Page 36 of Too Much In Common
“Tim Jones.” He stuck out his hand to shake Chris’s.
“He surprised me with flowers to thank me for taking his flight.”Come on, Chris,realize something’s wrong.
Chris shook Tim’s hand, and the pilot winced. Behind them, the elevator pinged. Javier and another man wearing the building’s security shirt hurried down the hall.
“Anything wrong here?” asked Javier.
Tim stepped back from the three other men. “Nothing. I was giving Christian some flowers. I know her roommate, Simone.”
Javier’s nose flared. “Did you invite him up?”
“No,” said Tian.
“Sir? Can you come with us? Somehow, you missed a security checkpoint, and you are not authorized to be on this floor.” Javier and his companion didn’t give Tim much of a choice as they crowded him.
Tim thrust the flowers at Tian. She didn’t need Chris’s head shake to know not to take them. They waited until the elevator closed, leaving only Javier.
Chris set a supportive hand on her back. “What happened?”
“He knocked on the door. I thought it was you. When he mentioned Simone and said my dad told him where I lived, I knew he was lying. My dad doesn’t know where I live. Don’t ask. And I spoke with Simone in the kitchen. She wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Simone is inside?” asked Javier. “May I talk with her?”
Tian used her palm print to let her back into the apartment. “Have a seat. I’ll go get her.”
Simone answered her knock, and Tian slipped into her cousin’s bedroom. “Hey, there was an incident, and Javier wants to talk with you. Nothing big. Chris is here too.”
Simone pinched her lips. “He would show up after I took off my makeup.”
Tian was sure Simone wasn’t talking about Chris. “It will only take a minute, and you look perfect without makeup.”
Simone touched the scar near the corner of her left eyebrow and nodded.
Chris and Javier had taken the two chairs, leaving the couch for the women.
“Sorry about this. We denied him access last night. We are going over tape to figure out how he got here. The elevator should have...” Javier stopped his apology. “Tian, tell us what happened.”
Tian related the benign interaction. “My dad has no clue where I live, and he and Simone’s mom haven’t talked in months. Tim had to be lying. Plus, he called me Christian. Even Dad calls me Tian now.”
“You are sure your father doesn’t know?” asked Javier.
“I’ll call and ask him.”
Tian dialed her father’s number and put it on speaker phone. It was always the safest way to talk with him.
“What’s up, peanut? Finally returning my calls?”
Tian cringed. Three untouched voicemails from her father blinked every time she opened her phone. No excuses would justify her ghosting her father since the flight from Boston to Miami that she’d flown for Tim Jones. “Not exactly. Do you know an FO by the name of Tim Jones?”
“Jones... Jones. Yes. Little kid. Not sure how he earned his wings or who passed him to fly an A319. Proof of the pilot shortage.”
“Did you tell him where I live?”
“How could I? I only heard you moved out of your crash pad two days ago. And you haven’t told me where you went.” A sad bitterness laced his voice.
“How did you know I moved?”
“I flew with Draper. Excellent pilot. I told him to tell you and Brit hi. He got a funny look on his face and told me the three of you moved out a couple of weeks ago.”
