“I hope you won’t follow through on your threat to report her to her supervisor.”
The people around them shot him a nasty look, as if he was an unreasonable jerk.
Chase could be all that and more—not that he cared what anyone thought of him.
“Maisy Gallagher.”
Her name was announced over the speaker by the agent at the gate.
“Oh.” Maisy gasped a small note of surprise as she left her small carry-on and immediately headed to the counter.
Trusting woman, that Maisy Gallagher. She should know better than to leave her luggage unattended.
Several minutes passed before Maisy returned. She smiled at him again, her eyes sparkling with delight. “I was upgraded to first class.”
He didn’t know why she assumed he would care. He pretended not to hear and glanced at his watch. Another announcement informed those waiting that the problem had been located and a maintenance crew was on the way. The plane should be ready to leave within the next hour…or two. He groaned inwardly and did his best to swallow his frustration.
“I’ve never flown first class before,” Maisy said, leaning toward him as if he was interested. He wasn’t. Why she felt she had to mention it was beyond him.
“The woman at the counter said they would serve a meal so I wouldn’t need to purchase anything to eat during the flight.”
She was as excited as a kid. She acted like she was headed to the waterpark on the hottest day of summer. If Maisy Gallagher knew the quality of the food served on flights, even in first class, she wouldn’t be nearly as impressed. For his part, he intended to skip the meal, order a glass of red wine, and try to get through this entire trip as easily as could be managed.
“I don’t fly much, so this is a nice surprise.” She settled back into her seat, reached inside her giant purse, and withdrew a book. Chase couldn’t help but glance at the title.The Trapper and the Widow. A romance. He should have known. She looked like the type of woman who believed in happily ever after. What a fool.
The two-plus-hour delay dragged, and Chase’s spirits along with it. He wanted nothing more than for this day to be over and to put all this unpleasantness behind him. He checked with the car service he’d hired to meet him at Sea-Tac and didn’t get a response, which frustrated him enough that he momentarily closed his eyes.
It felt like an eternity before the gate agent announced it was time to board the plane. When he stated that those in first classcould proceed to their seats, Maisy all but leaped to her feet in her enthusiasm.
Chase waited until she had left the row before he stood and followed. He was the last one in line. Not until he entered the plane did it occur to him that Maisy might have been given the seat next to him. This was a Boeing 767 with a large first class situated at the front of the plane and separated from everyone else by the kitchen and restrooms. Those in first class turned left and the rest of the passengers went right. Chase checked his ticket.
Seat 7C, the aisle, just as he had requested.
Sure enough, Maisy had been assigned 7A, at the window. The seat next to him. Chase’s shoulders sank with dread. She was the last person on the planet he wanted sitting next to him.
Maisy was fiddling with the seatbelt when he took his seat. He would have asked to switch, but he could see that every seat in first class was already taken.
“Oh, hi,” Maisy said, as he reluctantly sat down. She acted like having him as a seat companion was exactly what she’d hoped for. Which told him she would like nothing better than to talk his ear off for the entire flight. She was determined to make his day more trying than it already was.
“I guess it’s my lucky day.” She sounded almost gleeful.
Not for him, that was for sure.
He needed to cut this off at the pass. “I understand you don’t generally fly first class.”
“No, but there’s a first time for everything.”
“There’s a certain etiquette that is expected from those seated in first class.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
Clearly, the woman was clueless. “People flying first class are generally businesspeople.”
“Okay.”
“They conduct business.”
“On a plane?”
