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Jake
Sixweekshadpassedsince Alicia had stopped working for me on the HondaJet. One week—it had been the shortest time ever that a crewmember had been assigned to my private plane’s staff. I was wracked with guilt about it, but the truth was, I was relieved when Alicia told me she’d asked to be given a passenger plane posting.
“If it’s what you’d prefer,” I said. But the truth was, I wasn’t as nonchalant about it as I pretended.
On the one hand, I wanted Alicia to stay. But on the other, it would have been irresponsible and stupid to continue in that situation. She was Sam’s younger sister. I didn’t want to imagine how upset my buddy would be if he ever found out what had happened between us on that first trip down to L.A. And there were more questions I didn’t know the answers to.
For one, why had Alicia and I hooked up in the first place? It hadn’t been some drunken one-night stand—though the fact that we’d been drinking must certainly have played a part in it. But at the same time, the sex we’d shared had been so wild, yet so passionate, that there was no way we were simply bored or lonely. The truth was, Alicia had excited me from the very beginning, with her soft brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and impressive figure. She’d drawn my eye from the start, and I’d pursued her with an appropriate amount of zeal.
But the truth was, I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I’d meant what I said to Alicia on our first flight together. I didn’t carry baggage. Of any kind. It was a little embarrassing for a guy who was knocking on the door of middle age, but I’d never dated anyone for more than six months. I just wasn’t that kind of guy, I guess. I was a loner by nature. But the problem with being a loner was, eventually, you let someone into your life without knowing if they’re right for you. And by the time Alicia Matlock began to become a problem for me, I realized, all too late, that we couldn’t be right for one another. No way. Besides, Alicia was doing well, apparently. Jim had already promoted her and given her a few management duties. “I’m worried she’s getting bored!” he joked in one of his weekly emails to me about staff issues. I lingered over it, reading her name on my computer screen. For some reason, I couldn’t get the girl out of my head.
I was mulling over all this in my office one afternoon when my cell phone rang. I looked it up and felt my pulse raise a few BPM when I saw the caller ID: Sam Matlock.Could he know?
I answered and slowly relaxed for whatever he might have to say to me. “Sam,” I said, warmly and openly. “How are you doing, buddy?”
“Hey there,buddy,” Sam replied. “Look, I got a bone to pick with ya.”
I froze.Had he found out?
“What’s that?” I said.
“Well, my problem’s this. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you! You’ve been working too hard, Jake. And you’ve got my sister on non-stop flights around the country! When are the pair of you going to relax?”
I relaxed but was tense at the same time. The truth was that Alicia would have been around to see her brother a lot more if she wasn’t picking up shifts on CAA’s commercial flights now, with long layovers and overnight stays. And she wouldn’t have been doing that if we hadn’t slept together.
“Sorry to hear it, buddy,” I said. “Look, why don’t we go out tonight? We could go to that pizza place near you guys, you know, the one that does really good deep-dish?”
“Sounds perfect,” said Sam. “We’ll meet you there at eight?”
We?“Bringing someone with you, Sam?”
Sam chuckled. “Yeah! Obviously. I’m bringing Alicia. I’ve hardly seen her in the last couple of months. We were planning to do something anyway.”
“Okay,” I said weakly. “Guess I’ll see you guys later.”
I put the phone down and groaned. If Alicia didn’t want to see me, I imagined the last thing she’d want was an encounter with me in the presence of her brother. How much more awkward could it be between us? This way, I wouldn’t be able to relax and pretend things were going to be all right with me and Sam. I’d have the source of any guilt I was feeling sitting opposite me during dinner.
Bonaserawasexactlythekind of place Sam and I would have hung out during our Air Force days. Inside, it was smoky and more than a little steamy. The place sold true Chicago-style pizza—just the stuff for the cold weather. And, after my driver dropped me downtown, I felt more than a little nostalgic for the old days—back when I’d spent more time in the company of the common man than in five-star hotels and luxury jets. Besides, even though it was spring, it was still chilly—maybe no more than forty or forty-five degrees. Perfect weather for treating yourself to the enormous pies they sold at Bonasera’s. I’d already paid for my pleasure in the gym that afternoon—a 30-mile ride on my bike had already helped me work up an appetite and taken my mind off the fact I’d be seeing Alicia tonight.
As I pushed my way through the heavy, wooden door, the sound of music in the background blasted my ears. I hadn’t been to Bonasera more than a couple of times, but I’d recommended it because the food was good and it wasn’t too far from Sam’s place.
It was one of those old-fashioned joints with a hole-in-the-wall bar by the entrance. Some of the patrons just came there to drink, and I jostled my way through the crowd to the other end, where the restaurant was. The candles in wine bottles and red-checkered tablecloths were kind of charming. It made me smile and I wondered how many other billionaires in America were eating at a pizza place tonight. Their loss, I thought, and looked around for Sam.
I walked past the booths on my right, trying to catch a glimpse of him. But when I came to the last one, I saw Alicia sitting in the booth, alone, and my heart sank.
“Relax,” she said. “He’ll be here in a minute.”
We hadn’t seen each other since flying back from L.A., which was when Alicia had asked Jim if she could avoid working for me. I sat down opposite her in the booth. In the candlelight, I looked at her attractive features, glimmering by the flame of the candle. I felt a familiar pang of desire and felt myself getting a little hard again. But then I caught her snotty expression as she met my eyes.
“What are you staring at?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “How have you been?”
Alicia sighed. “Just fine. I got promoted, actually.”
“I heard. Congratulations.”
Alicia scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re thrilled about it,” she said, sarcastically.
