Page 3 of Stranded with the Billionaire
“Let’s not borrow trouble,” Jake responded. “Right now, we audit, we get the lawyers involved and we try to figure out how to help Dad.”
Sterling noted that he wasn’t worried about helping his uncle David. Perhaps Jake was leaving that for his cousins to sort out while concentrating on his own father.
Sterling wondered just how deep each Ramesly was involved in this. It sounded like Dillon and Jake were innocent of being involved in the drug smuggling if their conversation was anything to go by. Or perhaps just Dillon was innocent and Jake was keeping his youngest brother in the dark.
“Have you heard from Everett?” Dillon asked.
“Just that he would be flying in soon. He promised to contact me once he had an approximate arrival time,” Jake replied. “Dillon, it will be okay. We will get this sorted out.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Dillon responded. “Look, I have to go. We’re having a shareholders meeting and I’m going to be in the hot seat trying to calm some nerves over Dad. I’ll see you at the airport.”
“Give me any updates by phone. The last thing we want is the FBI misconstruing something through an email chain,” Jake frowned. “I’ll see you soon.”
They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Jake worked diligently at his computer so Sterling had a moment to jot down a few notes on her cellphone. She hadn’t learned much but her source at the FBI had been right, Michael had been arrested.
“Ready to go?” Richard pleasantly asked Sterling.
Sterling fixed a smile on her face and shoved her phone in her jacket. “Absolutely. Everything checks out.”
“Great. If you’ll close the outer door, I’ll let the tower know we’re ready to depart,” Richard went back into the cockpit and Sterling breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to the door and studied it a moment. It wasn’t like a regular door. There was a huge handle on it. Sterling grabbed the handle and pulled the door in. She then shoved the handle down and felt it click into place. Giving it a push and tug, Sterling noted it was secure.
Thank goodness. The manual she’d skimmed last night hadn’t said anything on how to lock these doors and Sterling knew they couldn’t fly with it open!
Suddenly she felt a little worried. Maybe she should have taken the time to read the manual properly, maybe even watched some videos on YouTube or Googled procedures for flight attendants. Little things, like closing a door could potentially trip her up and blow her cover. The last thing she needed was to be discovered as a fraud before they even left the airport. Her boss would eat her for dinner and spit her out. As much as she was the tabloid’s rising star, Sterling had no illusions as to Ray Grange’s loyalties. He cared nothing for his workers, only the bottom line of the paper which was selling them to make money. In a world where things were going digital and paper was going the way of the dinosaurs, Grange was constantly pushing his writers to make things more edgy, exaggerated and sometimes using lies to make a profit.
Sterling had managed to not lie on any of her articles. Sometimes she went a little far, she would admit that, but her writing style and suggestive comments had managed to save her from outright lying in the paper. It helped that she had started the articles on the Ramesly’s and the drama had been recently unfolding, making her job a little more secure. Yet if she didn’t keep giving articles that sold, she’d be out on the streets in todays job market.
Most people didn’t look on tabloid writers as very employable.
Her best bet would be to move into the fiction market, writing books. First, Sterling needed to get as famous as possible, so people would recognize her name when she ultimately made the career switch.
She was not going to be at Ray Grange’s beck and call forever. Some point soon, she would be able to escape his demands and inappropriate comments.
Sterling reminded Jake to fasten his seatbelt before quickly taking her own spot. She clipped the belt together as the plane started. A chirping noise came from her phone and Sterling looked up to see if Jake had noticed. Instead, he was focused on his own electronics. She probably should haver reminded him to put them away, at least during take off. However, he should also have flown enough flights to know better. If he got wacked on the head for his own carelessness, was she really to blame?
She was probably going to make a bad flight attendant, Sterling reflected ruefully as she pulled out her phone and checked her messages. One of her sources at the police department had just tipped her that Ted Searson had died of anaphylactic shock.
An allergic reaction.
Sterling’s fingers flew over the keys on her phone as she quickly pressed her sources at a prestigious medical center where Ted’s doctor was to learn if Ted had any known allergies. She didn’t like the timing on this. Ted could have become a potential witness against David Ramesly except now he was conveniently dead.
Her eyes widened as the next message came through. David Ramesly had been released!
How was that even possible?
Sterling scrolled down the message, reading as the plane began to speed up down the runway. David had agreed to testify against his son Michael, brother Robert and Ted Searson in exchange for immunity. He wouldn’t need to testify against Ted anymore, Sterling reflected. She’d included the possibility that David might testify against the others in her tabloid article on a hunch. She was amazed that it was correct.
It didn’t feel right. Sterling felt if any of them were guilty, it was David.
She had met David Ramesly at a fundraising dinner at Mercy hospital. He was arrogant, rude and smug. David gave the impression that he could do or say whatever he wanted without any repercussions. Sterling felt that he was the epitome of all that was wrong with rich old men. They thought they ruled the world and everyone else was simply there to serve them.
Sterling detested those types of men.
A chime alerted Sterling to the fact that seatbelts were no longer a requirement. Shoving her phone into her pocket, Sterling unclipped her belt. With a smile fixed on her face, she reminded Jake that he no longer had to wear his seatbelt and asked if he would like anything at this time.
Thankfully he said no. Which was a good thing because Sterling had yet to familiarize herself with where everything was on the plane. If he’d ordered a whiskey or something, she wouldn’t even know if they had anything in stock. Vowing to ignore her phone, Sterling began to poke curiously into cupboards, shifting things around until she knew where everything was.
Jake ignored her.
