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He was definitely going to kill Gretchen when he got back

He averted his gaze and pulled a throw blanket over her legs so she was modest "Sleep We’ll talk later"

"Not tired," she said, and then ruined it by yawning hugely

"Stay there anyhow," he commanded her

It didn’toff to sleep He watched her for a er, co his face to refocus, he left the small room, shut the door, and returned to his chair

And picked up his phone so he could finish his text to Hunter Your girlfriend is dead to h

She’s rotten She’s wearing a polyester zip-up suit It’s disgraceful I’m supposed to mix with royalty this ith her atpause, and then Hunter responded Gretchen says that you’re a snob And Maylee is very sweet and hardworking We didn’t lie about that She was also the only one available at the last et

I aive a shit, really And she’s going back on the first flight I can dump her on

Suit yourself, Hunter texted back And a h SNOBSNOBSNOBBYSNOB

Griffin rolled his eyes I hate you, Gretchen Give the phone back to Hunter

He got nothing but a s Maylee at Heathroere discarded when the wo stop Griffin briefly conte her at the airport as soon as she woke up, but he wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d be unconscious If it was six hours, he didn’t want to loiter on a runway

He could just as easily leave her at the airport in Bellissime, after all

So they flew on toward his home country, and Griffin napped in his chair since the bloody woman had his bed When he awoke, he sel and then, an hour out fro into a dark navy jacket with his fao full regalia sih he knew there would be photographers waiting to see his exit from the plane A jacket and tie would be fine

Except that he couldn’t make his blasted tie work

Normally Kip was on hand to tie it for him, and in his daily life, he preferred to have no tie at all But now? To show up in his ho with his collar open? He would never hear the end of it So he stared at the mirror and cussed to hiain

And failed each time

Maylee woke up, confused as to where she was The lights were off and she was lying in a bed, but she could hear the roar of a plane engine These things did not make sense She sat up in the bed and felt around until she found a bedside las

She was in a small room in what must have been the back of the plane A picture on the wall of a faons, stared back at her She blinked rapidly, trying to recall how she’d gotten into this roo her pill Oh, dear Had she even met Mr Griffin? Her mouth had an awful taste in it, and she licked her lips Why didn’t she reot up froone When had she lost those? That made her panic a little, but a quick check showed she was still wearing her cotton panties and her dress was intact That was good, at least Maybe those drinks Megan had given her were stronger than she’d thought

She found a bathrooasped at her reflection Her hair was practically standing up on end, frizzy curls everywhere Drool tracks lined her s under her puffy eyes She looked awful Maylee turned on the tap, scrubbed her face, and wet her hands, trying to tame the worst of her curls Oh, God, she really hoped Mr Griffin hadn’t seen her like this He’d think she was a tu her appearance as best she could, Maylee straightened her dress and gave it an approving nod Polyester was a great fabric--she’d slept in the thing and nary a wrinkle That was perfect With one final s touch to her hair, Maylee left the bathrooed fro, buttery-soft leather chairs at the far end of the plane An upraised newspaper hid his face fro to recall what he looked like Young? Old? Ugly? Had to be old if he was able to afford a jet like this, she decided Elderly people were nice people, weren’t they? She rather hoped he was nice

Maylee cleared her throat "Mr Griffin?"

The paper folded A man stared at her from behind it, a frown on his face

Wellhe wasn’t old His dark hair was slicked down into a neat part, and black-fraular and pleasant and average, she supposed If she’d have passed hiave her a dismissive look "Are we back to ourselves now?"

She resisted the urge to rub her eyes like a sleepy child "Beg pardon, sir?"

"I’ to assume that’s a yes" He folded the paper and set it aside, then stood He was tall, she realized, that dark, slicked hair al of the plane He wore a crisp navy jacket with a symbol on one pocket, khaki-colored slacks, and a loose bow tie hung around his neck, as if he hadn’t quite finished dressing

"I’ the urge to twist her hands in anxiety "Did I fall asleep or solasses "I trust you don’t re ," he said in a sour voice He gave her an unhappy look Maylee straightened her clothes, but he turned to a an to jerk at the tie around his neck, trying to tie itand doing a rather lousy job