RISE - Part One (The RISE Series Book 1)
Read RISE - Part One (The RISE Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Deborah Bladon
COPYRIGHT
First Original Edition, July 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Deborah Bladon
ISBN: 9781926440293
Cover Design by
Wolf & Eagle Media
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations either are the product of the author's imagination or are used factiously.
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.
"I know you, don't I?"
He doesn't. He's been watching me from across the room since he walked in right after the first model hit the catwalk. I expected all kinds of men to file through the door tonight. Even though I arranged for the premiere fashion show of the Liore lingerie brand to be held in an abandoned warehouse on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, I knew it would draw a specific, upscale crowd.
One glance around the room and it's easy to spot the familiar celebrity faces, but hidden within the throngs of people who have gathered in this space are friends of the company's owner and the competition, clearly visible beneath the mask of a grin and a small lie about being an acquaintance of one of the models.
I'd tossed the guest list aside when I saw the first media crew approaching the sliding metal door that leads into the space. I wanted the attention, and if it meant people who weren't invited drifted in to watch the parade of scantily clad women march up and down the makeshift stage that was constructed hours ago, I'm on board. Gabriel Foster, the owner of the Liore boutiques, paid me well to get as many eyes as I can manage on his product, and I've done that, in spades.
"Excuse me." The stranger taps me on the forearm. "I think we've met."
I look up and into his face. It's handsome. It's so handsome that I'd remember meeting him, or even seeing him in passing on the street.
"I'm sorry," I say patiently. "I'm very busy right now. I assure you that we've never met."
"You're 2B," he murmurs in a deep growl. "I remember you from the lavatory."
I moved to New York City six months ago after graduating from college. I've had my fair share of men hit on me, which says little about the way I look and more about the fact that single women in this city seem to be a rarity. I may have stood out in a crowd back in the small town I lived in on the outskirts of Boston, but here, in one of the most populous cities in the world, my long dark hair and green eyes don't set me apart. I'm just another woman who doesn't sport a diamond ring on her left hand which means I'm ripe for the attention of any man who is looking for someone to warm the other half of his bed.
I've grown accustomed to the expected requests to buy me a drink and within that there have been a few who have actually approached me with an intelligent conversation in their back pocket, but this one, this may be the one that I'll remember long after tonight.
"The lavatory?" I adjust my left heel, hoping that the movement will relieve the pressure I feel on the ball of my foot. I've been wearing these shoes all day and I'm ready to head home to kick them off so I can crawl into a warm tub.
"You were on a flight from Milan to JFK the week before last." His blue eyes rake over my black dress. "You were wearing a red skirt, white blouse and your hair was pulled back, tight, into a ponytail."
What the fuck?
I part my lips to say something, anything, but the dark haired, bearded stranger isn't done yet.
"You sat in business class, first class, actually on that flight. You were assigned seat 2B."
I was. I remember it clearly because I'd asked for that specific seat. It's the one I always request. I wouldn't say I'm a nervous flyer but if I can quiet my anxiety over being thousands of miles in the air in a confined space with dozens of strangers, I'll do it. That particular seat has always kept me safe so why mess with a good thing?
"You walked out of the lavatory. I was standing there, next to you and I remember the scent of your perfume." His hand reaches down. I don't protest as he gently grabs my wrist and brings it to his face. He inhales, slowly.
I look around the room, wanting to find a familiar face that will ground me in this moment. There's no way this is happening. I'd remember if this man sat next to me on a flight. I'd recall the curve of his strong jaw and the sound of his voice.
"I'm sorry. I don't remember," I admit.
"Allow me to introduce myself then." He slides his fingers up my wrist until his hand is cradling mine. "I'm Landon Beckett. Captain Landon Beckett."
"Captain?" I ask tentatively, realization washing over me.
His full lips curve into a wry smile. "Yes. I was piloting the airplane."
My stomach knots. It's him. I thought I'd never see him again. There's no way he knows about the conversation I had with the woman sitting next to me. He can't know that, can he? "It's nice to meet you."
"It's my pleasure, Ms. Marlow, or can I call you Tess?"
I take a step back as I feel a flush race over my body. "How do you know my name?"
"That's an interesting story." He crosses his arms over his chest. "Where do I begin?"
`My gaze falls past his shoulder to where Gabriel is motioning towards me. He's the man who wrote me a sizable check tonight. I'm technically still on the clock and if I drop the ball at any point before the end of this evening, the chances of me landing another job planning an event for Foster Enterprises is going to evaporate as quickly as all that expensive champagne I had the servers bring out before the fashion show began. My plan has always been to secure at least one event under the hand of either Gabriel or his brother, Caleb Foster. I know that if I impress tonight, I'm on my way to an exclusive contract with their global organization which will finally put my burgeoning event planning company on the Manhattan social scene map.
"I'm sorry," I say as I level my eyes back on Landon's face. "I'm working."
"I know." He dips his chin towards me as he adjusts his navy blue tie.
My eyes dart from Gabriel's waving hand to the smug grin on Landon's face.
He knows?
I shouldn't be surprised by that fact. People have been approaching me all evening. Some have been looking for answers to the most mundane questions about seating, where the washroom facilities are and whether there's going to be a media area for the models to be interviewed. Others, including many of the wait staff, are in search of who to talk to regarding their stipend for the night. It's been a whirlwind few hours, but judging by the grin on Gabriel's face, I've done my job.
"I need to go." I move to brush past him. "It was nice to meet you."
