Love Me (Trust Series #2) (12 page)

Ben interrupts my thoughts, “Congratulations to you both on your recent marriage.”

Right now, the only thing I can manage is a polite smile, so I’m glad when Damien takes charge of the conversation.

“Thank you, Ben. We’re incredibly happy. Did you bring those contracts we discussed?”

“Yes, sir. I have them ready for you to review.” He pulls some papers out of his briefcase.

With that, we are back on track, acting as if everything is okay.

Damien and Ben launch into various business discussions as I look out the window. Normally, I listen a little to hear what’s going on, but the sound of Ben’s voice drives me absolutely mad right now. Damien grabs my hand and starts rubbing it soothingly.

My attention snaps back to the conversation when I hear Ben clear his voice.

“Sir, your parents called and wanted tickets to tonight’s team event. They asked for three, and I gave directions to the PR team to add them to the list.”

Ugh, his parents are going to be there.
I knew seeing them was going to happen eventually, but I was just hoping for later rather than sooner. This will just make the night a whole lot more interesting. I’m glad I’ve kept my neutral façade in place because the last thing I need is for Ben telling Cassandra about my utter contempt for Meredith and Jon. I’m sure Damien’s parents aren’t horrible at the core, but to do what they’ve done to their son is inexcusable.

“That’s fine, Ben. However, I only want them having two tickets,” Damien responds, adding a little bit of chill to his voice.

Watching Ben closely, I can see a slight tightening in his eyes.
Ben’s good.
I guess he would have to be in order to keep the façade up.
Cassandra must give him sex in return for favors.
Maybe I’ll add
prostitute
,
slut
, and
promiscuous
to the dictionary I want to send to her with highlighted words. I’ve already highlighted
stalker
,
liar
,
infidelity
,
loyalty
,
bitch
, and
irritant
from all her escapades prior to us getting married.

“Yes, sir. I’ll have it changed.”

Damien puts his attention back to reviewing the contracts.

Before I know it, we are pulling into the airport. The two security guards disembark first, Ben and Damien then exit, and I follow.

We immediately go into the plane where two college-age kids greet us. It looks like they have already been hitting the alcohol fairly heavily. I can feel Damien tense beside me at the mess we’ve walked into. Drunken fools irritate him to no end.

Geez, they are sitting right in front of our loveseat.
This means they are going to be overly obnoxious as they try to impress Damien the entire way.

They eye me curiously as we take our seats. Damien doesn’t introduce me, which is a sign he’s not fond of these guys. Like usual, when flying with people for business, I sit right next to Damien, pull out my e-reader, and lay it on my lap. Damien gives me an indulging smile, which I return. The two guys riding with us have not taken their eyes off me since we boarded the plane, and I can tell that Damien is becoming more agitated by their blatant staring. It’s making me a little uncomfortable, and I just keep my head down, trying to engross myself in my book that is still in my lap.

Damien’s about to say something, but then Bane approaches the men. “Excuse me, but for security purposes I need to ask you to take the seats in front.”

Instantly, I love Mr. Badass—platonically, of course.

They are so plastered that they sway as they move to the front of the plane.

In a low whisper, I ask, “How long have they been on here?”

Damien doesn’t take his eyes off them as he responds to me. “About forty minutes. Fucking morons. They’re hitching a ride as a favor to one of the major sponsors.”

They definitely aren’t like the normal executives we ride with. Generally, the executives or sponsors who ride with us try to pump Damien for information. I’d say they’re three sheets to the wind, spoiled college boys.

From the front, I hear, “Fuck me, she’s hot. I hope that’s his sister.”

When Damien goes to stand up, I’m actually afraid he’s going to deck the college kid who just spoke. I put my hand on his legs as Bane has already approached them.

Whatever he says causes both of them to briefly look back. The original offender says, “Sorry, Mrs. Wales.”

I go with a bland smile and look back down at my e-reader. Peeking up at Damien, I can sense he’s still warring with himself on whether he should teach them a lesson.

Soothingly, I say, “Let it go. They’re drunk.”

“Those horny bastards made an inappropriate comment about my wife.”

I give him a light tap on the knee and turn to him. In a low voice, I say, “It’s been handled. Focus on my next lesson. I’ll need a refresher course before the game tomorrow. I can’t wait to see Sam’s face when she realizes you’ve won.”

