She sat in the jet for nearly ten minutes and wondered why they haven’t taken off already. She turned to Julia that was sitting beside her, making calls nonstop, and waited until she was done before she asked, “What’s wrong, Julia?” She was already tired of Florida as it is, what the hell was stopping her from taking off from this goddamn state? She wanted to go home, not that there was something special there, but at least that should be home. It would give her peace no matter how small and Mom lived in home.
Julia turned with a worried expression on her face, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but the pilot that has been assigned by the agency is late, I don’t know what’s wrong. As I’ve been calling their boss and he told me they’re trying to reach to him.” She looked disturbed, knowing so well that Anna wasn’t in the right mood to excuse such things. It was palpable on her face that she couldn’t wait to get out of this goddamn state.
“What the hell does this mean?” She sat upright and took her feet down from what she had inclined them on. What the hell was she hearing now? She thought the highest level of professionalism was with pilots? Had this ever happened? A delayed flight and to think she owned the plane was the funniest thing she had ever heard in her life. “You don’t mean this, Julia! Who the hell is the pilot? Look, call their CEO and make sure they suspend him, because, what the hell?!” Nate said she was a bossy and rude bitch, right? Then she was done being nice, even though being nice was a part of her unless you pissed her to the point that she had no other excuse but to be rude to you as well.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. Should I make the call now or wait until…” Anna stared at her as though she had grown two horns overnight.
“Are you even asking me that, Julia? Make that damn call right now and tell him that! They should know what to do with us in the next ten minutes or I’m cancelling our contracts with them already. Look, call my lawyer for me after you’re done with him.” Julia stared at her with doubt in her eyes. Even though she knew it was possible for a furious Anna to do what she had just done now, but this wasn’t so much like her. But nevertheless, before it affected her as well, she called the CEO’s secretary and told her to put him on the line.
Anna was patiently tapping her feet on the floor as she waited as Julia conversed with the CEO of the agency and when she was done, she was quick at chirping, “What did he say? What are they going to do with us? Look, who the hell flew the plane from California? Why wouldn’t he take us back?” She didn’t even give Julia the chance to reply her when she closed her eyes and leaned back a little. “Julia, this is seriously getting on my nerves! Can’t you see that I’m fed up with Florida? I need to be flying over this state, goddamn it!”
“I’m so sorry, Ma’am. But the pilot that brought us here had an emergency at the hospital. They told us that they have awaiting pilots already and assigned one to us. I’ll make another call…” before Julia closed her mouth, one of the attendants in the flight walked toward them with a gait that spoke of her professionalism.
“The pilot is here, we will be able to take off now, Ma’am.” She informed, and Anna only leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes. To breath in the final toxic air of Florida knowing so well the next thing that will bring her here might be something so huge that an assistant or a manager could never do.
“Good morning, Ma’am. My name is Jack Roberts and I’ll be your pilot for today, our journey to California will take off now, I sincerely apologize for the delay.” She didn’t know when she abruptly snapped her eyes open and darted them toward Julia that was flashing her an inquisitive look.
“Julia, call the pilot for me. I need to have a few words with him before we take off.” She relaxed back on her seat, like the boss she was and the born of the empire she was born to rule. Julia didn’t even question her, for she knew the way Anna was pissed, it was only natural if she asked to see who the pilot was.
In what felt like a blink of an eye, Julia walked back to where she was with Jack tailing behind her. He didn’t realize she was the only until he slightly bowed his head and apologized, yet again. “I’m sorry for the delay, Ma’am.” How in the whole world will he tell her that he went to a party, yet again hosted by David and he got drunk? Totally forgetting that he had a plane to fly in the morning? The hardest task he had ever got to do in his life was wake up today, and when he did, seeing how late he was, he knew it will be over for him.
“What did you say your name was?” The poise was back, the confident—even though a pretense—Anna was back, and she was staring at him with eyes that emoted what she felt for him, hatred. She could remember the words he had uttered to her just two days ago, and to think that she had his destiny now laying on the top of her palms was hilarious. Why did she always have a better comeback to whoever got in her way.
Jack quickly stared at her when he heard the voice that asked of his name. How could he forget that voice, even though she wasn’t crying now, and she didn’t sound as pathetic as she did just one night ago, the rudeness was something he was used to from her as well. But what, what did this mean? She was the owner of the jet he was just about to fly back to California, and she was the one he had delayed for almost thirty minutes? No, this was bad. And at this point, he didn’t have the chance to talk back at her, he had to be as professional as he could.
