The Man of My Dreams

by Stephanie Aviles

  Then there was Lucas Field; he was an on-call airline pilot who worked on the side for Mr. Wilbur. He was assigned the most dreadful task of all: aircraft repossession.

  Daniel was the third pilot; his main duty was to pick up and deliver different types of aircraft and provide scenic tours around the sound. Daniel, Elena had learned, had been working for the company for about three years now after separating from active duty and joining the Air Force reserves. She wondered why he had separated from active duty and if her plot to send him to North Dakota had worked. She had always pictured Daniel as one of those pilots who rose to the top to become the wing commander—his ego was more than enough to get him there.

  Next was Emilio Cardenas from the parts and supply department. He was of Puerto Rican descent, which meant they became instant family. Their first topic of conversation had been about food, and from then on she knew they would be fast friends.

  Next was the office gossip, Jody Fisher. She was Mr. Wilbur’s bookkeeper, and in the short time Elena had known her, she had managed to spill the dirty beans on everyone in the office. She was someone you wanted to maintain a courteous relationship with but keep at arm’s length. Let her in, and soon the details of your life would be for public consumption. It was a small staff, but everyone seemed to get along just fine, and Elena had gotten along with everyone so far except for one person: Daniel.

  Her first week had been busy learning the ropes of the new job and all it entailed. In addition to serving as Mr. Wilbur’s assistant, she was in charge of flight schedules. Because it was a small business, Mr. Wilbur also served as the current school manager until he was able to hire someone else. Mr. Wilbur, although a wonderful teacher and boss, didn’t know a thing about computers, so the task had fallen on Elena to take over the scheduling of classes and aircraft pickups and deliveries.

  Daniel and Troy had similar flying experience, but because Daniel did not like teaching, he had been assigned to aircraft delivery and doing scenic tours of the Puget Sound for customers, something Troy had mentioned to Elena he would one day like to do. Elena decided his wish should come true sooner rather than later. She knew her plot would cause Daniel to come out of whatever hiding hole he was in and show his ugly horns, but she was willing to take the risk.

  It was Monday morning, and she was getting ready to meet with Mr. Wilbur for this week’s flight schedule before it got posted for the pilots and the staff. She gathered her documents and tapped on the side of Mr. Wilbur’s office door. “Good morning, Mr. Wilbur, are you ready to go over the schedule, sir?”

  Mr. Wilbur looked up from the Kitsap Sun newspaper he was reading. “Please come in and don’t call me sir.” He smiled. “Makes me feel so old. Just call me John.”

  Elena walked in and took a seat in the chair across from his desk. “I’ve made some changes to the schedule I would like to go over with you to make sure you approve.”

  “Okay let’s take a look.” John reached out and grabbed a copy of the schedule Elena handed him. She drummed her fingers on her lap—she hoped he wouldn’t see her intention behind the change in schedule.

  John’s expression gave nothing away, and the suspense was killing Elena. “I see Daniel has been assigned to teach this week instead of Troy?”

  “Yes, sir—I mean John,” Elena smiled as she corrected herself. “You see, I think it’s important the pilots rotate jobs and become familiar with all of our clients. That way, if one is out sick or on vacation, they can back each other up without any problems. And I think that giving everyone an opportunity to rotate to other assignments improves the team’s dynamic and morale.”

  He nodded his head in approval and continued to review the schedule. After a couple of minutes, he laid the schedule on his desk. “I like it. I think it changes things up a bit and makes sure our pilots are well-rounded. I know Daniel doesn’t enjoy teaching, but I need someone to be able to cover the school anyway in case Troy is not here, and I’m getting too old to get into the planes. Although you can never repeat what I just said, I will deny it fervently.” He chuckled.

  Elena smiled. “Of course.” She knew how much Daniel hated teaching. When he was assigned new pilots in the military, he always tried to pawn them off on someone else, but she wanted to help Troy out, and if it meant Daniel would be miserable, then that was just an added benefit.

  Elena walked out of the office feeling victorious and in charge of her life. Daniel Grant would never take that away from her again.

  That afternoon, like clockwork, a very upset Daniel came marching to her desk. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked, shaking a copy of the schedule in his hand.

  Elena ignored his question and smiled. “Ahh, so the mouse comes out of hiding. You know, Daniel, I never pictured you to be one to hide in a corner. You must have mellowed out in your old age.”

  “I don’t hide from anyone. And I’m not afraid of anyone, especially you, sweetheart.”

  Elena never knew how much she would enjoy this. The tables had turned, and now she was the one making the calls. “Really? Because it seemed to me the moment you realized I was working here, you ran away with your tail between your legs.”

  He grinned, rising to her challenge. “Well, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you missed me.”

  His cocky smile was like nails against a chalkboard.

  Elena rolled her eyes. “I guess some things don’t change—you are still as delusional and conceited as ever.”

  He darted a look at John’s office before lowering his voice. “Listen, I’m not going to let you walk in here and start disrupting my life with your high and mighty self. I want my old schedule back—pronto.” He snapped his fingers so close to her cheek Elena had to hold herself back from smacking his hand out of her face.

