by Amy Star
“Secret from us?” Matt asked, his voice even, a slightly arched eyebrow the only sign that he was mildly unsettled.
He’s good, Eli thought, but Eli was better. “I don’t sell the exact same software to any two companies. The foundation is similar, but I tailor it to your specific needs, and I encrypt the software so that no other company, including companies with Entity, can utilize your specific version. But, like Ted said, this is my livelihood, and I can’t risk having things exposed.”
Matt rankled slightly at the use of McBride’s first name, as if Eli had been too familiar with the owner of the company. It was almost as if Matt was a little jealous, but Eli ignored the look Matt gave him. He wasn’t going to let some IT guy derail him.
He smiled at McBride. “I understand that your company is very busy, but installing the software requires everything to be down for several hours at a time.”
McBride nodded. “I understand. We encountered the same issue when we upgraded our systems a few years ago. How many days do you need?”
“Just two,” Eli said. “My team is quick and professional. I’ll have it up and running within forty-eight hours, and you won’t even know we were here.”
“And the training?”
“I’ll train your employees on the system,” Eli said. “It usually takes between three weeks and three months to work all the kinks out and tweak everything so that it’s exactly what you need.”
“I can train them,” Matt said.
“I have no doubt that’s true,” Eli said. “But I will be training you on maintenance and upkeep, and I’ll need you focused on that. Entity is my brainchild. It’s going to take me quite a bit of time to train you to maintain the system once I leave. And part of what I do is tailor the system to the company and the employees. I need to see how the interface works to make this as streamlined as possible.”
Matt opened his mouth, but McBride shook his head.
“The training is included in the cost of the system,” McBride said. “You’re not saving me anything, Matt, so drop it. This pissing match is completely unnecessary. Mr. Jones isn’t after your job.”
Eli bit back a smile.
“When can you install it?” McBride asked.
“I can have my team here by Friday morning.”
“I don’t want the computers down while my people are here.”
“They won’t be. Friday, we’ll run diagnostics and make sure all the company computers are compatible. We won’t do any installation until Friday evening, and then we’ll return on Saturday to work out the kinks, and Sunday will be spent finalizing everything.”
“Sir, no one is here on the weekends to-”
McBride shot Matt a look. “I’m aware of that,” he said tersely. “Please see to it that Mr. Jones gets an ID tag with the necessary clearances.”
“I can escort them,” Matt insisted.
Eli didn’t budge from his seat, watching everything play out as it had so many times. The two of them argued back and forth, with Matt pushing the boundaries just enough to have McBride thinking his authority was being challenged. By the time everything was settled, and Matt left in a huff, Eli knew the man was lucky to still have his job.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” McBride said. “Matt is our IT guy, but he’s also head of security.” McBride smiled warmly. “Sometimes, Matt forgets that the world isn’t filled with subterfuge and hidden agendas.”
“He’s looking out for McBride Industries,” Eli said. “I’m not offended.”
“Good. Now, I have other business to attend to, but I must say, I’m looking forward to the day that Mondays aren’t spent weeding through hundreds of emails, trying to find the one or two that matter.”
“This time next week, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without Entity.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He signed the contract in front of him, then handed a preprinted check to Eli before he stood. “I hate to rush you out, but I have so much to do.” He shook Eli’s hand, holding his grip and staring into his eyes. “I’m holding you to it.”
Eli smiled at him, tilting his head slightly. “To what?” Eli asked.
“Those six-hour workdays. My old lady has been on my ass to retire for a year now. If I can cut my workday in half, I think that will hold her over for a few more years.”
Eli smiled. “Trust me,” he said. “Your wife is going to be seeing so much of you, she won’t know what to do with herself.”
McBride walked him to the door, still chuckling when he bid Eli farewell and sent him on his way. Ms. Finley was sitting at her desk in the office that led into Ted McBride’s, a smile on her pretty face when she looked up.
“See ya,” she said, chewing her gum, bright red lipstick framing her chemically whitened teeth, her over mascaraed eyes looking him up and down like a piece of meat.
He smiled back at her, then he left, heading down the highway toward Love Field in his rental car. He made a call as he pulled into the rental car lot and got in the long line of people waiting to return to their normal lives. A man answered on the second ring.
“I’m in,” Eli said.
“Good.”
“I’ll need a team ready to do an install in Dallas on Friday.”
“How many?”
“Eight,” he said. “But I’ll need Tiny and Gideon for sure. The IT is ex-military.”
“Is he suspicious?”
“I don’t think so. Just possessive of his status.”
The man sighed. “Those are usually the biggest obstacle.”
“I know, but McBride threatened his job if he interferes. I just need some muscle there, just in case.”
“Understood,” the man said, hanging up just as Eli pulled up to the attendant and got out, handing over the keys.
“Did you enjoy your weekend?” the attendant asked.
“Just here for the day,” he said.
“Oh, where are you headed?”
“Miami,” he lied.
