Page 51 of Reputation
“Molly’s going?Awesome.And yes, we have three days in LA.I’d love to slip away and do some shopping.”
“Anyway,” Mandy said, nodding.“I just came to review the details for the upcoming ownership visit.”
Turning their attention back to work, she and Mandy spent the rest of the morning discussing the schedule for the upcoming mayhem of the bi-annual ownership meeting at the end of the month.
Eavie then spent the rest of her day working through details for the road trip and making sure she had everything she needed to be out of the office for twelve days.
At six, she made her way home to get changed for kickboxing.There, she found her brother in the kitchen, starting dinner preparations.
“Hey,” she said when she stepped into the living room.
“Hi back,” he echoed, looking up from the recipe he was scanning.“I was just going to make dinner.I thought I’d cook for you to thank you for having me.It should be done when you get back from punching the crap out of an innocent sandbag,” he finished, smiling at her.
“Oh, I’m sure the sandbag has it coming,” she joked.“What are you making?”
“Spaghetti carbonara, your favorite.”
“Ohh, I like it when you visit.You should come more often,” she teased.
He gave her a dry look.“How was your day?”he asked as he chopped up some pancetta.The smell of salty cheese and garlic already hung pungent in the air.
“Good.Actually, my boss asked me to accompany the team on the west coast trip.The flight leaves tomorrow morning, so I won’t be here when you head to the airport.”
“Nice line-up,” he said, nodding in appreciation.“Don’t worry.I have to leave for the airport around four, so I probably would have missed you either way.But your trip should be fun.”
“Yeah, it is a good schedule.We start in Vancouver, then hit Seattle, San Francisco, Vegas, and LA.”
“You sound excited,” he said, looking up at her.
“I am,” Despite Mandy’s commentary, which she knew was probably more than true, she had always dreamed of traveling for work.It seemed so glamorous in movies, and she was happy to try out the experience for herself.“Anyway, I’m going to get changed, then head out.I should be back around eight.”
“Sounds good.Dinner will be ready for then,” he said, returning his focus to the meal.
Chapter Twenty
Eavie
As the sun rose over the flat landscape of the private airport strip, Eric pulled the car onto the tarmac and stopped just before the plane.He’d insisted on driving her this morning, even though it was stupid early.They’d left her place before the sun was even awake, but no matter how much she tried to tell him he didn’t need to, he refused to let her take a ride share.
“Thanks for driving me,” she said, turning to her brother as she unsnapped her seat belt.
“Of course.How else was I going to get to say goodbye?”
Climbing out of the SUV, she walked around to the back, where her brother opened the hatch and pulled her suitcase out.Putting it down, he leaned over and hugged her.
“It was great seeing you, Vie.Text me to let me know how your trip is going.”
“I will.It was so nice to have you around for a few days.Promise you’ll visit again soon?”she demanded, pulling back.
“Promise,” he replied, dropping a kiss on her cheek.
“I’ll talk to you later,” she said after one more hug.Lifting the suitcase handle, she slung her tote bag over her shoulder and turned toward the plane.
She handed it over to the equipment managers at the stairs, who were assisting the ground crew in loading all the bags before ascending the cold metal to the plane.
A flight attendant greeted her, checked her name, and directed her down the center, telling her she would be in seat E2.Murmuring her thanks, she made her way down the broad aisle in the direction the flight attendant had gestured.The plane was large, with two spacious leather seats on either side.From the front, Eavie could see about twenty rows of four.Most players and coaches were already on board, either seated or standing in the aisle, chatting despite the early hour.
Approaching her row, Eavie found Molly seated next to hers.On her way down, she also spotted Jax.She caught the look of surprise cross his face as she maneuvered her way to her seat.When her eyes flicked over to him, he released his charming smile, making her insides quiver.