Their eyes met, and she knew he was thinking exactly what she was thinking as well, how was this possible, right? And she saw as regret flashed through his eyes. But she hadn’t forgotten the smirk on his lips as he spoke to her the day Nate dumped her yet, she hadn’t forgotten the mocking expression on his face either. Nor she did forget the words, man, the words were what pained her the most. “I asked you, what your name is. I didn’t ask you to be staring at me as though this is the first time you’re seeing a creature like mine.” A bossy bitch, she wanted to add. But she knew Julia was there, and there was even no point in speaking in details, he must’ve known what she meant before she watched as the knowing look flashed through his eyes.
“My name is Jack Roberts, Ma’am, and I sincerely apologize for the delay which was due to my mistake.” He fixed his eyes on the floor, not being able to look into her eyes because if he did, he would be tempted to speak back at her, maybe even insult her to the point that he would lose his job right on this plane before he even had the chance to fly it back to California.
“I’m not interested in what delayed you, but what type of unprofessionalism do you think this is, Jack? How could you be late for almost thirty minutes and when you arrive, you think you also have the rights to fly this pane without properly apologizing to the woman that paid your boss, who had the chance to pay you? I’m practically the one that pays you, don’t you think?” She enjoyed the way he curled his fingers into a fast and the way anger had hardened his face, but then the lucky thing and the sweetest, juts it was to his fortunate that day, he didn’t have a say today.
She couldn’t talk back at him that day because she was emotionally unwell, wasn’t even over the shock of what had transpired right in front of her to be able to speak. And today, he was upright, he didn’t have any weakness that would stop him from speaking back at her but then he couldn’t, lest he wanted to lose his job, which he clearly didn’t want to, from the way he was trying so hard to calm himself down.
Jack gulped down a lump in his throat and without glancing her way, “I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Nothing had ever sounded so soothing to Anna like the way Jack’s apologizing voice, even though begrudgingly did. She smirked at him when their eyes met and spoke as she dismissively waved her hand off at him.
“This isn’t over yet; I’ll have to come to your company later in the week. You can leave now, and make sure we land safely, okay? Don’t be a quack, just like your behaviors are.” He nodded his head, bowed a little before he left, and she was aware that he must’ve known what ‘this isn’t over yet’ meant, right?
She ignored Julia’s inquisitive eyes and closed her eyes, relishing on the goodness of this feeling as briskly, the thought of the man in the roof fell into her mind. But she knew she had no right to think of him, it would only add more to her unending list of pains. She smiled when she thought of how warm his body felt against hers, how strong his arms were, and she was so agonized at the time to even have realized how broad and protecting his broad chest was. And his scent, how the way he smelled, she wanted to stay in his arms forever.
She smiled softly, no, that smile escaped her lips. She opened her eyes to force that thought out of her mind and when Julia handed her the iPad to check what had happened in the company while she was away and activities that needed to be done this week, she gladly collected it without any complaint and began checking it.
Like she expected, they landed safely, and she didn’t even glance a look at him when he came out as he bowed at her together with the other flight attendants and she entered the car waiting for her and left directly to the company. She needed to busy herself with work as long as she wanted to forget about everything and move on. She was out of the meeting with Mr. Bruno when Julia called her. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Ma’am. But your Mom is here.”
“Let her in.” She said, even though her mind was full of questions. She thought Mom hated going to the company like she had claimed? That was among the tons of reasons Anna had to be the CEO at such a young age after Dad died, because she said it terrified her whenever she came to the company knowing so well Dad was no more, and she always left home crying and agonized.
She fixed her eyes on the door and watched as it got yanked open, a poised and classy yet terrified Mom walked through the door and she walked up directly to her desk. She pulled her out of the chair and engulfed her to her chest. “My poor baby, my darling Anna, how could you come to work in such state, huh?” She broke their hug and began scrutinizing her whole body in search of something that might have gone wrong in her body.
Even though that warmed Anna’s heart, she chuckled softly before she gently pushed her hands away and they went to the sofa and sat down, “Mom, he didn’t hurt me physically, I’ve been confirming that to you for two days now. It was an emotional blow, it’s still so hard to breath.” Mom placed her latest designer bag which Anna was sure wasn’t out in market yet on the table as she took her hands in hers.
“Anna, it’s going to hurt for a very long time, okay? But when it stops, it will never hurt again.”
“Do you mean this, Mom? Is it true? Will it stop hurting some day?” She couldn’t help the way her voice broke at the end.
“I promise, you’ll look back at all this and feel not even an inch of the pain. Now, let’s go shopping and get you some things that will make you feel better!” She said excitedly and stood up; Anna groaned. That’s the best way of healing her Mother knew. And a few months after her Father died, their house nearly turned into a designer shop.
“I thought that bag isn’t out in the market yet?”
“The designer is my friend, you know? I pay triple the price to get one for myself, I’m the first one to buy it, you need to see the way my friends were gushing at it. Stand up, let’s baby you a little joy.” Please, Mom, I just need to cry.