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“You must be tired,” he offers. “Not getting enough sleep lately?”
Not really. Not since Robert pulled his shit. I don't mean to, but for the last few days I’ve been staying awake until the small hours of the morning, listening for any sound. Always jumping when I hear something, always sure it's him coming in to kill me. After telling our security staff about him, they said they'd patrol our building a little more often and keep an eye peeled – not that I've seen them actually do that. But even if they are, I don't feel safe at home. Robert got in once, who's to say he can't sneak in a second time?
“I've had a few late nights,” I say noncommittally.
“That why you've been in a mood lately?”
I laugh softly. “A mood?”
He shrugs. “You just haven't seemed yourself.”
I look out the small window, looking at the world below us. Everything looks so small. So far away. I can almost pretend I'm flying away from all of my problems and am being transported to some glorious, imagined future. It's not long before the reality of the world – or at least, the space I occupy in the world – butts its way back into my head.
“I've just had some things going on, Aaron,” I explain. “It's nothing personal. I swear it.”
He purses his lips and nods. And when he opens his mouth to speak, I grin and shake my head, knowing exactly what's about to come out of his mouth.
“And no, it's nothing you've done or said,” I stop him before he gets started, then add with a mischievous grin of my own. “Shockingly enough.”
He laughs out loud. It's a pleasant sound, one that gives me a genuine smile. We're only an hour out of LA and I am already feeling better for having left Robert and all of that garbage behind me. It's a feeling I hope to make last.
“Shockingly, huh?”
I grin. “Please. Like you don't know you say something just about every single day that can be construed as offensive. You're lucky I'm your PA because I'm not only used to it, somebody else might slap you with a lawsuit.”
He shrugs. “I just think some people have thin skins. Thankfully, you're not like that.”
“Lucky for you.”
“Indeed.”
I stretch my legs out in front of me, working out the stiffness from curling up into a ball. The plane is small, but luxurious with deep, well-padded seats. The interior is a dark oak paneling. Everything about it gives off the impression of wealth and exclusivity. Not that it has to try very hard – we are on a private jet, after all.
It's a thought that makes me feel a bit – giddy. Yeah, I grew up wealthy, but never ‘private jet’ wealthy. The closest I ever came to feeling this posh and exclusive was the one time I flew first class.
Not that I really want or need this kind of decadence. I've learned to be very frugal over the last few years. It was kind of a necessity given my circumstances after my father left me the way he did. I've learned how to live like the common person and have shed many, if not all, of the pretensions I carried with me for so long. It's been a humbling ride and fall, to be sure.
Even though I'm just a regular working stiff now – and feel like I'm better for it – that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the finer things in this world anymore.
“How much longer until we land?”
“About an hour or so,” Aaron replies.
“Then I'm going to go back to sleep.”
Aaron laughs and settles back into his own seat, flipping open the case for his tablet. I curl up again, feeling more relaxed than I have in days and it's not long before I feel myself drifting off.
Chapter Seventeen
Aaron
“So, who is it you're meeting with tomorrow?”
I take a sip of my drink and set it down. “A couple of government contractors, actually,” I tell her. “I'm trying to get them to use our software and systems. It's a big deal and would be huge for the company.”
“What do you think your chances are?”
I shrug. “Not sure. You never know what to expect with these government types.”
