Chapter 26
Pam and I catch up over southwestern omelets and coffee refills, and she tells me all about her new endeavor with a farmer’s market in Sedona. When it’s almost 1 pm, I hug her goodbye and head down the concourse for my next stop.
I feel rejuvenated, centered. Seeing Pam made me remember why I’m here. Goals got fuzzy after drinking Val’s Kool-Aid. But listening to Pam’s latest stories reminded me what it’s like to be around people who really care about me. Effortless companionship. Makes me feel normal again—less like a transient, more like the adventurer she always said I was. And it makes me miss Mama. More than I realized. I don’t want my heart to be angry at her anymore.
In the next terminal, I search for a martini bar called Olive Juice. It isn’t in the main cluster of eateries, but I spy a sign with an olive on it at the end of the concourse and slip in. It’s a corner space in an oddly narrow location, and I zigzag through a small corridor-like sitting area of cocktail tables and stools and mirrored walls. At a large window overlooking the jetways, familiar flight attendants and a new face in street clothes sit at a long table. Grady, Donny, Nyla, ew, even Dana. But no Val.
“Hey!” Grady in a pink collared Polo waves me over.
I join them and sit beside Grady.
“Val’s plane is running late,” he says. “We were all just catching up.”
Ding!
A text from Val. She hasn’t made contact with me since her Brendan Saks demands.
De-boarding now. Start without me. I’ll be there ASAP. All new allies should be covertly recorded.
I glance at Grady, who’s oblivious, then the other new face. It’s too soon for Val to be recruiting. Is she grooming them? What’s she doing now?
I don’t respond. I’m not even officially on her team yet, much less her liaison.
“Val just texted…” I tell Grady. “She wants us to get started.”
“Oh. Okay, whatever.” He gives a little shrug like it’s no matter, but his averted gaze says otherwise.
I wish he didn’t adore Val so much. He’s so good at what he does.
Grady introduces a cute short-haired girl and explains she’s being considered for Val’s team for next year. This is why Val wants me to record. Already building collateral. This girl has no idea how lucky she is.
She spills her details and it’s so bizarre listening to her nervous but excited voice. Only a few weeks ago, I was in her place, experiencing the same emotions and adrenaline. They say misery loves company but truth is all I feel is embarrassment.
Beneath that though, is satisfaction. Because Val will never get the collateral she thinks I’m recording for her.
“You give your prospect a C grade?” Grady asks her. “That tells me you’re shooting too low. Go for the gold.”
“Hello.” Val appears at the table, her hair swept back in a loose braid, a gray and forest green plaid skirt on, and a fitted navy vest over a crisp white short-sleeved shirt. “Did I miss anything good?” She glances toward the new girl.
Donny stands and gives her a quick and quiet summation. Val pretends to listen, all the while her gaze as glazed as a donut. After a moment or two, she pulls out a winged heart and slides it over the table.
“Welcome to FC. Be sure to wear this inflight. So I’d love to stay and chat but unfortunately I have to fly to Vancouver in an hour. I had to say hello, and make sure any new inductees were properly initiated. And… drumroll, please… I’d like you all to know that I’ve asked Zanne to be my copilot, if you will. As a soon-to-be member of my team, she’ll be my direct liaison regarding all club matters, especially when I’m unable to be present among you.”
Oof. Right in the gut. She’s making me her fall guy. I never even agreed to this.
I gesture at my neck for her to cut it short. “Uh, Val, we should talk first…”
Her pink lips purse. Ever so slowly, a single brow rises.
I’ve contradicted her in front of everyone. Here we go.
Val angles her body toward Grady. “Would you mind taking the reins?”
He glances at me, then back at Val. “Yeah, okay.”
Val rises, moves behind my chair, and lays a hand on my shoulder. “A word, please…”
Reluctantly, I follow Val outside the bar and into the stream of passengers trickling through the concourse.
She moves toward the water fountain and folds her arms at her chest. “What are you doing?”
