Chapter 11
They arrived at The Aspen – Pitkin County Airport which had two terminals with a total of seven gates.
His driver, dropped them off that the front door and they proceeded to go to the private aircraft access point.
They went through the security protocol and then were taken in a airport vehicle to Peter’s jet.
She’d never seen a private plane up close, but his seemed exceptionally large.
She climbed the stairs and entered the plane. The first room was a large sitting area with a sofa against the back wall and a loveseat on each end of the sofa. A huge coffee table was in the middle of the area.
Alexis ran a hand over the top of the loveseat as she passed it. The material was so soft, it reminded her of her favorite cashmere sweater.
She turned toward Peter, who was behind her. “Do you mind if I look around? I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s a…amazing. I could lie on this sofa and be happy for the rest of my life.” She laughed.
He laughed with her. “No, not at all. Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Beyond this room was an office area set up with a large desk on each side of the aisle, with two leather conference chairs in front of each desk and a black leather executive chair was behind.
“This working area is quite the set up. With you being an artist, I didn’t think you’d need an office, so to speak.” she said as they walked through the room.
“Mostly those are for my brothers. Sometimes when they come with me, they still have work to do. Generally, that is Cole. The man seems to work constantly.”
She looked around the conference room. It had a four-sided table that was polished to a beautiful high gloss and was the darkest wood she’d ever seen.
It was set at an odd angle with four leather executive chairs.
“What is this table made from and why is it shaped like this and only seating for four people? Surely this plane can carry more than four people, right? And if you had a regular table in here you could have at least double the amount of people.”
He laughed. “You’re right, I could have it set up so more people could sit, but that isn’t what I want.
I only bring associates on here to broker deals.
And those usually involved one or two people.
As to the table, I liked the shape. It’s different and it’s made from ebony, the darkest wood in the world.
That’s not stain, that’s the color of the actual wood. ”
“Oh, my gosh. Something like that must have cost a fortune.” She held up her hand and closed her eyes while shaking her head.
Then she opened them and didn’t take her gaze from his.
“Don’t mind me. I don’t want to know how much things cost. I really don’t.
You’re a billionaire. You can afford to get whatever you want. I’m just…just blown away. This is all—”
“I don’t want you to be blown away. I just want you to know that whatever happens, I will always be here for you. Even if we separate, I’m only a flight away. Always.”
Alexis gave him a brilliant smile. “Thank you. You can’t imagine how much that means to me.”
“Good. I’m glad I can give you a little peace.” He took her hand and kissed the top and then the underside of her wrist. His gaze never wavered from hers.
“Oh, my, is it suddenly hot in here?”
Peter laughed and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Come on, let’s see the rest of the plane before George tells us to buckle up.”
The next room was the galley. It had all the amenities – a large four-door refrigerator, four burner electric stove and oven with a microwave above it. A full meal could be prepared in the air.
“This is amazing. This kitchen is almost bigger than my entire cabin. And it’s definitely better outfitted. I didn’t know you could have a real stove. I would have thought it was a fire hazard.”
“That’s why it’s electric and not gas. It’s much safer. Usually, I have a chef.” Peter wrapped his arms around Alexis. “But I didn’t think I needed one for this trip.” He turned her, took her wrist and turning it over at the last moment, he kissed the inside of her wrist.
The action sent shivers up and down her spine. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the plane that has two bathrooms. The first one is here.” He opened the door and revealed a half bath with marble countertops and chrome fixtures.
He closed the door and moved on to the next room which was the dining room. It was a table for six, made out of the same ebony word as in the conference room, sat to one side of a large room with a buffet and China hutch on the opposite wall from the table.
“This is amazing. It’s just like a flying house. I could live in this, quite happily, at least for a while.”
Peter smiled and took her hand, pulling her toward the short hallway. “Through here are the bedrooms.”
Her eyes widened. “Bedrooms? As in more than one?”
Peter chuckled. “Yes, sometimes one or more of the family will travel with me. I like for them to have their own bedroom.” He opened the door to the first room.
The decor was opulent. A queen bed had a blue silk comforter with a floral pattern on it, a nightstand made from a dark wood was on each side of the bed and the closet door was mirrored.
