And she missed him something fierce. She also missed flying, which wasn’t something she could say for her work here. In Vegas, she hadn’t given it a second thought, except to dread coming back. Maybe she could fly to Vegas one weekend. Yeah, that’s what she would do. She needed to see Nick. Except she didn’t know when she could catch him in town because lately, he was hardly ever there.
She forced herself to refocus on Sarah, relieved when she finished the exam, documented her diagnosis, and sent her home with a script.
The sun was long past setting when she finished her endlesspaperwork and could finally go home. Jannie stepped into the humid night air, fishing in her bag for her key. She frowned. Where had she put it? It wasn’t in its designated pocket. She was uncharacteristically scatterbrained these days.
She finally found the orange fob and clicked. Her Panamera chirped, its long taillight illuminating red in the distinctive sequence she loved, starting from the center and moving outward. Jannie smiled. It was the little things these days that made her happy, and she did love her car. She loved it even more when she sank into the tan leather seat, belted herself in, and turned the key on the dash.
Just as the Porsche roared to life with a satisfying growl, she heard the distinctive tone she had assigned Nick, the TAWSof a Boeing 767.
“Whoop whoop, pull up! Whoop whoop, pull up!”
Her heart skipping a beat, Jannie snatched her phone out of her bag, snickering.Pull up, indeed.How she would love to pull something up on him right about now.
“Hello, beautiful girl.”
His smooth voice washed over her, and it was everything she needed. Her body relaxed and tensed at the same time. “Hello.”
“Where have I caught you?”
“Just getting out of work.”
A pause. “It’s after 7:30.”
“I know.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she replied automatically.
A pause. “How are youreallyfeeling?”
She should have known he wouldn’t let her get away with platitudes. “You want the short version or the long version?”
“Whichever one you need to give me.”
How could she put a positive spin on her current misery? “Short version: I miss Vegas, flying, and you.”
A pause. “In that order?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Ah.” She could hear the smile in his voice, but something seemed off.
“I thought I’d catch a flight to Vegas,” she said.
Another pause, this one longer.
Had he moved on? Gone back to his old life? What?
“Vegas would get an instant upgrade,” he finally said. “I’m sure your brothers and their wives would be happy to see you.”
Her heart sank. “And you?”
He sighed. “I’m in Singapore.”
“Singapore?” She couldn’t conceal her dismay.
“The owners of my company have been negotiating with a large conglomerate for some time now. I was hoping the deal would fall apart, which is why I didn’t say anything, but …” A tense pause. “I’m afraid my news isn’t the best. They sold the company last week.”
