by Katie Dowe
“I still can do that.” Daniel handed her the bowl of salad. “So how was it?”
“He is not much of a talker. A man of few words. But you know me! I can deal with any situation.”
“I know.” He shook his greying head. “I will never understand why you and Naomi would choose to be up in the air for most of your life. If I cannot see the ground then I get really scared and out of control.”
“Daddy, you do know that planes are safer than cars, right?”
“So they say. Now eat up, honey. I have this prize-winning rose that I need to show you. It’s a new stream that I am experimenting with.”
“Look at you! The gardener,” she said with a fond smile.
“More like the landscaper,” he told her with a wry smile.
*****
Virginia Schulz stepped out of her thin black robe and tested the water in her bath before stepping inside the white foamy water. She grimaced slightly as she sank down into the cavernous bath. She was going to have to reprimand that silly maid about making sure the water was at the right temperature. She put her head back against the padded edges and closed her eyes briefly. She was starved for love but had learned to keep it to herself as the years went by. Her parents had told her over and over again that showing emotion was what people of lower class did and they were not of the lower class. They had handed her over to Franz Schulz even though he had no money, but they had seen something in him. She had taken one look at the dark brooding man and had been instantly attracted but that attraction had never been returned. He had told her from the beginning that it was just a mutually satisfying arrangement and the fact that he was going to make a fortune. They had gotten married and had consummated the union that night. Franz had been a skilled lover and had her sobbing into his arms the minute he had touched her, but he, on the other hand, had been cool and aloof the entire time, getting up as soon as he had finished and going into the other room. She had curled up on her pillows and cried herself to sleep. She had tried to reach him, but he had turned her away and had taken lovers discreetly, only making love to her one time for the week in order for her to give him a son and heir. She had thought that the arrival of their son would bring them closer together, but it had done the opposite. She had pined for his body against hers even after he had died and still did so. Her eyes snapped open as she stared around the magnificent room. She had been the highly respected Mrs. Franz Schulz, billionaire extraordinaire who had put a stipulation in his will: If he died before her and she married someone else, she was to leave the home he had built and would get nothing of the fortune he had amassed from the money he had gotten when he married her! She had stared at the lawyer in disbelief and the man had looked away in an uncomfortable silence. Franz had manipulated her when he was married to her and was doing it even now from the grave! Not that she was interested in any other men. She had little affairs here and there but nothing serious because she loved being Mrs. Franz Schulz too much! Their son was very much like his dad! She lifted one long graceful leg and stared at it for a moment. He was almost thirty years old now and she had the perfect wife picked out for him!
********
She put on her best smile as soon as he boarded the aircraft. She had been working for him for a month and two weeks and had yet to see him crack a smile. The only thing she knew was that he traveled a great deal and his head was always buried in some report or peering at the screen of his laptop. He looked distracted today and barely afforded her and Reginald a nod. “We will be picking up some business associates in New York,” he told the pilot briefly as he went to take his seat.
Leah looked at Reginald puzzled and the man gaze a shrug before going off to the cockpit. Leah took a deep breath before walking over to him. “These people we are picking up, is there anything I need to know about them? Their preferences perhaps?”
He looked up at her with a slight frown between his brows as if he resented her bothering him.
“Why?”
Leah bit off the sigh before he could notice. “How long are they going to be with us for?”
“Ms. Grant,” he bit out impatiently. “You are here to serve the drinks and refreshments and see to it that the passengers are comfortable. This is not a restaurant where they are coming to expect a four course meal.”
“Mr. Schulz.” Her tone was deliberately cool as she stared back at him. She was never going to allow him to see how much his remark pricked her skin! “I am well aware that this is not a restaurant, but I am a professional and I like to know beforehand what the passengers’ likes or dislikes are. I don’t like to interrupt you in the middle of your meeting to ask what should be served.”
His cold blue gaze almost had her trembling but she stood her ground. “Scotch!” he told her icily.
“Are you okay?” she asked him sweetly. “Would you like a massage to the shoulder areas? You seemed a little tense.”
Leah stepped back as a mask came over his face and his eyes narrowed.
“How long have you been working for me?” His voice was deceptively soft and Leah felt her heart quake.
“A month and two weeks.”
“If you want to make it to two months, you will leave right now and don’t let me hear your voice for the rest of the journey. Am I clear?”
She did not respond but stood there staring at him. The silence lengthened and only the sound of the humming of the engine as the aircraft ascended broke the stillness.
“Ms. Grant?” His voice was like a whiplash in the still aircraft.
“Oh, am I allowed to speak now?”
His mouth thinned and she saw his hands clench into fists. He was certainly not used to anyone speaking to him like that, certainly not a mere employee! “Get me a club soda,” he told her tightly.
Leah hurried away and waited until she was in the galley before she allowed her emotions to overtake her. She took several calming breaths before she could pour the drink he wanted and had to wait another couple of minutes before she took it to him.
