"I need your help making sense of my schedule for the next day or two -- if that's okay with you of course. Margaret always does that, too."
"I'm not a personal assistant," she said, "but I'll do my very best."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine." He said without any trace of doubt. "My little brother has dropped you into the hot seat, so don't worry. I'll expect a learning curve. Anyway, there's only a day or two of business and then it's all fun after that. You know how to have fun, don't you?"
"Actually, I haven't really had time for much fun lately, so I may be out of practice."
He looked concerned.
"Is that so?" He said, and took a step closer to her. "Well, we'll have to see about that. A beautiful young woman like you? That is just a tragedy. We'll have to make sure this is a trip to remember, okay?"
"It's okay. I'm happy just to see the island. I know I'm here just as your employee, so really there's no need to worry on my account."
"Oh yes, that's right. And colleagues shouldn't ever have fun together, right? I think I saw that in a HR manual somewhere." He gave her a mischievous grin. He was irresistible. If he said the word, she wasn't sure if she would be able to stay strong. But she would be the one to get burned, not him.
"Anyway, you won't be working around the clock, Melanie. Everyone is entitled to some downtime. Sebastian and I aren't slave drivers, you know and the island is like a second home to us, so we'd love to show you around Tahiti.
Oh great 'we'. Psycho brother Sebastian as well.
"So if you could just get a handle on my itinerary, that would be a huge help. Everything you need to know is in there. Any questions, just let me know, okay?"
She nodded. What else could she do?
Alex left the bedroom for the spacious en-suite bathroom and she set to familiarizing herself with his agenda. She had worked only a few minutes when she heard Sebastian's voice again.
"Hey," he was shouting from the dining area. "I need those tails for God's sake!"
What a king-sized asshole.
She jumped up and headed back out to the kitchen area.
"I'm sorry Mr. Drummond. Your brother called me away. How would you like your meal served?"
"Cold. On a plate. In the cockpit." He turned and left her.
Double asshole.
She dished the tails out onto a plate and set it on a tray to bring to the cockpit. When she got there, he was hunched over the controls.