Chương 9
He slipped the almonds into his flight bag.
“But now she has a shelf.”
Olivia looked down at her own hands.
Her mother had started texting every morning after the accident.
At first Olivia had answered every message.
Then most.
Then sometimes.
She had told herself the habit was smothering.
She had never asked what it was for.
The aircraft hit light turbulence.
A glass clicked against something in the galley.
Daniel glanced toward the cockpit display.
Olivia saw the movement.
“You do that every time.”
“What?”
“Check the aircraft whenever it moves.”
“Occupational damage.”
“You’re a terrible passenger.”
“I’ve been told.”
The turbulence passed.
Margaret came forward and held out her tablet.
“Your Seattle team confirmed tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Time?”
“Eight.”
“Any changes?”
“Only one.”
Olivia looked up.
“Richard called David Mercer directly.”
Daniel looked away, but the name meant nothing to him.
Olivia took the tablet.
A message from Mercer Capital’s managing partner filled the screen.
We should discuss leadership continuity before Monday’s expansion vote.
She read it once.
Then handed the tablet back.
“Schedule him for tomorrow afternoon.”
“You have negotiations until three.”
“Four.”
“Four?”
“Yes.”
Margaret frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“It will.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Usually.”
Margaret returned to her seat.
Daniel watched Olivia for a moment.
“You move meetings when you’re angry.”
She turned toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“You just did.”
“You have known me for approximately four hours.”
“Still counts.”
“You are making psychological observations now?”
“No.”
He pointed toward Margaret.
“She looked worried.”
“That is her natural expression.”
From behind them Margaret said, “I can hear you.”
Daniel smiled.
Olivia did not.
The lights of Seattle appeared beneath them forty minutes later.
As the aircraft began its descent, Olivia checked the time, then the forecast, then her email.
There were twenty-seven unread messages.
She opened none of them.
Daniel noticed.
“You’re improving.”
“Do not ruin it.”
The landing was smooth.
The aircraft taxied to a private terminal, and Nora came back before the door opened.
“Ground team is ready.”
Olivia nodded.
Daniel unbuckled but stayed seated.
She noticed that too.
“You’re not supervising?”
“I was instructed to stop.”
“I didn’t instruct you.”
“You strongly implied.”
The ground crew brought the aisle chair.
Olivia watched one young employee glance toward Daniel as though expecting him to take over.
Daniel remained where he was.
The employee looked back to Olivia.
“What do you need from us?”
She told him.
No one improvised.
No one grabbed her without asking.
The transfer went cleanly.
Outside, Seattle air hit cold and wet against her face.
A black accessible SUV waited at the curb.
Margaret climbed in first to check the ramp clearance.
Daniel stood beside the luggage cart.
“You’re not coming to the hotel?” Olivia asked.
“I am.”
“You look like you’re leaving.”
“I’m calling Emma.”
Olivia nodded.
Then, before she could stop herself, she said, “Tell her you landed.”
Daniel’s expression softened.
“That’s the plan.”
At the hotel, Olivia worked until nearly one in the morning.
She reviewed revised projections, sent three messages to legal, and asked Margaret to locate every email involving Martin Keene’s resignation.
At 12:43, Margaret forwarded the archive.
At 12:51, Olivia found the message she had been looking for.
It was dated eight months earlier.
Martin had written it the morning after their final argument.
Olivia read the sentence twice.
Below it was her reply.
Your characterization is inaccurate and self-serving.
Nothing in the thread proved Richard’s version.
Nothing disproved it either.
She kept reading.
At 1:17, another email surfaced.
This one was from Ray Delgado.
Olivia almost skipped it because the subject line concerned an unrelated maintenance delay.
Then she saw Martin’s name in the body.
Martin asked me tonight whether I would document that you pressured maintenance to release the aircraft.
For clarity, you did not.
Olivia sat very still.
There was more.
I told him the delay was maintenance-driven and that you were angry about the schedule but did not ask us to sign off early.
He seemed frustrated by that answer.
Olivia read the message again.
Then she forwarded it to Evelyn.
Her phone rang almost immediately.
“You found something,” Evelyn said.
“Yes.”
“Is it enough?”
“To prove Richard is lying?”
“No.”
“Then not enough.”
Olivia looked toward the dark hotel window.
“Call Ray tomorrow.”
“You trust him?”
“He has no reason to protect me.”
“That is not the same as trustworthy.”
“No.”
Olivia paused.
“But it’s better.”
After the call, she opened the minibar, found a bottle of water, and realized she had not eaten dinner.
There was a knock at the connecting door.
Margaret stood there holding a paper bag.
“You forgot food.”
“I did not forget.”
“You absolutely forgot.”
“What is it?”
“Sandwich.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Then stare at it professionally.”
Olivia took the bag.
Margaret leaned against the doorframe.
“Daniel is downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“That seems contagious.”
“He’s reviewing tomorrow’s weather.”
“He is not flying tomorrow.”
“He says habits are free.”
Olivia looked toward the paper bag.
“Did he ask anything about the board?”
“No.”
That surprised her.
“He didn’t ask what happened with Richard?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
Margaret smiled faintly.
“That bothers you.”
“It does not.”
“Of course.”
She started back toward her room.
“Margaret.”
She turned.
“Find out whether Martin Keene is still in aviation.”
Margaret’s expression changed.
“Tonight?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“That is almost reasonable.”
“And do not contact him.”
“I know.”
Olivia closed the connecting door.
Downstairs, Daniel sat alone in a corner of the hotel lobby with coffee he had forgotten to drink.
Emma answered his video call wearing dinosaur pajamas and an expression of severe disappointment.
“You missed pancakes.”
“I know.”
“Sheila made them wrong.”
“How?”
“They were circles.”
Daniel nodded gravely.
“That’s unacceptable.”
“She said pancakes are supposed to be circles.”
“Sheila lacks imagination.”
A muffled voice from somewhere in the room said, “I can hear you.”
Emma smiled.
Daniel felt some part of his chest loosen.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“School tomorrow.”
May you like
“I know.”
“You need sleep.”
