Page 81 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

She surveyed the situation, looking at me and Abby and then back to me. All I could do was give her an encouraging smile and shrug. It was uncharacteristic that I would be on a flight that she would have been told was for work reasons.

The flight attendant closed and locked the cabin doors as the pilot came out to greet Steve and let us know our order in line, ‘We will have you in the air within 10.’

He returned to the cockpit, closing the door behind him, while the flight attendant took our drink orders and let us know what she would be serving us in another hour for our dinner.

Steve was making light, neutral conversation with Abby and Amber, asking about work and their personal lives. Abby was telling us that she was thinking of purchasing a new property, and Amber shed some details on her final semester of her Master’s degree and a side project she had worked on for a class that was starting to see some success.

Apparently, last year she worked with a local band to get them a social media presence and set them up on platforms for sharing their music. It had been very successful and they were fully booked for the summer at festivals and venues around New England.

‘I didn’t know you were so into music,’ I commented.

Abby laughed. ‘I don’t think it’s the music…’

I smirked while Steve cleared his throat, clearly feeling a bit uncomfortable.

‘They are actually really good,’ Amber defended. ‘They’ve got a different sound.’ Looking up to Steve she added, ‘The lead singer is Ryan Drovic, one of the aircraft maintenance people.’

‘Seriously?’ he was now interested.

Amber nodded. ‘Yeah, I first saw them play at a bar near the university, then last summer they played at a beach festival down on the Cape. When I saw them last fall again, I recognized the singer and approached him one day at work. He told me where he was playing and it turned out to be a really cool bar, so my friends and I started going a lot. I needed to do a project for a marketing class and asked if I could market them. I got an A on the project, they got followers, and now I’ve made new friends.’

‘Are they so good that I'm going to need to hire a new mechanic at some point?’ Steve joked.

Amber smiled, ‘I think they have the potential, for sure.’

‘Great,’ Steve rolled his eyes jokingly. ‘Apparently, he’s pretty good, one of the military veterans, but young.’

Steve was heavily involved with the charity, Heroes on the Homefront, which supported veterans in the transition from military to civilian careers.

‘Yeah, he had a few tours and after that needed to get out. I don’t think he was in combat, but I think he saw things. Also, his wife probably didn’t like him being away so much.’

‘Well, that’s part of what they sign up for,’ Steve reminded her. He had a lot of respect for those serving their country. One of the charity’s main focuses was the program to hire veterans, and he not only supported it with his time and money, but he actively hired from those enrolled in the program.

‘Well, good on those wives,’ Abby chimed in, looking up from her phone. ‘I for one couldn't do it.’

After we were all served our meal, the flight attendant asked, ‘Is there anything else I can get anyone?’

Steve looked around, ‘No, Laura, that will be all, thanks. Please check back in an hour or so.’

She nodded and went into the cockpit as she had been instructed to earlier.

‘So, now will you guys tell me why I’m really here?’ Amber asked, relaxing into her seat, rubbing her hands over her legs. While we had made friendly small talk, there was tension; the big elephant in the corner was clearly being ignored.

‘Well, you are here, as we feel that Zoe is going to need some assistance soon,’ Steve told her. ‘We have an issue that is likely going to cause a big PR stir in a few days’ time. It will be all hands on deck, and I only want people close to the family and ones we trust entirely.’

Amber looked to Abby. ‘A legal issue?’

Steve nodded, and looked to Abby. ‘For the past two and a half years, Breton has been gathering information on Matthew Wilson.’

‘That long?’ Amber asked, doing the math in her head. ‘Before…’

Steve closed his eyes and nodded, ‘Breton has uncovered a lot of information regarding Matthew and his family, none of which I am going to get into now,’ he looked over to Abby, ‘That’s her job to deal with all of that.’

Amber nodded, looking around at everyone. ‘So, I’m going to need more information and speak with Zoe to see what her angle is and what it is she wants from me. What do you want me to say? And why do you want to say anything? I thought we were distancing…’

‘Jessa’s alive,’ I blurted out, stopping Amber from spinning any more than she already was.

Everyone looked at me, Amber taking a few moments to comprehend. ‘What?’

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