6

I tighten my seatbelt as the air hostess walks down the aisles to see if everyone is buckled in. We are currently on a plane heading to San Diego for a conference, we fly back later tonight.

I was sitting in the middle seat with Winston on the aisle side and Nayel on the window seat. Three of our other colleagues, David, Jenna, and Haris were behind us. I was not looking forward to a 5-hour flight then straight to the conference and then back to another 5-hour flight. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday so at least we didn't have to worry about coming to work at 9 tomorrow.

Not to mention flying while in full business attire, such a hassle. Everyone knows flying is only meant to be done in casual clothes and it's frustrating that we won't get time to change so we have to dress accordingly.

I was wearing a black pantsuit with a white turtle neck top crop top underneath with high-waisted pants so it barely showed 2 inches off my stomach. Nayel was looking dashing as always, as much as I hate to admit it he knew how to dress to impress. He was wearing a grey suit with a blue checkered design on it with a white button-down shirt underneath and a matching blue tie. He was also wearing blue socks and his hair was nicely styled. On my other side, Winston was wearing a black suit, he had cleaned up pretty pleasantly and looked good.

Suddenly, I felt a bit hot so I slip out of my coat and lay it gently on my lap. I close my eyes as the plane started to experience a little turbulence and grip onto my thigh as my heart starts palpitating, shit this is it we are going to die. I am so terrified of planes. I gulp and open my eyes, I turn my head to see Nayel staring at me, "Are you okay?" his tone was low so only I could hear him.

I nod, "This is normal plane stuff, no one's going to die, Ria," he says and smirks once he realizes he's made a pun unconsciously and I roll my eyes playfully a smile appearing on the corner of my lips. I should mention Ria is also one of his nicknames for me, it's short for Maria, unfortunately.

"I'm so looking forward to the heat of San Diego, winters are an absolute no-no for me," Winston says to me.

"I'm the opposite, I love winters," I say diverting my attention to Winston.

"Really?" Winston raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, they are the best time of year," I say as if it was the most apparent thing in the world.

"Agree to disagree with you on that on" Winston shrugs.

"What's everyone's obsession with summer? It's so hot and everyone is sweaty and gross. I can't" I shake my head disapprovingly.

"What's so great about winters? All people do is get lazy and depressed and overeat" Winston counters back.

"No it's just a season where you feel cozy and winter clothes are just so much better than summer ones" I dreamily stare up.

Winston chuckles, "You're such a weirdo"

I gasp, "ah, am not"

"yeah you are" Winston grins at me.

"says, you Mr. Summer lover" I narrow my eyes at him merrily.

"Both of you are fucking children" Nayel mumbles under his breath but I heard him, I don't think Winston did.

"So do you have any plans for the weekend?" Winston asks smiling at me.

"I'm probably going to sleep all day tomorrow," I say and Winston laughs.

"I'm dead serious," I tell him.

"Do you go out a lot with your friends or" Winston shrugs, "I don't know your boyfriend?"

"I do yeah, I can't be by myself for too long I start to have an existential crisis so yeah I usually spend my weekends surrounded by people, I'm a major extrovert," I say.

"Me too" Winston smiles.

"So what do you enjoy doing?" Winston questions.

"Hmm, honestly I'm down for whatever. I do enjoy going out clubbing and dancing but I also like staying home with my friends and cooking. As long as I'm with people I love I enjoy anything" I smile, shrugging loosely.

"And who are those people that you love? Where can someone sign up to be part of that club?" Winston's eyes dare me.

"Only a few people have the privilege to join that club" I humor him.

"Any guys in that club?" He asks, this is the second time he's tried to ask if I have a boyfriend.

"What do you mean?" I play dumb.

"Oh you know, just a special guy in your life?" Winston wiggles his eyebrows.

I laugh, "No special guys in my life right now."

"So the position is available? Up for grabs?" Winston looks at me speculatively.

I raise an eyebrow, "Maybe, why?"

"Oh, I'm just asking for a friend" He smirks at me.

I hear Nayel huff rather loudly, if he wasn't such a grump we might include him in the conversation but he wants to be the big bad boss.

....

We just arrived at the airport, it's 10:15 pm and now we're boarding our flight. The conference was fine, I mean I was just there as an assistant and a learning lawyer so it wasn't beneficial for me. Just making sure everyone especially Nayel got everything they needed.

However, I accidentally bumped into someone and they spilled red wine all over my suit which is absolutely amazing, this was a new suit. Luckily it's black but still, it's drenched with wine and my white turtleneck is basically ruined so yeah I was in a bad mood.

I was once again sandwiched between Winston and Nayel.

"Pretty eventful day," Winston says smiling at me.

"Eh it was alright" I shrug.

"The place I get my laundry from is really good, they could definitely take your stains out" Winston smiles at me reassuringly.

"Yeah?" I look up at him.

"Yeah, I'll give you their number" Winston smiles.

"Thanks" I smile.

"You were still the prettiest girl in that conference regardless of the wine spillage" Winston briefly touches my knee and smiles. I blush at his compliment smiling back at him.

"I'm gonna go freshen up," He says unbuckling his belt and heading to the bathroom.

"So if I call you a shorter version of your name you go to HR but clearly have no problem with your colleague flirting with you and making a move on you?" Nayel spats, I turn my head to see him glaring at me.

"What?" I furrow my eyes at him.

He rolls his eyes, "A bit hypocritical for you to use the HR card every chance you get with me but throwing yourself on someone you're into who you work with is fine?"

I sigh, "I cannot fucking deal with you right now" I mumble.

"Because you know I'm right" Nayel hums.

"He's not flirting with me, he's being nice. Something you clearly don't know how to do" I scowl at him.

"Yeah? When he comes back why don't you ask him on a date and if he says yes he's into you and if he says no then you win he's just a nice guy" Nayel flashes a fake smile at me.

"I'm not playing any stupid games with you right now, it's not my fault you're such an asshole that you're so miserable with yourself and the fact that you are completely alone so you pry on other people and come up with insane conclusions." I spat at him.

"At least I don't need to rely on others to feel good about myself, at least being alone and taking risks and focusing on myself doesn't terrify the shit out of me" Nayel snaps back.

Winston returns to his seat, "You're unbelievable" I mumble and rest back in my seat and close my eyes. I cannot stand this man.

Who did I piss off in another life to get this disgusting cruel man as my boss?