“It’s all right, Maisy,” Laura said.
Maisy continued to stare at him. “Is something wrong?” She directed the question to him.
He immediately bristled and tightened his jaw. “You mean other than the fact that I’m trying to pay for this newspaper and my plane is about to board?” This behavior was unacceptable.
“It’s more than that,” Maisy said. “It’s something else.”
Again, she gave him the impression she saw straight through him. It was as if she intuitively understood how much he resented having to take this flight to Seattle.
Chase briefly closed his eyes. He knew next to nothing about this woman. In fact, he would be completely happy if he never saw her again. Flustered now, he reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew his wallet. He slapped a ten-dollar bill on the counter. “Keep the change,” he said, eager to remove himself from both women so he could get to his gate.
First class would be boarding within the next few minutes. The sooner he attended to the unpleasant task ahead of him, the sooner he could get back to his life and settle this matter with Astrid. Unfortunately, his father had the company plane thisweekend, so he’d been forced to book a commercial flight. His mood wasn’t great in the first place, and the annoyance of dealing with inept personnel only increased his irritation. He wanted to make these arrangements as quickly as possible and catch the return flight to Chicago that same evening. By the time he got to bed it would be the wee hours of the morning. He had an important meeting first thing that he couldn’t put off.
“Do you still want the name of my supervisor?” Laura asked.
He hesitated, debating if contacting the delinquent employee’s manager was worth the hassle. “Yes,” he decided, if for no other reason than to let his displeasure be known. He might or might not escalate the issue, although it would have to be later. He hoped the threat of reporting her lack of attention to her job would be enough for her to change her behavior.
Laura wrote out the name on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
“Why would you do that?” Maisy asked in that same calming voice, as if genuinely curious.
He didn’t bother to answer. No need. He’d made his point. Tucking the newspaper under his arm, he left the newsstand and walked to his gate, eager to put the unfortunate exchange behind him.
When he reached his gate, he learned the flight had been delayed.Perfect. Just perfect.He found an empty seat in the crowded area. Normally he’d have the plane and avoid these complications that often arose when flying commercially. That said, he felt it imperative that he get to Seattle and back in one day. This was the only flight with first-class availability.
Now a flight delay would upset his entire schedule.
This day was getting worse by the minute.
Folding open the newspaper, he crossed his legs and did his best to find a comfortable position. Although he centered his attention on a news article about the possible rise in home mortgage rates, his mind was on anything but the printed words. If anyone were to ask him what he was reading, he wouldn’t have been able to say.
What troubled him, and multiple things did, was the necessity of this trip. It irked him to the point of distraction. He hated the fact that this unpleasant task was left to him to deal with.
Finding it useless to even try to read, he set the newspaper aside and noticed Maisy, the woman from the newsstand, heading toward the gate. She paused when she saw him before smiling as if she was amused to see him again.
He ignored her and looked away. There were only a few empty seats available in the area. One was directly across from him, and she hesitated as though considering heading in his direction.
He glared at her, signaling that she should look elsewhere. Chase knew his frown was intense and quelling. One of his stares was able to silence a boardroom filled with executives. He didn’t need to say a word to get his message across.
To his surprise, Maisy appeared not to be the least bit intimidated and claimed the chair. What was with this woman? He wanted nothing more to do with her.
His eyes narrowed, as if to will her away with his displeasure. Apparently, she was oblivious.
“Excuse me,” she said, as she leaned forward, focusing her attention on him.
He refused to acknowledge her.
“We met a few minutes ago,” she continued, even though itwas impossible for him not to remember. “At the newsstand, where I was talking to my friend, Laura.”
He looked past her.
“You were upset because she was talking to me about her daughter.”
How obtuse could this woman be? He had no interest in anything she had to say.
“You should know Laura wasn’t purposely ignoring you; she was on her fifteen-minute break. She works two jobs to make ends meet so she can continue her schooling. One day she’s going to be a wonderful, caring nurse practitioner.”
Fine. Whatever.Even if that was the case, Laura should have directed him to a different cashier instead of pretending not to see him. Chase wasn’t a man people ignored.
