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“How’s that?”
“Harris Lockhart is very free with his employee’s time. Been flying for him for years, and never once has he stopped to consider me. I sit at home for weeks with nothing to do, barely getting paid. Then people like you come along, and it’s like I can’t move fast enough.”
“That’s—”
Van held up a hand. “Let me finish.”
I sat back, waiting for him to say what he needed to say so he could walk out without even hearing what I could offer.
“After three weeks without work, and a bare minimum pay, I get called in to fly you. Lockhart berated me for making him look bad in front of his client, saying if I would have been faster getting there and getting the chopper going—after it sat unused for three weeks—then that shit wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s—”
He held up his hand again, halting my words. “Then there’s you.” He wiped that hand down his face before leaning forward in his chair. With his elbows on his knees, he said, “Not once, not twice, but three separate times, you stopped to ask me how I was. After everything…”
Van shook his head and looked away.
“I saw that girl you brought on board. I saw that guy that jumped out nearly die on the stern of that boat. I saw in your eyes that you were not okay. But you checked on me, three separate times.”
Whatever words I’d thought to say evaporated from my mind. While Van sat back in his chair, I could do nothing but stare back.
“You’ve been calling me for months and quite frankly, I’d had enough. But then that night happened. When you called last night, when I told you no, I was running on autopilot. I spent a sleepless night trying to figure out whether I wanted to give up my dream of being a pilot so I could work for a man who has more integrity in his little finger than Lockhart will ever have.”
I scratched at my cheek with the back of my fingers. “And what’d you decide?”
Van lifted both hands to his sides, as if telling me, “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Huh. Maybe she was wrong.”
“Who’s wrong about what?”
“Kelly. She thought I needed an ice cream machine to entice you here.”
“That could sweeten the deal.” He laughed. “Who’s Kelly? Your girlfriend?”
I’m not sure what face I made at his question, but whatever it was must have been answer enough. His eyes widened and he edged his head back as he straightened his spine.
“Oh. It’s her?” I nodded because I couldn’t force the words out. “How is she?”
“You want the truth?” I parroted back to him, and the bastard had to go responding in kind.
“Always.”
I let out a sigh and scrubbed my hands over my head before leaning my elbows on the desk. “She’s a mess. Been living at my safehouse since she refused to go home with her parents and had a fuckin’ panic attack when I tried to drop her off at her apartment. She has nightmares multiple times a night and I’ve barely gotten any sleep. And yet…”
Van’s eyebrows shot up when I didn’t continue.
So I forced myself to. “Each day, it feels like she’s getting a little better.”
The look on his face was indecipherable. Whether it was the lack of sleep or my worry over how Kelly was handling her therapy, I wasn’t sure, but my brain felt sluggish. Simple things didn’t feel simple anymore.
Before Van could respond, a noise sounded from out in the other room, followed by a feminine voice. “Hello? Anyone here?”
Brow furrowed, I stood from my chair, rounding my desk only to nearly die of a fuckin’ heart attack when I found a woman standing right outside my office door.
She was just as surprised to see me, letting out a scream that had Van jumping from his chair and racing to my side.
“Holy shit! You scared me.” She pressed her hand to her chest, heaving great breaths that I felt the need to mimic in order to get my own heart back on track.