The second bedroom was much the same but done in green instead of blue.
The third bedroom was the master. It had a king-size bed with a burgundy silk comforter, two oak nightstands and two mirrored doors on the wall opposite the door where they stood.
“Come with me.” Peter pulled her into the room and walked over to the doors. He opened one and then stood back for her to enter.
It was a bathroom but the most lavish one she’d ever seen.
The double sink countertop was black granite with gold veins running through it.
A shower with four shower heads and glass doors, a separate Jacuzzi bathtub, and the toilet with a bidet alongside completed the bathroom.
“This is amazing. Why would you want to live anywhere else when you have all of this?”
Peter laughed. “This is just for travel. I could never live like this all of the time. My ranch, where I’m comfortable, is much more to my style. You’ll see when we get there.”
The captain’s voice came over the speakers. “We’re getting ready for takeoff. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts.”
“Follow me. We need to get back to the front of the plane.”
Alexis followed Peter to the sitting area where they first entered.
He walked to one of the loveseats and sat. “Come sit next to me. Two seatbelts are here. Unless, of course, you would rather sit by yourself.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
She laughed. “I don’t think you’ll bite me if I sit next to you.”
“Nope.” He grinned. “Not yet, anyway.”
“You’re feeling full of yourself this afternoon.”
“That I am. That I am. Now, buckle up so we can get in the air.”
Once she had fastened her seatbelt, Peter picked up a remote and pressed a button. “We’re all ready back here, George. You can take off when ready.”
“Yes, sir. Taxiing now.”
Not even ten minutes later, they were in the air and headed toward Denver.
“You may move about the cabin.” The pilot’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Come on. I’ll prepare us a snack. Not too much. I’m taking you to dinner tonight.”
How can I ever fit into his world especially after seeing all this, seeing everything he’s used to? “Where are we going? I didn’t bring anything very fancy. Heck, I don’t own anything I’d call fancy.”
“I thought we’d do Ruth’s Chris Steak House. It’s one of my favorite places and the steaks are top notch.”
“That sounds great. I’ve always wanted to eat there but never could afford it.”
“We don’t have that problem tonight. They know me very well there. I guarantee whatever they recommend is fantastic. I’ve never been disappointed.” He stood and walked down to the kitchen.
Alexis followed him.
Peter pulled crackers from the cupboard and a tray with individual puff pastries, filled with Lobster Thermidor. He’d also included caviar, and pre-cracked lobster claws, along with cubes of papaya and mango. No regular meat and cheese tray here.
“Did you know you were flying out today?”
“Not until this morning. I had the chef at Bosq put together a snack tray.”
“Must be nice to have the best chef in Aspen be at your beck and call.”
Peter set plates, cocktail forks and knives on the counter, next to the food. “It is. He’s an old friend from college. He and Megan, that’s my sister, went to culinary school together and dated for a bit. I still call him when I’m in town and he comes to see us when he’s in Denver.”
“Uh, that’s nice.”
Then he pulled a couple of San Pelligrino from the fridge. “Come fill your plate and then we’ll sit at the table.”
Alexis picked up a plate and filled it with some of everything. “This all looks wonderful, though I’m not certain about the caviar.”
“Try it. Put a small amount on a cracker and pop it in your mouth. Like this.” He took his appetizer knife and scooped a bit of caviar on a small cracker and then popped the entire thing in his mouth.
“Okay, I’ll give it a try.” She did the same as he did, chewed and then swallowed. “Well, I can say I’ve tried it now.” She pushed the treat to the side. “I don’t think I’ll try it again though.”
Peter threw his head back and laughed.
She enjoyed the lobster claws immensely, going back for seconds and then thirds. “You know people in lots of places. For some reason I thought you would only know other artists.”
“I was many things before I was an artist. In college I waited tables at one of the pizza places in Boulder. I was a short order cook at Buffalo Bill’s Grave and Museum in the mountains outside of Golden.
I lived there, too, while I worked there.
I worked on my family’s ranch, which I still do.
We all do as time allows and for round up and haying. ”
She leaned her elbows on the counter while he worked setting up their snacks. “What is haying?”