“You should’ve checked with me first,” I say, and maybe I should’ve played along till I get what I need, but dang she makes me so angry. “I never confirmed—”
“Confirmed what? What is this long drawn-out process all about? You’ve had more than enough time, and more than enough incentive.”
“It’s still my decision. And what do you mean with incentive? Is that why you took me out in New York? To bribe me?”
“I don’t recall hearing any complaints from you. The others would kill for my one-on-one time—not only FC, but the entire crew worldwide. I chose you.”
Everything about her makes me want to cringe. The curl of her upper lip, the jut of her chin, and that pretentious outfit that makes her look like she’s rushing an Ivy League sorority. I used to want to be her, now I just want to be away from her. How can someone so stunning, be so shallow?
“Ask Grady,” I blurt. “I don’t want the responsibility.”
“Excuse me?” Val peers down her nose. With a dry laugh, she holds up a finger. “Is this a joke for you?”
My shoulders stiffen again. I really don’t want to talk about this with her. I start for the terminal. I need to get out of here.
Val grabs my arm. “Wait. Is this about Saks? You needed damage control and I provided it. Thank God I was available when I was. You used him, don’t get that mixed up. You are always in charge.”
My eyes bulge. “For real, Val? How am I in charge if you told me I had no choice? That’s not what I signed up for.”
She doesn’t know I didn’t sleep with him, and I intend to keep it that way. For now.
“Own your sexuality, Zanne, don’t hide it,” Val continues. “You think I’m proud of all my BTDTs? Some were uncoordinated, some robotic—”
“Why me, Val? You’ve got plenty of members eager for your attention. Let one of them be your liaison.”
She centers herself in front of me and forces my gaze onto her own. “I told you. We can help each other achieve greatness. Learn to compartmentalize. FC does not define you, it lifts you. That’s what links all of us—we understand each other. We understand the goal of wanting a better, more rewarding life where we call our own shots.”
Geez, I hate when she makes sense.
“I don’t know,” I say quietly. Can’t last forever. Eventually, the truth comes out and people get busted.”
“Listen to yourself,” Val says. “So full of melodrama. We need smart, innovative women in charge like us. We enable solutions. Remember, FC is opportunity. A fighting chance. That’s what FC truly stands for. We’re not hurting anyone. We’re not forcing anyone to do anything. You are so close to your goal, and our team is behind you all the way. World class international sensation. Now… stop sniveling, own your shine, and tell me what happened with Amanda.”
I hesitate at her abrupt change of subject. “Nothing yet.”
Ugh, I feel so subservient and it makes the hives on my neck flare up even more. Scratch. Scratch.
Val moves her gaze to the bar’s front. “Fine, leave her to me. I’ll take care of it, like I always do.” She returns her eyes on me. “Here’s what we’re going to do, I have a flight to catch, so we’ll go back in and I’ll say my goodbyes. You’ll stay and spend some more time with the others. Were you able to record the initiation confession?”
“Yeah,” I lie. A tiny rush propels my pulse into double time.
“Send it to me. I won’t mention the liaison thing again to the others, not while you marinate on what we discussed. Today I want you to focus on bonding with our people and building their trust. We have fun when we share, and it helps stave off negativity. Get it out of your system. No one here will judge you. You’ll find it’s quite the opposite.”
I stare at her prim little smirk. Maybe in some weird way, she’s right. I haven’t taken full advantage of the FC benefits. No one else but them knows what it’s like to straddle this narrow little line with one toe in adventure territory, and the other in the realm of ethically questionable.
I give Val a nod and together we rejoin the others inside the bar. Val explains I have something to share and says her goodbyes. A silence falls over the group and they stare at me. Once again, it’s play along or kiss my job goodbye.
“So… anyone ever have an F-grade prospect before?” I ask.
Amazingly, it opens a lively discussion on intuitive selection. Soon, members are sharing all kinds of details on their sex-capades without judgment or shame. I hate to admit it, but Val was right. It does help having a posse to share the ups and downs of crew life and Flight Club with, among other things.
She’s a force to be reckoned with, I’ll give her that, and the more she manipulates me, the better prepared I’m determined to become, so I can blow it all to hell at the right moment.