“Here you go,” she said with forced cheerfulness. It was when his eyes narrowed that she remembered that he had told her he did not want to hear her voice. Tough, she thought recklessly. “Enjoy,” she added airily and escaped before he could slay her with his tongue.
She plopped down on the comfortable sofa and closed her eyes briefly. If she still had her job after this, she was going to be on her best behavior.
*****
Peter’s eyes narrowed as he saw Richard Haas touch her arm briefly as he talked to her. He was the son of a business associate and was in the process of taking over his father’s shipping company. He was the youngest of the men who had boarded the plane and was one year younger than Peter. He was also a renowned playboy who thought he was irresistible to most women and maybe he was. He stiffened as he saw Leah flashing him a brilliant smile before she went back into the galley.
“Do you have any intention of letting Leah go?” the man asked as he came back to them. “I would hire her in a heartbeat.” His light blue eyes sought Leah again and Peter wanted to wipe the look off the man’s face!
“No,” he said in a tight voice.
“Hey, man! If you are hitting her then say so?”
The look that Peter gave him could have shriveled stone! Richard closed his mouth abruptly and looked away from him.
“Shall we finish?” Peter asked coldly as he looked around at the rest of them.
The men nodded and did not say another word.
*****
“Reginald, would you give us a moment, please?” Peter said as soon as the plane landed and they were at the door waiting for him to disembark.
“Of course.” Reginald gave Leah a swift glance before hurrying down the steps.
“I will not have you flirting with the business associates again, Ms. Grant,” he told her coldly.
“What?” Leah looked at him, puzzled.
“You were flirting with Richard Haas and I do not tolerate my staff frat
ernizing with my associates.”
Leah stared at him as if he had taken leave of all his senses! “What you call flirting, I call being pleasant and professional. I smile at all the passengers and I certainly did not go out of my way to make advances to Mr. Haas. He approached me and said something and I smiled at what he said. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t want me to be pleasant to the people who board this plane, then let me know, but I am not like you, Mr. Schulz, I cannot be cold and unfeeling, it’s just not in my DNA!” Her dark brown eyes were blazing and her beautiful face was animated with the outrage she was feeling. How dare he!
He stared at her in reluctant admiration! No one had ever dared to speak to him that way and he felt the fire from her igniting his body! “You think I am unfeeling?” he asked her softly.
“I am sorry-”
“Don’t spoil it, Ms. Grant. You were doing so well.”
She stared at him in confusion, the anger evaporating. She had just told her employer how cold and unfeeling he was and she was definitely sure that by the end of shift she would not have a job! “Are you through?”
He nodded. “For now.”
“I have to go,” she said. Not quite remembering that she was the last one to alight, she hurried down the steps and practically ran to her vehicle!
*****
“Honey, calm down!” Naomi handed her a glass of wine and sat next to her. “You don’t know that you are fired. And besides I don’t think that talking your mind is grounds for termination. Maybe this will be a good thing. If he fires you then you can turn around and sue him for wrongful termination. Think how much money you can make!”
Leah sent her friend a withering look as she sipped her wine. She had come home last night and had spent half the night pacing her small bedroom and wondering if she was going to be told not to come back. She was off for two days, but she had no idea what her status was!
“I was rude,” Leah admitted. “You know me, Naomi, I never let my feelings get in the way no matter what.”
“So, why did you?” her friend asked her curiously.
Leah shrugged. “I just blew my top. I heard him accusing me wrongfully and just blew it. I had no idea what I was saying, but I knew I wanted to defend myself.”
“He cannot fault you for being frank,” Naomi pointed out. “He was the one at fault.”
“Yeah, and he is also the boss,” Leah said dejectedly.”
*****
“Darling, you are not listening to a word I am saying,” Candace chided him lightly as they stood there looking at the exhibit together. It was a gallery opening and the only reason he had attended was because one of the artists had been sponsored by his company. He was bored and edgy and just wanted to be by himself to think.
“You said that the brush strokes are bold and unapologetic. Whatever that means,” he said as he sipped the champagne that had been handed to him by one of the waiters. “All I can see is just squiggly lines. A child could do better.”
Candace laughed seductively as she put her hand through his arm, ignoring the sudden stiffening of his body. Peter did not liked to be touched, but he was going to get used to it. She and his mother had his future planned between them, and Candace was sure it would come to pass. Candace Lovelace was a society queen with striking ash blonde hair and light green eyes. Her skin was of the purest porcelain and her tall willowy body was seductive enough to make heads turn. She was as pale as he was dark and they complemented each other perfectly. He had been seeing her on and off for the past year or so and she had decided that it was time he made a commitment. “This artist is going places. He might not be Rembrandt or Picasso, but he is gaining quite a bit of reputation as it is.”
“You sold me,” Peter said dryly. He extricated himself from her arm and moved closer to the rows of painting. “I much prefer this one.” He pointed to a still life that depicted a child sitting on a rock with his feet dangling in the clear blue water.
