17. A Near Miss
A Near Miss
Claire scanned the flight status board again.
Her knee bounced to an internal staccato rhythm and her gaze darted up and down the causeway.
She checked her phone, but her notifications remained stubbornly blank.
An important production meeting had forced Noah to book a later flight out of Houston, but they were both booked on the same connecting flight from New York to England. He should have arrived an hour ago.
This trip to meet the England users and IT group before heading on to Norway was Claire's first foray overseas, and it had begun as a grand adventure.
The different flights for her and Noah hadn't seemed like an issue since they were meeting in New York.
But his absence at this point was turning the experience into a nightmare.
All of their driver and hotel information was with him.
If he missed the connection— Intrusive thoughts!
Instead of getting herself all worked up, she would put on her big girl panties and figure it out.
Even if she was headed to a foreign country.
The announcement for early boarding blared from the speaker above and Claire's stomach churned.
Holy smokes! For all her internal ego-boosting, she'd still expected Noah to stroll over like nothing was amiss.
But with her flight now boarding, she might actually have to do this alone.
Lesson learned from this trip: Make sure all travelers have a copy of the itinerary so they aren't stranded in a foreign land with no clue who to call.
Her phone chimed, the tone different from her normal ring.
She silenced the alarm she'd set for taking her epilepsy medication.
With the six-hour time difference between Houston and England, she'd decided to take her evening dose early to give her body less of a shock when her schedule changed this coming week.
The distraction from worrying about Noah was welcome.
She fished out her pill and swallowed it with a gulp from her water bottle.
While she was thinking about it, she set up another alarm for twelve hours from now for her morning dose.
With her sketchy memory, alarms were a girl's best friend.
With that out of the way, Claire returned to fretting over her missing colleague.
She deliberately sat on her hands to prevent gnawing on her thumbnail and practiced her breathing exercises.
Her gaze stayed locked on the hallway leading to the terminal while passengers behind her continued to board.
Please, please, Noah, show up, she begged.
I'll make all the brownies you want. I'll be your brownie supplier.
She peered over her shoulder at the gate and cringed. The last boarding group was lining up. Pretty soon, she'd have to get on the plane before they closed the doors. She placed a hand over her stomach and scanned the area for the nearest trash can, in case the nausea churning in her gut escalated.
Something fluttered out of the corner of her eye. Noah. He ran down the hallway, towing his carry-on with one hand and juggling his laptop bag and a coat with the other. She almost cried in relief. She grabbed her stuff and ran to meet him.
"I thought?—"
"I almost?—"
Before he could finish, Claire threw her arms around him in a rush of relief. He stiffened for a heartbeat, then returned the hug with a hesitant pat on her back, like he wasn't quite sure what was expected.
She pulled back quickly, cheeks warming and he gently turned her toward the gate. Okay, maybe physically assaulting a colleague in a fit of relief probably wasn't the best idea. An explanation might be in order.
"Sorry. That was a lot. I was afraid you were going to miss the flight and leave me stranded in England," she said as they got in line to board. Only three people were ahead of them.
Noah grimaced. "I was lucky," he said. "The weather turned ugly and mine was the last flight they let out. I was worried they would cancel it altogether."
They finished the boarding process and found their seats. Claire fidgeted throughout the safety briefing, then recognized the adrenaline dump for what it was.
Claire giggled. "I was so scared, I thought I was gonna barf. Now, I'm so giddy, I'm bouncing off the walls!"
Noah gave her the side-eye. "Well, I for one am sleeping and you should, too.
The time difference is going to whomp you over the head tomorrow.
" He stretched his long legs under the seat in front of him and leaned against the window, using his wadded-up coat as a pillow.
"Also, I would have made arrangements to take care of you.
I'm not a complete arse." With that, he closed his eyes and settled in for a nap.
Claire blinked. It almost sounded as if she'd hurt his feelings. Surely not.
Noah forced himself to sit still and pretend to sleep.
Lord, she was a squirmy little thing. The seats in coach were tiny, and he was not.
Which meant every time Claire moved her leg or arm, she touched him, sending zings of energy throughout his body.
And every time he subtly adjusted his position to move as close to the window as possible and eliminate contact, she seemed to wiggle just enough to counteract his movements.
This was going to be the longest flight of his life.
She'd been in his head ever since Tuesday night.
He liked how she'd felt in his arms, the idea of protecting her during the seizure, and comforting her afterward.
He kept reimagining the ending and what would have happened if he'd insisted on walking her up.
Would he have tucked her into bed? Kissed her forehead goodnight?
Noah sighed inwardly. His mom always quietly teased him about his protective nature.
He'd never been sure if it was truly his nature or if being the elder of four boys made him that way.
God, his poor mom! He grinned to himself.
She'd like Claire and her ridiculous, never-ending positive outlook.
He could hear the lecture now. The one about how he was too serious for this world and needed someone to lighten him up.
Nope! Not going there, dammit. Personal experience aside, he'd witnessed another epic drama when work and romance collided.
A decade ago, one of his managers had messed around with a subordinate and the fallout had been brutal.
There'd been whispers of a harassment complaint, HR investigations, and months of tension.
That had sealed it for him. No dating at work. Too. Many. Problems.
