Chapter 5

After handing over the luggage to one of the airport staffs, they entered the plane. The interiors of the plane could put any of the ones featured in magazines to shame. Everything about the plane reflected elegance and class. Never in her wildest dreams had Annette thought that she would have a chance to travel in such luxury.

The beige and gold combination gave off a posh, sophisticated look. Annette was almost sure that this was a dream, if not for her CEO standing behind her. No, 'the' CEO, not 'her', she reprimanded herself.

Annette took a seat in one of the closest window seats and frowned as Zach took up the one right in front of her, facing her. His devilishly handsome smirk right in place, giving her a confirmation of the impending nerve wrecking ride for her.

Out of all the other seats available at his disposal he just had to go ahead and choose the one right in front of hers. She knew that he would do something like this but a small part of her hoped that he wouldn’t. She huffed which didn't go unnoticed by the green-eyed Greek god who had invaded most her thoughts lately. She could see how much he was enjoying this.

"Good evening, Mr Rodriguez." A middle-aged man wearing the pilots' uniform greeted the at their seat. It struck her just how rich he was considering that the pilot himself came to greet them.

"Martin. How are the wife and kids?" Zach greeted Henry with a warm smile.

"They are doing just fine, Sir. The eldest one is still smitten by you since your last visit and is hell bent on marrying you." They laughed. Annette quirked a quizzical brow at Zach. She had no clue that he visited the homes of his staff. But then again it wasn’t something that she wouldn’t expect out of him.

"Pardon me. Where are my manners. This is Miss Annette Riviera, the Senior Marketing Manager of our company. She will be accompanying me to Paris this time." Zach said introducing her to the pilot.

"Traveling to France with a beautiful woman, Mr Rodriguez you seem to be living the life. Good evening and good luck to you, Miss." Henry turned towards her and smiled at her as she tried to hide her blush and managed to greet him.

"We will be landing in Paris at 20:00 hours. Good day." Henry announced and with another nod, he left for the cockpit.

She was hit with an unwanted wave of nostalgia -

It was a beautiful day in the middle of July. They were walking together, unconsciously holding hands. Her light-yellow sundress swayed in the gentle breeze as they stood at the boathouse where their reception would be held in a months’ time.

She had always wanted to have an autumn wedding. She had always thought that the rich shades of brown mixed with a bit of yellow here and there created a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The warmth of the colours seemed to seep into her heart and engulf her.

"Ann, let’s go to Paris on our honeymoon. I know how much you want to go there. You just have to brave the flight. We can do it honey." He kissed her forehead.

"I feel like I can do anything when I am with you." She admitted. His hand in hers filled her with this invisible strength that made her confident that she could endure the worst storm with him by her side.

"Plus, I have other methods of keeping your mind preoccupied." He winked as she blushed.

This was another thing she had learnt to do without him. She thought as she felt like a wrecked ship caught up in the jagged rocks of painful memories enduring it at the mercy of the waves of time. If only she could just forget it all. She sighed as she clutched on to the handle of her seat.

"Riviera?" Zach's voice sounded through the haze of yet another unwanted memory. She hated how situations like this one had been occurring more and more off late.

"Are you okay?" Came the redundant question which she would have to answer untruthfully yet again.

"Yes. Just a little tired, I am not too good with flying." She admitted. The nerves made it difficult for her to lie convincingly.

"Do you want to take some rest? There is a bed behind at the back, you could take a nap in there for a while." Oh, how she'd missed being cared for.

"I am fine. I still have a few mails to shoot out." She assured him as he replied with an unconvinced 'hmm' and

left her alone.

The rest of the flight was spent with the both of them alternating between engaging in small talk or working on their laptops. What they didn’t notice were the stolen glances shared between them when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

The air hostess had tried time and again to gain Zach's attention during the three-hour flight but was disappointed when he paid no heed to her advances and politely rejected whatever it was that she was trying to do. Thinking of it to be Annette's doing, she resorted to sending her nasty glares.

By the time they landed, Annette was more than ready to bolt out of the plane. Sitting for so long in a confined space with Zach sitting so close to her did dangerous things to her heart and brought out feelings that she had buried somewhere deep inside her heart. Feelings that she didn't want to ever face again.

She had caught him sneaking glances at her from time to time during their car ride from the airport to the hotel and had pretended not to notice for her own sake. Today was probably the longest amount of time she’d spent alone with a man in a very long time. If it were any other man, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But it was Zach.

The hotel was as grandiose as the plane. Zach had informed her that La Maison Grandé was one of their finest luxury hotels and she could see that it lived up to its reputation just by looking at it.

Rodriguez & Co. had a bunch of hotels around the world which were either constructed or restored by them and they retained the ownership. She was aware of some of the properties but this one took the icing off the cake.

They checked into the pent house suite. It had three rooms so Annette had no qualms in living in the same suite as Zach and she was sure that the tariff per day was worth more than her monthly pay check.

"Isn't the room to your liking?" He enquired probably noticing how quiet she'd become.

"No, no the room is beautiful. You didn't need to spend so much on me. I would’ve been more than happy to stay in one of the executive suites. " She replied.

"Think if it this way that I was anyway going to take up this suite and we’re probably saving money by having you stay here as well. Moreover, with the number of hours you have put in the office, consider this as a paid leave." He gave her a genuine smile. She nodded uncomfortably. After having a delicious meal, they both retired to their rooms.

A warm bath was calling out her name after the hectic day she'd had.