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“What, that she was experimenting with you?”
“No, the Nike or Adidas thing. Do not tell me that’s his name. I will die of embarrassment because I’ve lost out to some guy named Adidas.”
“Welcome to Singapore, Ms. Lowe. Some people should not be allowed to choose their names. I know as many Henrys as I do Bentleys.”
“Damn.” Riley repeated. “Damn. Your sister was cute. Like you.”
Arianna lightly gasped.
“I mean that in a respectful way, not a sexual harassment way.”
“You will be the death of me, lah,” Arianna muttered in Malay. “Let’s start over. You want to buy me a drink back in Singapore? Fine.” She grabbed her phone from beneath her butt and automatically unlocked it. “Let’s exchange ChatSnap info. We’ll rendezvous at Tiger Lily and see if we can’t get you a girlfriend to take your mind off my sister.”
Riley found her phone but hesitated upon seeing Arianna’s screen.
“What is it?” Arianna asked.
“I don’t think that’s what you meant to show me. But if it is, I humbly ask if you are single again, Aria.”
Panic shot through Arianna as she brought her screen up to her face. “Alamak!” Her voice carried through the whole cabin, rousing the attention of someone changing clothes in the antechamber. This is not happening! Arianna had shown Riley pictures of her breasts! Her naked breasts!
“I saw nothing.” Riley held up her hands. “Trust me when I say I am as fucked up as you are right now.”
“Everything okay in here?” asked Tina, the American flight attendant who was in the middle of changing. “Riley, what the hell are you doing?”
It was rather amazing how quickly the American crew raised their voices and descended to casual speech in front of one another. Tina was one of Riley’s ex-lovers, and she had assumed that she was now putting the moves on Arianna. It took more than a few minutes of Arianna attempting to come up with a story and explaining what had made her exclaim something only ten minutes ago. By the time everyone calmed down, Arianna had deleted half the photos from her phone and was too awake to possibly take a nap that day.
Never a dull moment with this airline. Sometimes she was a celebrity, and other times she was a scandal-clad victim. If only her coworkers could make up their minds!
Chapter 26
When the dust settled, Arianna still had too much on her plate. Kaylinn wanted to know all about the trip while they ate Indian takeout at Arianna’s place and souvenirs were gradually displayed. Arianna had promised to meet with Riley at Changi Pat’s but couldn’t tell her sister that. Instead, she made it sound like she was meeting up with the American flight attendants who wanted to go over their sightseeing plan with a local. Kaylinn offered to come along, which was exactly what Arianna didn’t want.
Her sister was placated with a whole bag of American snacks that Arianna barely fit into her checked luggage. She nearly lost it at the cute Sasquatch plush and immediately named him Washington after the state he came from. Arianna texted Riley as soon as Kaylinn was gone. It would take her a few minutes to get ready.
All Arianna cared about was that she and everyone in her life were on the same wavelength. Meeting with Riley allowed them to clear the air between them. Arianna wasn’t angry; Riley conveniently forgot any photos she saw. They acknowledged that coworkers might see them having drinks together and kept it semi-professional so no rumors flew about Arianna, who was grateful. When she returned home for a final time that night, she simmered in the shower and looked forward to the next time she would see Elle.
Riley’s right… I’m in love. Elle was the lucky woman, and it was a shame she was probably asleep at work right now because Arianna would love to say a few more I love yous over the phone. It was the most addictive phrase in the world, and the fact she knew how to say it in multiple languages only made it more dangerous.
She went to sleep dreaming of the silliest things the child inside of her could imagine. A white wedding. Honeymoon in Bali. A cute American house. A Singaporean flat bigger than this one. An eternity together. Arianna wasn’t thinking about practical things like what would become of her job or what country she would live in. It was romance.
Sweet, beautiful romance that was finally hers.
The sun peeked through her window and awoke her early in the morning. She stretched her arms above her head while yawning, still wearing the baggy T-shirt she had taken from Elle’s Seattle apartment. My favorite souvenir. She snuggled deeper beneath her duvet, ignoring the flashing notification light on her phone.
Someone was calling her. Someone from work.
“Miss Song?” It was Rachel, and this was not a pleasure call. “Good. You’re awake.”
No. No, that was far from good. Being awake meant the dream faded away.
She sat in a conference room at Royal Asia’s headquarters, facing a gauntlet of her superiors. Esther Tan. Rachel See-Williams. Charlie Pheng. And, holy shit, Albert Chen-Robertson, the top dog of HR in Singapore.
Something had happened. Nobody had told Arianna what, but she didn’t like the feeling currently killing her post-vacation vibe.
“Miss Song.” Rachel was the one chosen by this terrifying delegation to address her subordinate at the table. They were a united force against her, Charlie the only one looking uncomfortable and Esther almost apologetic. Rachel loves this. She was the type. As for Mr. Chen-Robertson? Arianna had only met him once before, and she knew it wasn’t good news to be in an impromptu meeting with him. He directly answered to the board of directors in Singapore… and Los Angeles. “Are you in a relationship with Elizabeth Sabin?”
This is it… Arianna had no way to know that she had trained her whole life for this moment. Her posture, her decorum, and her entire countenance could not betray that she was shocked to hear that name. She must look bemused. Don’t let them know the truth. Because Arianna very much recognized that name. It echoed in her head whenever she imagined a world where she was married and dithering between going by Arianna Sabin or Arianna Song-Sabin.