  “Then I suggest you have a seat because you’re going to be waiting for a long time. That’s the schedule, and you are stuck with it whether you like it or not. John approved it this morning. So why don’t you just go on your merry way? You don’t want to be late for Mr. Morton’s lesson.” Elena chuckled. Mr. Morton had a hard time fitting into tight confines of the plane, and the use of deodorant was a foreign concept to him.

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He leaned in on her desk. Her heart started to beat a little faster. Time had only made his looks more intense, more mature, more masculine. “You want to play this game? Fine, but let me tell you something—I always win, darling.” He turned and stomped off to his first flight lesson.

  Elena leaned back in her seat with a grin from ear to ear. Now he would know what it felt like to not be in control of his life. Elena looked at the current roster of students. John still had a quarter of the students on his plate, and she knew he was already pressed for time—the man barely had time to eat a meal. She decided she would talk to John again to see if she could persuade him to unload most of his students on Daniel so he could concentrate on running the business. After all, Daniel would be bored with the current arrangement and needed a full schedule to keep him busy.

  Elena walked over to the runway a couple of hours later to check in with Troy. She hoped he was happy with the new change in schedule—he certainly deserved it. “Hi Jake, have you seen Troy?”

  Jake poked his head out of the engine he was working on. “Yeah, I saw him earlier. He was getting ready to take off for a delivery. To be honest, I’ve never have seen anyone so happy about picking up a plane before.”

  Elena was glad she was able to bring some joy to his day and some misery to Daniel’s. “What are you working on here?” Elena poked her head inside the plane to see what Jake was up to.

  Jake put the wrench he was using back in the toolbox. “Oh, just trying to get old Martha here up and running again.”

  “You name your engines?”

  “Sure do—they are my ladies.” He rubbed the airplane like it was a baby’s butt. “Gotta make sure I treat them well—them pilots’ lives depend on it.”

  Elena loved Jake’s country accent.
“So where did you learn to work on planes?”

  “My pa owned a couple of crop dusters back in Georgia. I was never into learning how to fly, but I was just drawn to the mechanics of it. He whipped me pretty good once when I decided to venture into one of the planes and start tearing it apart. He was impressed when I was able to put it back together though.” Jake’s chest swelled with pride.

  “That is quite a talent.” Elena, couldn’t even change the tire on her car.

  “It’s something I love to do.”

  Elena was drawn by Jake’s honesty and hardworking nature. His attitude toward life was just admirable, and she wished she could have had a little brother just like him. “So what made you move from Georgia to the Northwest? If you don’t mind me asking. I don’t want to intrude on your personal life.” The last thing she wanted was to seem nosy, but she couldn’t help but want to know more about him.

  “My pa saved enough money to send me to Aircraft Mechanic and Power Plant School in Denver so that I could get my license, but then he got sick and passed away while I was in school.”

  Memories of her own father’s death still rang strong in her heart. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up something that must be painful for you,”

  “It’s alright; I do miss him a terrible thing. It was so hard at first, but I’m able to talk about it now. Anyway, after I graduated, I found a job in Denver working at a small airline, and that’s where I met Daniel. I was struggling to make ends meet since I was still paying off some of my pa’s debt. You see, my pa had sold his planes to be able to afford my tuition and had taken out a loan against the house. Daniel let me crash at his place until I was able to get my finances in order. He found this job here and persuaded Mr. Wilbur to hire me on as well. I owe a lot to Daniel and Mr. Wilbur. They have been like family to me.”

  This didn’t sound like the Daniel she knew at all. The Daniel she knew cared about no one but himself. “That’s nice you found someone to be there for you when you needed it.”

  “But you knew Daniel from your military days right?” Jake asked.

  “How did you know?” The only ones who knew were John and Bridget. She guessed with a small staff news got around pretty quickly.

  “Daniel told me. Said Mr. Wilbur was lucky to be able to find a good assistant like you.”

  If Elena had been drinking something, she would have choked on it. “Are you sure you heard Daniel right?”

  “Sure did. Said there weren’t many like you out there. He said you were one of a kind.”

  “I think you may have misinterpreted his meaning.” This kid must be really naïve. There is no way in hell Daniel meant that.

  “No ma’am, he was pretty serious about it,” Jake insisted.

  “Are you trying to turn young Jake against me, Ms. Garcia?”

  Elena turned around to find Daniel standing there leaning against the wall, arms crossed against his chest. The sun glistening off his face accentuated his ruggedly handsome features.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she lied. “I was just getting to know Jake a little better. He was telling me how highly you think of me.”

  “Jake here is young, but his hearing is going bad from working around loud engines all the time.”

  “But Daniel you told me—”

  “Enough of what I said,” Daniel interrupted. “How’s that engine coming along?”

  “She is almost done; I’ll have her ready by tomorrow.” Jake looked at Martha the engine with pride.

  “Good. As soon as she is done, load her up, and I’ll take it out for a test.”

