Chapter 2 This Woman Is Something Else

• Cynthia nearly choked on her own rage when she heard the man’s accusation. He thinks I’m here trying to swindle money! While she could not deny that James was quite the looker, that didn’t mean she had to take such indignation. She thought he rather deserved a hard slap on the face for insulting her the way he had.
• Her blood was boiling as she squared her shoulders and snapped, “Are you delusional? You bumped into me and made me drop my notebook! Let me make one thing absolutely clear: you will not be leaving this airport today until you fix your mess!”
• James’ brows drew even closer together as he raised his arm and checked the time on his watch.
• Cynthia saw this and knew that he was in a hurry. She, on the other hand, had nothing to lose. After all, she was bound to miss her flight at this rate anyway, and she wouldn’t mind catching a different flight home if it meant she could get the guy to apologize for his mistake.
• “Young Master James…” Charles was breaking out in a cold sweat, though he was secretly impressed by the girl’s bravado.
• Anyone else might ordinarily have been thrown out of the airport!
• “Settle this right away; I don’t want us wasting any more time,” James finally conceded, albeit unwillingly. In all honesty, he couldn’t care less about such trivial matters. The meeting with Miss Wendy obviously took priority over this.
• Having instructed Charles, James led his team of eight bodyguards away from the scene, but not before throwing Cynthia a long, hard look. He had never in his entire life encountered a woman who snapped at him as boldly and spitefully as she had, and he found himself thinking grimly, Well played! I’m going to remember this!
• At the sight of James’ retreating figure, Charles did not dawdle any longer and instantly whipped out the checkbook from his pocket, thereafter scribbling on a sum. He signed off the check and handed it over to a fuming Cynthia as he explained hastily, “Take this as compensation for the damage we’ve caused to your notebook, miss, though without further evidence, we can’t do much other than add onto the compensation for the information you claimed to have lost. Unless, of course, there’s some way for you to prove that you really did lose important or priceless content. Also, here’s my name card; give me a call if there’s anything else I can help you with on this matter.”
• Then, he spun on his heels and left without sparing her a second glance.
• Rooted to the same spot, Cynthia glanced down at the sum that had been scribbled onto the check. A hundred thousand, she realized in astonishment. That’s more than enough to get myself a new notebook, but my designs are worth more than this!
• “How in the world does one become so unlucky that one runs into an a*shole like that?!” she cursed as she stomped her foot. She shot a deadly glare in the direction where James and his entourage had gone and prayed furtively that she would never meet the infuriating man again.
• Alas, fate was less complying than she might have hoped for.
• Fifteen minutes after the heated encounter, Cynthia made her way into the business-class section of her flight, only to find James sitting there. More to the point, he was—much to her dismay—in the seat right next to hers.
• Upon seeing her, the ever-experienced Charles immediately barred her from taking another step forward. “Miss, I think I’ve made myself very clear just now regarding the compensation. Must you be so insistent?”
• Clearly, he had mistaken her to be a fanatic who was obsessed over James.
• Meanwhile, Cynthia’s frustration was renewed at this twisted turn of events, but she remained composed as she drawled, “The only thing I’m insistent on is getting to my seat. I bought a business-class ticket, so it’s not as if I’d go anywhere else.”
• “What?” Charles froze, a little taken aback by her answer.
• She ignored him and stepped around his frame, then walked up to James. “Excuse me, but I’m going to need you to move so I can get to my seat.”
• James did not budge, and instead, his lips curled into a smirk as he pointed out with a wicked gleam in his eyes, “You’re a pesky one, aren’t you? Why don’t you go ahead and lunge over into your seat?”
• She blinked at him, rendered speechless by his audacity. Lunge over? Just how am I supposed to do that? Do I put one leg over his lap like an acrobat? That would put us in a ridiculous position!
• Not wanting to compromise on this, she cast a sideways glance at the empty seat across the aisle, then took it instead of getting into yet another fight with the man.
• However, she had only just settled into the new seat when she heard James ask aloud, “Charles, aside from the seat next to mine, have you bought all the other seats here?”
