Chapter 28
Charlotte
Tip #28: If your boss insists on carting you along on every work trip he goes on, you may as well get something out of it by signing up for every airline rewards program in existence.
“W e have finished preboarding and special-assistance boarding and are now boarding first-class passengers,” the airline employee announced, her voice crackling over the intercom.
I stared at my first-class ticket, and my heart still refused to crawl out of my gut, where it had fallen after I’d talked to the gate agent.
“I shouldn’t have expected anything else when they called me to the desk,” I muttered.
But I had. Somewhere in my heart I’d nursed a tiny, wild hope that maybe Isaac had called the desk in a last-ditch effort to stop me from boarding or to let me know he was coming after me.
But no. They’d called me to the desk just to tell me I’d been upgraded.
It was a fun surprise, but it should have occurred to me that an upgrade was far more likely than Isaac changing. Given all the business trips Isaac and I had taken together, I’d racked up miles on every airline known to mankind. (Yes, Warner Print had a company jet to entertain clients on, but Isaac didn’t like using it, as it was far more expensive than a first-class ticket.)
I sighed, shouldered my bag, and joined the other first-class fliers in line.
I used the time to give myself a mental pep talk. I was headed to my first stop, England, with a first-class ticket. This wasn’t something to be disappointed about.
“Have a nice flight,” the gate agent said with a practiced smile after she’d scanned my ticket.
“Thanks,” I said, mustering up some enthusiasm as I headed down the jet bridge. The smell of jet fuel and recycled air hit me as I stepped onto the plane. I found my seat—it wasn’t just roomy, it could lay flat for sleeping, which was very exciting for my long flight—and stowed my backpack overhead.
As I settled in, I pulled out my phone to text Ella, letting her know I was finally boarded and my flight would be taking off soon.
She sent me a block of teacup emojis back, followed by a line of chocolate bar emojis, which I assumed meant she was happy for me to be headed to England and Switzerland.
I scrolled mindlessly through social media as the rest of the passengers boarded, pointedly not thinking about Isaac.
It wasn’t until the plane door closed with a decisive thump that reality sank in. This was it. I was really leaving. And Isaac, well, he clearly wasn’t coming after me.
The flight attendants began their safety spiel as we taxied to the runway. I stared at my phone for a long moment before switching it to Airplane Mode.
It was time to move forward even if it felt like my heart was breaking all over again. I forced myself to focus on the flight attendant’s perky gestures as she demonstrated how to use the oxygen mask, ready for my adventure to start.