Page 17 of Around the Bend
She didn’t follow. “I don’t know. Why?”
“I mean friends… that don’t work for you. How many people are close to you who aren’t on your payroll?”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“Then, I guess you know how it feels.”
She still didn’t follow. “How what feels?”
“Nothing. Anyhow, I’m not saying for sure or anything, but this could be a problem. The friend thing. You might want to take a look at your friend to employee ratio.”
“You’re an asshole. You know that?”
“I do. So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? Other than my inability to keep up with your lifestyle.”
“I didn’t mean that—”
He leaned back and waited. She let it go.
“Do you have a passport?”
He nodded slowly.
Jessica grinned. “Good. Because we’re going to Africa. To solve my husband-to-money problem.”
Myles sighed. “Of course, we are.”
A week later, the two of them sat side by side in first class awaiting takeoff on the first leg of their journey to Kenya. Myles reached over, fastened her seat belt, and then his own. She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you just buckle me?”
He shrugged. “It’s just what you do.”
Jess cocked her head. “Have you ever traveled before?”
“A time or two.”
She seemed surprised. “Where to?”
He stared over her shoulder and out the window. “Here and there.”
She frowned and pulled the window shade shut. “You’re such a great conversationalist. This trip is going to be thrilling, I can already tell.”
He leaned over her and pushed it back up again. “It wasn’t my idea.”
She perked up at this sentiment. “Yeah, about that…, you know, I don’t understand how I didn’t see it all along! Sure, he had to force my hand, but I finally got it. It’s so obvious that this is what he wanted. Me to chase him, I mean. Really, for me to fight for him. Spencer always did champion being a fighter. I just can’t wait to see his face when he sees me! It’s going to be so good.”
Myles smiled. And then she said that.
Chapter Ten
Jess woke on the second leg of their flight to find the seat next to her empty. She waited a few minutes for her fellow traveler to return before deciding that a bathroom break wouldn’t be a bad idea and that it would probably do her some good to stretch her legs and wash her face. She found that the restrooms near first class were occupied so she made her way to the rear of the plane only to discover that the bathrooms there were in service as well. She leaned on the door of one of them and waited before she gave up and moved onto another set across the way where she was hopeful she would have better luck. Jess silently prayed and shifted from foot to foot realizing either she’d slept longer than she’d thought or that she had vastly underestimated her need to utilize the facilities.
She knocked once and waited. When there was no response, she moved onto the next set and tried knocking there. Still nothing. On the last set, she pounded a little harder. After what felt like a tiny bit of eternity, she heard a latch release and thanked the heavens when the door finally opened. She breathed a sigh of relief, and made her way over but realized her mistake and stepped back to allow for the occupant to step out. An attractive woman quickly brushed past her, but her eyes didn’t meet Jessica’s eyes. Please don’t let it smell. Jess reached for the door only to feel it push back against her, catching her off guard. Myles stepped out leaving them both caught off guard. Instantly, his expression changed to one she couldn’t quite read.
He exited the small space, held the door for her, and stepped aside. Jess glared and waited for him to say something, to give any explanation as to why he and that woman felt the need to share a restroom, but when nothing came, she closed the door behind her. Jessica stayed put in that bathroom longer than entirely necessary if for no other reason than so she didn’t have to go back to her seat and face him. What in the hell was he thinking? Did he even know that woman? And, worse, why did she even care?
When Jess eventually did return to first class, Myles was asleep and she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or relieved. Nonetheless, she took it upon herself to order a screwdriver and then another and another until the flight attendant politely refused her request for ‘just one more.’
Jessica stared at Myles. This was ridiculous. She watched his oversized body as he slept. She watched the rise and fall of his massive chest as he breathed in and out. She noticed the way his large hands rested upon his flat stomach and wondered if she’d ever noticed any of these things before. She noted the way his bangs fell into his eyes and how she had to force herself not to brush them aside. Surely, she’d considered his appearance prior, but there was something about seeing him with that woman that made her feel different. Protective. The thought of his face as he’d exited that bathroom infuriated her. Jess huffed and puffed and shifted this way and that way in her seat hoping to wake him. Possibly simply because she was agitated, but more so because she was drunk and didn’t care. Finally, unable to take it any longer she poked his shoulder hard. He shot straight up and eyed her suspiciously. “What the hell?” He looked around clearly startled.