“I don’t know if you should do this, Ezra,”my brother whines for the twentieth time for the past hour.“It’s a weird vibe out here.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I hiss back, taking my seat and pulling on my tie, trying to loosen it a little. The plane is too hot for it.
“Yes, you do. We can figure something else out.”
“We can’t.” I turn to the side, trying to fit my bag under the seat while he sighs into my ear so loudly, I have to pull the phone away.
When I’m ready to yell at my brother to stop trying to convince me not to go forward with the deal, someone falls into the seat next to me. I’m in no mood for a chat, so I pull the divider up. I don’t want to see anyone. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I want a glass of whiskey and to go to fucking sleep.
“Ezra,”my brother starts again, but I stop him.
“I’m on the plane and need to shut off the phone.”
Without waiting for his reply, I hang up and bang the back of my head on the seat. How did my life turn into such a mess?
“Hello, sir,” a soft voice meant to entice says, bringing me out of my dark place. “Can I offer you a drink?”
I raise my gaze to find a beautiful, young flight attendant looking at me. Her white shirt has a few loose buttons on top, revealing her black bra, and her red-painted lips are curved with a suggestive smile. How do I know? I get tons of them. They just don’t know they’re wasted on me.
“Bourbon. Neat.”
“We don’t have bourbon,” she replies, sounding nervous. “I can offer you whiskey. We have a good one that might fit your taste?”
A loud snort makes me glance toward the sound with narrowed eyes, but the divider between us prevents me from killing whoever is there with mental daggers.
“Whiskey then.” I hope the disapproval is obvious in myvoice—people pay well to be seated here. At least they deserve a good drink.
“Of course, sir. Be right back.” She hurries away with a slight nod, leaving me with another snort through the barrier between us.
I’m very tempted to press the button and slide the damn thing down just so I can see who the fuck is there with such a loud opinion. But I pride myself on my ability to keep cool. So I take a long, controlled breath and return to my phone to check on emails.
I have a few from Martin with more information about the board. I get another denial from the city about reinstating the building. Again. And tons of angry emails I’m not going to even open. I’ll let Martin sort it out.
I reply to his emails and ask him to file another permit request with the city while drinking the whiskey the flight attendant brought. Silently. Her smile disappears after she sees my face.Good.I’m not here for pleasure; I’m here for a business deal. The faster and smoother it goes, the faster we all can move on with our lives.
After the food and another round of whiskey, I put my earpods in and play music. This is one of the very few things that still works for me as relaxation.
Soon, I get a pleasant buzz and fall asleep…
Only to be awakened by a loud clatter and a body falling onto me.
“Shit,” the person hisses as they are trying to stand up. Pressing their hand into my groin in the process.
I groan and try to remove the person from me.
“Sorry!” A female voice.
The female voice I know. The one that has been bugging me for the last few months.
Mae.
Here. On the same plane. On my lap.
My eyes instantly fly open, free of any residual sleep.
“You,” I say as I pull her closer.
“Oh.” Her eyes go round.
