She was going to get herself fired.
The last thing she needed was to give the impression that she was difficult, or, God forbid, sassy.
Either alone could spell death for a Black woman in high-level nonprofit work.
Mr. Silver, however, had surprised her.
He’d laughed.
The sound was as rich, warm and well-rounded as his speaking voice, but unlike his voice, the modulated and controlled cadence of which sounded like money, his laugh was the open joy of a regular person, rolling out of him as if he could recall what it was like to go to grocery stores and pay parking tickets.
As if she had been joking, he came back with his own sarcasm and humor. “If you’re so concerned about the plane, my helicopter is always available...”
“I’ll pass on the helicopter offer, thank you,”she said quickly, shuddering even at the idea while simultaneously relieved that it appeared that she hadn’t put her foot in it after all.
Nonetheless, it had been time to get off the phone before something even more disastrous happened.
“I’ll be at the location you gave me in the morning,” she said.
“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow. And don’t worry, you have my word that you’ll be back in Los Angeles long before dark, no risk of missing even a moment of Hanukkah with your family. Two hours, no more.”
He had hung up without saying goodbye, and at the click, Miriam had let out a sigh of relief.
She could have told him that that particular concern was unnecessary because, while she had a family, they wouldn’t be celebrating any holidays with her any time soon and her friends wouldn’t mind her being late—but did not.
Benjamin Silver had no reason to care about her personal life.
The only thing he cared about was getting everything they had to get through done in two hours, and if they were going to do that, she had a lot of prep work to do.
Fortunately, that meant a lot to distract her from the fact that she would be attending a meeting with the sixth-richest man in the world.
A long night in front of the computer had to be enough to dull the stress of the idea.
They would meet for no more than two hours, and then she could return home, that much closer to securing her position with the JCF and done with Mr. Silver.
The next day had arrived very quickly, though, and now, as the plane touched down, Miri wasn’t sure if her reassurances might have been a bit premature.
Staring in awe at the wintery world outside the comfortable private jet, she was reminded that, in truth, her time with Mr. Silver had not even begun.