He needed to take this opportunity back in his home territory to reinforce those walls the tiny ginger had somehow managed to weaken. It would be tricky with him driving her around everywhere, but he could do it. She got quiet when he ignored her.
Mind made up, he slowly relaxed and drifted off to a world smelling of gingersnaps and cinnamon and filled with soft cuddly redheads.
Sleep evaded Claire. She tried not to wiggle too much and disturb the other passengers in her row, but she couldn't get comfortable. When their flight landed, the sun was rising in England and she hadn't slept a wink.
Noah opened his eyes, sat up, and without saying a word to her, prepared to depart. She bit her upper lip to keep from talking to him. Based on past observations, he needed coffee in his system before he lost the grumps. She wondered if traveling was also a grump-inducing state for him.
As they followed the crowd through the airport to the baggage claim, Claire struggled to keep up with Noah's long stride.
Mostly it was her fault, trying to take in everything at once.
While the airport looked indistinguishable from others she'd traveled through, the different accents assaulting her ears set her head spinning trying to take in all the people.
She spotted a restroom sign. "Noah, I need to use the restroom."
He turned and followed her gaze to the signs. "Good idea," he said, before walking toward the men's room.
Claire shrugged and lugged her bags to the ladies' room, hurrying as quickly as she could because, with the pace he was setting, she wasn't sure Noah would wait for her.
Despite his reassurances last night about taking care of her, he appeared to have little patience with her curiosity for her new surroundings.
When she stepped back into the hallway, she found him leaning against the wall, waiting for her.
"Thanks for waiting," she said.
He pressed his lips tight, then kicked off the wall and headed to the baggage area again, leaving her to wrestle with her things. She didn't need help, and his hands were full just like hers, but gosh, it sure would have been polite for him to ask.
"I'm assuming you checked a bag?" he asked as they got closer to the exit.
"Yes. You didn't?" She looked over at the carry-on he pulled behind him.
"No need. I live here, remember? I've got everything I need in here." He nodded at his carry-on. "Honestly, it probably worked better that I didn't. Not sure it would have made the connection."
"Oh, right." She had forgotten this was home for him and the apartment he occupied in Houston was corporate housing provided by Caprock.
It must be weird splitting time between two homes.
"I guess it's a little late to ask this, but what's the plan for this week?
How am I getting from the hotel to the plant each day?
And can you tell me exactly what I'm supposed to do while I'm here? "
He grimaced. "They assigned me to be your chauffeur for the week. I'll pick you up at your hotel each morning and drop you off after work. I expect the IT and accounting team will have an agenda for you. And we can still do project work from here."
"Noah?" She waited until he looked at her. "I know that's inconvenient for you. Sorry for the trouble."
His face softened. "It's not too bad. Your hotel is on my way. And it will give us a chance to review progress each day on the way home."
They rounded a corner, and Noah directed her toward the customs line. "When you're done, head to baggage claim. I'll meet you there."
The customs line didn't take long and wasn't nearly as exciting as she'd expected it to be.
Just answer a few questions, get a stamp on your passport, and carry on.
Afterward, she followed the signs to the baggage claim area and spotted Noah talking to a man in a black suit.
She waved at them, then made her way to the carousel to wait for her bag.
Once she'd retrieved her luggage, she joined them. "I made it through."
The man smiled and reached for her bag. "Well, done, miss. I'm Ferris. I'll be dropping you and Mr. Raines off today. Shall we go?"
"Thank you, Ferris. I'm happy to meet you." Claire followed the men to the black four-door car Noah had called a hire car. Once their belongings were loaded into the trunk, and she and Noah comfortably ensconced in the back, Ferris calmly drove them away from the airport and into London proper.
Claire watched wide-eyed while they traveled through the city and tried to stay awake to view the countryside, but her eyelids grew heavy and she found her head lolling.
"Claire," Noah spoke, and she snapped her head up for the second time. "It's a two-hour drive. You really should get some sleep."
"But I want to see everything," she mumbled. Maybe she'd rest her eyes for a minute.
The cessation of movement woke her. Ferris put the car in park and Claire sat up to look around. "Are we at the hotel?" she asked.
"Nope," Noah said. "My place was on the way." He gathered his laptop and coat. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at half past seven and we'll head to the plant."
"But it's still morning. Shouldn't we go straight there?" She was confused. Today was a workday.
Noah cracked a small smile. "Trust me, the crash is coming.
You should probably grab an early lunch—there are a couple of restaurants near the hotel—then take a nap.
By the time you wake up, it will be morning in Houston and you can get some work done from your room.
The restaurant at the hotel is pretty good for supper later. "
"Oh. Okay." Claire tried not to sound disappointed that he wouldn't be joining her. She didn't want to admit it, but she was nervous about being on her own in a foreign country. Even having a reluctant Noah beside her would be better than being alone trying to figure everything out.
"Claire." She looked up reluctantly. "You'll be okay." He smiled again at her, then closed the car door.
She watched him walk toward a row of stone houses all mashed together.
They reminded her of condos back home. He unlocked a bright blue door and disappeared inside.
She'd never thought about what his home would look like or how his world functioned outside the office.
What did a pretty blue door reveal about the quiet operations manager?
"Ready, miss?" Ferris was back in the car and ready to go.
"Yep. Let the adventure continue!" She swallowed down her fear and pictured herself in her superhero pose, taking on the world.