The Red Eye 3 (The Red Eye Erotic Romance Series) by Avery Phillips Page B

security guards pushed their way past her and stood menacingly in front of my desk.
    “Ms. Bevan. You need to leave with us now. I’m sure you don’t want any fuss, so we’d advise you to come with us and we’ll escort you out with as much discretion as possible.”
    “Escort you out? Don’t you know who this is? Rebecca is the head of this department. You can’t treat her like this.”
    “It’s all right, Jennie.” I waved her off sadly. “I’m not your boss anymore. I don’t even work here now. Thank you for your support and friendship in the brief time we’ve known each other, and wish Angela the best of luck from me. I’ve no doubt that she’ll make an excellent department head.”
    I got up and walked over to the security guards. One walked in front of me, one behind, as they took me over to the elevator and then out through the lobby.
    Staff members stopped and stared as they saw me leaving under guard, but I held my head high. I was past caring what people thought of me. The irony was that I’d only come back to the office to help preserve Grayson’s precious reputation.
    I was surprised that Devon had spoken to his dad so soon. Even on the red eye, I didn’t think that he’d have had time, but then maybe he’d called from the airport. I’d never thought that he’d confide in Grayson about his love life, but then I’d never known about Cindy either. Maybe I hadn’t known Devon half as well as I thought I did.
    As I climbed into a cab, I reflected that I was glad I hadn’t unpacked my things. Looked like I was leaving town after all.

Seventeen
    I looked out of the window of the plane, not taking in the landscape below.
    The pilot’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, we will soon be arriving in New Orleans. We hope you enjoy your time in this beautiful city, whether you’re here for business or pleasure, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing our airline.”
    There was no reason for my choosing to come to New Orleans except for the fact that I’d never been there and had always wanted to. I had heard all the wild tourist stories, but I had done my fair share of research and discovered there was so much more to the lush jewel of the bayou than just Mardi Gras revelers and parades. I couldn’t wait to see the unique architecture and meet the interesting people.
    I hadn’t decided what I was going to do for work. Maybe I could offer my services to a women’s shelter or something. The one thing I did know was that I’d had enough of corporate law, and I had no intention of getting sucked back into a world designed to make the rich richer while the poor struggled more and more. I wasn’t cut out for it. I wasn’t cutthroat enough.
    As my luggage came around the carousel, I reached forward to get it, just as the man next to me went to pick up his bag, making us bump heads.
    “Oh my goodness me. Are you all right, ma’am?”
    His concern was evident as he unthinkingly reached out a hand to touch the place on my forehead where we’d connected. I grinned and pulled back from his friendly touch.
    “I’m fine. It was my fault anyway. I should have looked where I was going.” I glanced down, reaching for my bag again.
    “No, no, it was mine. I was so caught up in trying to grab my bag before they whisked it away again, I wasn’t paying attention.”
    “So we’re both to blame, which means no harm, no foul.” I tucked my hair behind my head to give him my full attention, since he was being so polite.
    “I guess so.” He smiled at me, his smile shining brightly in stark contrast to his tanned skin and unusually brilliant green eyes. “Tell you what. Why don’t you let me treat you to coffee as a sorry?”
    “You don’t owe me a sorry. We bumped into each other, remember? It wasn’t your fault.” I smiled, slightly perturbed. I wasn’t used to people being so nice about such things. I crossed my arms and shrugged. “It’s