He lets out a long breath. The two drunks up front don’t even realize the ass-beating I just saved them from.

Damien gives me one of his sexy grins. “You have gotten behind on your lessons.”

His sensual tone has the air thick with desire, and I lick my lips as I relive parts of our honeymoon.

Playfully, I respond, “What do you call Italy then?”

“The halftime show,” he responds.

I have to bite my lip in order to stop myself from tackling him on the spot to relieve the dull burn that has started in my lower half.

“Hmm, I like halftime.”

His devilish grin broadens at my response.

Hoping there’s time before the event tonight, I ask. “What time is the event tonight?”

“I like where your thoughts are going, baby.”

Geez, he has a straight line to my libido anytime he gets that look.

The captain makes an announcement that we are next to take off. I try to push what I actually want to the back of my mind because I’m not going to do anything to provoke anyone on the plane today, considering how volatile it’s already been.

My head immediately snaps down to my e-reader, and I focus on the words.

Halfway through the flight, I’m snuggled against Damien’s side while I’m engrossed in my book. The two guys are now getting what I assume are very watered-down drinks as they converse with Ben. I’m not sure how he can even understand what they’re saying because of all their slurring.

Damien brings his head down to mine. “Are you okay with my parents being there tonight? With our current situation, I didn’t want anything to be reported back to them. I won’t allow them to disrespect you, Alli.”

“It’s fine. Maybe now that we’re married, it’ll be different. You said that they would want some kind of reception, and I’m fine with it, Damien. You gave me my dream wedding. I will do whatever you want to do on this. We’re married, and nothing else matters.”

He picks up my hand and gives it a light kiss as he rubs my wedding ring. Images from that day come back to my mind.

“It’s you and me, Damien. I don’t care about all the other stuff.”

“Good, baby, because you’re everything to me. I want to run something else by you that I’ve been thinking about.”

I can sense he’s not sure of what my response will be to whatever he’s about to tell me.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Do you remember when we were at the event in Vegas?”

I shudder at the memory.

“I know, baby. I didn’t mean to bring that up. The part I was referencing was when you said that Sam would make a great undercover employee to help me snag players easily and cheaply.”

I think back on it for a minute and then giggle. “Yes, that sounds vaguely familiar. You want to offer her a job, don’t you?”

He gives me that cat-ate-the-canary look. “I do. I think my new sister-in-law will prove to be quite useful. It’s up to you though.”

“Don’t be crazy. Of course you can. She’s going to be ecstatic. You know she’s going to take it, right?”

Sam will be so excited when she gets this offer. I love that I will be able to see her when we travel.

“I have a feeling that she will. So, you’re good with it?”

“Yes, completely. The players aren’t going to know what hit them. Plus, it’ll soften the blow when you win the bet. She’s going to be pissed.”

He chuckles lightly as I give him a kiss on the cheek. He’s not only making my dreams come true, but he’s also giving Sam something she has only dreamed about.

He leans in closer. “I wanted to let you know that I’ve finished the message to Martin, and I will give it to Bane when we get off the plane.”

I totally forgot about Damien having a gambling ring with all the news of Ben sleeping with Cassandra. Damien hands me his tablet.

On the screen is a simple message.

I look at him, confused.
How in the world is that a message?

Damien leans in and whispers in my ear, “It translates to,
Next clue, Mar
. We used to put
Dam
or
Mar
at the end of our messages. It was our safety net, so to say. The code is in the email address. The underscore separates the message. The first number in each set represents the number of lines the following numbers relate to. So, the first number
two
tells Martin to look at the first two lines, and the following numbers tell him to take the first, third, and sixth letter from both lines. After the underscore, the number
one
tells him to look at one line and take the first, fourth, ninth, tenth, and fifteenth letters from that last line.”

Looking at the article, I make out the message.

There’s no way anyone can hear Damien over the plane engines.

I let out a little snort. “You guys really used to communicate this way? What happens when people call the paper and say the email address is bad?”

He takes the tablet back as he responds. “They won’t because the email address works. I just set it up, and they will get an automated message, thanking them for the resume and telling them they will be contacted if we are interested.”

This is so intriguing.
There’s no way that I could do something like this. I would be so nervous about getting caught. I know my actions would scream,
I’m doing something wrong.