“Too unassuming.” She moved closer to him. She had observed that several women in the room were giving him the eye and she wanted to make sure that they knew he belonged to her. She could already feel the heavy diamond solitaire on her finger. She linked her hand through his again and held on firmly. “I was thinking we could go to St. Tropez for the weekend.”
“I have meetings,” he told her briefly.
“Darling, you work too hard,” she said with a pout of coral lips.
“I love work. Do you want the painting?” he asked her suddenly. He knew that he was appeasing her for not accepting her invitation and for later when he was going to tell her that he wanted to go home alone!
“Darling, of course!” She looked up at him with glowing eyes and for a moment he almost felt guilty.
“It’s yours.”
*****
Leah went to work on Thursday with trepidation in her heart. She had not heard the call telling her not to report for work, so this morning at a quarter past nine, she had taken a shower, put on her makeup, and gotten ready. She left her car in the usual spot and went inside to clear customs before walking out to the private hangar where his plane was.
“Hey there!” Reginald waved at her as she made her way towards the aircraft.
“Hi.” She waved back and walked over to him.
“We are making a quick spin to New York and then to Texas.”
“Sounds like the entire day.” She searched his face to find out whether or not he had heard anything.
“Let’s go up until the boss man comes.” He allowed her to precede him and the climbed the steps until they were inside. “I am going to set things in motion until he gets here. I understand he is running a little late. Oh, and you will get to meet his mother. She is accompanying him to New York.” He shook his head. “She is not the nicest person in the world, so keep your distance.”
“I will bear that in mind,” Leah said in a disconsolate tone.
Both of them arrived twenty minutes later. Leah had seen pictures of the extremely attractive and sculpted woman in the papers many times, but the pictures did not do her justice nor did it fully define the coldness of the eyes she had passed to her son. Her white blonde hair was cut in a short chic style that swung against her cheeks. Her makeup was flawless and her mouth pursed. She would have been so much more beautiful is she allowed her facial features to relax, but Leah guessed that would be beneath her. There was no introduction from either of them, and Leah had the feeling that they did not belittle themselves in being introduced to the help. “Ms. Grant.” Peter’s eyes held her for a moment before looking away.
“Mr. Schulz, Mrs. Schulz,” she said automatically as she stepped back to allow them in. She made a face at their backs as they went to take their seats on the comfortable sofa-like seats. She noticed that they sat opposite each other and could not help but think about her relationship with her dad. They had taken a trip to Disney two years ago and had sat together for the trip. It had been one of the highlights of her life!
She made sure the overhead cabins were secured before taking her seat and fastening her seatbelt for takeoff. The minute the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ sign was off, she got up and went forward. “The usual?” she asked Peter politely.
“Yes.” His eyes held hers for a moment before returning to his laptop.
She went over to where his mother was reclining. She had put on elegant reading glasses and had a thick volume in her hands.
“Excuse me, would you like something to drink? A beverage perhaps or some champagne?” she asked politely.
The woman put her long slender finger between the pages and looked up at her. She allowed her eyes to pass over Leah as if examining her for some form of untidiness before looking up at her. “A mimosa if you may.” Her voice was cold and unemotional.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said politely, feeling her hackles rising. She dealt with women like that in the first class area of the airline she had worked for and always despised their ways. Leah prepared both drinks and pl
acing them on trays went to serve his mother and then him.
“Thank you,” he surprised her by saying, causing her to stop in her tracks and stare at him.
“You are welcome.” She inclined her head gracefully, trying to keep the relief from showing on her face. If he was thanking her, that meant he was not going to fire her!
The pleasure drained out of her a few minutes later as his mother summoned her. “There is a water stain on the glass,” she pointed out coldly.
“There is?” Leah pretended that she was examining the glass as she peered at it.
“Kindly take it back and bring me a fresh glass with what I asked for. I certainly cannot drink from a glass like that.”
“Mother.” Peter’s deep voice came between them and both women turned to look at him in surprise.
“Darling, she has to learn that this is not acceptable.”
“Of course,” Leah said coolly as she took the glass from her. “We would not want you to get poisoned or anything like that, would we?”
The woman looked at her as if she had committed the worse offense! “I don’t tolerate members of staff talking back-”
“I don’t know what kind of people you have working for you, Mrs. Schulz, but I have to tell you right now that I have opinions and I am going to voice them. If you don’t like staff talking back to you, may I suggest hiring robots instead of actual people?”
She stared at the woman who looked at if she had been turned to stone and then turned and walked to the galley, her knees buckling! If she was not fired for talking back to her son, she was definitely fired now!
*****
“What did you do to her?” Reginald whispered as the woman sailed past them with her head held high, her son behind her.
Leah had scrubbed the glass and examined it before bringing back a glass of mimosa to the woman who had taken it from her without a word and without looking at her.
“I just made her know that I have an actual opinion,” Leah said wryly. “I just might not be coming back.”