“Sounds fun,” the man said, smiling wide when Eli handed him a hundred-dollar bill. “Thank you.”
“I appreciate you,” he said.
Before the young man could say another word, Eli took his briefcase and headed into the terminal, taking a sharp left and heading for the ticketing counters. He walked right past them, through a private door that led down to the tarmac, bypassing security.
“Is the plane ready, Linda?” he asked, smiling at the perky blonde standing near the Lear 31 Jet.
“As always,” she said. “Pre-flight check was completed the minute I received your text. We’re ready to take off as soon as you’re seated. The skies look good. We’ll be at White Sands Regional in about ninety minutes.”
“Perfect,” he said, jogging up the stairs and taking his seat.
The door closed, and within moments, Linda had the plane in the air, and the flight attendant was bringing his favorite sandwich and a beer.
“Thanks, Mario,” he said, setting the carved turkey on artisan bread down on the table in front of him.
“Can I get you anything else?”
Eli shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “Just let me know when we’re about to land.”
“Will do,” Mario said, then disappeared into another part of the jet and left Eli to his lunch.
He sat back, taking a swig of his beer and turning on the flat screen television. He laughed at the comedy on screen, finishing his meal a few minutes before Linda announced their descent into Alamogordo, New Mexico. He sighed, looking out the window at the crisp white sand and the mountains beyond. He was ready to be home again, even if it was only until Friday morning. The project at McBride was a huge one that promised to keep him out of his house for at least three months, if not more, but the payday was huge. Maybe I’ll take a vacation after this one, he thought, but he knew he was fooling himself. There was nothing on the horizon after McBride, but that never lasted. There would always be another McBride, or another Omaha Limited. It was never ending,
and Eli knew it would be months before his second in command was ready to take over operations. Once Gideon was in the field on his own, Eli could sit back and let his business work for him. But until then, he was stuck in the never-ending grind, amassing millions every year and longing for a simpler life.
His truck was waiting for him at the airport, the guards ignoring him as he drove the dark blue Ram super cab off the tarmac and onto the highway. By the time he hit the base of the mountain, his tie was already loosened, and he was ready to be home.
It took nearly thirty minutes of winding roads before he finally reached the tiny town of Cloudcroft, turning down a narrow road and driving until the pavement gave way to gravel, then dirt. At the end of the road, he stopped and pushed the button that opened his motorized gate, then drove onto his sprawling mountain ranch tucked between the trees.
The house on a low rise greeted him, the neat, log cabin style home illuminated by the setting sun. He had four days to enjoy the crystal-clear river that ran through his property and the acres of untouched land that was all his.
He let out a huge sigh when he parked in the garage, stripping out of his suit and dumping it in the laundry basket. His housekeeper would make sure it was dry cleaned and hung in his closet. He threw his undershirt in a different hamper, walking through the house in only his boxer briefs.
“Maybe I’ll go for a walk,” he said to himself, inhaling the scent that was uniquely home.
He stopped in the kitchen, a flashing light catching his attention. His personal cell phone sat on the charging pad on the kitchen counter, green light pulsing to let him know he had a message.
He picked it up, scowling at the unknown number that had called three times before leaving a message. He typed in his password and put the phone on speaker. When he heard a familiar voice, his breath caught in his throat.
It was Ava.
“Hey, um, Eli? I know I haven’t called you since you left. I actually, well, I didn’t really have a reason to call and I felt a little-” she stammered and stopped, took a deep breath and started again. “I need to talk to you,” she said, her voice steadier but somehow terrified. “Can you call me back when you get this? It doesn’t matter what time it is. I just need to talk to you. Soon.”
She hung up, the silence heavy in the air. He stared at the phone, completely shocked to hear her voice months after he’d left Nebraska. He’d given his number to her as an afterthought, sure she wouldn’t use it, then laughing at himself for being disappointed when she did just that. She sounded upset and a little frantic, and the urge was strong to call her from the plane, but he knew better. Whatever it was, he couldn’t leave right then. He had a job to do, and she’d left him hanging for months before she’d finally called him.
He looked at the clock and shook his head. It was late, but not indecent. “Better get this over with now,” he mumbled, dialing her number and waiting for her to pick up.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“Hi, Eli,” she said, a little breathless.
“Ava, hi,” he said. “Is everything okay?”
Silence, and then a huge breath as the words tumbled from her mouth and his world tilted on its axis. “Everything is okay,” she said. “But I called to tell you I’m pregnant.”
CHAPTER THREE
Ava held her breath, waiting for Eli to say something. Anything. She looked at Zoey, who was sitting close enough to hear both sides of the conversation, then back down at the carpet, the individual fibers suddenly sharp, every intake of her breath an eternity as the second hand on the living room clock ticked with maddening slowness.
When he finally spoke, she bit her lip and fought back tears of relief.
“Are you alright?”