• “Yes, Young Master James!” Charles replied respectfully.
• “Very well. In that case, would you mind going back to your own seat, young lady? I don’t like other people taking up seats that I’ve paid for,” James said with a devilish grin, the look of dark amusement on his face making Cynthia’s fists curl up with the urge to punch him.
• She thought she might implode out of anger. He’s riling me up on purpose! She rose from her new seat glumly and proceeded to return to her original one, only to see James’ leg stuck out to obstruct her way, keeping her from the seat that was rightfully hers.
• Suppressing the rage that threatened to consume her, Cynthia asked, “You know what, mister? Seeing as you won’t let me have one of your many seats, why don’t you switch places instead?”
• “No way!” he retorted impishly, using the same tone she had back at the airport.
• She prompted with forced patience, “You could sit anywhere else you like, so why are you so determined to sit next to me? Won’t you find it irritating?”
• “Not at all.”
• “You—” The anger went out of her when she heard his imperious tone. Deciding that she would not stoop to his level, she gritted her teeth and boldly crossed one leg over the top of his knees.
• The strange position was more scandalous than anything else, and the moment she propelled herself over him, she effectively bridged the distance between them. They were close enough that she could smell the attractive, masculine scent of his cologne.
• James, on the other hand, hadn’t expected her to be quite so daring. I can’t believe she actually lunged over, he thought as a look of interest flashed in his dark orbs. He let out a low chuckle. This woman is something else!
• Determined to ignore James for the rest of the flight, Cynthia ordered a sandwich and a glass of juice the moment she settled down in her seat.
• The flight from New York City to Kingsbury was well over ten hours; she would have to put some food in her stomach and take a long nap if she was going to deal with the pests back home.
• Soon, the air stewardess came over with her orders.
• Cynthia took the sandwich first, but just as she reached over James’ lap to take the juice, her hand trembled, though there was no telling if she had done it accidentally or deliberately.
• At that moment, the juice in the glass spilled over and unfortunately splattered onto the man’s rather private area.
• The air around them seemed to have frozen over as a pregnant silence fell over the business class.
• The air stewardess gaped at the mess in shock, and the bodyguards, too, were left entirely dumbfounded. Charles, in particular, felt the corner of his lips twitch in disbelief. Damn it, of all places for the juice to spill over, why the hell did it have to soak through his crotch? As if that isn’t bad enough, Young Master James is a clean freak, and terminally so!
• Mortified, Charles peered cautiously at James’ face, and sure enough, it was as dark as a stormy sky.
• But even in the midst of a brewing ultimatum, Cynthia feigned innocence as she chastised the hapless air stewardess, “Oh, my, look what you’ve done! You’ve spilled juice all over the guest. You ought to clean up the mess!”
• Snapping out of her daze, the air stewardess apologized frantically, “Oh! I’m so sorry, sir. I’ll clean this up right away!” She took paper napkins to clean up the spill on the front of James’ pants.
• She would have been fine if she had left the mess alone, but the very moment she started to wipe down the front of his trousers, James’ face darkened even more. He looked murderous as he clutched the air stewardess’ wrist fiercely and roared, “Where the hell do you think you’re wiping?”
• “I-I—” The air stewardess was so frightened that all the color drained out of her face. She was glued to her spot, stiff and not daring to move a muscle.
• “Get out of my sight!” James’ husky voice came out in a growl.
• Next to him, Cynthia could feel his boiling fury, but instead of backing down, she added insult to injury by pointing out placidly, “A little unnecessary for you to lose your temper over a small accident like this, don’t you think? It’s not as if she meant to ruin your pants.”
• “Get out—” he bit out once more, then rose from his seat sullenly. He pushed the air stewardess out of the way and stormed toward the restroom.
• Presently, Charles felt his breath hitch as he shot a bewildered look at the fearless lady.
• Did she have to go and aggravate Young Master James like that? Isn’t she the least bit concerned that she might find herself locked in a suitcase and thrown out of the plane?