Chapter 31 Harrison
HARRISON
Istill hadn’t gotten used to the chill that had settled over the executive suite since Gwen left.
Susan was as efficient as ever, but I found myself missing the gossipy, chatty version of her.
It was like she was disappointed in me, even if she’d never admit it out loud.
She could be vocally judgmental about my business decisions, but she knew better than to weigh in on my personal life.
At least now she was opting out. Prior Susan was more than happy to critique whichever model or actress I had on my arm. Gwen seemed to be off limits.
“Good morning, Susan.” I paused at her desk, hoping for a crack in her icy demeanor.
A single quick glance, then she went right back to typing at a breakneck pace. “Good morning. You’re early again.”
I usually didn’t roll in until nine, but lately I preferred to get lost in my work as soon as the sun came up. Susan, ever the over-achiever, always showed up at seven thirty.
“Yeah, busy day.”
“Understood. No changes to your schedule today.”
She didn’t even look up from whatever she was working on.
So the deep freeze was continuing. “Got it, thank you.”
I walked into my office hoping that my day would be busy enough to block out the memories that kept invading my thoughts, like how stupid I was for assuming that a few new appliances could win Gwen back.
During our final call, she’d done an autopsy on our relationship. I couldn’t argue with her, because she was correct on all counts. But there was no way for me to make it right.
I wanted to, desperately. I had to show her that I could be the man she wanted.
That she deserved. The question was how.
Gifts were obviously out of the question.
I needed time to figure out my way back to her, because I wasn’t about to fuck up twice.
It was going to happen—I just wasn’t sure when or how.
My phone rang with a call from Deb in legal, and my day was off and running. I didn’t lift my head until a couple hours later, when Susan showed up in the doorway looking grimmer than usual despite her cheery yellow cardigan.
“I know you don’t have social media, so I sent you a link that I think you should see. It’s tagged ‘time sensitive.’ Best to check it out now.”
She disappeared before I could ask her any questions. I sighed, then navigated to my inbox and opened her latest message.
It was a video, and the freeze-frame of Gwen was enough to take my breath away. Fuck, I missed her so much that it ached. How could I let her slip away?
I was an idiot, plain and simple.
I pushed play and my stomach twisted tighter as Gwen smiled at me through the screen, looking happy and excited.
“Hey, friends, I’ve been keeping a secret from you, and now it’s finally time to share it!
I’m exploring an incredible opportunity to partner with a PR firm in London, because we all know that drama knows no borders, so I’m off for a month-long exploratory session—possibly longer if things go well—with Wakefield and Co. to see if we have synergy.”
She winked and laughed. “Like that jargon? Anyway, I’m literally walking into the airport, way too many hours early because that’s how I roll, so I’ll catch you up when I’m across the pond. Cheers!”
I couldn’t catch my breath. A month? And she was leaving now? And it sounded like there was a chance that she might move there full-time, or at least for the long term.
So much had happened in the past few days. Her new business was off and running in a big way, and I was nothing more than a spectator to it. I was supposed to be by her side as she launched into this new phase of her life. But then again, she didn’t need my support.
She’d proven that time and again.
I checked the time stamp on the video. She’d posted it just thirty minutes before, and she said she was hours early. Okay, I had her travel parameters—now it was time to act.
“Susan?” I hollered.
She appeared in my doorway hiding a triumphant smile. There would never be another Susan.
“Yes?”
“Can you call in a favor with Jason at Heli-One and see if he can get me to LAX ASAP?”
LA traffic was an unpredictable nightmare, so opting for a ten-minute helicopter ride instead of fighting it out on the pavement was an easy decision.
“Yes, of course.”
She was on her phone before she even turned around to leave.
Okay, perfect. I’d have plenty of time to make it to LAX. I placed a quick call to one of my operations buddies at the airport to figure out which airline she was flying only to discover that their computer system was glitching. He promised to call me back as soon as it was up again.
Not ideal.
The intercom buzzed. Also not ideal, because the only time Susan used it was when she didn’t want to face me. I hit the button to answer.
“Give me some good news.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, Jason doesn’t have anything open right now. He’s down one helicopter for maintenance. He apologized.”
I ground my teeth. “When will one be available?”
“Not until after noon.”
It was nine. Fuck. If Gwen’s departure was midday, that would be cutting it extremely tight, even with the short flight time.
“Tell him thanks, but it’s not going to work. Appreciate the effort, though.”
That left me no choice. I was going to have to drive to the airport, traffic and speed cameras be damned. I wasn’t about to miss the chance to tell Gwen in person that I was owning the mistakes I’d made and that I was committed to changing if it meant we could be together again.
Yeah, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
I jumped out of my chair, grabbed my blazer, and speed walked to the door.
“I’m heading out,” I said over my shoulder to Susan. “Not sure when I’ll be back.”
