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"No, of course not, Mr. Harden." She exhales, slightly disappointed, despite trying not to show it. "I'll be ready."
And then she walks away, leaving me knowing I won’t be able to concentrate for the rest of day.
Because my thoughts are all concentrated on one question: who the hell is this woman?
Chapter Three
Crystal
I hate planes. I literally hate them. I would never agree to fly from Los Angeles to New York if I had a choice, even though I’ve always wanted to see The Big Apple.
Mainly, I would never agree to go if I knew we were going to go by private jet. It's quite big, but still, it's smaller than a regular one. Aren't small planes more dangerous than big ones? Then why the hell do rich pricks like Jack Harden always use private planes to travel?
The driver sent by Harden picked me up and drove straight to the runway. A flight attendant met me and led me aboard, helping with the luggage.
Jack Harden was already here. When I said “hello” to him, he only nodded and continued talking on his phone, typing something on his laptop at the same time.
This man is always busy. I haven't slept properly because he gave me a task that would usually take a week or more to finish, but he asked me to complete it before our trip.
I know he's challenging me, trying to prove that he was right and that I’m not a good candidate for this job.
Well, he’s wrong, so wrong. I might not be the smartest, but I'm definitely the most stubborn. I haven't eaten, I haven't slept, but I did complete the task on time.
This plane is huge, definitely bigger than I imagined. Harden has a real office on the plane. Instead of a bedroom or a cinema room (yes, I spent this morning watching YouTube videos of the most luxurious private jets), Jack Harden has a desk with an office chair, a sofa, and a dining table with some comfy chairs.
The flight attendant offered me a seat on the sofa, but I refused, taking a regular seat next to the window. I won't be able to relax anyway, not just because I hate flying, but because my boss is here, working. How can I relax when my boss is working ten feet away from me?
I wanted a seat where I would have my back to Harden so he won’t see my terrified face during the flight, even though I'll do my best to hide it, but sitting there would mean I’d have my back to the entrance, so I chose another one.
I also took my papers with me to pretend that I'm working, but the truth is I'll be praying during the whole flight.
When the plane finally takes off, I instinctively grab the armrests of my chair, digging my fingers into them. The weather is great today, but the take-off is turbulent because of the clouds.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Luckily, Harden is still very busy with his work, so he ignores me.
I remember that I forgot to tell my daughter that I'm on the plane. I always leave her a message telling her I love her before I go somewhere.
I’ve never left her for more than a day, so it was a real challenge for me to agree to this work trip. But I knew why Harden offered me this trip. I was the one who told him that family is not a hindrance to women. And that's why I agreed, even though I almost started crying at the thought of leaving my child for three or four days.
My daughter, Sky, is already seventeen, and she laughed when I told her that I was worried about leaving her alone for such a long time.
I know she's gonna be okay; she's much more mature at this age than I was. I got pregnant at seventeen from a one-night stand with a guy I didn't even know. Nine months later, I gave birth to Sky, the most beautiful girl in the world.
Luckily, Sky's father turned out to be a great man. He married me and helped me financially. But he wasn't a very faithful man. While I was sitting at home with our daughter, he spent his evenings at strip clubs and bars, sleeping with other women.
We divorced three years later. It wasn't a painful break-up. I didn't really love him; I only married him because I got pregnant, and he only married me because he felt obligated.
Unfortunately, he died almost six years ago. Sky took it very badly, and I was anxious about her. But as time went by, she accepted her loss and moved on.
Sky was thrilled to move from a small town in Vermont to a big city like Los Angeles. She dreams about becoming a writer, and Hollywood is exactly what she’s always wanted.
She's so like me. I always wanted to live in a city like New York, mostly when I was younger. I imagined myself as a very successful woman who lives next to Central Park and works in One World Trade Center for a company like Condé Nast.
But then I got pregnant. Before I even got into college. And my life turned upside down.
I never regretted it. Even when it was really tough to be a single mom at twenty, even when I was trying to hold down a job while studying.
I didn't get the job I dreamed about. No one wanted to hire a woman who graduated from a public college with a toddler at home. I needed a particular schedule; I needed to work from home sometimes. It sounds so natural now, but when I was twenty, working from home was like working from another planet: unattainable and impossible.
