Chương 12
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants them looking at a screen while they decide whether I’m physically capable of running my own company.”
The words landed harder than she intended.
Even Margaret looked away.
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“Then get home safely.”
The call ended.
Olivia immediately opened the charter app Margaret used.
Margaret reached over and covered the screen with her hand.
“No.”
Olivia looked at her.
“Move your hand.”
“No.”
“Margaret.”
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“You’re tired.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re about to book the first airplane that gets you home fastest.”
“You will book a lawn chair with wings if it lands before midnight.”
Olivia pulled the phone back.
“I need to be in Chicago.”
“I know.”
The conference-room door opened.
Daniel stood there holding two coffees and looking confused.
“I was told there was a break.”
Olivia stared at him.
Margaret turned.
“Perfect.”
Daniel looked from one woman to the other.
“That word usually means the opposite around here.”
Margaret pointed at Olivia.
“She needs to get to Chicago tonight.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Why?”
“Emergency board meeting.”
Olivia shot Margaret a look.
Daniel set the coffees down.
“When?”
“Nine tomorrow morning.”
He checked his watch.
“Our original aircraft?”
“Still in maintenance,” Margaret said.
Daniel took out his phone.
“I’ll call Ray.”
Olivia looked at him.
“I can charter.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you calling Ray?”
“Because if your airplane is fixed, that’s probably the cleanest option.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then we find another one.”
Olivia watched him dial.
Something about his calm irritated her.
Something else steadied the room.
Ray answered.
Daniel listened for less than a minute.
“Understood.”
He ended the call.
“The Gulfstream won’t be ready until tomorrow afternoon.”
Olivia picked up her phone.
Daniel put his hand out.
“Give me twenty minutes.”
“I don’t have twenty minutes.”
“You have a meeting in twenty-two hours.”
“I have negotiations restarting in eight.”
“Then you definitely have twenty minutes.”
Olivia glared at him.
Daniel held her gaze.
“Let me find you a safe way home.”
The sentence was quiet.
No challenge.
No performance.
For the first time since Evelyn’s call, Olivia stopped moving.
Margaret slowly removed her hand from Olivia’s phone.
Olivia looked at Daniel.
“Twenty minutes.”
He nodded.
“And Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“If you tell me no, you’d better have another answer.”
He picked up one of the coffees.
“That,” he said, “I can work with.”
Daniel left the conference room with his phone in one hand and the untouched second coffee in the other.
He called three operators before reaching the hallway.
The first had an aircraft available but no crew that could legally complete the trip without exceeding duty limits.
The second could position a Citation from Portland, but not until after seven.
The third had a Challenger 350 already in Seattle, though its scheduled crew had been assigned elsewhere after a cancellation changed their day.
Daniel asked for the tail number.
The dispatcher gave it to him.
He wrote it on the back of a hotel receipt.
Then he asked who could fly it.
“That’s the problem,” the dispatcher said.
“I have a captain.”
“No first officer?”
“Not yet.”
Daniel looked through the glass wall into the conference room.
Olivia was arguing quietly with Margaret while hospital representatives began returning from the break.
“What about contract pilots?”
“Working it.”
“I’m current on the 350.”
The dispatcher paused.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You on our insurance?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not flying it.”
“Can you add me?”
“Not in twenty minutes.”
Daniel expected that answer.
“What about your captain?”
“Mark Ellison.”
“I know the name.”
“Everybody knows Mark.”
That was not necessarily good.
“What’s his duty status?”
“Fresh.”
“Aircraft status?”
“Clean.”
“Send me the records.”
“You buying it?”
“Trying to get somebody home.”
The dispatcher laughed.
“Same thing in this business.”
Daniel ended the call and dialed another number.
By the time Olivia’s meeting restarted, he had moved to an empty lounge near the elevators and spread digital records across his tablet.
The Challenger itself was acceptable.
The missing first officer was not.
He called Nora Bennett.
She answered from somewhere noisy.
“If this is another interrogation, I charge by the question.”
“Are you available tonight?”
“No.”
“That was cheap.”
“My granddaughter’s birthday.”
“Good reason.”
“What happened?”
He explained.
Nora was quiet for a moment.
“Mark Ellison is solid.”
“That helps.”
“He’ll also tell you he’s solid.”
“That helps less.”
“You looking for a second?”
“Yes.”
“I know someone.”
Daniel sat straighter.
“Current?”
“Yes.”
“Available?”
“I said I know someone.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“I’m calling her now.”
The line went dead.
Daniel stared at the phone.
“Apparently everybody around here does that,” he muttered.
At 12:18, Olivia emerged from the conference room.
Daniel glanced at the wall clock.
Thirty-four minutes had passed.
She noticed.
“You asked for twenty.”
“I needed more.”
“You should have said that.”
“I’m saying it now.”
Margaret came out behind her carrying three folders.
The hospital executives remained inside.
“They extended the break,” Margaret said.
“Because?”
Olivia’s mouth tightened.
“Because they want to speak privately.”
Daniel put the tablet down.
“That sounds bad.”
“It is not ideal.”
Margaret gave him a look.
“It is bad.”
Olivia ignored her.
“What did you find?”
Daniel gestured toward the lounge.
“Aircraft is a Challenger 350 already here.”
“Crew?”
“Captain confirmed.”
“And?”
“No first officer yet.”
Olivia’s face hardened.
“Then you did not find a flight.”
“I found most of one.”
“That is not useful.”
“It’s more useful than the unsafe options.”
She rolled closer.
“Can you fly it?”
“I’m current, but I’m not on the operator’s insurance.”
“Can that be changed?”
“Not fast enough.”
“So we’re waiting for a stranger.”
“We’re waiting for a qualified pilot.”
“You enjoy correcting nouns.”
“Only important ones.”
Margaret sat down.
“I’m beginning to understand why Emma argues with you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How do you know Emma argues with me?”
“You talk loudly in hotel lobbies.”
“That feels invasive.”
“So does employment.”
Olivia checked her phone.
May you like
“No messages.”
“From whom?”
