Maybe, Baby

Ten

With the help of Pinterest and a sleepless night, I had packed everything necessary for the trip in my suitcase. I read all the required documents for the journey. Researched all the names of the men and would that were going to be present at the opening. It was to be a small crowd at our party, but we were staying two days extra, those two I wouldn't be needed.

I hid inside the two bathing suits that Sandra had selected, one black and one soft blue. Also, two novels from when I got alone time in my room and my toiletries. My passport was inside my new shiny purse, and I waited nervously until it was time to leave for the airport. I had the agenda, his planner, and my laptop set up for all this that was about to happen. Me going abroad for the first time as the new assistant/girlfriend of Liam H. Westbrook. He was the reason why my hair looked impeccable after I dried it and then used a flat iron on it. I wore black pants and a white dress shirt with flats and a cream blazer. Simple make-up and sunglasses. I had minimal jewelry plus a hair tie for when it got in the way. To me I looked like a well kept lady, like someone who had traveled before but inside I was worried about anything that might happen, if something went wrong I was scared that I wouldn’t know what to do.

When it was time, I rolled my bags to the front door and watched as the same car that had passed by me that night when I had been crouching down the street at night. How I had been pushed out of my bed in the middle of the night just because of him. The man I was going to be accompanying tonight on a long trip towards the Caribbean sea.

I sat on the front. I needed space, and really I was the help, so there was no need to sit in the back like equals. When Mr. Westbrook finally made his entrance, I fought myself to not turn and watch him; instead, I used my side mirror, but he was just staring down at his phone. I puffed my cheeks twiddled my thumbs while I scanned the roads. It was night soon, and I was praying that our seats would be away from each other. There was no need for none of that, not until we got to The Blue Seas. I stayed one step ahead, handling our checking and baggage, information about the business club, and our flight status into my phone. He just followed me around. Letting me do my job without even wasting an ounce of saliva, trusting me with everything, so I double-checked, triple-checked everything, and swallowed my fear, putting my brain into overdrive predicting his needs.

"Coffee sir?” I asked.

"What?" He was tapping away in his smartphone when I interrupted him.

"I asked if you wanted coffee before we board."

"Sure Dolores, black no sugar." And he looked down like it didn't matter. Like I wasn't doing him any favor, but then again, I had to do this. He was paying me. He had paid for everything on me. I felt like a high-maintenance call girl by a billionaire bored man, so I sucked it up and went along with it.

I moved us from the VIP club to the front of the line to board at the exact moment they were about to start. I took out our boarding passes and got a quizzical look from the skinny agent working on the door. After a beep and a green light, we walked forward, followed by the rest of the business class and the rest of the passengers. My seat was right next to him and by the window, which meant I was trapped by him.

"Is the window fine with you?" He must have seen the distress on my face, but I just nodded and smiled.

I was trembling. I kept my hands busy by putting away my handbag at my feet just as the lady on the speakers was asking us to do and putting on my seat belt, which I had no idea how.

"Here, let me." He pushed my hands away and tightened and locked them in place. “Good?" His warm breath brushed my face.

"Yes, thank you." My voice came out raspy and breathy. I pushed my hair to the side and fanned my face and neck with my hand. It wasn't hot by any means, I felt the cool air of the AC brushing my face, but my skin felt hot for some reason. I squirmed on my seat and moved as far away from him as I could. It was a good thing this had some type of plastic square in between our seats that served as a table, where a stewardess placed a tall glass of water and smiled before moving down.

"I asked her to bring you something." I was puzzled. He was acting like he cared.

"Thank you." My voice came out soft, weak.

I scanned the space between us, trying not to stare at the people that continued to walk in. I felt the movement on my feet, the sounds of the turbines and the clamminess on my skin continued to spread to my back. I held my hands on my lap to keep me from biting down my nails, a habit for when I was nervous. It multiplied by ten when the door closed, and the plane took off. I did those yoga breathing exercises and closed my eyes. I couldn't watch how the world moved around me.

"You ok there?"

"I think so." My jaw was locked. I was talking through my clenched teeth.

"Oh right, first time traveling by plane." The way he said it sounded almost bored. He didn't really care about it, but he surprised me by taking my hand in his and lacing our fingers together. "Hold on to me Dolly," he whispered against my ear. "I will protect you."