“I’m really happy to hear that,” she sang after me.
I could hear the smile in her voice.
She was the reason the whole plan was in motion. Without Susan’s heads-up, I never would’ve known Gwen was leaving. I owed her a big, fat bonus, no matter how everything turned out.
Of course, the only acceptable outcome was Gwen back in my arms. I wouldn’t even consider the alternative.
I’d opted to drive the Aston Martin to the office again, which was a blessing and a curse because I needed the speed, but I dreaded what might happen to the precious car during my reckless drive to the airport.
But then again, I’d buy a fleet of them to replace it if it managed to get me to Gwen in time.
My phone rang, and I considered ignoring it until I saw who it was.
“Hey, Drew, everything okay?”
“Yeah, why do you always assume I only call when it’s an emergency?”
He sounded defensive and a little sad at the same time.
I downshifted as brake lights lit up in front of me. “Shit.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, I’m driving to the airport and there’s traffic,” I grumbled. “So what’s up?”
“Dad told me you stopped by the house and you had a talk about Mom and the greenhouse.”
It was so much more than just about the greenhouse, and we both knew it.
“Yeah, it was good seeing him. And being home,” I admitted. “Been too long. I miss how things used to be.”
“Exactly, which made me think that maybe we could get together for a drink soon. I barely got to see you at the party. Nothing major, I just thought it would be good to catch up, you know?”
It was an unexpected gesture, and I wasn’t sure why he was making it.
Despite living in the same city, we usually only saw each other a handful of times a year.
But for a change, I didn’t press to find out his ulterior motive, if there even was one.
Getting together would probably be a little tense at first, but he was trying, and that mattered to me.
Maybe my new willingness to be more open with my feelings for Gwen was somehow spilling out into the cosmos, and other people were picking up on it.
“Yeah, I’d really like that. Thanks.”
“And I want to get to know Gwen better. I like her.”
I was tempted to open up about what had happened between us, but hopefully it wouldn’t matter in a bit.
“Yeah, she’s incredible,” I said instead.
“Maybe we can get a dinner on the books down the road, once I get the mess with our event planner at Carmel Luxe straightened out.”
“I thought you found someone?” I asked as I jumped lanes. “Dad mentioned it to me.”
“Yeah, that guy didn’t work out. We’re still scrambling.”
“Sorry to hear it. Once you’ve got that settled, let’s definitely plan for a group dinner.”
I was speaking it into existence, assuming that Gwen would be open to a second chance.
Or based on her math, a third chance.
“Great, looking forward to it. Should I call Susan to get on your calendar?”
I had to laugh at my tech-resistant brother. “You’re family, not a business associate. You can text me your open dates, you know.”
“No, I can’t. My thumbs are too big for the keys, and I can’t figure out how to undo the gibberish I type.”
I slammed on my brakes to avoid rear-ending the car in front of me. “Whatever, call Susan then.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
I smiled, despite the line of cars forcing me to a stop. “Yeah, same.”
We hung up, and I took advantage of the molasses traffic to check Waze.
Fuck. An accident had ballooned the remainder of the drive to over an hour. My operations buddy had finally emailed with Gwen’s flight details, and the delay meant I was going to be sprinting to make it to her gate in time.
To tell her face-to-face that from this point on, I’d only be running to her, not away.
One of the many benefits of being in the aviation industry was that the usual rules didn’t apply to me, like having to park miles and miles from the terminal.
I had a special access card that allowed me to park close in, and it would serve me well this morning.
I zipped into a spot, hopped out of my car, and took off jogging while trying to navigate my phone at the same time.
I was down to minutes before her gate closed, and I’d be lucky if she hadn’t already boarded. I wasn’t sure what sort of rank I’d have to pull to try to get to her, but I was willing to use up all of my favors to make it happen.
I watched the clock tick down as I ran through the terminal, dodging families and senior citizens, hoping against hope that I’d make it…
Until I couldn’t hope anymore. I slowed when I saw the flight information disappear off my screen.
“Damn it,” I muttered to myself.
I paced in front of the arrivals and departures monitors, trying to come up with a Plan B.
As of now, Ashford Jets only had one craft suitable for international travel, and I hadn’t checked the schedule to see if it was available.
There was no way I’d cancel a client’s travel plans, so all I could do was hope as I scrolled through our flight plans for the next few days.
By some stroke of incredible luck, no one had booked it until the following Monday, so it was mine for the taking.
Or rather, it was available, but not actually mine to fly, because I hadn’t flown internationally in ages, and I didn’t have enough recent hours required to safely make the trip.
That left one last piece of the puzzle. I dialed my phone quickly, before I could talk myself out of the major favor I was about to request.
“What’s good, my friend?” Kevin asked in his usual chipper voice.
“Odd question for you: What are you up to for the next, oh, twenty-four to forty-eight hours?”