บท 14: Chapter 14
Pearl busted her ass getting the brochures together for the meeting. She didn't get home until 10 pm and she still had to pack. She was a ball of nerves. She was flying out the next evening with her boss. A 3 hour flight with him and a 3 day business trip on top of it. She was a literal wreck. He had invited her to help her career, and she was aware of it. She just knew it. He could be doing what he was asking of her without her being there. He wanted to present her to them now that she had this promotion. She was terrified she'd let him down and needed to be on top of her game. She got her things packed and settled down finally. She sent John a text letting him know she wouldn't be available for their Wednesday practice but to send her the song list and she would make sure she made the time to learn any new songs before their Saturday rehearsal. She was flying back Saturday morning and said she'd be at this house by 5 that day.
The next day she finished up all she had to do at work and stopped by David's office around 5 to let him know she was ready when he was. He grabbed his luggage and his jacket and keys and they headed down to the lobby. David had a driver and a company car and they rode to the airport in silence. Holy awkward, Batman, she thought. They arrived and got to their flight right on time. They found their seats and still the tension was there. She wasn't sure if it was personal tension or just work tension, but it was definitely there. She had never flown first class before and it was really nice. She was impressed to say the least. The flight attendant came by asked if they wanted a drink. David, without even letting her finish, asked for a scotch neat. "Anything for you ma'am?" "I'll have a vodka and cranberry" Pearl said, trying to sound sophisticated and yet wanting to take off the edge.
They sipped their drinks and David took out his laptop. He seemed nervous. This is a big meeting, so Pearl imagined he might be making sure he was on task. She took out her book. She was currently reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the fourth time. She didn't care. It was one of her favorites and she got an itch to read it once every couple of years. After this she'd read the Bukowski again, because reasons. Pearl smiled at the thought of it all again. Of Rhys. She wondered what he was doing now. He didn't mention where he lived, she just assumed it was somewhere in California. They didn't talk much about their personal lives. She told him she was in marketing and divorced. He told he he'd never been married and that he worked. A lot. That's was the extent of it.
"Elizabeth Bennett was my first crush." David said quietly with a smile. "What?" Pearl said instinctively. "Sorry. I mean, really? I guess I never imagined you as a reader of early 19th century British romance novels" Pearl replied again.
"I'm surprised you imagined me as anything, Pearl. Happily surprised." Pearl blushed. "It's one of my favorites. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester ruined me early in life." Pearl couldn't believe she was saying this to her boss. "Yes those two definitely would be difficult for any man to follow." David said without looking at her. And he continued to work on his laptop. The next thing she knew, he was tapping her shoulder and telling her they were landing. Oh god she fell asleep. Was she drooling? How embarrassing. She gathered her carry on and they exited the plane. After a short cab ride, they made it to the hotel. David still seemed a little rigid. They got to the front desk and he gave their name and confirmation information. The concierge told them there must have been some mistake, there was only one room reserved. It was a one bedroom suite. David sounded a bit frustrated and asked for another room. "We're all booked for the Comic Con going on. This is the only room we have. Most hotels are completely booked. You're lucky you found this one." Great, Pearl thought. David looked at her and said that they would check in and call around and he would find a room for him and She could keep this one. "No problem, we will figure it out" Pearl said. They made their way to the suite and although it wasn't huge, it had a bedroom and a living room with pull out couch and a small kitchen. She put her things down and nervously sat on the couch while he made some calls. "Nothing" he said. "I can check outside of the city. It will be a bit of drive to the office but I can make it work." Pearl felt terrible. "You know, it's ok. This couch pulls out and there is a separate room. There's no need. We can figure this out. Unless you snore like a chainsaw, I'll be fine." She tried to joke. He smiled a little and asked is she was sure. "I'm sure. No worries." It was a few days and they would be working. It seemed like the only choice anyway.
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