She almost lost it then. His first words weren’t used to yell at or belittle her, or to exclaim that he couldn’t deal with a surprise pregnancy right now. He didn’t even remind her that she was supposed to have been on the pill. His first concern was her, and that tenderness nearly broke her.
She’d been prepared for him to make this easy for her.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “I’m tired and a little nauseous still, but it’s nice to know why I haven’t felt well for the past couple weeks.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Actually, that’s why I called. I spoke to a lawyer, and if we’re both in agreement, you can sign over your right, and you don’t have to deal with all this. It’s my fault; I forgot to take my pills, and you made it clear that you didn’t want a child right now. There’s no reason for your life to change because I made a mistake.”
“I’m not mad,” Eli said. “Accidents happen, and we’re both responsible. Even with protection, there’s always that chance.”
She closed her eyes, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Why oh why did he have to be so perfect? “I appreciate you saying that. I want to make this as painless on both of us as possible. I can send you the papers and you can sign them and send them back.”
“I’ll look at the papers,” he said. “But not through the mail. You’re not some one-night stand who didn’t bother telling me her name. Ava, I gave you my number to keep in touch because I like you. You were a great neighbor and a kind friend. I’m not going to lay this all on you and let this play out through the mail.”
“Are you coming back to Omaha?”
“I can’t, unfortunately. I have a job I need to leave for Friday morning.”
“Oh,” she said.
“What about you? Can you spare a few days to talk this over and figure out what we’re going to do?”
“I guess,” she said. “I can bring my work with me, and it’s not like I have anything pressing right now.”
“Perfect. I’ll send a plane for you, and you can come here for a few days.”
“Send a plane?” she asked, incredulous. “Eli, I can’t just get on a plane and come see you.”
“Why not?”
She hesitated, looking to Zoey for help. Zoey shrugged. “It’s a free mini vacation,” Zoey whispered. “And he’s right, you should do this in person.”
“I promise to be a gentleman,” Eli offered. “You can use the guestroom, and you can leave any time you want.”
“Promise?” Ava said.
“Yep,” he said.
“Alright. I guess you can text me the confirmation number for the ticket when you-”
“There’s no ticket,” he said. “Be at the airport by nine, and I’ll make sure someone is there to greet you.”
“Okay,” she said. “What do I bring?”
“Whatever you would bring for a week’s vacation,” Eli said. “If you forget something, we can always buy it.”
“That’s not necessary,” Ava said.
“We’ll talk about that later. A blonde woman named Linda will meet you near the ticketing counter. She’s really nice, a little too perky in the mornings, and she’ll have wings pinned to her jacket.”
“She’s the pilot?”
“The best there is.”
Ava nodded, then realized that they were on the phone and laughed nervously. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said, then the line went dead in her ear, and she was left holding the phone.
“The captain is going to meet you at the counter?” Zoey said, brown eyes wide. “Did you know he had money?”
“That doesn’t mean he has money. Maybe he has access to a plane because of his work.”
“What does he do again?”
“Something with IT. I don’t really know.”
“I don’t think computer geeks have private jets unless they’re Bill Gates.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
Zoey shook her head. “You should go.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to see him and talk to him about all this.”
“You were onboard when I wanted to send it in the mail.”
“That was befor
e he reacted the way he did.” She moved so she was sitting so close their knees were touching, then took Ava’s hands in hers and smiled. “Ava, you are so lucky. This could’ve gone so bad. All he’s asking is to see you in person to sign the papers. He’s a nice guy, and you deserve a little time off.”
Ava took a deep breath. “But I have so much to do, and-”
“Girl, it can wait. Come on, I’ll help you pack.”
“It’s almost like you’re trying to get rid of me,” Ava laughed.
“Not even close. I’ll miss you until you get back, but I think you need to do this. Not just for you and the baby, but for him too. It sounds like you both could use some closure.”
“Will you take me in the morning?”
“Of course,” Zoey said. “And I’ll pick you up when you get back.”
“I don’t know what day that is.”
“It doesn’t matter. You call me, and I’ll be there.”
She hugged Zoey tightly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
It was overcast and chilly when Zoey pulled up to the front of the terminal, parking at the curb as close to the ticketing area as possible. She turned to Ava and smiled. Nervous and excited, Ava smiled back, then hugged her friend impulsively.
“It’s going to be great,” Zoey assured her.
“You’ve only said that about fifty times since last night,” Ava laughed.
“I believe it with all my heart. Eli is a good man.”
Ava nodded, but the airport security guard blew a whistle and pointed at the sign that limited their time at the curb. “I’ll see you soon,” Ava said, grabbing her rolling bag and her laptop. She hugged Zoey one last time. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“I can’t wait,” Zoey said, then she got in the car and was gone.
Ava stood near the curb for a long time, wondering if she was making a mistake. Harried travelers swirled around her, some running, others walking briskly, their faces buried in their phones as they checked last minute emails and called loved ones. Sighing, Ava walked through the automatic doors and made her way toward the ticketing counter.