Page 29 of Shared By the Pilots

She whirled in surprise, then gave me the kind of smile every man liked to see. “I’ve only been to two private terminals in my career as a flight attendant, and both times I’ve ran into you. Kind of stalkerish, isn’t it, Taylor?”

I gave a start. “How’d you know my name?”

“The guy at the Miami terminal told me.”

“So you were askin’ after me?” I leaned against the wall casually. “Now who’s the stalker? I don’t even knowyourname.”

“I’m Veronica. And I discovered your name because I ratted you out for stealing a bag from behind the counter,” she replied smoothly.

Veronica.The name danced around in my head like a dream.

“See, that’s where you’re confused, Veronica,” I said. “I wasn’t stealin’ anything. It was my bag. Freddie was just holdin’ it for me.”

“A crumpled up paper bag, the kind my brother used to deliver weed in. Kind of suspicious. What was in it?”

I tensed, then forced myself to relax.She doesn’t know anything. She’s just flirting a little.

Rather than answer her question, I said, “You can’t work for Bernie Langston.”

Veronica raised a challenging eyebrow. “And why can’t I?”

I glanced around to make sure nobody was close enough to listen in on our conversation. The last thing I needed was to make enemies with a guy like him.

“He’s bad news,” I said, leaning close to whisper. “Working for him is a mistake.”

She gave me an annoyed look. “Why? Because he’s a rich guy who owns a bunch of planes? How does that make him bad news?”

I hesitated. How could I tell her withouttellingher? I barely knew this woman. If I told her the truth, and she repeated it to the wrong people…

“Just trust me, Veronica. You don’t want to get involved with Bernie or the sort of clientele who rents his planes.”

“What kind of clientele? Rich assholes? I deal with them all the time.” She looked past me. “And it seems like you deal with the same kinds of people.”

I turned and followed her gaze across the terminal to where my three customers were waiting with a cooler of beer and fishing equipment.

“Look, you don’t know what you’re getting into. You have to trust me on this one.”

“Trust you? I don’t even know you.”

“How about you get to know me over dinner?” I said, flashing that smile that unlocked most doors. “I’ll explain everything then.”

Veronica let out an annoyed huff. “What’s with men refusing to just come right out andsaythings? Everything has to be all secretive all the time.”

“You’ll understand once I lay it all out for you,” I replied. “Bottom line? It’s not worth the risk.”

“Oh, I understand.” She crossed her arms under her breasts. “I think you’re jealous because you tried getting a cushy job with Mr. Langston, and he wouldn’t hire you. All these other pilots are flying nice jets while you’re stuck in a seaplane that looks like it was built during the Kennedy Administration.”

“Hey now,” I replied in annoyance, “I’m living my best life. Can you say the same? If your life was perfect, why are you risking your career with Gulf Airlines to moonlight with a private company?”

Veronica bristled at that. I must have struck a nerve.

“My Uber is here,” she said curtly. “Thank you for the warning, but I’m doing just fine.”

She doesn’t know what she’s getting into, I thought as I watched her leave.But she’ll find out soon enough.

15

Veronica

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