  Elena took advantage of the conversation going on between Daniel and Jake and walked out of the hangar unnoticed. She hated that after all these years, she still felt awkward with herself when he was near her. He brought out the absolute worst in her, and she didn’t want to show her angry colors in front of Jake. She heard footsteps coming up behind her, and she knew it was Daniel. She picked up her pace trying to put as much distance between them.

  “So, out of all the places in the world, you landed here in the lovely Northwest working in the same place as me. Are you sure you aren’t stalking me?”

  Elena stopped dead in her tracks. She knew she shouldn’t let his snarky remarks get to her, but the temptation to tell him what she thought about him outweighed any remaining sanity she had left. “You know you may have Jake fooled about who you are, but let’s not forget I know the snake underneath that skin on yours.” She pointed an accusing finger at him.

  “Do you? Please do tell,” he replied with heavy sarcasm.

  “You are an insufferable, self-centered back-stabbing jerk who thinks he is above everyone else. I think destiny has played a cruel joke saddling me with you again.” Her hands were starting to shake, and her Spanish accent was getting heavier by the minute.

  He took a step closer toward her. Elena didn’t move, refusing to back down to him. “You know, you may be right. I may be arrogant and selfish, but I least I’m sure of who I am. And if you don’t like it, then you are free to go—there is nothing holding you down here, or is there?”

  “You flatter yourself if you think you are going to run me out of another job. And for your information, you have no idea who I am.” She started to turn around. He reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “I know you better than you know yourself. You try to put on a tough act, but deep down inside, you are still that little girl who is trying so hard to impress a guy who isn’t interested in her.”

  The slap on his face was deafening. He had pushed her too far, and she had lost it. But seeing the red mark of her hand appear on his cheek made her realize what she had done. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you.”

  His eyes darkened, and Elena was sure the devil in him would come out. Instead, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Lesson number one, darling. Never let your enemy get the best of you.” He walked past her and left her there standing alone.

  Elena didn’t know how she made it back to her desk. She was still in a daze about what had just happened. She had never hit anyone before, at least not in her adulthood. Sure she had gotten into some fist fights in schools, mostly with boys who were a lot like Daniel. But she had never let herself lose control of her emotions to the point of becoming violent. She couldn’t let Daniel jeopardize her job here, which meant she would have to find a way to get rid of him sooner rather than later.

  The clouds were closing in as she walked to the car at the end of the day. The forecast said it was supposed to be sunny, but the clouds darkening the sky indicated otherwise. As Elena headed down Highway 16, rain started pouring down, making it hard to see the road in front of her, even with the windshield wipers on. After driving for a couple of miles, she was startled by a piercing alarm. She looked at the dashboard, and the yellow engine light had turned on. “Dammit,” she said, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. She knew nothing about cars and prayed the damn thing would at least get her home. “Come on, baby, you can do it,” she coaxed. “Just a little bit more.” Less than a minute later, the engine died.

  Elena looked in the review mirror, relieved to find there were no cars behind her. She glided the car toward the side of the freeway and came to a stop. She said a quick prayer and thanked God she was able to stop the car without getting into an accident. She popped the hood and got out into the rain. Once she managed to open it, smoke started pouring out of it. She coughed as she tried to fan the smoke out of her face. “What the hell am I doing?” she said out loud. “I don’t know a thing about cars.” She poked here and there to see if it could be something that somehow had gotten loose, but after trying in vain to figure out what could be wrong, and getting soaking wet in the process, she closed the hood and went back into her car to get her cell phone and call a tow truck. She searched through her suitcase of a purse. “Aha, there it is.” She grabbed the phone and touched the side of it so it would turn on—nothing. The damn battery was dead.


  She slammed her hand against the dashboard. “How fucking wonderful. Can this day get any better?” She slumped in her seat just wanting to cry. Her car was broken, her cell phone was dead, and she was stranded on Highway 16 with no one to call for help.

  A loud tap sounded on the driver’s side window. Elena jumped in her seat startled. She looked out the window.

  “Fuck.” It was Daniel.

  Chapter 8

  Elena swore she was cursed. With all the strangers on the road and cops driving up and down, this fool had to be the one to show up. She slumped in her seat knowing she would live to regret her decision: she rolled down the window.

  He leaned in with his hand resting on top of the car. “Seems like you’re in a bit of trouble?”

  “I am perfectly fine, thank you,” she managed to shrug and say offhandedly.

  He glanced toward the smoking hood of her car. “I’m not a car mechanic, but something tells me that’s not a good sign.”

  Damn car. She had just bought the thing a couple of weeks ago, and although it was used, the dealer had promised her it was in pristine condition. That’s the last time she would ever believe a car salesman. Elena ignored his obvious statement. “Are you in the habit of patrolling the freeway rescuing damsels in distress or did you just come to gloat?”

  “Hey, I’m trying to help you here, despite your violent actions toward me today.” The smirk on his face suggested he wasn’t deeply offended by her heavy hand.

  The raindrops were starting to drip from his face. Elena tried to avoid looking at his fiery blue eyes, which were highlighted by his wet jet-black hair. “Yes, how noble of you, but I don’t need your help.” She started rolling the window back up. She’d rather hitchhike for a ride or walk home than ask him for a favor.