She was going to get into serious trouble if her boss came out from his office in the back.
“Don’t worry about it, doll. But while you’re standing there, maybe I could get my coffee.” He was still leaning in way too close for her comfort, and her body was still reacting to his.
With trembling fingers, she picked up the coffee cup and turned away before speaking just loudly enough for him to hear.
“Obviously another pilot with an ego big enough to make up for a small package.” Of course it was anything but small, but he didn’t know that she knew that.
“Stormy!”
Stormy’s shoulders hunched. Dang it, of course her boss would chose the exact moment she lost her cool to come and check on her. Now the wretched man would bust her for being less than her absolute best with a customer.
But Green Eyes had deserved her wrath. If only her boss were a woman, this would be so much easier to explain. However, Henry hadn’t liked her from day one, and now she was practically handing him a solid reason to fire her.
The man had a high-pitched, nasal voice that was like nails on a chalkboard. Henry was known as Mr. Customer Service and took any opportunity he could to insult the girls in front of the clientele. It was his petty form of vengeance, or so the theory went, for being turned down left and right by the opposite sex.
“Henry, I’m—”
Before Stormy could even finish, Henry interrupted. “Captain Armstrong, I’m sorry about the delay and about Ms. Halifax’s behavior. This one is on us.”
“No, no, everything is fine,” Captain Armstrong said with a smile. “Ms. Halifax is clearly having a rough morning, and maybe she just wasn’t getting my sense of humor.” As the man spoke to Henry, his eyes never left Stormy, as if to apologize for the entire scene he’d helped create.
It didn’t matter. Despite his clear remorse, she was still seething.
“Nevertheless, your coffee’s on us,” Henry said before turning to Stormy. “Finish with the captain, and then immediately join me in my office.”
Stormy’s heart sank to her stomach. Her day had just gone from bad to worse. She had zero doubt that she was about to get canned—and on the same day she’d received an eviction notice. What was next, getting struck by a rare strike of Seattle lightning?
As she began to come to terms with the gravity of her situation, images of living on the streets or staying at a homeless shelter began to circle in her mind. Jobs, even service jobs, didn’t come easy, especially if you’d been fired from your last one.