The Steele Effect
1369 Words
4
“Alright, esteemed passengers. We’ve finally landed in Milford International Airport, after almost fourteen hours of being in the air.”
“Thank you for flying with us, and do not forget your luggage at the overhead carrier,” an air hostess’s voice filtered through the speakers, announcing their arrival.
Feet shuffled from every direction as people exited from the plane, taking their passenger packages from the hostesses at the entrance.
“Thank you for flying with us, Mr. Steele,” the hostess from before smiled at Michael, as she slipped his package into his palms, along with a paper that had her digits on it.
“Call me,” she mouthed.
Michael smirked and pocketed the paper. “I see you know who I am.”
“Who in New York does not know the Steele name? And you just had to make the name so popular by being so drop-dead gorgeous.”
Michael smiled and shook his head, then made to move around the hostess. “That’s a pretty easy thing, ma’am.”
The hostess stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Make sure you call me,” she said in a hushed tone.
The elderly passenger behind Michael cleared her throat in annoyance. “Can you move your handsome ass out of the way?”
Michael, amused by the mix of sharp tone and indirect compliment from the elderly woman, quickly stepped away, shaking his head.
Women.
Towering above six feet, Michael Steele was a literal eye candy.
An eye candy that was absolutely hard to miss.
His face was perfectly sculpted with thick dark brows that shadowed strands of long, beautiful eyelashes.
His irises?
They were the most beautiful, outstanding gray, with flecks of gold.
His nose was perfectly straight, and his lips were invitingly full and rosy.
His body in itself, was a muscular work of art.
Whenever he looked in a mirror, he could understand why women fell over themselves to get his attention.
He didn’t have any extra luggage aside from the duffel bag he carried in his hand, so he moved towards the departures exit, scrolling through his phone to order a ride to the heart of Milford.
“Hey, dumbass! Watch where you’re going,” someone cursed loudly, forcing Michael to look up from his phone.
Then he turned to glare at the back of the head of the man who had bumped into him.
“f*****g twerp” Michael mumbled under his breath.
He returned his gaze forward, resuming his strides toward the lobby, and that was when he saw her.
The artful face, before he saw the placard with his name on it.
He slowed his pace as he walked closer to where she stood, his curious gaze caressing her face.
“Excuse me, you have my name on your card,” he said when he was close enough to her.
She pulled off her sunglasses, and the breath was completely knocked away from his gut for a few seconds.
Chesapeake's blue eyes settled on him, searching his face.
The same color as Jane’s, only hers were more captivating.
He’d never thought he’d be deeply mesmerized by any other woman’s eyes, except his wife’s.
Turned out he’d been wrong.
The resemblance was striking, but then, there was something about this woman’s beauty.
“Sorry?”
Her soft, firm voice flowed to him, breaking his swoon.
He nodded at the placard she had in her raised hand. “You’re holding up my name. Are you here to get me?”
The woman’s brows furrowed in confusion, and it took her a moment before she understood.
“Oh. Mr. Steele?”
Michael’s lips turned up in a small smile. “Yeah. I see you didn’t even know what I looked like before coming to get me.”
The woman’s small, pretty face broke into an apologetic smile as she thrust her palm forward.
“Forgive my clumsiness. I’m Sophia. Sophia Winters.”
Michael took her hand in his, his eyes never leaving her face.
Of course. Sophia Winters.
That was the name he’d been given.
“Michael Steele,” he returned.
“Yes, Mr. Steele. My boss called and asked me to get you from the airport.”
“He didn’t give me a picture, though. Just your name,” she explained as she led the way towards the cab she’d taken to the airport.
“Your boss?”
“Yes. Nick Jakes.” She glanced at him. “Doesn’t ring a bell?”
“No, it does. I just have a lot of people I deal with in business, so I tend to mix up or forget the names, sometimes.”
“I see.”
Sophia stopped in front of the cab. “Please, get in. My boss would be expecting us sooner than you think,” she said, twisting her lips.
Michael stared at the beat-down cab she was gesturing to.
Did she expect him to get in that?
“Do you expect me to ride in that?” he asked, voicing his thoughts before he could stop himself.
Sophia looked confused. “Uhm, yeah. I mean, I don’t have a car, so this will have to do.”
Michael scoffed and shook his head. “I’m not getting into that.”
“Why?”
“Why?!” Michael asked, his brows shooting up with incredulity.
“How could I possibly ride in this…thing? It’s a 2017 BMW model. A limo in this era would be ten times better!”
Sophia scoffed and bit her lips, unable to believe her ears. How did he go so quickly from a perfect gentleman to a snob?
She didn’t want to get on the bad side of her boss, not today, so she was going to be patient with this man.
“I’m sorry we aren’t able to provide a better chauffeur service at this time, but I promise we’ll do better next time.”
“Please, get in.”
Michael still stood his ground, refusing to get in the cab.
He kept glancing at his watch, not paying her any attention.
“Mr. Steele, can you please get in the car? I’ve got a list of things to do, and picking you up is just the least.”
“Go get a better car, and maybe we’ll talk then.”
Her patience was already lost; Sophia opened the car and got in without another word.
“Nick’s Diner, please,” she said to the cab driver as she made to close the door.
“Hey, wait!” Michael called out, stopping the door before it closed.
“What?” Sophia queried in a wave of impatience.
“Are you leaving without me?”
“Mr. Steele, you asked for a better car. I’m off to find one.”
“That doesn’t mean you should leave me behind. I’m not very familiar with this place, so...”
“Are you saying you’d ride in this car, then?”
Michael stood to his full height and adjusted his stance, clearing his throat.
“Well, I can just manage for today. But it doesn’t mean I will, next time.”
Sophia rolled her eyes and slammed the door, jolting him.
The car engine roared to life and Michael tapped on the car window.
Sophia rolled it down and squinted up at him.
“What now?”
“Are you seriously leaving me?”
“You were the one that said you’d ride along. So get in!” she snapped.
Michael quickly got in and slammed the door shut.
“God, it’s so cramped in here,” Michael complained as he struggled to stretch out his long legs in the backseat.
“This car’s too small for me,” he mumbled, then looked up to catch Sophia watching him from the rearview mirror.
“Do you find me attractive too?” he asked, a smug smile on his lips.
Sophia scoffed. “Far from it.”
Michael felt the sting of the words, against his will.
“Then why do you keep looking at me?”
A long pause. Then,
“I think I know you. Have we met before?”
- Writer