The words carry the same hollow meaning as my expression. At any other moment in time, I'd likely stay to talk. I'd ask him the expected questions about how he knows my name and where he gained the knowledge that I'm working at the event, but at best, he'd captivate me long enough to take me to bed for a night or two. I know all about the unspoken expectations in this city. Sex is great. Great sex is even better but it's not going to pay my bills.
"You're not even curious about how I know your name?"
There it is. That's the bait that he hopes will lure me back. My racing mind has quieted enough to find its logical balance again. When he arrived at the fashion show tonight he recognized me from the flight. It's not surprising given the fact that I let out a shrill scream and fisted the front of his shirt with both hands as I exited the lavatory right when the plane tipped to the left because of turbulence. In my focused fear I had one thing on my mind. That was survival, so the fact that I don't recognize his face shouldn't surprise me as much as it does.
If I was the type of woman to place a wager, I'd bet that the handsome man standing in front of me asked someone in this room for my name before he approached me. It was the right thing to say to get me to stop dead in my tracks. He can't know that tonight is the single most important evening in my career. If I stumble off that course, I'll lose the advantage that I've worked so hard to gain.
"Someone is waiting to speak to me." I absentmindedly gesture in Gabriel's vicinity. "Please enjoy yourself. Again, it was nice to meet you."
"Wait." His hand leaps back to mine and I'm suddenly aware of how strongly his touch impacts me. I stare at our hands. Mine is hidden within the palm of his. I'm struck by how soft his skin is. The contrast between that and the firmness etched into his one word command stops me again.
I open my mouth to protest but any words that may have jumped from my lips are forced back into the pit of my stomach when the gravity of what he says next hits me. "You forgot an envelope on the airplane. Someone from the airline should have called you about it by now."
"No." I pull free from his grasp. "That's not mine. I didn't forget it."
"It's not yours?" He pauses as his eyes study my face. "The letter inside the envelope was addressed to you."
I blush when I realize that he most likely read the letter in its entirety. It was meant for my eyes only. I had reread it for a fifth time before I had deliberately tucked it into the pocket on the back of the seat in front of me as the airplane began its descent into New York. I hadn't questioned my decision to leave it there knowing that it saved me the pain of having to toss it directly into the trash myself. "It was mine. I just meant that I don't want it anymore."
"You don't want it?" His jaw tightens with the words.
"It can be thrown away." I nod towards Gabriel as I take a step away from Landon. "I left it on the plane because it's garbage."
"Garbage?" A disarming smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. "You consider it to be garbage?"
"Yes." I exhale as the word floats quietly from me. "I have to go."
His tongue darts over his bottom lip before his eyes fall to the floor. "It's a marriage proposal. The guy who wrote it clearly is crazy about you."
He has no idea what he's talking about. A few hastily-jotted-down romantic words don't negate all the pain that preceded them. A big diamond ring and a lavish wedding won't cure what plagued my last relationship. "I'll call the lost and found department of the airline tomorrow to take care of it myself. You didn't have to come all the way down here to tell me about it."
The bereft look on his face almost seems genuine but the glint in his eye quells any question about the amusement he's finding in my obvious discomfort. "I didn't come all the way down here to tell you about it. I was invited here. I happened to recognize you when I walked in."
"You were invited here?" Any attempt I may have made to hide the surprise in my voice hasn't worked. I highly doubt this man's interest in tonight's fashion show has anything to do with the business side of the Liore brand. He must be dating one of the models. I can't stifle my curiosity so I blurt out one last question just as I catch sight, out of the corner of my eye, of someone quickly approaching us. "Who invited you?"
"It was at my request. We're old friends." Gabriel steps into my view just as he rests his hand on Landon's shoulder. "How do you two know each other?"
I open my mouth to try and explain why I've spent the past five minutes appearing to ignore Gabriel in favor of talking to Landon. I should have walked away the moment he approached me. "I was on a flight…"
"Tess," Landon interrupts me with a soft touch on my forearm. "Allow me. Tess was on a flight I piloted a couple of weeks ago. We met briefly then."
I feel a sigh of relief pour through me when he neglects to mention the mini panic attack I had. I know that part of being the exclusive event planner for Gabriel's company is going to involve lots of travel. I don't want him to view me as a scared doe who can't handle that aspect of the job.
"I didn't know you two were friends," I begin as my mind searches for a way to move the conversation away from the flight and into the present, and more importantly, the future. I'm determined to prove to Gabriel Foster that I'm the woman who should be planning each and every event his company, and all of its subsidiaries, has lined up for the next year, and beyond.
"Gabriel, has your mother mentioned meeting Tess?" Landon scoops his arm around my waist. "They actually sat next to one another on that flight."
"No." I absentmindedly feel my head shake slightly from side-to-side. Whenever I'm anxious, I can't shut myself up and on that long flight from Milan to New York, I talked non-stop to Gianna, the beautiful, older woman, seated in 2A. One subject of discussion I got stuck on was the pilot of the airplane. I had rambled on incessantly about how deep his voice was and how expertly he handled the aircraft. I can't be certain, but after my second glass of wine, I may have whispered to her, that I'd even consider joining the mile high club with him. "That can't be right."
"It's right." Landon cocks a brow as he looks down at me. "It's a small world, isn't it?"
"It's a small world indeed." Gabriel nods. "I need a moment, Tess."
I need a cave to hide in.
"We'll catch up after you're done." Landon's voice carries through the air behind me as Gabriel guides me towards a quiet corner. I don't turn to look back. I won't. Any catching up he has to do is with Gabriel. I have no intention of ever seeing Captain Beckett again.